CHAPTER 14
Corresponding in Print and Online
Chapter Introduction
Understanding the Process of Writing Correspondence
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Correspondence
Selecting a Type of Correspondence
Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence
USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF FORMALITY
COMMUNICATE CORRECTLY
PROJECT THE “YOU ATTITUDEâ€
AVOID CORRESPONDENCE CLICHÉS
COMMUNICATE HONESTLY
ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Business Correspondence
Writing Letters
Elements of a Letter
Common Types of Letters
Writing Memos
GUIDELINES: Organizing a Memo
Writing Emails
TECH TIP: Why and How To Use Email for Business Correspondence
GUIDELINES: Following Netiquette
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Following Netiquette in an Email Message
Writing Microblogs
GUIDELINES: Representing Your Organization on a Microblog
Writing Correspondence to Multicultural Readers
WRITER’S CHECKLIST
EXERCISES
CASE 17: Setting Up and Maintaining a Professional Microblog Account
Understanding the Process of Writing Correspondence
The process of writing correspondence is essentially like that of writing any other kind of workplace
document. The Focus on Process box presents an overview of this process, focusing on letters, memos, and
emails. The more formal the correspondence, the more time you are likely to spend on each of these steps.
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Correspondence
When writing correspondence, pay special attention to these steps of the writing process.
PLANNING You will need to choose the appropriate type of correspondence for your writing
situation.
DRAFTING For letters, memos, and emails, clearly state your purpose, use headings to help
your readers, summarize your message, provide adequate background, organize
the discussion, and highlight action items. For microblogs, state your message or
question clearly.
REVISING You might need to write correspondence quickly, but you still need to write
carefully. Review the section of the Writer’s Checklist at the end of this chapter
that applies to your document.
EDITING See Chapter 10 for advice on writing correct and effective sentences.
PROOFREADING See Appendix, Part C, for proofreading tips.
Selecting a Type of Correspondence
When you need to correspond with others in the workplace, your first task is to decide on the appropriate
type of document. Here are the main characteristics of each major type:
Letters. Because letters still use centuries-old conventions such as the salutation and complimentary
close, they are the most formal of the four types of correspondence and are therefore most appropriate for
communicating with people outside your organization or, in some formal situations, with people within
your organization. Letters are typically sent through the postal service or a shipping company, though
they can also be attached to emails.
Memos. This type of correspondence is moderately formal and therefore appropriate for people in your
own organization. Memos can be distributed via interoffice mail or through emails (as attachments).
Email. This type of correspondence is best for quick, relatively informal communication with one or
many recipients. Recipients can store and forward email easily, as well as capture the text and reuse it in
other documents. In addition, the writer can attach other files to an email message.
Microblog posts. Microblog posts such as Twitter tweets or Facebook status updates can be useful to
address quick questions to a group. This is the most informal type of correspondence.
Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence
When you write business correspondence, follow these five suggestions for presenting yourself as a
professional:
Use the appropriate level of formality.
Communicate correctly.
Project the “you attitude.â€
Avoid correspondence clichés.
Communicate honestly.
USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF FORMALITY
People are sometimes tempted to use informal writing in informal digital applications such as email and
microblogs. Don’t. Everything you write on the job is legally the property of the organization for which you
work, and messages are almost always archived digitally, even after senders and recipients have deleted
them. Your documents might be read by the company president, or they might appear in a newspaper or in a
court of law. Therefore, use a moderately formal tone to avoid potential embarrassment.
TOO
INFORMAL
Our meeting with United went south right away when they threw a hissy fit, saying
that we blew off the deadline for the progress report.
MODERATELY
FORMAL
In our meeting, the United representative expressed concern that we had missed
the deadline for the progress report.
However, you don’t want to sound like a dictionary.
TOO FORMAL It was indubitably the case that our team was successful in presenting a proposal
that was characterized by quality of the highest order. My appreciation for your
industriousness is herewith extended.
MODERATELY
FORMAL
I think we put together an excellent proposal. Thank you very much for your hard
work.
COMMUNICATE CORRECTLY
One issue closely related to formality is correctness. As discussed in Chapter 1, correct writing is free of
errors in grammar, punctuation, style, usage, and spelling. Correctness problems occur most often in email
and microblogs.
Some writers mistakenly think that they do not need to worry about correctness because these digital
applications are meant for quick communication. They are wrong. You have to plan your digital
correspondence just as you plan any other written communication, and you should revise, edit, and proofread
it. Sending correspondence that contains language errors is unprofessional because it suggests a lack of
respect for your reader –– and for yourself. It also causes your reader to think that you are careless about
your job.
For more about editing, see Ch. 3, pp. 57–58; for more about proofreading, see Ch. 3, p. 58.
PROJECT THE “YOU ATTITUDEâ€
Correspondence should convey a courteous, positive tone. The key to accomplishing this task is using the
“you attitude†— looking at the situation from the reader’s point of view and adjusting the content, structure,
and tone to meet his or her needs. For example, if you are writing to a supplier who has failed to deliver
some merchandise by the agreed-on date, the “you attitude†dictates that you not discuss problems you are
having with other suppliers; those problems don’t concern your reader. Instead, concentrate on explaining
clearly and politely that the reader has violated your agreement and that not having the merchandise is
costing you money. Then propose ways to expedite the shipment.
Following are two examples of thoughtless sentences, each followed by an improved version that shows
the “you attitude.â€
ACCUSING You must have dropped the engine. The housing is badly cracked.
BETTER The badly cracked housing suggests that the engine must have fallen onto a hard
surface from some height.
SARCASTIC You’ll need two months to deliver these parts? Who do you think you are, the post
office?
BETTER Surely you would find a two-month delay for the delivery of parts unacceptable in
your business. That’s how I feel, too.
A calm, respectful tone makes the best impression and increases the chances that you will achieve your goal.
AVOID CORRESPONDENCE CLICHÉS
Over the centuries, a group of words and phrases have come to be associated with business correspondence;
one common example is as per your request. These phrases sound stilted and insincere. Don’t use them.
For more about choosing the right words and phrases, see Ch. 10, p. 228.
Table 14.1 is a list of common clichés and their plain-language equivalents. Figure 14.1 shows two
versions of the same email: one written in clichés, the other in plain language.
TABLE 14.1 Clichés and Plain-Language Equivalents
CLICHÉ PLAIN-LANGUAGE EQUIVALENT
attached please find attached is
enclosed please find enclosed is
pursuant to our agreement as we agreed
referring to your (“Referring to your letter of
March 19, the shipment of pianos …â€)
“As you wrote in your letter of March 19, the …†(or
subordinate the reference at the end of your sentence)
wish to advise (“We wish to advise that …â€) (The phrase doesn’t say anything. Just say what you want to
say.)
the writer (“The writer believes that …â€) “I believe …â€
FIGURE 14.1 Sample Emails with and Without Clichés
COMMUNICATE HONESTLY
You should communicate honestly when you write any kind of document, and business correspondence is no
exception. Communicating honestly shows respect for your reader and for yourself.
ETHICS NOTE
WRITING HONEST BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
Why is dishonesty a big problem in correspondence? Perhaps because the topics discussed in business
correspondence often relate to the writer’s professionalism and the quality of his or her work. For instance,
when a salesperson working for a supplier writes to a customer explaining why a product did not arrive on
time, he is tempted to make it seem as if his company — and he personally — were blameless. Similarly,
when a manager has to announce a new policy that employees will dislike, she might be tempted to
distance herself from the policy.
The professional approach is to tell the truth. If you mislead a reader in explaining why the shipment didn’t
arrive on time, the reader will likely double-check the facts, conclude that you are trying to avoid
responsibility, and end your business relationship. If you try to convince readers that you had nothing to do
with a new, unpopular policy, some of them will know you are being misleading, and you will lose your
most important credential: your credibility.
Writing Letters
Letters are still a basic means of communication between organizations, with
millions written each day. To write effective letters, you need to understand the
elements of a letter, its format, and the types of letters commonly sent in the
business world.
ELEMENTS OF A LETTER
Most letters include a heading, inside address, salutation, body, complimentary
close, and signature. Some letters also include one or more of the following:
attention line, subject line, enclosure line, and copy line. Figure 14.2 (on page 368)
shows the elements of a letter.
FIGURE 14.2 Elements of a Letter
Letters follow one of two typical formats: modified block or full block. Figure
14.3 illustrates these two formats. When sending a letter as an email attachment,
you can save it as a PDF file to preserve the formatting for the recipient.
FIGURE 14.3 Typical Letter Formats
The dimensions and spacing shown for the modified block format also apply to the full
block format.
COMMON TYPES OF LETTERS
Organizations send out many different kinds of letters. This section focuses on four
types of letters written frequently in the workplace: inquiry, response to an inquiry,
claim, and adjustment.
Two other types of letters are discussed in this book: the transmittal letter in Ch. 18, p.
481, and the job-application letter in Ch. 15, p. 414.
Inquiry Letter Figure 14.4 shows an inquiry letter, in which you ask questions.
FIGURE 14.4 Inquiry Letter
Response to an Inquiry Figure 14.5 (on page 372) shows a response to the inquiry
letter in Figure 14.4.
FIGURE 14.5 Response to an Inquiry
Claim Letter Figure 14.6 (on page 373) is an example of a claim letter that the
writer scanned and attached to an email to the reader. The writer’s decision to
present his message in a letter rather than an email suggests that he wishes to
convey the more formal tone associated with letters — and yet he wants the letter to
arrive quickly.
FIGURE 14.6 Claim Letter
Adjustment Letter Figures 14.7 and 14.8 show “good news†and “bad newsâ€
adjustment letters. The first is a reply to the claim letter shown in Figure 14.6 on
page 373.
FIGURE 14.7 “Good News†Adjustment Letter
FIGURE 14.8 “Bad News†Adjustment Letter
Writing Memos
Like letters, memos have a characteristic format, which consists of the elements shown in Figure 14.9.
FIGURE 14.9 Identifying Information in a Memo
Some organizations prefer the full names of the writer and reader; others want only the first initials and last names. Some
prefer job titles; others do not. If your organization does not object, include your job title and your reader’s. The memo will
then be informative for anyone who refers to it after either of you has moved on to a new position, as well as for others in
the organization who do not know you.
As with letters, you can attach memos to emails and deliver them electronically. To preserve the memo
format for the email recipient, save the memo as a PDF before sending.
If you prefer to distribute hard copies, print the second and all subsequent pages of a memo on plain paper
rather than on letterhead. Include three items in the upper right-hand or left-hand corner of each subsequent
page: the name of the recipient, the date of the memo, and the page number. See the header in Figure 14.2 on
page 369.
Figure 14.10, a sample memo, is a trip report, a record of a business trip written after the employee
returned to the office. Readers are less interested in an hour-by-hour narrative of what happened than in a
carefully structured discussion of what was important. Although writer and reader appear to be relatively
equal in rank, the writer goes to the trouble of organizing the memo to make it easy to read and refer to later.
FIGURE 14.10 Sample Memo
GUIDELINES: Organizing a Memo
When you write a memo, organize it so that it is easy to follow. Consider these five organizational elements.
A specific subject line. “Breast Cancer Walk†is too general. “Breast Cancer Walk Rescheduled to May 14†is
better.
A clear statement of purpose. As discussed in Chapter 5 (p. 109), the purpose statement is built around a verb
that clearly states what you want the readers to know, believe, or do.
A brief summary. Even if a memo fits on one page, consider including a summary. For readers who want to read
the whole memo, the summary is an advance organizer; for readers in a hurry, reading the summary substitutes
for reading the whole memo.
Informative headings. Headings make the memo easier to read by enabling readers to skip sections they don’t
need and by helping them understand what each section is about. In addition, headings make the memo easier
to write because they prompt the writer to provide the kind of information readers need.
A prominent recommendation. Many memos end with one or more recommendations. Sometimes these
recommendations take the form of action steps: bulleted or numbered lists of what the writer will do or what the
writer would like others to do. Here is an example:
Action Items:
I would appreciate it if you would work on the following tasks and have your results ready for the meeting on
Monday, June 9.
Henderson: recalculate the flow rate.
