Outcomes Targeted:
1) analyze and produce writing genres according to the rhetorical situation of workplace contexts;
2) create professional documents that use plain English principles (to targeted audience);
3) conduct research to create content for a variety of professional documents (memos, letters, reports, etc.);
The correspondence assignments were my first introduction to professional formatting. Prior to this, I had no experience crafting a memo (nor had I known what a memo was). While I had wrote an email before, the formatting I used for the persuasive letter was very different than past emails I had wrote. These assignments targeted outcomes 1, 2, and 3, which are listed at the top of this page. It addressed outcome 1 by heavily requiring the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in a professional context. When writing the bad news memo and persuasive letter, I had to use language that both supported my request while maintaining a professional tone. I had to create a situation, backstory, motive, and secondary option by using the three rhetorical appeals in order to either deliver an unfortunate topic or convince a service. For example, in the persuasive letter, I used pathos by explaining the danger of the potholes. I used logos by explaining the amount of statical damage the potholes cause. Finally, I used ethos by restating the Farmville Town mission statement. These rhetorical uses fall under outcome 1. This assignment addressed outcome 2 due to its heavy dependence on plain English (and the eight C’s). These documents were crafted in a professional context–meaning that we could have sent them out as a legit bad news memo or persuasive letter. I had to maintain a certain tone and be conscious of the language I used, even when I was explaining an unfortunate topic (such as a delay in construction) or requesting a topic (such as a need for construction). When using plain English, my biggest struggle is avoiding a passive tone. I also struggled when crafting the bad news memo, as using the word “no” should be avoided if possible. The bad news memo took careful thought as I had to be very conscious. Lastly, this assignment addressed outcome 3. Both of these assignments required research prior to completion. Using the textbook and canvas handouts, I researched proper formatting for memos and persuasive letters. For example, I learned that following the memo heading, there is typically a line or paragraph separator. I learned the proper formatting for signatures as well by completing these documents, too. Overall, the correspondence assignments challenged me by requiring the use of plain English and specific formatting.
Bad News Memo
Persuasive Letter