Assignment 1 (WA1): Short Persuasive Writing
Due: Week One on Sunday, 1/17, by 11:59 pm EST
Prepare an original, internal, short, persuasive piece of formal writing that makes a recommendation for improvement at your workplace. A detailed scenario has been provided below for you to follow in completing the assignment.
Scenario for the short persuasive writing assignment:
Requests for funding are a common business document and demand careful organization to present a persuasive, thoughtful request. For this assignment, prepare a 350- to 500-word memo to your supervisor requesting that your company sponsor your participation in a Business Writing course that is available at the local college. If you are not currently working or if you are in the military and the context is not relevant for the assignment, you may create a fictitious company, supervisor, and position for yourself. In your memo-
• provide your supervisor with justification for you taking the course
• include an outline of the benefits the company will receive from your participation in such an effort. —courtesy of Prof. Edwin G. Sapp
Remember:
The aim is to convince your supervisor, and the company, to fund your enrollment in a college Business Writing class. In preparing the piece, then, use fundamental practices of business communication.
• Be clear about audience, purpose, and the desired results.
• Analyze the organizational culture of your workplace.
• Weigh your strategy.
• Write from the point of view of the organization.
• Avoid self-reference (“I”) and references to individual states of mind (“I think”).
• Avoid personalizing pronouns (“you”) and therefore personalizing problems.
• Do not make assumptions about your audience (“we”).
• Build your argument using sound reasoning.
• Communicate effectively to overcome any anticipated barriers.
• Develop a document that conforms to standards of business writing—the style is direct, formal, often with bulleted summaries of findings or next steps, and adheres to the conventions of Standard American English; the tone is sensitive but to the point. Do not let a casual style creep into your writing, which means no humor, abbreviations, contractions, and slang.
• Proofread, edit, and revise the memo carefully for readability, style, tone, word choice, sentences, paragraphs, and format!
Above all, good communication is efficient—clear, correct, coherent, concise, direct and, again, to the point.
ASSIGNMENT % of CUMULATIVE GRADE
Short, persuasive writing 10%
Submit your memo as a WORD document. Post your memo as an attachment in the Assignments Folder, using the filename, LastnameWA1 (using your own last name).
Write the document in block format-
Line spacing and page layout Within each paragraph, information is single-spaced and centered top-to-bottom and side-to-side on the page with 1 inch margins all the way around. Between paragraphs, line spacing is double-spaced (put one blank line between paragraphs).
Font and font Size Times New Roman 12-point
Text alignment Left justified
Paragraphs Block style
Title Put the company name at the top of the document, followed by the words “Internal Memorandum.”
Use a standard memo heading:
Date:
To:
cc:
From:
Subject: or Re:
Organization Divide information into four basic parts:
• heading
• opening (after which context and/or task may follow)
• (optional summary) discussion
• closing
You can find an example at the OWL Website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/04/
Memo Grading Criteria Guidelines
Business MEMO Scoring Rubric (weighted)
modified from “adapted for Business Writing from MELAB (L. Hamp-Lyons, 1992)”
Task Completion/
Format/
Layout (10%) Topic Development
(30%) Organization
(20%) Vocabulary
(10%) Discourse Control (10%) Sentence structure (10%) Mechanics
(10%)
5 The memo includes all required components of the task and follows formatting guidelines for layout (headings), spacing, alignment, indentations, etc. Format and layout make the memo exceptionally attractive. full and rich development of content (purpose, relevance, focus, explanations, support); shows knowledge of subject matter through effective use of business concepts to support argument; sophistication in fluency of expression. organization fully appropriate and effective for topic (point of view, unity, paragraphing); very strong thesis/purpose statement & conclusion; paragraphs have effective topic sentences. broad and fluent range of vocabulary; elaboration and detail achieved through full use of business terms; concise and appropriate use of vocabulary (formal English); correct use of word forms and word choice. full control (logical coherence) and excellent use of cohesive devices (key words, pronouns, references, transitions, etc.); presentation of ideas extremely clear and coherent. full range of sentence patterns (simple, compound, complex), effectively used; error-free sentence-level grammar. correct use of in-text citations & references; spelling, capitalization, and punctuation error-free.