Smith: set up meeting with the regional EPA representative for some time during the week of May 13.
Falvey: ask Armitra in Houston for his advice.
Writing Emails
Before you write an email in the workplace, find out your organization’s email policies. Most companies
have written policies that discuss circumstances under which you may and may not use email, principles you
should use in writing emails, and the monitoring of employee email.
TECH TIP
GUIDELINES: Following Netiquette
When you write email in the workplace, adhere to the following netiquette guidelines. Netiquette refers to etiquette
on a network.
Stick to business. Don’t send jokes or other nonbusiness messages.
Use the appropriate level of formality. As discussed on page 364, avoid informal writing.
Write correctly. As discussed on page 365, remember to revise, edit, and proofread your emails before sending
them.
Don’t flame. To flame is to scorch a reader with scathing criticism, usually in response to something that person
wrote in a previous message. When you are angry, keep your hands away from the keyboard.
Make your message easy on the eyes. Use uppercase and lowercase letters, and skip lines between
paragraphs. Use uppercase letters or boldface (sparingly) for emphasis.
Don’t forward a message to an online discussion forum without the writer’s permission. Doing so is
unethical and illegal; the email is the intellectual property of the writer or (if it was written as part of the writer’s
work responsibilities) the writer’s company.
Don’t send a message unless you have something to say. If you can add something new, do so, but don’t
send a message just to be part of the conversation.
Figure 14.11a shows an email that violates netiquette guidelines. The writer is a technical professional
working for a microchip manufacturer. Figure 14.11b shows a revised version of this email message.
FIGURE 14.11 Netiquette
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
Following Netiquette in an Email Message
This message was written in response to a question emailed to several colleagues by a technical
communicator seeking advice on how to write meeting minutes effectively. A response to an email message
should adhere to the principles of effective emails and proper netiquette. The questions below ask you to
think about these principles (explained on pp. 378–81).
1. How effectively has the writer stated her purpose?
2. How effectively has the writer projected a “you attitude†(explained on p. 365)?
3. How effectively has the writer made her message easy to read?
Writing Microblogs
As discussed earlier in this chapter, microblog posts are different from letters, memos, and email in that they
are often extremely brief and quite informal in tone. However, the fact that microblog posts are fast and
informal does not mean that anything goes. When you write microblog posts, you are creating
communication that will be archived and that will reflect on you and your organization. In addition, anything
you write is subject to the same laws and regulations that pertain to all other kinds of documents. Many of
the guidelines for following netiquette (see p. 380) apply to microblog posts as well as email. Take care,
especially, not to flame. Become familiar with your microblog’s privacy settings, and be aware of which
groups of readers may view and share your posts.
The best way to understand your responsibilities when you write a microblog post at work is to study your
organization’s guidelines. Sometimes, these guidelines are part of the organization’s guidelines for all
business practices or all digital communication. Sometimes, they are treated separately. Figure 14.12 shows
one organization’s microblogging guidelines.
FIGURE 14.12 Guidelines for Microblogging
GUIDELINES: Representing Your Organization on a Microblog
If you use a microblog at work to communicate with people outside your own organization, such as vendors and
customers, you want to use it in such a way that people are encouraged to like, respect, and trust you. These ten
suggestions can help.
Decide on your audience and your purpose. Are you connecting with clients, providing customer service,
helping people understand your company’s goals and vision? You might want to have different accounts if you
have several different audiences and purposes.
Learn the technology. Know how to use hashtags, how to mention other users in your tweets, how to reply
publicly and privately, how to integrate images and videos, and how to cross-post to your other social media
accounts should you need to.
Learn the culture of the community. Listen and learn before you post. Most communities have a distinct culture,
which influences how and when people post, link, and reply. For instance, in some communities, people stick
close to the technical topic; in others, they roam more freely and include personal comments.
Share, don’t sell. Post about incidents and developments that reinforce your organization’s core principles, such
as environmental awareness or making technology available around the world. Talk about leadership, teamwork,
and cooperation. Don’t try to sell products.
Help educate readers and solve their problems. Regardless of whether you’re responding to individual
questions and complaints or helping people understand your company’s culture or goals, focus on helping people
learn and solve problems.
Sound like a person. Use an informal tone. Readers are especially pleased when high-ranking employees show
their human side, such as when the Zappos CEO posted, “Dropped my laptop on floor this morning. I usually
drop my phone, so good to know I’m moving on to bigger and better things†(Hall, 2009).
Apologize when you make a mistake. At the start of a basketball game against their rivals the Dallas Mavericks,
the Houston Rockets sent out a tweet with a gun emoji pointed at a horse. Within two hours, after receiving
heavy criticism, the Rockets apologized and removed the tweet (Meyer, 2016).
Link generously. When you want to talk about something you’ve learned online, don’t paraphrase. Rather, link
back to the original source. Use a URL shortener such as Bitly or TinyURL so that the link won’t take up too
many of your 140 characters.
Get your facts right. Like anything online, your post is permanent. Double-check your facts before you post.
Otherwise, you could embarrass yourself and erode people’s trust in your professionalism.
Edit and proofread before you post. You should be informal, but you shouldn’t be sloppy. It sends the wrong
message.
Writing Correspondence to Multicultural Readers
For more about cultural variables, see Ch. 5, p. 97.
The four types of business correspondence discussed in this chapter are used in countries around the world.
The ways they are used, however, can differ significantly from the ways they are used in the United States.
These differences fall into three categories:
Cultural practices. As discussed in Chapter 5, cultures differ in a number of ways, such as whether they
focus on individuals or groups, the distance between power ranks, and attitudes toward uncertainty.
Typically, a culture’s attitudes are reflected in its business communication. For example, in Japan, which
has a high power distance — that is, people in top positions are treated with great respect by their
subordinates — a reader might be addressed as “Most Esteemed Mr. Director.†Some cultural practices,
however, are not intuitively obvious even if you understand the culture. For example, in Japanese
business culture, it is considered rude to reply to an email by using the reply function in the email
software; it is polite to begin a new email (Sasaki, 2010).
Language use and tone. In the United States, writers tend to use contractions, the first names of their
readers, and other instances of informal language. In many other countries, this informality is potentially
offensive. Also potentially offensive is U.S. directness. A writer from the United States might write, for
example, that “14 percent of the products we received from you failed to meet the specifications.†A
Korean would more likely write, “We were pleased to note that 86 percent of the products we received
met the specifications.†The writer either would not refer to the other 14 percent (assuming that the
reader would get the point and replace the defective products quickly) or would write, “We would
appreciate replacement of the remaining products.†Many other aspects of business correspondence differ
from culture to culture, such as preferred length, specificity, and the use of seasonal references in the
correspondence.
Application choice and use. In cultures in which documents tend to be formal, letters might be preferred
to memos, or face-to-face meetings to phone calls or email. In Asia, for instance, a person is more likely
to walk down the hall to deliver a brief message in person because doing so shows more respect. In
addition, the formal characteristics of letters, memos, and emails are different in different cultures. The
French, for instance, use indented paragraphs in their letters, whereas in the United States, paragraphs are
typically left-justified. The ordering of the information in the inside address and complimentary close of
letters varies widely. In many countries, emails are structured like memos, with the “to,†“from,â€
“subject,†and “date†information added at the top, even though this information is already present in the
routing information.
Try to study business correspondence written by people from the culture you will be addressing. When
possible, have important documents reviewed by a person from that culture before you send them.
WRITER’S CHECKLIST
Letter Format
Is the first page printed on letterhead stationery? (p. 368)
Is the date included? (p. 368)
Is the inside address complete and correct? (p. 368)
Is the appropriate courtesy title used? (p. 368)
If appropriate, is an attention line included? (p. 368)
If appropriate, is a subject line included? (p. 368)
Is the salutation appropriate? (p. 368)
Is the complimentary close typed with only the first word capitalized? (p. 369)
Is the signature legible, and is the writer’s name typed beneath the signature? (p. 369)
If appropriate, is an enclosure line included? (p. 369)
If appropriate, is a copy and/or courtesy-copy line included? (p. 369)
Is the letter typed in one of the standard formats? (p. 370)
If the letter is to be sent by email, did you consider saving it as a PDF? (p. 370)
Types of Letters
Does the inquiry letter
explain why you chose the reader to receive the inquiry? (p. 371)
explain why you are requesting the information and how you will use it? (p. 371)
specify the date when you need the information? (p. 371)
list the questions clearly? (p. 371)
offer, if appropriate, the product of your research? (p. 371)
Does the response to an inquiry letter
answer the reader’s questions? (p. 372)
explain why, if any of the reader’s questions cannot be answered? (p. 372)
Does the claim letter
identify specifically the unsatisfactory product or service? (p. 373)
explain the problem(s) clearly? (p. 373)
propose an adjustment? (p. 373)
conclude courteously? (p. 373)
Does the “good news†adjustment letter
express your regret? (p. 374)
explain the adjustment you will make? (p. 374)
conclude on a positive note? (p. 374)
Does the “bad news†adjustment letter
meet the reader on neutral ground, expressing regret but not apologizing? (p. 375)
explain why the company is not at fault? (p. 375)
clearly imply that the reader’s request is denied? (p. 375)
attempt to create goodwill? (p. 375)
Memos
Does the identifying information adhere to your organization’s standards? (p. 376)
If the memo is to be sent by email, did you consider saving it as a PDF? (p. 376)
Did you include a specific subject line? (p. 377)
Did you clearly state your purpose at the start of the memo? (p. 377)
If appropriate, did you summarize your message? (p. 377)
Did you provide appropriate background for the discussion? (p. 377)
Did you organize the discussion clearly? (p. 378)
Did you include informative headings to help your readers? (p. 378)
Did you highlight items requiring action? (p. 378)
Email
Did you refrain from sending jokes or other nonbusiness messages? (p. 380)
If most of your communication is included in an attachment, did you keep your email very brief? (p. 380)
Did you use the appropriate level of formality? (p. 380)
Did you write correctly? (p. 380)
Did you avoid flaming? (p. 380)
Did you write a specific, accurate subject line? (p. 381)
Did you use uppercase and lowercase letters? (p. 381)
Did you skip lines between paragraphs? (p. 380)
Did you check with the writer before forwarding his or her message? (p. 380)
Microblogs
Did you study your organization’s policy on which microblog sites you may use and how you should use
them? (p. 382)
Did you exercise care in representing your organization on a microblog? (p. 384)
Multicultural Readers
Did you consider varying cultural practices? (p. 385)
Were you careful with language use and tone? (p. 385)
Did you take into account your readers’ preferences in application choice and use? (p. 385)
EXERCISES
1. You are the head of research for a biological research organization. Six months ago, you purchased a
$2,000 commercial refrigerator for storing research samples. Recently, you suffered a loss of more than
$600 in samples when the thermostat failed and the temperature in the refrigerator rose to more than 48
degrees over the weekend. Inventing any reasonable details, write a claim letter to the manufacturer of
the refrigerator.
2. As the recipient of the claim letter described in Exercise 1, write an adjustment letter granting the
customer’s request.
3. As the manager of a retail electronics store, you guarantee that the store will not be undersold. If a
customer finds another retailer selling the same equipment at a lower price within one month of his or her
purchase, you will refund the difference. A customer has written to you and enclosed an ad from another
store showing that it is selling a router for $26.50 less than he paid at your store. The advertised price at
the other store was a one-week sale that began five weeks after the date of his purchase. He wants a
$26.50 refund. Inventing any reasonable details, write an adjustment letter denying his request. You are
willing, however, to offer him an 8-GB USB drive worth $9.95 if he would like to come pick it up.
4. TEAM EXERCISE Form small groups for this exercise on claim and adjustment letters. Have each
member of your group study the following social-media post and the response, which function as a claim
and an adjustment. Then meet and discuss your reactions to the two posts. How effectively does the
writer of the claim present her case? How effective is the response from the company? Does its writer
succeed in showing that the company’s procedures for ensuring safety are effective? Does its writer
succeed in projecting a professional tone? In both posts, how might the context of social media be
affecting the tone? Write an email to your instructor discussing the two posts, and attach to your email a
revised version of the company’s response.
