ENGL0150 · Section 85003

Writing for the Workplace

This course builds the workplace writing and communication skills needed in healthcare and allied health settings. Students strengthen grammar, sentence clarity, and paragraph organization, then apply those skills to realistic healthcare workplace tasks aligned with NHA expectations. Emphasis is on writing that is clear, objective, concise, patient-centered, professionally toned, and appropriate for clinical and administrative settings. Students learn that healthcare documentation may become part of the professional and legal record, and they practice writing that is factual, observable, defensible, and within professional scope.

Start with Topic 1Healthcare Word Bank

Course details

Term
Fall 2026, Module 1 (Fall 1)
Dates
Friday, August 28 2026 – Monday, October 26 2026
Delivery
Fully in person at BEOC; all materials distributed through Brightspace
For
Medical Assisting (MA), Patient Care Technician (PCT), and Medical Billing students
Institution
SUNY Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center (BEOC), Academic Affairs Department

Your instructors

  • Prof. I. Dascher

    Room 205 — Thursday 12:30–1:30

  • Prof. O. Davis

    Room 205 — Wednesday 2:00–2:30

All materials are distributed through Brightspace. Assignments are submitted there — this site is for learning and practice.

What you will be able to do

Five goals run through every topic. Each topic page names the ones it advances.

1

Grammar and Sentence Competency

Healthcare Context

  • Apply punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure correctly
  • Correct fragments, run-ons, comma splices, tense shifts, and modifier errors
  • Maintain subject–verb and pronoun–antecedent agreement
  • Use adjectives, adverbs, and comparative and superlative forms correctly
2

Professional Workplace Writing

NHA Alignment

  • Write professional emails and short workplace messages with appropriate tone, formatting, and audience awareness
  • Recognize and revise unclear or unprofessional writing — wordiness, redundancy, vague language, incoherence
  • Format for readability using subject lines, spacing, lists, bullets, and parallel structure
3

Patient-Centered Communication

  • Write patient-facing documents in plain language and a respectful tone
  • Translate clinical terms for patients and families
  • Reduce confusion and improve compliance through clear directions, sequencing, and priority information
4

Documentation-Style Writing and Professional Responsibility

  • Distinguish unsafe opinion-based language from objective observation-based language
  • Practice legally defensible documentation that is factual, measurable, and within scope
  • Convert spoken patient information into concise documentation-style writing
  • Apply SOAP-style organization at an introductory level
5

Summarizing and Paraphrasing

  • Identify main points and key details in spoken and written information
  • Summarize and paraphrase accurately without adding interpretation

Course map

Ten topics across five units, then the final assessment. Every topic produces something you would actually write at work.

Advanced topics

Optional extensions beyond the ten core topics. These are not on the Fall 1 calendar — take them if your program calls for them, or work through them on your own.

How a topic runs

Every topic follows the same seven-part shape. That repetition is deliberate — once you know the pattern, you can spend your attention on the writing instead of on the format.

Session 1

  1. 1. Topic introduction with the Essential Question
  2. 2. Overview of the cumulative workplace product
  3. 3. Teaching and learning concepts
  4. 4. Grammar focus
  5. 5. Words to spell
  6. 6. Guided practice

Session 2

  1. 7. Session 1 review
  2. 8. Quick quiz and test strategy
  3. 9. Cumulative workplace task
  4. 10. Communication Check and self-edit

AI can suggest. You decide.

AI is a writing coach, not a replacement for your judgment. You may use AI to identify grammar or punctuation problems, suggest clearer wording, check organization, improve professional tone, flag confusing passages, and explain why a passage needs revision. You remain responsible for accuracy, professionalism, confidentiality, and final content.

Grading and course policy

CategoryWeight
Professionalism20%
Classwork & Homework30%
Quizzes20%
Final Portfolio30%
Late work
Work submitted within one week after the due date loses 10%. Beyond one week, 20%. Once a topic is complete, late work for that topic is not accepted.
Quizzes
Notify the instructor in advance of a known absence. If you are ill on test day, arrange a make-up before the next class. Once tests are returned, no make-up is offered.
Major tests
A final make-up is at the instructor's discretion with valid documentation, and carries a 25-percentage-point deduction from the maximum possible score.
Attendance
The absence limit is 20% of instructional time. Late arrivals and early departures are recorded. Arriving more than 5 minutes late means the missed time is deducted from time present. Doors close 15 minutes after class begins and students are not admitted after that mark. For back-to-back double sessions, re-entry is at the end of the first 80 minutes.
Supplies
A notebook (subject or composition), black or blue ink pens, and a USB flash drive (required) for saving work in the computer lab. All instructional materials are provided by the instructor.
Accommodations
Contact a student advisor at Advisors@beoc.cuny.edu.
Brightspace support
1-844-673-6786 or 1-518-320-1300. Monday–Friday 7am–midnight, Saturday 10am–6pm, Sunday 10am–9pm.

The course syllabus is the authoritative source for all policy. If anything on this page disagrees with the syllabus, the syllabus is correct and this page will be updated.

Instructor's Guide developed by Irene Dascher, 2026