4
(4.9-4) Almost all required components are included; formatting guidelines for layout (headings), spacing, alignment, indentations, etc. are almost always followed. 1-2 problems in format and layout, but readability and attractiveness are not affected. clear and complete development of content; high level of fluency in expression (clarity); evidence of logical progression of ideas; mostly effective use of business concepts to show knowledge of subject matter to support argument. organization controlled; generally appropriate to topic; paragraphing, sequencing, purpose statement/thesis & conclusion, topic sentences evident and appropriate. flexibility in range; appropriate use of business terms and other vocabulary in a variety of situations; mostly correct use of word forms and word choice; occasional wordiness or colloquialisms (informal English) good control of cohesive devices (key words, pronouns, references, transitions, etc.) used successfully in a range of situations; coherence apparent.
mastery of sentence patterns demonstrated; may have occasional grammatical errors on the sentence level (e.g. possessives, word deletions; 1-2 run-on sentences or fragments) spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and citation/reference errors few and not distracting.
3
(3.9-3) Some required components are included; formatting guidelines for layout (headings), spacing, and alignment are sometimes followed. 3-4 problems in format and layout, but the memo is easy to read. development of content adequate, but lacks clearly stated positions/argument or supporting information; some use of business concepts to show knowledge of subject matter and to support argument; fluency of expression may be halting or awkward organization controlled but limited; some problems with paragraphing or sequencing, limited purpose statement/thesis or conclusion; limited use of topic sentences. adequate range; no precise use of subtle meanings displayed; business terms only used occasionally; vocabulary sometimes used inappropriately; 3-4 instances of wordiness or colloquialisms (informal English); often incorrect use of word forms. generally adequately connected; presentation of ideas generally clear and coherent; cohesive devices (key words, pronouns, references, transitions, etc.) could be used more often, more effectively, or more accurately. sentence patterns most often successfully used; several grammatical errors on the sentence level (e.g. word deletions, possessives, prep., tense); 3-4 fragments, or run-on sentences). occasional errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and citation/references; sometimes distracting.
2
(2.9-2)
Required components are mostly absent; formatting is repeatedly inconsistent in layout (headings), spacing, and alignment, reducing readability and attractiveness. development of content restricted; may be incomplete or unclear; little evidence of argument; little evidence of knowledge of subject matter (use of business concepts) to support argument; lack of fluency in expression little or poorly controlled organization; incorrect paragraphing or sequencing; purpose statement/thesis, conclusion, topic sentences may be missing or incomplete. narrow range; many word form errors; business terms and other vocabulary often used inappropriately; only basic and elementary meanings are conveyed; 5 or more instances of wordiness or colloquialisms (informal English). connections awkward; cohesive devices (key words, pronouns, references, transitions, etc.) may be missing or are used inaccurately; lack of logical sequencing of ideas. many sentence structure problems; 5-7 fragments or run-on sentences; grammatical errors distract from meaning. Spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and citation errors are frequent and distracting.
1
(1.9-1) Off-topic; formatting guidelines for layout (headings), spacing, and alignment are not followed, making the memo unattractive or hard to read. simplistic statement of content; often copied from sources or lists of information; no argument; no use of business concepts to support argument. minimal attempt at paragraphing, often unsuccessful; strings of sentences; no purpose statement/thesis, conclusion, or topic sentences. simple vocabulary, often inappropriately used; no control of word choice and word forms; no attempt to use business terms; many instances of wordiness or colloquialisms (informal English connections (cohesive devices) not present or unsuccessful; presentation of ideas unclear and confusing. replete with errors in sentence structure and sentence grammar; more than 7 fragments or run-on sentences spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and citation/reference errors throughout
SCORE
SCORE: ____/100_____
GRADE: _________
Attribution: © 2006 Christine Bauer-Ramazani,; last updated March 22, 2010