Melissa Jackson
Star-Tel, your new Corona ME smartphone is the worst I’ve ever purchased! Two days into using it, I saw the back of the
phone starting to smoke and the battery caught fire. The guy at the store said the battery must have been defective and
replaced the phone. But three days later the same thing happened and sparks started coming out of it! Clearly it is not
just the battery but something to do with the phone. It is too dangerous to keep using it, but I don’t want to keep returning
this phone and getting yet another defective product! I have lost hours of work this week because of this. I think you owe
me — and everyone who’s bought your defective phone — a refund!
Star-Tel Communications
Melissa, we’re sorry to hear you weren’t happy with your Corona ME. Problems like this are usually due to a defect in the
battery or user error, such as exposing the phone to extreme heat. All of our products go through rigorous testing and
safety checks before they’re shipped, so we really don’t see how this could be a problem with the Corona ME model. If
you purchased the phone from one of our authorized dealers, they should provide you with a replacement at no charge
or offer you store credit.
Sincerely,
The Customer Service Team
5. Louise and Paul work for the same manufacturing company. Louise, a senior engineer, is chairing a
committee to investigate ways to improve the hiring process at the company. Paul, a technical editor, also
serves on the committee. The excerpts quoted in Louise’s email are from Paul’s email to all members of
the committee in response to Louise’s request that members describe their approach to evaluating jobapplication materials. How would you revise Louise’s email to make it more effective?
To: Paul
From: Louise
Sometimes I just have to wonder what you’re thinking, Paul.
>Of course, it’s not possible to expect perfect resumes. But I
>have to screen them, and last year I had to read over 200. I’m
>not looking for perfection, but as soon as I spot an error I
>make a mental note of it and, when I hit a second and
>then a third error I can’t really concentrate on the writer’s
>credentials.
Listen, Paul, you might be a sharp editor, but the rest of us
have a different responsibility: to make the products and
move them out as soon as possible. We don’t have the
luxury of studying documents to see if we can find errors.
I suggest you concentrate on what you were hired to do,
without imposing your “standards†on the rest of us.
>From my point of view, an error can include a
>misused tradmark.
Misusing a “tradmark,†Paul? Is that Error Number 1?
6. Because students use email to communicate with other group members when they write collaboratively,
your college or university would like to create a one-page handout on how to use email responsibly.
Using a search engine, find three or four netiquette guides on the Internet that focus on email. Study
these guides and write a one-page student guide to using email to communicate with other students.
Somewhere in the guide, be sure to list the sites you studied, so that students can visit them for further
information about netiquette.
CASE 14: Setting Up and Maintaining a Professional Microblog
Account
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Part 4
Learning Important Applications
CHAPTER 14
Corresponding in Print and Online
Chapter Introduction
Understanding the Process of Writing Correspondence
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Correspondence
Selecting a Type of Correspondence
Presenting Yourself Effectively in Correspondence
USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF FORMALITY
COMMUNICATE CORRECTLY
PROJECT THE YOU ATTITUDE
AVOID CORRESPONDENCE CLICHS
COMMUNICATE HONESTLY
ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Business Correspondence
Writing Letters
Elements of a Letter
Common Types of Letters
Writing Memos
GUIDELINES: Organizing a Memo
Writing Emails
TECH TIP: Why and How To Use Email for Business Correspondence
GUIDELINES: Following Netiquette
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Following Netiquette in an Email
Message
Writing Microblogs
GUIDELINES: Representing Your Organization on a Microblog
Writing Correspondence to Multicultural Readers
WRITERS CHECKLIST
EXERCISES
CASE 17: Setting Up and Maintaining a Professional Microblog
Account
Chapter Introduction
REGARDLESS OF WHETHER you use microblogs, instant messaging, text
messaging, or more traditional applications, you will communicate in writing every
day on the job. This chapter discusses the four major formats used for producing
workplace correspondence: letters, memos, emails, and microblog posts.
Throughout this chapter, the word correspondence refers to all these forms.
Understanding the Process of Writing
Correspondence
The process of writing correspondence is essentially like that of writing any
other kind of workplace document. The Focus on Process box presents an
overview of this process, focusing on letters, memos, and emails. The more
formal the correspondence, the more time you are likely to spend on each of
these steps.
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Correspondence
When writing correspondence, pay special attention to these steps of the
writing process.
PLANNING You will need to choose the appropriate
type of correspondence for your writing
situation.
DRAFTING For letters, memos, and emails, clearly
state your purpose, use headings to
help your readers, summarize your
message, provide adequate
background, organize the discussion,
and highlight action items. For
microblogs, state your message or
question clearly.
REVISING You might need to write
correspondence quickly, but you still
need to write carefully. Review the
section of the Writers Checklist at the
end of this chapter that applies to your
document.
EDITING See Chapter 10 for advice on writing
correct and effective sentences.
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Selecting a Type of Correspondence
When you need to correspond with others in the workplace, your first task is
to decide on the appropriate type of document. Here are the main
characteristics of each major type:
Letters. Because letters still use centuries-old conventions such as the
salutation and complimentary close, they are the most formal of the four
types of correspondence and are therefore most appropriate for
communicating with people outside your organization or, in some formal
situations, with people within your organization. Letters are typically sent
through the postal service or a shipping company, though they can also be
attached to emails.
Memos. This type of correspondence is moderately formal and therefore
appropriate for people in your own organization. Memos can be
distributed via interoffice mail or through emails (as attachments).
Email. This type of correspondence is best for quick, relatively informal
communication with one or many recipients. Recipients can store and
forward email easily, as well as capture the text and reuse it in other
documents. In addition, the writer can attach other files to an email
message.
Microblog posts. Microblog posts such as Twitter tweets or Facebook
status updates can be useful to address quick questions to a group. This is
the most informal type of correspondence.
Presenting Yourself Effectively in
Correspondence
When you write business correspondence, follow these five suggestions for
presenting yourself as a professional:
Use the appropriate level of formality.
Communicate correctly.
Project the you attitude.
Avoid correspondence clichs.
Communicate honestly.
USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF FORMALITY
People are sometimes tempted to use informal writing in informal digital
applications such as email and microblogs. Dont. Everything you write on
the job is legally the property of the organization for which you work, and
messages are almost always archived digitally, even after senders and
recipients have deleted them. Your documents might be read by the company
president, or they might appear in a newspaper or in a court of law.
Therefore, use a moderately formal tone to avoid potential embarrassment.
TOO
INFORMAL
Our meeting with United went south right away when
they threw a hissy fit, saying that we blew off the
deadline for the progress report.
MODERATELY
FORMAL
In our meeting, the United representative expressed
concern that we had missed the deadline for the
progress report.
However, you dont want to sound like a dictionary.
TOO FORMAL It was indubitably the case that our team was
successful in presenting a proposal that was
characterized by quality of the highest order. My
appreciation for your industriousness is herewith
extended.
MODERATELY
FORMAL
I think we put together an excellent proposal. Thank
you very much for your hard work.
COMMUNICATE CORRECTLY
One issue closely related to formality is correctness. As discussed in Chapter
1, correct writing is free of errors in grammar, punctuation, style, usage, and
spelling. Correctness problems occur most often in email and microblogs.
Some writers mistakenly think that they do not need to worry about
correctness because these digital applications are meant for quick
communication. They are wrong. You have to plan your digital
correspondence just as you plan any other written communication, and you
should revise, edit, and proofread it. Sending correspondence that contains
language errors is unprofessional because it suggests a lack of respect for
your reader and for yourself. It also causes your reader to think that you
are careless about your job.
For more about editing, see Ch. 3, pp. 5758; for more about proofreading, see
Ch. 3, p. 58.
PROJECT THE YOU ATTITUDE
Correspondence should convey a courteous, positive tone. The key to
accomplishing this task is using the you attitude looking at the situation
from the readers point of view and adjusting the content, structure, and tone
to meet his or her needs. For example, if you are writing to a supplier who
has failed to deliver some merchandise by the agreed-on date, the you
attitude dictates that you not discuss problems you are having with other
suppliers; those problems dont concern your reader. Instead, concentrate on
explaining clearly and politely that the reader has violated your agreement
and that not having the merchandise is costing you money. Then propose
ways to expedite the shipment.
Following are two examples of thoughtless sentences, each followed by an
improved version that shows the you attitude.
ACCUSING You must have dropped the engine. The housing is badly
cracked.
BETTER The badly cracked housing suggests that the engine
must have fallen onto a hard surface from some height.
SARCASTIC Youll need two months to deliver these parts? Who do
you think you are, the post office?
BETTER Surely you would find a two-month delay for the delivery
of parts unacceptable in your business. Thats how I feel,
too.
A calm, respectful tone makes the best impression and increases the chances
that you will achieve your goal.
AVOID CORRESPONDENCE CLICHS
Over the centuries, a group of words and phrases have come to be associated
with business correspondence; one common example is as per your request.
These phrases sound stilted and insincere. Dont use them.
For more about choosing the right words and phrases, see Ch. 10, p. 228.
Table 14.1 is a list of common clichs and their plain-language
equivalents. Figure 14.1 shows two versions of the same email: one written in
clichs, the other in plain language.
TABLE 14.1 Clichs and Plain-Language Equivalents
CLICH PLAIN-LANGUAGE EQUIVALENT
attached please find attached is
enclosed please find enclosed is
pursuant to our agreement as we agreed
referring to your (Referring to
your letter of March 19, the
shipment of pianos )
As you wrote in your letter of March 19, the
(or subordinate the reference at the end
of your sentence)
wish to advise (We wish to (The phrase doesnt say anything. Just say
advise that ) what you want to say.)
the writer (The writer believes
that )
I believe
FIGURE 14.1 Sample Emails with and Without Clichs
COMMUNICATE HONESTLY
You should communicate honestly when you write any kind of document,
and business correspondence is no exception. Communicating honestly
shows respect for your reader and for yourself.
ETHICS NOTE
WRITING HONEST BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
Why is dishonesty a big problem in correspondence? Perhaps because the
topics discussed in business correspondence often relate to the writers
professionalism and the quality of his or her work. For instance, when a
salesperson working for a supplier writes to a customer explaining why a
product did not arrive on time, he is tempted to make it seem as if his
company and he personally were blameless. Similarly, when a
manager has to announce a new policy that employees will dislike, she
might be tempted to distance herself from the policy.
The professional approach is to tell the truth. If you mislead a reader in
explaining why the shipment didnt arrive on time, the reader will likely
double-check the facts, conclude that you are trying to avoid responsibility,
and end your business relationship. If you try to convince readers that you
had nothing to do with a new, unpopular policy, some of them will know you
are being misleading, and you will lose your most important credential: your
credibility.
Writing Letters
Letters are still a basic means of communication between organizations, with
millions written each day. To write effective letters, you need to understand
the elements of a letter, its format, and the types of letters commonly sent in
the business world.
ELEMENTS OF A LETTER
Most letters include a heading, inside address, salutation, body,
complimentary close, and signature. Some letters also include one or more of
the following: attention line, subject line, enclosure line, and copy line.
Figure 14.2 (on page 368) shows the elements of a letter.
FIGURE 14.2 Elements of a Letter
Letters follow one of two typical formats: modified block or full block.
Figure 14.3 illustrates these two formats. When sending a letter as an email
attachment, you can save it as a PDF file to preserve the formatting for the
recipient.
FIGURE 14.3 Typical Letter Formats
The dimensions and spacing shown for the modified block format also apply to the
full block format.
COMMON TYPES OF LETTERS
Organizations send out many different kinds of letters. This section focuses
on four types of letters written frequently in the workplace: inquiry, response
to an inquiry, claim, and adjustment.
Two other types of letters are discussed in this book: the transmittal letter in Ch.
18, p. 481, and the job-application letter in Ch. 15, p. 414.
Inquiry Letter Figure 14.4 shows an inquiry letter, in which you ask
questions.
FIGURE 14.4 Inquiry Letter
Response to an Inquiry Figure 14.5 (on page 372) shows a response to
the inquiry letter in Figure 14.4.
