CM 331 WRITING FOR COMMUNICATION

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FALL 2025 Ginna Hall Section E1 | Room CAS 427 617.642.9049 Wednesday 6:30 – 9:15 p.m. ginna@bu.edu Office Hours: By Appointment
OVERVIEW As a professional writer, you must be able to express yourself clearly, concisely, and creatively. This course will help you develop the skills you need to be successful as a communicator in any setting. You will learn how to convey a company’s message and reach a target audience to achieve an intended outcome. We will cover advertising and public relations communications including blog posts, press releases, online promotions, creative briefs, email marketing, social media, search engine marketing, and newsletters. You will sharpen your copywriting, headline writing, editing, interviewing, and research skills.
REQUIRED READING Each week you will read the case studies and articles posted in Blackboard under “Course Documents.” Come to class prepared to discuss the reading and relevant examples from your own experience. We have one optional textbook: Everybody Writes by Ann Handley (available on Amazon or the bookstore), which I highly recommend for any professional writer or writing student.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
• www.MarketingProfs.com
• Strunk & White, The Elements of Style
• The Associated Press Stylebook (available free online here)
• Everybody Writes

ASSIGNMENTS All assignments are on Blackboard in the Assignments folder. You will submit all work to Turnitin.
Assignment Due % Grade
§ Attendance & Participation 10%
§ Quizzes/In-Class Exercises 10%
§ Press Release September 17 10%
§ Top 10 Article October 1 10%
§ Creative Brief October 15 15%
§ Marketing Email October 29 10%
§ Digital Ad November 5 10%
§ Infographic November 19 10%
§ Final Project December 10 15%
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COURSE CALENDAR

Week 1 | September 3 | Writing for an Audience
• What is my goal?
• Who am I trying to reach?
• How will I reach them?
• What do I want them to do?
Week 2 | September 10 | Getting Visible > Releases and Pitches
Reading
• How to Write a Press Release
• How to Pitch the Press
• Essential Press Release Optimization Tips
Week 3 | September 17 | Reaching the Media > SEO and GEO Due: Press Release
Reading
• What is SEO and how does it work?
• Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) the New SEO?
• Keyword Research for SEO: The Definitive Guide
Week 4 | September 24 | Creating an Identity > Content Marketing
Reading
• What Is Content Marketing?
• The 13 Unique Benefits of Content Marketing
• What’s Your Online Marketing Media Mix?
• 11 Big Content Marketing Challenges (and How to Overcome Them)
Week 5 | October 1 | Engaging Your Audience > Corporate Blogs Due: Top 10 Article

Reading
• 11 Reasons to Blog in 2025: Benefits and Strategies You Need to Know
• 19 Headline Writing Tips for More Clickable, Shareable Blog Posts

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Week 6 | October 8 | Crafting an Offer > Creative Briefs + Email

Reading
• The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing
• How to Write a Marketing Email
• Email Marketing Predictions
Week 7 | October 15 | Defining an Image > Brand Voice Due: Creative Brief

Reading
• What Is Branding?
• 10 Reasons Why Branding is Important to Your Company
• How to Establish a Consistent Brand Voice
• Creating Your Brand Voice: A Complete Guide
Week 8 | October 22 | Building Relationships > Email Newsletters
Reading
• How to Create an Email Newsletter People Actually Read
• How To Deliver the Most Value with a Company Newsletter: 15 Savvy Tips
• 15 Marketing Newsletters that Inspire and Educate
Week 9 | October 29 | Reaching Customers > Digital Advertising Due: Email
Reading
• A Beginner's Guide to Digital Advertising
• What is Digital Advertising and Getting started as a Digital Advertiser
• 4 Simple but Powerful Tactics for Writing Compelling Ad Copy
Week 10 | November 5 | Persuading an Audience > Corporate Social Responsibility Due: Digital Ad + Landing Page
Reading
• 16 Brands Doing Corporate Social Responsibility Successfully
• 7 inspiring examples of corporate social responsibility
• The Best 10 CSR Campaigns of the Last Years
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Week 11 | November 12 | Connecting Visually > Infographics
• What is an Infographic?
• 13 Reasons Why Your Brain Craves Infographics
Week 12 | November 19 | Social Media Marketing Due: Infographic
Reading
• 8 Social Media Tips from Experienced Marketers
• The 15 Most Important Social Media Trends for 2025
• 101+ Social Networking Sites You Need to Know
NOVEMBER 26 – NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 13 | December 3 | Making a Pitch > Presentations
Reading
• Top Tips for Effective Presentations
• 10 Tips for Giving a Great Presentation
Week 14 | December 10 | In-Class Presentations Due: Final Project



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DEADLINES In the real world, and in this class, you cannot miss deadlines. Missing a deadline at work can mean the loss of a client or unemployment. Missing a deadline in class also has consequences.
§ Assignments are due before 6:30 pm on the due date.
§ Assignments handed in late will incur a 10-point penalty.
§ Assignments handed in more than one week late will result in a “0” for that assignment.

