ENGL119 Lecture 1: English 119 lecture #1

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: English
• Course: ENGL119
• Professor: David Kohler

Document Summary

Please note that summaries can never adequately take the place of being in class! In the first lecture (september 10), i discussed the rationale for the course, emphasizing that it does not focus on foundational writing skills (grammar and syntax); rather, it assumes that students have these skills. The focus is on workplace communications and professionalism. A rationale for the course was provided in the form of a video and a brief discussion of what employers expect from students graduating from university of waterloo. Weak communication skills can affect productivity and create other problems, along with harming the employee"s (and the company"s) reputation. Effective communication should promote cooperation, clarity, a strong work ethic, and appropriate formality. Effective communications (involving selecting the best information and organizing and expressing it in the most effective way) always involves considerations of audience, context and purpose.