FIGURE 14.5 Response to an Inquiry
Claim Letter Figure 14.6 (on page 373) is an example of a claim letter that
the writer scanned and attached to an email to the reader. The writers
decision to present his message in a letter rather than an email suggests that
he wishes to convey the more formal tone associated with letters and yet
he wants the letter to arrive quickly.
FIGURE 14.6 Claim Letter
Adjustment Letter Figures 14.7 and 14.8 show good news and bad
news adjustment letters. The first is a reply to the claim letter shown in
Figure 14.6 on page 373.
FIGURE 14.7 Good News Adjustment Letter
FIGURE 14.8 Bad News Adjustment Letter
Writing Memos
Like letters, memos have a characteristic format, which consists of the
elements shown in Figure 14.9.
FIGURE 14.9 Identifying Information in a Memo
Some organizations prefer the full names of the writer and reader; others want only
the first initials and last names. Some prefer job titles; others do not. If your
organization does not object, include your job title and your readers. The memo
will then be informative for anyone who refers to it after either of you has moved on
to a new position, as well as for others in the organization who do not know you.
As with letters, you can attach memos to emails and deliver them
electronically. To preserve the memo format for the email recipient, save the
memo as a PDF before sending.
If you prefer to distribute hard copies, print the second and all subsequent
pages of a memo on plain paper rather than on letterhead. Include three items
in the upper right-hand or left-hand corner of each subsequent page: the name
of the recipient, the date of the memo, and the page number. See the header in
Figure 14.2 on page 369.
Figure 14.10, a sample memo, is a trip report, a record of a business trip
written after the employee returned to the office. Readers are less interested
in an hour-by-hour narrative of what happened than in a carefully structured
discussion of what was important. Although writer and reader appear to be
relatively equal in rank, the writer goes to the trouble of organizing the memo
to make it easy to read and refer to later.
FIGURE 14.10 Sample Memo
GUIDELINES: Organizing a Memo
When you write a memo, organize it so that it is easy to follow. Consider these
five organizational elements.
A specific subject line. Breast Cancer Walk is too general. Breast
Cancer Walk Rescheduled to May 14 is better.
A clear statement of purpose. As discussed in Chapter 5 (p. 109), the
purpose statement is built around a verb that clearly states what you want
the readers to know, believe, or do.
A brief summary. Even if a memo fits on one page, consider including a
summary. For readers who want to read the whole memo, the summary is
an advance organizer; for readers in a hurry, reading the summary
substitutes for reading the whole memo.
Informative headings. Headings make the memo easier to read by
enabling readers to skip sections they dont need and by helping them
understand what each section is about. In addition, headings make the
memo easier to write because they prompt the writer to provide the kind of
information readers need.
A prominent recommendation. Many memos end with one or more
recommendations. Sometimes these recommendations take the form of
action steps: bulleted or numbered lists of what the writer will do or what
the writer would like others to do. Here is an example:
Action Items:
I would appreciate it if you would work on the following tasks and have
your results ready for the meeting on Monday, June 9.
Henderson: recalculate the flow rate.
Smith: set up meeting with the regional EPA representative for some time during
the week of May 13.
Falvey: ask Armitra in Houston for his advice.
Writing Emails
Before you write an email in the workplace, find out your organizations
email policies. Most companies have written policies that discuss
circumstances under which you may and may not use email, principles you
should use in writing emails, and the monitoring of employee email.
TECH TIP
GUIDELINES: Following Netiquette
When you write email in the workplace, adhere to the following netiquette
guidelines. Netiquette refers to etiquette on a network.
Stick to business. Dont send jokes or other nonbusiness messages.
Use the appropriate level of formality. As discussed on page 364, avoid
informal writing.
Write correctly. As discussed on page 365, remember to revise, edit, and
proofread your emails before sending them.
Dont flame. To flame is to scorch a reader with scathing criticism, usually
in response to something that person wrote in a previous message. When
you are angry, keep your hands away from the keyboard.
Make your message easy on the eyes. Use uppercase and lowercase
letters, and skip lines between paragraphs. Use uppercase letters or
boldface (sparingly) for emphasis.
Dont forward a message to an online discussion forum without the
writers permission. Doing so is unethical and illegal; the email is the
intellectual property of the writer or (if it was written as part of the writers
work responsibilities) the writers company.
Dont send a message unless you have something to say. If you can
add something new, do so, but dont send a message just to be part of the
conversation.
Figure 14.11a shows an email that violates netiquette guidelines. The
writer is a technical professional working for a microchip manufacturer.
Figure 14.11b shows a revised version of this email message.
FIGURE 14.11 Netiquette
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
Following Netiquette in an Email Message
This message was written in response to a question emailed to several
colleagues by a technical communicator seeking advice on how to write
meeting minutes effectively. A response to an email message should adhere
to the principles of effective emails and proper netiquette. The questions
below ask you to think about these principles (explained on pp. 37881).
1. How effectively has the writer stated her purpose?
2. How effectively has the writer projected a you attitude
(explained on p. 365)?
3. How effectively has the writer made her message easy to read?
Writing Microblogs
As discussed earlier in this chapter, microblog posts are different from letters,
memos, and email in that they are often extremely brief and quite informal in
tone. However, the fact that microblog posts are fast and informal does not
mean that anything goes. When you write microblog posts, you are creating
communication that will be archived and that will reflect on you and your
organization. In addition, anything you write is subject to the same laws and
regulations that pertain to all other kinds of documents. Many of the
guidelines for following netiquette (see p. 380) apply to microblog posts as
well as email. Take care, especially, not to flame. Become familiar with your
microblogs privacy settings, and be aware of which groups of readers may
view and share your posts.
The best way to understand your responsibilities when you write a
microblog post at work is to study your organizations guidelines.
Sometimes, these guidelines are part of the organizations guidelines for all
business practices or all digital communication. Sometimes, they are treated
separately. Figure 14.12 shows one organizations microblogging guidelines.
FIGURE 14.12 Guidelines for Microblogging
GUIDELINES: Representing Your Organization on a Microblog
If you use a microblog at work to communicate with people outside your own
organization, such as vendors and customers, you want to use it in such a
way that people are encouraged to like, respect, and trust you. These ten
suggestions can help.
Decide on your audience and your purpose. Are you connecting with
clients, providing customer service, helping people understand your
companys goals and vision? You might want to have different accounts if
you have several different audiences and purposes.
Learn the technology. Know how to use hashtags, how to mention other
users in your tweets, how to reply publicly and privately, how to integrate
images and videos, and how to cross-post to your other social media
accounts should you need to.
Learn the culture of the community. Listen and learn before you post.
Most communities have a distinct culture, which influences how and when
people post, link, and reply. For instance, in some communities, people
stick close to the technical topic; in others, they roam more freely and
include personal comments.
Share, dont sell. Post about incidents and developments that reinforce
your organizations core principles, such as environmental awareness or
making technology available around the world. Talk about leadership,
teamwork, and cooperation. Dont try to sell products.
Help educate readers and solve their problems. Regardless of whether
youre responding to individual questions and complaints or helping people
understand your companys culture or goals, focus on helping people learn
and solve problems.
Sound like a person. Use an informal tone. Readers are especially pleased
when high-ranking employees show their human side, such as when the
Zappos CEO posted, Dropped my laptop on floor this morning. I usually
drop my phone, so good to know Im moving on to bigger and better
things (Hall, 2009).
Apologize when you make a mistake. At the start of a basketball game
against their rivals the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets sent out a
tweet with a gun emoji pointed at a horse. Within two hours, after receiving
heavy criticism, the Rockets apologized and removed the tweet (Meyer,
2016).
Link generously. When you want to talk about something youve learned
online, dont paraphrase. Rather, link back to the original source. Use a
URL shortener such as Bitly or TinyURL so that the link wont take up too
many of your 140 characters.
Get your facts right. Like anything online, your post is permanent. Doublecheck your facts before you post. Otherwise, you could embarrass yourself
and erode peoples trust in your professionalism.
Edit and proofread before you post. You should be informal, but you
shouldnt be sloppy. It sends the wrong message.
Writing Correspondence to Multicultural Readers
For more about cultural variables, see Ch. 5, p. 97.
The four types of business correspondence discussed in this chapter are used
in countries around the world. The ways they are used, however, can differ
significantly from the ways they are used in the United States. These
differences fall into three categories:
Cultural practices. As discussed in Chapter 5, cultures differ in a number
of ways, such as whether they focus on individuals or groups, the distance
between power ranks, and attitudes toward uncertainty. Typically, a
cultures attitudes are reflected in its business communication. For
example, in Japan, which has a high power distance that is, people in
top positions are treated with great respect by their subordinates a
reader might be addressed as Most Esteemed Mr. Director. Some
cultural practices, however, are not intuitively obvious even if you
understand the culture. For example, in Japanese business culture, it is
considered rude to reply to an email by using the reply function in the
email software; it is polite to begin a new email (Sasaki, 2010).
Language use and tone. In the United States, writers tend to use
contractions, the first names of their readers, and other instances of
informal language. In many other countries, this informality is potentially
offensive. Also potentially offensive is U.S. directness. A writer from the
United States might write, for example, that 14 percent of the products
we received from you failed to meet the specifications. A Korean would
more likely write, We were pleased to note that 86 percent of the
products we received met the specifications. The writer either would not
refer to the other 14 percent (assuming that the reader would get the point
and replace the defective products quickly) or would write, We would
appreciate replacement of the remaining products. Many other aspects of
business correspondence differ from culture to culture, such as preferred
length, specificity, and the use of seasonal references in the
correspondence.
Application choice and use. In cultures in which documents tend to be
formal, letters might be preferred to memos, or face-to-face meetings to
phone calls or email. In Asia, for instance, a person is more likely to walk
down the hall to deliver a brief message in person because doing so
shows more respect. In addition, the formal characteristics of letters,
memos, and emails are different in different cultures. The French, for
instance, use indented paragraphs in their letters, whereas in the United
States, paragraphs are typically left-justified. The ordering of the
information in the inside address and complimentary close of letters
varies widely. In many countries, emails are structured like memos, with
the to, from, subject, and date information added at the top, even
though this information is already present in the routing information.
Try to study business correspondence written by people from the culture
you will be addressing. When possible, have important documents reviewed
by a person from that culture before you send them.
WRITERS CHECKLIST
Letter Format
Is the first page printed on letterhead stationery? (p. 368)
Is the date included? (p. 368)
Is the inside address complete and correct? (p. 368)
Is the appropriate courtesy title used? (p. 368)
If appropriate, is an attention line included? (p. 368)
If appropriate, is a subject line included? (p. 368)
Is the salutation appropriate? (p. 368)
Is the complimentary close typed with only the first word capitalized? (p.
369)
Is the signature legible, and is the writers name typed beneath the
signature? (p. 369)
If appropriate, is an enclosure line included? (p. 369)
If appropriate, is a copy and/or courtesy-copy line included? (p. 369)
Is the letter typed in one of the standard formats? (p. 370)
If the letter is to be sent by email, did you consider saving it as a PDF? (p.
370)
Types of Letters
Does the inquiry letter
explain why you chose the reader to receive the inquiry? (p. 371)
explain why you are requesting the information and how you will use it? (p.
371)
specify the date when you need the information? (p. 371)
list the questions clearly? (p. 371)
offer, if appropriate, the product of your research? (p. 371)
Does the response to an inquiry letter
answer the readers questions? (p. 372)
explain why, if any of the readers questions cannot be answered? (p. 372)
Does the claim letter
identify specifically the unsatisfactory product or service? (p. 373)
explain the problem(s) clearly? (p. 373)
propose an adjustment? (p. 373)
conclude courteously? (p. 373)
Does the good news adjustment letter
express your regret? (p. 374)
explain the adjustment you will make? (p. 374)
conclude on a positive note? (p. 374)
Does the bad news adjustment letter
meet the reader on neutral ground, expressing regret but not apologizing?
(p. 375)
explain why the company is not at fault? (p. 375)
clearly imply that the readers request is denied? (p. 375)
attempt to create goodwill? (p. 375)
Memos
Does the identifying information adhere to your organizations standards?
(p. 376)
If the memo is to be sent by email, did you consider saving it as a PDF? (p.