GRADING Grades reflect the creativity of your ideas and quality of the execution. I promise to be fair and thorough in my corrections and suggestions. A = Excellent idea + excellent execution B = Good idea + good execution C = Good idea + poor execution OR poor idea + good execution D = Poor idea + poor execution I will evaluate your assignments based on the following criteria (20% each):
• Mastery of the format
• Language/word choice, style, and voice
• Creativity/originality
• Grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Clarity and concision You will receive a numerical grade for each assignment. At the end of the semester, your numerical tally will translate to your final alphabetical grade. A: 94 – 100 A-: 90 – 93.9 B+: 87 – 89.9 B: 83 – 86.9 B-: 80 – 82.9 C+: 77 – 79.9 C: 73 – 76.9 C-: 70 – 72.9 D: 60 – 69.9 F: 0 – 59.9

COM WRITING CENTER The Writing Center is open online Monday through Friday. Student writing tutors are available to assist you with the writing process. You can make an appointment at www.bu.mywconline.com.



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ACADEMIC CODE OF CONDUCT All BU students are bound by the Academic Conduct Code. Please review to ensure you are acting responsibly and ethically in regard to your academics. There may be changes here due to the nature of the pandemic, so please read everything very carefully.
PLAGIARISM Plagiarism is the most serious offense a writer can commit. When you use another person’s words or ideas you must always give proper credit. If you commit plagiarism, whether intentionally or unintentionally, you will fail that assignment. You may also fail the class and be suspended. If you have any questions about how to avoid plagiarism through proper referencing, please consult your Student Plagiarism Guidelines or ask me. You need to document sources*:
• When you are using or referring to somebody else’s words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, website, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium
• When you use information gained through interviewing another person
• When you copy the exact words or a "unique phrase" from somewhere
• When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and pictures
• When you use ideas that others have given you in conversations or over email *[Source: Purdue University Online Writing Lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/]
USE OF GENERATIVE AI In all areas of academic inquiry, research, scholarship, and professional practices, the College of Communication places the highest emphasis on integrity and ethics. In alignment with these values, COM ONLY permits student use of text-authoring tools (including, but not limited to, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT) under certain conditions:
• The professor must expressly grant permission to use the tool.
• Any assignment submitted for academic credit or review must include an explicit and affirmative declaration that the assignment was prepared. reviewed or edited with the use or assistance of the expressly permitted tool, and an explanation of how it was used for the assignment. This means you should not use generative AI for ANY part of your work in CM 331 without my permission AND full notification. You can use software such as Grammarly to detect grammar mistakes. You can also use software to translate one word or one phrase, but you should NOT use those tools to rewrite or translate sentences in any of your work. In other words, the writing you submit must be your own. It should not be produced or translated by a machine. Failure to do so is considered a form of plagiarism, an academic conduct violation that may lead to grading penalties and/or review by the Academic Affairs Committee.
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CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY POLICY
• Bring a laptop or tablet to each class for use during writing assignments.
• Turn off phones and other devices unless you are given permission to use them during in-class projects.
• Out of respect for your professor and peers, do not use your phones, tablets or computers for non-class purposes (social media, checking email, Internet searches, etc.) If you do so, you will be asked to leave the classroom.
BU HUB LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Students will be able to craft responsible, considered, and well-structured written arguments, using media and modes of expression appropriate to the situation. 2. Students will be able to read with understanding, engagement, appreciation, and critical judgment. 3. Students will be able to write clearly and coherently in a range of genres and styles, integrating graphic and multimedia elements as appropriate.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BU has strict guidelines on classroom behavior and practices when it comes to treatment of students and guests on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information, military service, national origin, or due to marital, parental, or veteran status. Discrimination for any of these reasons is prohibited. Please refer to the Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy for more details.
DISABILITY AND ACCESS SERVICES If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability and Access Services (DAS) at 617-353-3658 to coordinate any reasonable accommodation requests. DAS is located at 25 Buick Street, on the third floor.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT Boston University is committed to fostering a safe, productive learning environment. Title IX and our school policy prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, which regards sexual misconduct – including harassment, domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. We understand that sexual violence can undermine students’ academic success and we encourage students who have experienced some form of sexual misconduct to talk to someone about their experience, so they can get the support they need. Confidential support and academic advocacy resources can be found with the Center for Sexual Assault Response & Prevention (SARP) at http://www.bu.edu/safety/sexual-misconduct/.

POSITIVE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE At your discretion, please alert me to anything related to preferred pronouns, preferred name or nickname, or any extenuating circumstances or trigger warnings (personal, medical, etc.) that might impact your classroom experience. I want to make sure you have
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the most positive experience in the classroom as possible. If work that gets shown in the class, professional or student-generated, offends you in any way, please mention it in class or talk to me privately about it so that we can all learn from each other. This is not to say we will ever restrict freedom of speech or water down an aggressive or edgy idea, but we want to discuss anything that someone deems troublesome or offensive.
STUDENT ATHLETICS All student-athletes should be provided with a sheet from Student-Athlete Support Services regarding absences throughout the semester. These sheets should be handed in as soon as possible to avoid potential conflicts and so arrangements can be made to provide for missed lecture notes, classwork, or discussion.
RECORDING OF CLASSES Classroom meetings may be recorded for purposes including, but not limited to, student illness, religious holidays, disability accommodations, or student course review. Note also that recording devices are prohibited in the classroom except with the instructor’s permission.

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