Straighterline Business Communication

[Jody7818]

Can someone give a recent review of SL's Business Communication course? Specifically, what does the written portion of the final exam entail? How much time is given for the quizzes and exams? I need to take this course, and I'd like to know a few more specifics before I sign up.

[jmeitrem]

I finished this a couple weeks ago. The quizzes are only 10 questions each with plenty of time. The midterm was 50 questions; I'm not sure how much time was allowed but I know I didn't worry about it. You can submit a rough draft for the 3 assignments, but I was in a hurry so I just submitted each of them as the final draft and got a 95, 100, and 95. As long as you follow the format of the examples and don't plagiarize it seems like an easy A. Each paper took about 5 days to be graded. I didn't have the book and I didn't think it was necessary. They give you samples for 2 out of the 3 papers, and the third is provided here: http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...ample.html

The final paper was a 400 word memo and that took around 3 days to get graded. You take the multiple choice portion first and use the remainder of the 2 hours for writing the paper. It said the written part was open book. The final exam paper is only worth 80 points though, so not too much to fret about.

[Jody7818]

Great review. Thanks for posting this. It helps alot.

[Mamasaphire]

Now that I've passed SL Business Communication I can give my opinion.

This Bus Comm was the most frustrating course I have taken in the past couple years (along with math and Technical Writing). banghead Part of the problem with the Bus Comm was that I am using APA in CC, while the SL course was going by MLA, plus answers that should have been commonsense for me became stressful as I constantly second guessed my answers. Because of that I rented an [outrageously expensive] etextbook for the additional assistance. The first paper I turned in got a 100%, but the next one had a different grader and was quite a bit lower. By the end I was pretty stressed with the class and was thrilled just to pass , and definitely happy with a "B" (which I know doesn't matter at TESC, but would for COSC).

My take: students with a business background and/or MLA experience -- the course should be pretty commonsense and relatively easy. If a student has no real life business experience, hasn't taken business classes lately, and/or is a bit weak in MLA paper writing, I would definitely suggest getting the textbook.

[ryoder]

I have had numerous years of business experience but I bought the textbook and read it completely for this course. It is not enough just to pass these classes. You owe it to yourself to actually learn the material. Business communication is very important. I have found that a lack of, or poor communication at the workplace is one of the biggest career impediments. I see this a lot in IT. So get the book, read it, study it, enjoy the class and the fact that you don't have to drive to the local community college and sit in a hard plastic seat while listening to a rambling lecture.