376)
Did you include a specific subject line? (p. 377)
Did you clearly state your purpose at the start of the memo? (p. 377)
If appropriate, did you summarize your message? (p. 377)
Did you provide appropriate background for the discussion? (p. 377)
Did you organize the discussion clearly? (p. 378)
Did you include informative headings to help your readers? (p. 378)
Did you highlight items requiring action? (p. 378)
Email
Did you refrain from sending jokes or other nonbusiness messages? (p.
380)
If most of your communication is included in an attachment, did you keep
your email very brief? (p. 380)
Did you use the appropriate level of formality? (p. 380)
Did you write correctly? (p. 380)
Did you avoid flaming? (p. 380)
Did you write a specific, accurate subject line? (p. 381)
Did you use uppercase and lowercase letters? (p. 381)
Did you skip lines between paragraphs? (p. 380)
Did you check with the writer before forwarding his or her message? (p.
380)
Microblogs
Did you study your organizations policy on which microblog sites you may
use and how you should use them? (p. 382)
Did you exercise care in representing your organization on a microblog?
(p. 384)
Multicultural Readers
Did you consider varying cultural practices? (p. 385)
Were you careful with language use and tone? (p. 385)
Did you take into account your readers preferences in application choice
and use? (p. 385)
EXERCISES
1. You are the head of research for a biological research organization. Six
months ago, you purchased a $2,000 commercial refrigerator for storing
research samples. Recently, you suffered a loss of more than $600 in
samples when the thermostat failed and the temperature in the refrigerator
rose to more than 48 degrees over the weekend. Inventing any reasonable
details, write a claim letter to the manufacturer of the refrigerator.
2. As the recipient of the claim letter described in Exercise 1, write an
adjustment letter granting the customers request.
3. As the manager of a retail electronics store, you guarantee that the store
will not be undersold. If a customer finds another retailer selling the same
equipment at a lower price within one month of his or her purchase, you will
refund the difference. A customer has written to you and enclosed an ad
from another store showing that it is selling a router for $26.50 less than he
paid at your store. The advertised price at the other store was a one-week
sale that began five weeks after the date of his purchase. He wants a
$26.50 refund. Inventing any reasonable details, write an adjustment letter
denying his request. You are willing, however, to offer him an 8-GB USB
drive worth $9.95 if he would like to come pick it up.
4. TEAM EXERCISE Form small groups for this exercise on claim and
adjustment letters. Have each member of your group study the following
social-media post and the response, which function as a claim and an
adjustment. Then meet and discuss your reactions to the two posts. How
effectively does the writer of the claim present her case? How effective is
the response from the company? Does its writer succeed in showing that
the companys procedures for ensuring safety are effective? Does its writer
succeed in projecting a professional tone? In both posts, how might the
context of social media be affecting the tone? Write an email to your
instructor discussing the two posts, and attach to your email a revised
version of the companys response.
Melissa Jackson
Star-Tel, your new Corona ME smartphone is the worst Ive ever purchased! Two
days into using it, I saw the back of the phone starting to smoke and the battery
caught fire. The guy at the store said the battery must have been defective and
replaced the phone. But three days later the same thing happened and sparks
started coming out of it! Clearly it is not just the battery but something to do with the
phone. It is too dangerous to keep using it, but I dont want to keep returning this
phone and getting yet another defective product! I have lost hours of work this
week because of this. I think you owe me and everyone whos bought your
defective phone a refund!
Star-Tel Communications
Melissa, were sorry to hear you werent happy with your Corona ME. Problems like
this are usually due to a defect in the battery or user error, such as exposing the
phone to extreme heat. All of our products go through rigorous testing and safety
checks before theyre shipped, so we really dont see how this could be a problem
with the Corona ME model. If you purchased the phone from one of our authorized
dealers, they should provide you with a replacement at no charge or offer you store
credit.
Sincerely,
The Customer Service Team
5. Louise and Paul work for the same manufacturing company. Louise, a
senior engineer, is chairing a committee to investigate ways to improve the
hiring process at the company. Paul, a technical editor, also serves on the
committee. The excerpts quoted in Louises email are from Pauls email to
all members of the committee in response to Louises request that
members describe their approach to evaluating job-application materials.
How would you revise Louises email to make it more effective?
To: Paul
From: Louise
Sometimes I just have to wonder what youre thinking, Paul.
>Of course, its not possible to expect perfect resumes. But I
>have to screen them, and last year I had to read over 200. Im
>not looking for perfection, but as soon as I spot an error I
>make a mental note of it and, when I hit a second and
>then a third error I cant really concentrate on the writers
>credentials.
Listen, Paul, you might be a sharp editor, but the rest of us
have a different responsibility: to make the products and
move them out as soon as possible. We dont have the
luxury of studying documents to see if we can find errors.
I suggest you concentrate on what you were hired to do,
without imposing your standards on the rest of us.
>From my point of view, an error can include a
>misused tradmark.
Misusing a tradmark, Paul? Is that Error Number 1?
6. Because students use email to communicate with other group members
when they write collaboratively, your college or university would like to
create a one-page handout on how to use email responsibly. Using a
search engine, find three or four netiquette guides on the Internet that
focus on email. Study these guides and write a one-page student guide to
using email to communicate with other students. Somewhere in the guide,
be sure to list the sites you studied, so that students can visit them for
further information about netiquette.
CASE 14: Setting Up and Maintaining a
Professional Microblog Account
As the editor-in-chief of your college newspaper, you have recently been
granted permission to create a Twitter account. The newspapers faculty
advisor has requested that, before you set up the account, you develop a
statement of audience and purpose based on your schools own social-media
policy statement and statements from other schools, newspapers, and
organizations. To begin putting together a bibliography to guide your research
and craft your statement, go to LaunchPad.
CHAPTER 15
Applying for a Job
Chapter Introduction
Understanding the Job-Application Process
Establishing Your Professional Brand
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Job-Application Materials
UNDERSTANDING WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT
GUIDELINES: Building the Foundation of Your Professional Brand
CRAFTING YOUR PROFESSIONAL BRAND
GUIDELINES: Presenting Your Professional Brand
TUTORIAL: Building Your Professional Brand with LinkedIn, Twitter, and More
ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Job-Application Materials
Finding the Right Position
PLANNING THE JOB SEARCH
UNDERSTANDING JOB-SEARCH STRATEGIES
GUIDELINES: Using LinkedIns Employment Features
Writing Rsums
ELEMENTS OF THE CHRONOLOGICAL RSUM
GUIDELINES: Elaborating on Your Education
ELEMENTS OF THE SKILLS RSUM
PREPARING A PLAIN-TEXT RSUM
GUIDELINES: Formatting a Plain-Text Rsum
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Preparing a Rsum
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Blane C. Holdens Online Portfolio
Writing Job-Application Letters
Preparing for a Job Interview
GUIDELINES: Preparing for a Job Interview
Following Up After an Interview
WRITERS CHECKLIST
EXERCISES
CASE 15: Identifying the Best-of-the-Best Job-Search Sites
Chapter Introduction
GETTING HIRED has always involved writing. Whether you apply online through a
companys website, reply to a post on LinkedIn, or send a formal letter and rsum
through the mail, you will use words to make the case that the organization should
offer you a position.
You will probably make that case quite a few times. According to the U.S.
Department of Labor (2015), the typical American worker holds more than 11
different jobs while he or she is between the ages of 18 and 48. Obviously, most of
those jobs dont last long. Even among American workers who begin a new job
between the ages of 40 and 48, a third will no longer be with that company at the
end of one year, and two-thirds will no longer be there in five years.
For most of you, looking for professional work is the first nonacademic test of
your technical-communication skills. And its an important test. Kyle Wiens, CEO of
two tech companies, iFixit and Dozuki, requires all new employees to pass a
writing test. His reason? If it takes someone more than 20 years to notice how to
properly use its, then thats not a learning curve Im comfortable with (Bowers,
2013).
Understanding the Job-Application Process
Preparing job-application materials requires weeks and months, not days, and
there is no way to cut corners. The Focus on Process box (on page 391)
presents an overview of the process.
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Job-Application Materials
In writing job-application materials, pay special attention to these steps in the
writing process.
PLANNING Learn as much as you can about the
organizations to which you will apply.
See Chapter 6 for help with research.
DRAFTING Decide whether to write a chronological
or skills rsum, and use traditional
sections and headings. In your jobapplication letter, elaborate on key
points from your rsum.
REVISING You want these documents to be
perfect. Ask several people to review
them for you, and go over the section of
the Writers Checklist at the end of this
chapter that applies to your document.
EDITING See Chapter 10 for advice on writing
correct and effective sentences.
PROOFREADING See Appendix, Part C, for proofreading
tips.
Establishing Your Professional Brand
One way to look at the process of looking for work is to keep in mind that,
except for those times when you dont want to be in the workforce, you are
always looking for work. That doesnt literally mean youre always applying
for jobs; it means youre always open to the possibility that a job that
interests you will come along. In other words, you are a passive applicant.
When employers have an opening, they seek out the best candidates
regardless of whether those candidates are looking actively or passively
(Cohen, 2013).
Being a successful job seeker requires a particular frame of mind. Think of
yourself not as a student at this college or an employee of that company but
rather as a professional with a brand to establish and maintain. For instance,
say your name is Amber Cunningham, and you work as a human-resources
officer for Apple. Dont think of yourself as an Apple human-resources
officer. Instead, think of yourself as Amber Cunningham, a human-resources
specialist who has worked for several companies (including Apple) and who
has a number of marketable skills and a substantial record of
accomplishments. Your professional brand (sometimes referred to as a
personal brand) is Amber Cunningham. Your challenge is to attract
employers successfully even if youre happy with your current position at
Apple and are not looking to change jobs.
To present your professional brand successfully, you need to understand
what employers are looking for, and then you need to craft the materials that
will present that brand to the world.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT
There is really no mystery about what employers want in an employee.
Across all fields, employers want a person who is honest, hard-working,
technically competent, skilled at solving problems, able to work effectively
alone and in teams, willing to share information with others, and eager to
keep learning.
You need to find evidence that you can use to display these qualities.
Begin by thinking about everything you have done throughout your college
career (courses, projects, service-learning experiences, organizations,
leadership roles) and your professional career (job responsibilities,
supervision of others, accomplishments, awards). And dont forget your
volunteer activities; through these activities, many people acquire what are
called transferable skills skills that are useful or even necessary in
seemingly unrelated jobs. For instance, volunteering for Habitat for
Humanity says something important not only about your character but also
about your ability to work effectively on a team and to solve problems. Even
if you will never swing a hammer on the job, you will want to refer to this
experience. Make a list a long list of your experiences, characteristics,
skills, and accomplishments that will furnish the kinds of evidence that you
can use in establishing your professional brand.
GUIDELINES: Building the Foundation of Your Professional
Brand
Follow these five guidelines in developing your professional brand.
Research what others have done. What kinds of information do they present
about themselves online? On which social-media sites are they active?
What kinds of comments and questions do they post? How do they reply to
what others have posted?
Tell the truth. Statistics about how many people lie and exaggerate in
describing themselves in the job search vary, but it is probably between a
third and a half. Companies search online themselves or hire investigators
to verify the information you provide about yourself, to see if you are
honest.
Communicate professionally. Show that you can write clearly and correctly,
and remember that it is inappropriate (and in some cases illegal) to divulge
trade secrets or personal information about colleagues.
Describe your job skills. Employers want to see that you have the technical
skills that the job requires. They look for degrees, certifications, speeches
and publications, and descriptions of what you do in your present position
and have done in previous positions.
Focus on problem-solving and accomplishments. The most compelling
evidence that you would be a good hire is a solid record of identifying
problems and devising solutions that met customers needs, reduced
costs, increased revenues, improved safety, and reduced environmental
impact. Numbers tell the story: try to present your accomplishments as
quantifiable data.
CRAFTING YOUR PROFESSIONAL BRAND
With your long list of characteristics, experiences, skills, and
accomplishments in hand, its time to start creating the materials primarily
online materials that will display your professional brand.
GUIDELINES: Presenting Your Professional Brand
The following six guidelines can help you display your professional brand.
