Assignment 2
CMNS 1290Assignment #2Ráine SS 21 CMNS 1290 Assignment 2 – Correspondence Portfolio Value: 20% of your total grade Part 1: Delivering Unfavourable News a) Write a short paragraph describing your purpose and audience analysis. b) Study the scenario below and write a formal letter that delivers unfavourable news. Use full-block style and create a letterhead that makes your document look real (see the examples of full block style letters and letterhead on Moodle). You may use one of the letterhead templates in MS Word or create your own. Either way, make sure your letter is formatted correctly for the use of letterhead. Make sure to include date, sender’s information, inside address (receiver), effective subject/reference line, appropriate salutation, goodwill closing, complimentary close, your name, and job title. Your work will be graded on the content of the message, completeness, conciseness, your tone, and the overall effectiveness of your approach, as well as accurate formatting, grammar, sentence structure, parallelism, spelling, and punctuation. Scenario: NOTE: The purpose of the scenario is to provide you with relevant context and background information. Do not copy my words from the scenario. This is plagiarism, and is also information your reader already knows and doesn’t need you to re-state or explain. As the manager of Human Resources for A to Z Solutions, you must refuse an employee’s request for reimbursement of additional moving expenses. Sukhwinder Heer, your company’s new Assistant Manager of Information Systems, recently transferred from Calgary to your head office in Montreal. Your company offers a maximum of $5000 to compensate for long-distance relocations within Canada (this is company policy). A to Z Solutions has contracts with several reputable moving companies that offer discounted rates. When Sukhwinder received news of her promotion and relocation, she was provided with an information package that included her offer of employment, a document outlining company policies, and a list of approved moving companies. She decided to use a moving company that wasn’t on the list (at a substantially higher cost) because they specialize in moving antique furniture and pianos. Sukhwinder’s move ended up costing $8950, and she has submitted an expense claim for this amount. Using the guidelines in Chapter 8 of the text, supplementary materials in Moodle, and principles discussed in class, write a formal letter to this employee (on letterhead) refusing the claim and explaining your reasons for the refusal. Be confident in your decision and make sure to maintain goodwill. Part 2: Persuasive Writing a) Write a short paragraph describing your purpose and audience analysis. b) Study the scenario below and write a short, persuasive email to your instructor. Make some suggestions to resolve the problem and put them into a bulleted list. Be creative but realistic. Scenario: NOTE: The purpose of the scenario is to provide you with relevant context and background information. Do not copy my words from the scenario. This is plagiarism, and is also information your reader already knows and doesn’t need you to re-state or explain. You registered for a summer session of CMNS 1290 during the pandemic, and TRU has been forced to deliver the class virtually. Now, you’re not only taking the course in a much shorter period of time but are also having to adapt to online learning. At times, you find the workload very heavy and you often struggle to meet very tight deadlines. Write your instructor a persuasive email with the goal of convincing them to eliminate one assignment or part of an assignment. This can be either the midterm quiz, one of the writing assignments (letter, email or final project), or mandatory forum posts. Choose whichever part of the course you think would be the most reasonable to eliminate under the circumstances, but don’t base your decision on whether you simply dislike certain assignments or find them too challenging. Take a good look at the course outline to assess the expectations and learning outcomes. Is there something that can be safely eliminated without affecting the learning outcomes? Why? You also need to understand the course expectations and learning outcomes in order to anticipate my objections. It’s my job to deliver all the required course content and evaluate your proficiency in all areas of the course so that all CMNS 1290 students at TRU receive equal and consistent learning experiences. Since this course also provides the foundation for subsequent communication courses, not learning all the necessary skills could negatively impact your success in future courses (and your program). Pay attention to reader benefits. What’s in it for me to comply with your request? Hint: don’t say that grading fewer assignments will make my job easier and that I’ll have more free time. It doesn’t work that way for instructors. Make sure to tell me exactly what you want me to do and how I should do it. Provide some options and alternatives in a bulleted or numbered list – for example, if you anticipate I will say “no” to eliminating an entire assignment, provide some suggestions for making a particular assignment easier, shorter, more fun, more engaging, or more relevant. You might want to suggest, for example, that you be allowed to submit an assignment in an alternate format such as a PowerPoint presentation, video, or audio recording instead of in writing. If you choose to make this type of request, make sure you justify your ideas with sound reasoning and facts (i.e. students learn in a variety of different ways), but bear in mind that this is a professional writing course. CMNS 1290Assignment 2: Grading Criteria Criteria 1: Bad News Letter Introductory paragraph (part a) Accurately describes purpose and audience analysis. Message (part b) Structure and Style Correct use of letterhead and full block style including readable 12-point font and single spacing. Includes all necessary elements. *Note: you may use a bulleted list for some information if you wish, but it’s not mandatory for the bad news message. Content Buffers: positive or neutral subject line and opening statement. Bad news is stated quickly and appropriately after buffer and only once; uses effective techniques for de-emphasizing bad news and positive language wherever possible Provides brief and reasonable explanation for bad news without over-editorializing or making excuses. Clear, complete and concise. Closing promotes goodwill (encouraging, but doesn’t offer false hope or invite further correspondence / debate) Writing quality Accurate and effective sentence structure, parallelism, conciseness, grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Logical organization and good use of transitional devices where necessary. Tone is appropriate and effective (don’t plead or be overly apologetic) Criteria 2: Persuasive Email Introductory paragraph (part a) Purpose and audience analysis are complete and correct. Structure and Style Accurately uses required format and all required elements: to, from, date, action-specific subject line, greeting, goodwill closing, complimentary close, name. Font, spacing, and layout are appealing and professional Logical organization (including transitional devices and lists for clarity). *Note: You must incorporate a bulleted list into your persuasive email. This will be good practice for your final recommendation report. Content Opening gets attention, obtains interest, makes good first impression, builds interest The problem is clearly communicated. Uses appropriate choice of appeals. Anticipates objections. Emphasizes reader benefits; win/win, you-centered or we-centered. Offers solutions and alternatives. Requests specific action linked to reader benefits Goodwill closing - genuine compliment or fact that awakens social conscience or links reader benefits to request. Writing quality Accurate and effective sentence structure, parallelism, conciseness, grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Logical organization and good use of transitional devices where necessary. Tone is appropriate and effective (don’t plead or be overly apologetic) 2