Create a strong online presence. The best online presence is your own
website, which functions as your online headquarters. All your other online
activities will link back to this one site, the only site on the Internet that is
all about you. Register a site and try to name it yourname.com (you will be
required to pay a small fee to secure the domain name). If you arent
experienced designing and creating sites, try a drag-and-drop site builder
like Weebly or Squarespace, or use a template from a free blogging site
such as WordPress. Upload to your site everything you want potential
employers to see: contact information, a professional history, work
samples, documents, and links to your accounts on social-media sites. If
you dont have a website, take advantage of all the features on LinkedIn.
Participate on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the major social-media site used by
employers to find employees. Set up a LinkedIn account and create a
profile that includes the keywords that will attract potential employers.
Rather than calling yourself a programmer at ADP, which describes your
current situation, call yourself an experienced programmer in various
programming languages (Java, C, C++, and PHP) and scripting languages
(JavaScript, Perl, WSH, and UNIX shells) who understands interactive web
pages and web-based applications, including JavaServer Pages (JSP),
Java servlets, Active Server Pages (ASP), and ActiveX controls. Including
keywords makes it easier for potential employers to find you when they
search for employees. In addition, remember to list specific skills in the
Skills and Abilities section of your profile. Potential employers searching
for specific skills can then locate you more easily, and colleagues who
know your work can endorse you for various skills. And dont merely set up
an account participate actively on LinkedIn; when you read a good
article or see a useful video, link to it so others can find it. Participate in
forum discussions. Make connections and endorse people who you know
have good qualifications.
Participate on Facebook. You probably already have a Facebook account and
use Facebooks Timeline feature. Within your account, you also have the
option of creating separate Pages for specific interests. Create a public
Facebook Page and use it only for professional activities. Share
information that will be interesting and useful to other professionals.
Participate on Twitter. Follow influential people in your industry on Twitter to
see the kinds of activities, conferences, and publications that interest
them. Comment on and retweet useful tweets, link to the best items you
see in the media, and reply when others send you messages.
Create a business card. Having a business card if youre a student might
seem odd, but a card is the best way to direct people to your website when
you meet them in person. Your card should have your contact information,
a few phrases highlighting your skills, and the URL of your website. Some
people add a QR code (a Quick Response code, the square barcode that
smartphones can read) to allow others to link to their websites instantly.
(Search for QR code generator to find free sites that will help you
generate a QR code.)
Practice an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a brief oral summary of your
credentials. At less than 20 seconds long, its brief enough that you can
say it if you find yourself in an elevator with a potential employer. After the
pitch, you hand the person your business card, which contains all the
information he or she needs to get to your website, which links to
everything else you want that person to see about you.
To watch a tutorial on crafting your professional brand, see the additional
resources in LaunchPad.
In making job offers, employers often rely on information they learn about
potential new employees on the Internet. According to a 2015 study
commissioned by CareerBuilder, 52 percent of companies research job
applicants on social media (Tarpey, 2015). The good news: 32 percent of
those companies were motivated to seek out an applicant because of the
positive information they found online, including the following:
background information that supported job qualifications
personality that fit with company culture
professional-looking site
great communication skills
creativity
The bad news: 48 percent found information that made them reject an
applicant. The employers who rejected applicants most often cited the
following five problems:
provocative or inappropriate photos
suggestion of drug or alcohol use
negative comments about a former employer or co-worker
poor communication skills
discriminatory comments about race, gender, or religion
Search online for your own name. Look at what potential employers will
see and ask yourself whether your online personal brand is what you want to
display. If it isnt, start to change it.
ETHICS NOTE
WRITING HONEST JOB-APPLICATION MATERIALS
Many rsums contain lies or exaggerations. Job applicants say they
attended colleges they didnt and were awarded degrees they werent, give
themselves inflated job titles, say they were laid off when they were really
fired for poor performance, and inflate their accomplishments. A
CareerBuilder survey found that 38 percent of employees have embellished
their job responsibilities at some point, and 18 percent have lied about their
skills (Lorenz, 2012). Economist Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics,
concludes that more than 50 percent of job applicants lie on their rsums
(Isaacs, 2012).
Companies take this problem seriously. They hire agencies that verify an
applicants education and employment history and check for a criminal
record. They do their own research online. They phone people whose names
the candidate has provided. If they find any discrepancies, they do not offer
the candidate a position. If the person is already working for the company
when discrepancies arise, they fire the employee.
Finding the Right Position
Once you have constructed your personal brand online a process that can
take weeks or months you can embark on finding the job that is right for
you.
PLANNING THE JOB SEARCH
Planning requires thinking about the type of work you want, learning about
employers, and preparing the materials you will need.
Do a self-inventory. Before you can start thinking about where you want
to work, you need to answer some questions about yourself:
What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are your skills
primarily technical? Do you work best with others or on your
own?
What subjects do you like? Think about what you have liked or
disliked about your jobs and college courses.
What kind of organization would you like to work for? For-profit or
nonprofit? Government or private industry? Small or large?
Startup or established?
What are your geographical preferences? If you are free to
relocate, where would you like to live? How do you feel about
commuting?
Learn about potential employers. Once youve identified a company of
interest maybe because you have seen an ad for a position, know
someone who works there, or have always thought about working there
start learning about the company by studying its website. But dont
stop there. Conduct informational interviews with people who have
worked there or who know people who have; ask your professors if they
can help you identify people to interview. Search the companys name;
the results will point you to articles in newspapers and magazines, as well
as to blogs, discussion forums, and podcasts. Search for the company on
LinkedIn and Glassdoor. Many companies use sites like these as hiring
portals. On Glassdoor, you can browse company ratings, salaries, and
interviewing strategies as well as job opportunities. Figure 15.1 (on page
396) shows a portion of the LinkedIn portal for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Learn about the organization through other
means as well:
Attend job fairs. Your college and your community probably hold
job fairs, where employers provide information about their
organizations. Sometimes, a single organization will hold a job
fair to find qualified candidates for a wide variety of jobs.
Find out about trends in your field. Read the Occupational Outlook
Handbook, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, for
information about your field and related fields. Read industryrelated publications to find out about highly (and poorly) regarded
companies, job openings, and the latest business news in your
field. Talk with professors and with the staff at your jobplacement office.
FIGURE 15.1 One Agencys Portal on LinkedIn
Many companies and other organizations use LinkedIn as a hiring portal. A typical
portal includes descriptions and videos about the organization, lists of all open
positions (and links to the organization website, where you can apply online), and
profiles of employees. Because organizations want to attract the best candidates,
they put real effort into presenting the information you will need to decide whether
to apply.
Prepare a rsum and (perhaps) a job-application letter (a cover letter).
You will need a rsum, a one- or two-page document that describes your
most important credentials. In most cases, you will upload a rsum to a
job board such as Monster or to a companys website; in some cases, you
enter the information on a companys web-based form. Some companies
also request a job-application letter. Start planning early by obtaining
materials from the career-placement office at your college. Talk with
friends who have gone through the process successfully; study their
application materials. Read books and visit websites about different
aspects of the job search.
Put your portfolio items online. A portfolio is a collection of your best
work, including your rsum, letters of recommendation, transcripts and
professional certifications, and reports, papers, websites, slides of oral
presentations, and other types of documents you have written or created
as a student or an employee. You should put your portfolio on your
website and other online locations, such as your LinkedIn account. The
more items you have online, the more likely it is your name will appear
when a potential employer searches for applicants.
For more about interviewing, see Ch. 6, p. 136.
If you wish to apply for a position in another country, keep in mind that
the conventions of the process vary sometimes quite a bit. You will need
to adapt your rsum and letter to the expectations of employers in the
country in which you would like to work. For instance, rsums in the United
States do not include information such as the writers height, weight, date of
birth, and marital status; federal legislation prohibits organizations from
asking for this information. In some other countries, however, personal
information is expected on a rsum. Consult a book or online resource that
offers specific guidance on the region where you wish to apply.
UNDERSTANDING JOB-SEARCH STRATEGIES
Once you have done your planning, you can start to look for a position. There
are four major ways to find a job.
Through an organizations website. Most organizations list their job
offerings in a careers section on their websites and explain how to apply.
If you are interested in a particular organization, start with its own site.
Through a job board on the Internet. Job boards are sites sponsored by
federal agencies, Internet service providers, and private organizations.
Some sites merely list positions; you respond to such listings by email.
Other sites let you upload your rsum electronically, so that employers
can get in touch with you. Some job boards offer resources on how to
prepare job-application materials; others do not. Among the biggest job
boards are the following:
AfterCollege
Beyond
CareerBuilder
CareerOneStop (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor)
Glassdoor
Indeed.com (a metasearch engine for job seekers)
Monster
One caution about using job boards: once you upload your rsum to
an Internet site, you probably have lost control of it. Here are four
questions to consider before you post to a job board:
Who has access to your rsum? You might want to remove your
home address and phone number from it if anyone can view it.
How will you know if an employer requests your rsum? Will
you be notified by the job board?
Can your current employer see your rsum? If your employer
discovers that you are looking for a new job, your current position
could be in jeopardy.
Can you update your rsum at no cost? Some job boards charge
you each time you update your rsum.
Through your network. A relative or an acquaintance can exert influence
to help you get a job, or at least point out a new position. Other good
contacts include past employers and professors. Also consider becoming
active in the student chapter of a professional organization in your field,
through which you can meet professionals in your local area. Many
people use Twitter, Facebook, and in particular LinkedIn to connect
with their contacts, as well as to try to identify hiring officers and other
professionals who can help them apply. Figure 15.2 shows an excerpt
from one professionals LinkedIn profile.
Through a college or university placement office or professional
placement bureau. College and university placement offices bring
companies and students together. Student rsums are made available to
representatives of business, government, and industry, who arrange oncampus interviews. Students who do well in the campus interviews are
then invited by the representatives to visit the organization for a tour and
another interview. A professional placement bureau offers essentially the
same service but charges a fee (payable by either the employer or the
person who is hired for a job). Placement bureaus cater primarily to more
advanced professionals who are changing jobs.
FIGURE 15.2 Excerpts from a Professionals LinkedIn Profile
GUIDELINES: Using LinkedIns Employment Features
In 2015, 84 percent of employers used social media to recruit. Among those
employers, 96 percent said they used LinkedIn (Society for Human Resource
Management, 2016). The following five guidelines can help you take
advantage of the employment features on the worlds most influential
networking site for professionals.
Use the profile section fully. The profile section includes information from
your rsum, but unlike a rsum, which needs to be concise and contains
only words, the profile section can include any kind of digital file, such as
presentation slides or videos. Describe your education and professional
jobs in detail; remember that the keywords in your descriptions will enable
potential employers to find you as they search for employees. If you add
skills to your profile, others have an opportunity to endorse those skills,
adding credibility to your profile.
Include a picture. A picture increases by sevenfold the chances that a reader
will read your profile (Halzack, 2013).
Post updates. Post information about interesting articles you have read,
conferences you are attending, and other professional activities. Be
generous in praising co-workers and others you follow on the Internet.
Mention your volunteer activities. Nicole Williams, a career expert at
LinkedIn, writes that posting an update once a week makes you 10 times
more likely to have your profile viewed by a hiring manager (Halzack,
2013).
Write unique invitation requests. You can ask one of your connections to
introduce you to someone who is not one of your connections. In doing so,
explain why you want to be introduced (I plan to relocate to Bills city later
this year and want to describe the services I offer), give your connection
the opportunity to say no gracefully (Would you be willing to help me
make this introduction? If not, I understand), and thank your connection (I
really appreciate your taking the time to consider my request).
Write unique invitations to connect. When you want to connect with another
LinkedIn member, especially one whom you do not know well in person,
avoid the template invitation, Id like to add you to my professional
network. Explain how you know the other person: As a fellow Aggie
whos admired your companys strategy for some time, Id like to connect.
Writing Rsums
Although you will present your credentials on LinkedIn and other sites, you
will also need to create a rsum, which you will upload to a job board or a
companys website, email to the company, or paste into a web-based form.
Many of the job boards listed on p. 397 include samples of rsums.
Many students wonder whether to write their rsums themselves or use a
rsum-preparation agency. It is best to write your own rsum, for three
reasons:
You know yourself better than anyone else does. No matter how
professional the work of a rsum-preparation agency is, you can do a
better job communicating important information about yourself.
Employment officers know the style of the local agencies. Readers who
recognize that you did not write your own rsum might wonder whether
you are hiding any deficiencies.
If you write your own rsum, you will be more likely to adapt it to
different situations. You are unlikely to return to a rsum-preparation
agency and pay an additional fee to make a minor revision.
Because most companies use rsum-application software to scan rsums
into databases and search for keywords, a good rsum includes the right
keywords. Only after a rsum has made it through that initial electronic pass
will it be read by a person. Rsum consultant Ramsey Penegar puts it this
way: If your rsum doesnt have the keywords that match their job
requirements, your rsum may hit the no pile early in the process
(Auerbach, 2012).
The best way to be sure you have the appropriate keywords in your
rsum is to study the job description in the actual job posting you want to
respond to. Then find 10 other ads for similar positions and identify the terms
that come up frequently. Think in terms of job titles, names of products,
companies, technologies, and professional organizations. For instance, if the
job is to develop web pages, you will likely see many references to web
page, Internet, XHTML, HTML5, Java, W3C, and CSS. Also
include keywords that refer to your communication skills, such as public
speaking, oral communication, and communication skills.
But dont just list the keywords. Instead, integrate them into sentences
about your skills and accomplishments. For instance, a computer-science
student might write, Wrote applications for migrating data between
systems/databases using C#, XML, and Excel Macros. A chemical engineer
might write, Worked with polymers, mixing and de-gassing
polydimethylsiloxane.
How long should a rsum be? It should be long enough to include all
pertinent information but not so long that it bores or irritates the reader.
Although some hiring consultants have guidelines (such as that a students
rsum should be no longer than one page, or that applicants who are vice
presidents at companies can write two-page rsums), the consensus is that
length is unimportant. If an applicant has more experience, the rsum will be
longer; if an applicant has less experience, it will be shorter. If all the
information in the rsum helps make the case that the applicant is an
excellent fit for the position, its the right length.
The information that goes into a rsum is commonly ordered either
chronologically or by skills. In a chronological rsum, you use time as the
organizing pattern for each section, including education and experience, and
discuss your responsibilities for each job you have held. In a skills rsum
(sometimes called a functional rsum), you merely list your previous jobs
but include a skills section in which you describe your talents, skills, and
achievements.
A chronological rsum focuses on the record of employment, giving an
applicant the opportunity to describe the duties and accomplishments related
to each job. The skills rsum highlights the skills (such as supervising
others, managing a large department, reducing production costs) that the
candidate demonstrated at several different companies. The skills rsum is a
popular choice for applicants who have a gap in their employment history,
who are re-entering the workforce, or who have changed jobs frequently.
In both types of rsum, you use reverse chronology; that is, you present
the most recent jobs and degrees first, to emphasize them.
ELEMENTS OF THE CHRONOLOGICAL RSUM
Most chronological rsums have five basic elements: identifying
information, summary of qualifications, education, employment history, and
interests and activities. Sometimes writers include a sixth section: references.
In filling in these basic sections, remember that you want to include the
keywords that will attract employers. For a sample chronological rsum, see
Figure 15.3.
FIGURE 15.3 Chronological Rsum of a Traditional Student
Identifying Information If you are submitting your rsum directly to a
company, include your full name, address, phone number, and email address.
Use your complete address, including the zip code. If your address during the
academic year differs from your home address, list both and identify them
clearly. An employer might call during an academic holiday to arrange an
interview.
However, if you are posting your rsum to an Internet job board, where it
can be seen by anyone, you will be more vulnerable to scammers, spammers,
and identity thieves. Dont include a mailing address or phone number, and
use an email address that does not identify you.
Summary Statement After the identifying information, add a summary
statement, a brief paragraph that highlights three or four important skills or
accomplishments. For example:
Summary
Six years experience creating testing documentation to qualify production
programs that run on Automated Test and Handling Equipment. Four years
experience running QA tests on software, hardware, and semiconductor
products. Bilingual English and Italian. Secret security clearance.
Education If you are a student or a recent graduate, place the education
section next. If you have substantial professional experience, place the
employment-history section before the education section.
Include at least the following information in the education section:
Your degree. After the degree abbreviation (such as BS, BA, AA, or MS),
list your academic major (and, if you have one, your minor) for
example, BS in Materials Engineering, minor in General Business.
The institution. Identify the institution by its full name: Louisiana State
University, not LSU.
The location of the institution. Include the city and state.
The date of graduation. If your degree has not yet been granted, add
Anticipated date of graduation or a similar phrase.
Information about other schools you attended. List any other institutions
you attended beyond high school, even those from which you did not earn
a degree. The description for other institutions should include the same
information as in the main listing. Arrange entries in reverse
chronological order: that is, list first the school you attended most
recently.
GUIDELINES: Elaborating on Your Education
The following four guidelines can help you develop the education section of
your rsum.
List your grade-point average. If your average is significantly above the
median for the graduating class, list it. Or list your average in your major
courses, or all your courses in the last two years. Calculate it however you
wish, but be honest and clear.
Compile a list of courses. Include courses that will interest an employer, such
as advanced courses in your major or courses in technical communication,
public speaking, or organizational communication. For example, a list of
business courses on an engineers rsum might show special knowledge
and skills. But dont bother listing required courses; everyone else in your
major took the same courses. Include the substantive titles of listed
courses. Employers wont know what Chemistry 450 is; call it by its
official title: Chemistry 450. Organic Chemistry.
Describe a special accomplishment. If you completed a special senior design
or research project, present the title and objective of the project, any
special or advanced techniques or equipment you used, and, if you know
them, the major results: A Study of Shape Memory Alloys in Fabricating
Actuators for Underwater Biomimetic Applications a senior design
project to simulate the swimming styles and anatomy of fish. A project
description makes you seem more like a professional: someone who
designs and carries out projects.
List honors and awards you received. Scholarships, internships, and
academic awards suggest exceptional ability. If you have received a
number of such honors, or some that were not exclusively academic, you
might list them separately (in a section called Honors or Awards) rather
than in the education section. Decide where this information will make the
best impression.
The education section is the easiest part of the rsum to adapt in applying
for different positions. For example, a student majoring in electrical
engineering who is applying for a position requiring strong communication
skills can emphasize communication courses in one version of the rsum
and advanced electrical engineering courses in another version. As you
compose the education section, emphasize those aspects of your background
that meet the requirements for the particular job.
Employment History Present at least the basic information about each job
you have held: the dates of employment, the organizations name and
location, and your position or title. Then add carefully selected details.
Readers want to know what you did and accomplished. Provide at least a
two- to three-line description for each position. For particularly important or
relevant jobs, write more, focusing on one or more of the following factors:
Skills. What technical skills did you use on the job?
Equipment. What equipment did you operate or oversee? In particular,
mention computer equipment or software with which you are familiar.
Money. How much money were you responsible for? Even if you
considered your data-entry position fairly easy, the fact that the
organization grossed, say, $2 million a year shows that the position
involved real responsibility.
Documents. What important documents did you write or assist in writing,
such as brochures, reports, manuals, proposals, or websites?
Personnel. How many people did you supervise?
Clients. What kinds of clients, and how many, did you do business with in
representing your organization?
Whenever possible, emphasize accomplishments. If you reorganized the
shifts of the weekend employees you supervised, state the results:
Reorganized the weekend shift, resulting in a cost savings of more than $3,000
per year.
Wrote and produced (with Adobe InDesign) a 56-page parts catalog that is still
used by the company and that increased our phone inquiries by more than 25
percent.
When you describe positions, functions, or responsibilities, use the active
voice (supervised three workers) rather than the passive voice (three
workers were supervised by me). The active voice highlights action. Note
that writers often omit the I at the start of sentences: Prepared bids, rather
than I prepared bids. Whichever style you use, be consistent. Table 15.1
(on page 406) lists some strong verbs to use in describing your experience.
For more about using strong verbs, see Ch. 10, p. 229.
TABLE 15.1 Strong Action Verbs Used in Rsums
administered coordinated evaluated maintained provided
advised corresponded examined managed purchased
analyzed created expanded monitored recorded
assembled delivered hired obtained reported
built developed identified operated researched
collected devised implemented organized solved
completed directed improved performed supervised
conducted discovered increased prepared trained
constructed edited instituted produced wrote
Here is a sample listing of employment history:
JuneSeptember 2016: Student Dietitian
Millersville General Hospital, Millersville, TX
Gathered dietary histories and assisted in preparing menus for a 300-bed
hospital.
Received excellent on all seven items in evaluation by head dietitian.
In just a few lines, you can show that you sought and accepted responsibility
and that you acted professionally. Do not write, I accepted responsibility;
instead, present facts that lead the reader to that conclusion.
Naturally, not all jobs entail professional skills and responsibilities. Many
students find summer work as laborers, sales clerks, and so forth. If you have
not held a professional position, list the jobs you have held, even if they were
unrelated to your career plans. If the job title is self-explanatory, such as
restaurant server or service-station attendant, dont elaborate. If you can write
that you contributed to your tuition or expenses, such as by earning 50
percent of your annual expenses through a job, employers will be impressed
by your self-reliance.
If you have held a number of nonprofessional as well as several
professional positions, group the nonprofessional ones:
Other Employment: cashier (summer 2012), salesperson (part-time, 2013), clerk
(summer 2014)
This strategy prevents the nonprofessional positions from drawing the
readers attention away from the more important positions.
If you have gaps in your employment history because you were raising
children, attending school, or recovering from an accident, or for other
reasons consider using a skills rsum, which focuses more on your skills
and less on your job history. You can explain the gaps in the job-application
letter (if you write one) or in an interview. For instance, you could say, I
spent 2015 and part of 2016 caring for my elderly parent, but during that time
I was able to do some substitute teaching and study at home to prepare for my
A+ and Network+ certification, which I earned in late 2016. Do not lie or
mislead about your dates of employment.
If you have had several positions with the same employer, you can present
one description that encompasses all the positions or present a separate
description for each position.
PRESENTING ONE DESCRIPTION
Blue Cross of Iowa, Ames, Iowa (January 2009present)
Internal Auditor II (2013present)
Member Service Representative/Claims Examiner II (20112013)
Claims Examiner II (20092011)
As Claims Examiner II, processed national account inquiries and claims in
accordance with . After promotion to Member Service Representative/Claims
Examiner II position, planned policies and procedures . As Internal Auditor II,
audit claims, enrollment, and inquiries; run dataset population and sample
reports .
This format enables you to mention your promotions and to create a clear
narrative that emphasizes your progress within the company.
PRESENTING SEPARATE DESCRIPTIONS
Blue Cross of Iowa, Ames, Iowa (January 2009present)
Internal Auditor II (2013present)
Audit claims, enrollment, and inquiries
Member Service Representative/Claims Examiner II (20112013)
Planned policies and procedures
Claims Examiner II (20092011)
Processed national account inquiries and claims in accordance
with
This format, which enables you to create a fuller description of each position,
is effective if you are trying to show that each position is distinct and you
wish to describe the more recent positions more fully.
Interests and Activities The interests-and-activities section of the rsum
is the appropriate place for several kinds of information about you:
participation in community-service organizations, such as Big
Brothers/Big Sisters or volunteer work in a hospital
hobbies related to your career (for example, electronics for an engineer)
sports, especially those that might be socially useful in your professional
career, such as tennis, racquetball, and golf
university-sanctioned activities, such as membership on a team, work on
the college newspaper, or election to a responsible position in an
academic organization or a residence hall
Do not include activities that might create a negative impression, such as
gambling or performing in a death-metal rock band. And always omit such
activities as meeting people and reading. Everybody does these things.
References Potential employers will want to learn more about you from
your professors and previous employers. These people who are willing to
speak or write on your behalf are called references.
Some applicants list their references on their rsum. The advantage of
this strategy is that the potential employer can contact the references without
having to contact the applicant. Other applicants prefer to wait until the
potential employer has asked for the list. The advantage of this strategy is
that the applicant can assemble a different set of references for each position
without having to create different rsums. Although applicants in the past
added a note stating References available upon request at the end of their
rsums, many applicants today do not do so because they think the comment
is unnecessary: employers assume that applicants can provide a list of
references and that they would love to do so.
Regardless of whether you list your references on your rsum, choose
your references carefully. Solicit references only from those who know your
work best and for whom you have done your best work for instance, a
previous employer with whom you worked closely or a professor from whom
you received As. Dont ask prominent professors who do not know your
work well; they will be unable to write informative letters.
Do not simply assume that someone is willing to serve as a reference for
you. Give the potential reference writer an opportunity to decline gracefully.
The person might not have been as impressed with your work as you think. If
you simply ask the person to serve as a reference, he or she might accept and
then write a lukewarm letter. It is better to ask, Would you be able to write
an enthusiastic letter for me? or Do you feel you know me well enough to
write a strong recommendation? If the person shows any signs of hesitation
or reluctance, withdraw the request. It may be a little embarrassing, but it is
better than receiving a weak recommendation.
In listing their references, some applicants add, for each reference, a
sentence or two describing their relationship with the person, as shown in this
sample listing for a reference.
Dr. Dale Cletis
Professor of English
Boise State University
Boise, ID 83725
208.555.2637
[email protected]
Dr. Cletis was my instructor in three literature courses, as well as my adviser.
Other Elements The sections discussed so far appear on almost everyones
rsum. Other sections are either optional or appropriate for only some job
seekers.
Computer skills. Classify your skills in categories such as hardware,
software, languages, and operating systems. List any professional
certifications you have earned.
Military experience. If you are a veteran, describe your military service as
if it were a job, citing dates, locations, positions, ranks, and tasks. List
positive job-performance evaluations.
Language ability. A working knowledge of another language can be very
valuable, particularly if the potential employer has international interests
and you could be useful in translation or foreign service. List your
proficiency, using terms such as beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
Some applicants distinguish among reading, writing, and speaking
abilities. Dont overstate your abilities; you could be embarrassed and
without a job when the potential employer hands you a business letter
written in the language you say you know, or invites a native speaker of
that language to sit in on the interview.
Willingness to relocate. If you are willing to relocate, say so. Many
organizations will find this flexibility attractive.
ELEMENTS OF THE SKILLS RSUM
A skills rsum differs from a chronological rsum in that it includes a
separate section, usually called Skills or Skills and Abilities, that
emphasizes job skills and knowledge. In a skills rsum, the employment
section becomes a brief list of information about your employment history:
companies, dates of employment, and positions. Here is an example of a
skills section.
Skills and Abilities
Management
Served as weekend manager of six employees in a retail clothing business. Also
trained three summer interns at a health-maintenance organization.
Writing and Editing
Wrote status reports, , participated in assembling
and producing an environmental impact statement using desktop publishing.
Teaching and Tutoring
Tutored in the university writing center. Taught a two-week course in electronics
for teenagers. Coach youth basketball.
In a skills section, you choose the headings, the arrangement, and the level
of detail. Your goal, of course, is to highlight the skills an employer is
seeking. See Figure 15.4 (on page 410) for an example of a skills rsum.
FIGURE 15.4 Skills Rsum of a Nontraditional Student
PREPARING A PLAIN-TEXT RSUM
Most companies use computerized applicant-tracking systems, such as
RESUMate, Bullhorn, or HRsmart, to evaluate the dozens, hundreds, or even
thousands of job applications they receive every day. The information from
these applications is stored in databases, which can be searched electronically
for keywords to generate a pool of applicants for specific positions. Once a
pool of candidates has been generated, someone at the company reads their
rsums. Prepare a plain-text rsum so that you can survive this two-stage
process.
A plain-text rsum, also called a text rsum, ASCII rsum, or electronic
rsum, is a rsum that uses a very limited character set and has little
formatting so that it can be stored in any database and read by any software.
It will not be as attractive as a fully formatted document created with a word
processor, but if you prepare it carefully it will say what you want it to say
and be easy to read.
GUIDELINES: Formatting a Plain-Text Rsum
Start with the rsum that you prepared in Word or with some other wordprocessing software. Save it as Plain text and then paste it into Notepad or
another text editor. Revise the Notepad version so that it has these five
characteristics:
It has no special characters. It uses only the letters, numbers, and basic
punctuation marks visible on your keyboard. That is, it does not use
boldface, italics, bullets, or tabs.
It has a line length of 65 or fewer characters. Use the space bar to break
longer lines or, in Notepad, set the left and right margins (in File/Page
Setup) to 1.5 inches.
It uses a non-proportional typeface such as Courier. (A non-proportional
typeface is one in which each letter takes up the same amount of space on
the line; narrow letters are surrounded by a lot of space, whereas wider
letters are surrounded by a smaller space.) Using a non-proportional
typeface makes it easier to keep the line length to 65 characters.
Most of the information is left justified. If you want, you can use the space bar
(not the Tab key) to move text to the right. For instance, you might want to
center the main headings.
It uses ALL UPPERCASE or repeated characters for emphasis. For example, a
series of equal signs or hyphens might signal a new heading.
You might want to create two versions of your plain-text rsum: a
version using Word Wrap (in Notepads Format tab) to be attached to an
email, and a version not using Word Wrap to be pasted into the body of an
email.
Check each new version to be sure the information has converted properly.
Copy and paste the version not using Word Wrap into an email and send it to
yourself, and then review it. Attach the new file using Word Wrap to an
email, open it in your text editor, and review it.
Figure 15.5 (on page 412) shows a plain-text skills rsum.
FIGURE 15.5 Plain-Text Version of a Skills Rsum
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
Preparing a Rsum
This rsum was written by a graduating college senior who wanted to work
for a wildland firefighting agency such as the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management or U.S. Forest Service. The writer plans to save the rsum as
a .txt file and enter it directly into these agencies employment databases.
The questions below ask you to think about electronic rsums (as discussed
on pp. 41011).
1. How effectively has the writer formatted this rsum?
2. What elements are likely to be problematic when the writer
saves this rsum as a .txt file?
3. What is the function of the industry-specific jargon in this
rsum?
4. Why does the writer place the education section below the
sections on career history and fire and aviation qualifications?
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
To analyze an online professional portfolio, go to LaunchPad.
Writing Job-Application Letters
Although the job-application letter (sometimes called a cover letter) may
seem obsolete, many experts agree that it is still important. Applicants can
explain more clearly in a letter than in a rsum how their qualifications
match the employers requirements. They can explain their professional
relationship with someone in the employers organization or gaps in their
employment history. Perhaps most important, applicants can show that they
can write well.
At a minimum, the cover letter serves as the applicants introduction to the
hiring manager, identifying the position being applied for and providing an
overview of qualifications. The letter cant include as many details as the
rsum, but it can emphasize a few key points. It can also include a specific
request for an interview.
Figure 15.6 shows a job-application letter that can be printed and mailed,
uploaded to a job-application website, or attached to a brief email. In all three
cases, a rsum would be included along with the cover letter.
Many of the job boards listed on p. 397 include samples of job-application letters.
FIGURE 15.6 Job-Application Letter
Preparing for a Job Interview
If your rsum is successful, you will be invited to a job interview, where
both you and the organization can start to see whether you would be a good
fit there. Job boards on the Internet can help you prepare for a job interview.
They discuss questions such as the following:
When should you arrive for the interview?
What should you wear?
How might interviewers interpret your body language?
What questions are you likely to be asked?
How long should your answers be?
How do you know when the interviewer wishes to end the interview?
How can you get the interviewers contact information so you can write a
follow-up letter?
GUIDELINES: Preparing for a Job Interview
For every hour you spend in a job interview, you need to spend many hours in
preparation.
Study job interviews. The hundreds of books and websites devoted to job
interviews cover everything from how to do your initial research to common
interview questions to how to dress. Although you cant prepare for
everything that will happen, you can prepare for a lot of things.
Study the organization to which you applied. If you show that you havent
done your homework, the interviewer might conclude that youre always
unprepared. Learn what products or services the organization provides,
how well it has done in recent years, what its plans are, and so forth. Start
with the organizations own website, especially corporate blogs, and then
proceed to other online and print resources. Search for the organizations
name on the Internet.
Think about what you can offer the organization. Your goal during the interview
is to show how you can help the organization accomplish its goals. Think
about how your academic career, your work experience, and your personal
characteristics and experiences have prepared you to solve problems and
carry out projects to help the organization succeed. Make notes about
projects you carried out in courses, experiences on the job, and
experiences in your personal life that can serve as persuasive evidence to
support claims about your qualifications.
Study lists of common interview questions. Interviewers study these lists; you
should, too. Youre probably familiar with some of the favorites:
Can you tell me about yourself?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Why did you apply to our company?
What do you see as your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Tell me about an incident that taught you something important about
yourself.
What was your best course in college? Why?
Compile a list of questions you wish to ask. Near the end of the interview, the
interviewer will probably ask if you have any questions. The interviewer
expects you to have compiled a brief list of questions about working for the
organization. Do not focus on salary, vacation days, or sick leave. Instead,
ask about ways you can continue to develop as a professional, improving
your ability to contribute to the organization.
Rehearse for the interview. Its one thing to think about how you might answer
an interview question. Its another to have to answer it. Rehearse for the
interview by asking friends or colleagues to play the role of the interviewer,
making up questions that you havent thought about. Then ask these
people for constructive criticism.
For more about research techniques, see Ch. 6.
For more about communicating persuasively, see Ch. 8.
Following Up After an Interview
After an interview, you should write a letter of appreciation, typically in the
form of an email for speed of delivery. If you are offered the job, you also
may have to write a letter accepting or rejecting the position.
Many of the job boards listed on p. 397 include samples of follow-up letters for
different situations that occur during a job search.
Letter of appreciation after an interview. Thank the interviewer for taking
the time to see you, and emphasize your particular qualifications. You can
also restate your interest in the position and mention a specific topic of
conversation you found particularly interesting or a fact about the
position you found exciting. A follow-up letter can do more good with
less effort than any other step in the job-application procedure because so
few candidates take the time to write one.
Dear Mr. Weaver:
Thank you for taking the time yesterday to show me your facilities and to
introduce me to your colleagues.
Your companys advances in piping design were particularly impressive. As a
person with hands-on experience in piping design, I can appreciate the
advantages your design will have.
The vitality of your projects and the good fellowship among your employees
further confirm my initial belief that Cynergo would be a fine place to work. I
would look forward to joining your staff.
Sincerely yours,
Harriet Bommarito
Letter accepting a job offer. This one is easy: express appreciation, show
enthusiasm, and repeat the major terms of your employment.
Dear Mr. Weaver:
Thank you very much for the offer to join your staff. I accept.
I look forward to joining your design team on Monday, July 19. The salary, as
you indicate in your letter, is $48,250.
As you have recommended, I will get in touch with Mr. Matthews in Personnel
to get a start on the paperwork.
I appreciate the trust you have placed in me, and I assure you that I will do
what I can to be a productive team member at Cynergo.
Sincerely yours,
Mark Greenberg
Letter rejecting a job offer. If you decide not to accept a job offer, express
your appreciation for the offer and, if appropriate, explain why you are
declining it. Remember, you might want to work for this company at
some time in the future.
Dear Mr. Weaver:
I appreciate very much the offer to join your staff.
Although I am certain that I would benefit greatly from working at Cynergo, I
have decided to take a job with a firm in Baltimore, where I have been
accepted at Johns Hopkins to pursue my masters degree at night.
Again, thank you for your generous offer.
Sincerely yours,
Cynthia OMalley
Letter acknowledging a rejection. Why write back after you have been
rejected for a job? To maintain good relations. You might get a phone call
the next week explaining that the person who accepted the job has had a
change of plans and offering you the position.
Dear Mr. Weaver:
I was disappointed to learn that I will not have a chance to join your staff,
because I feel that I could make a substantial contribution. However, I realize
that job decisions are complex, involving many candidates and many factors.
Thank you very much for the courtesy you have shown me.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Goicochea
WRITERS CHECKLIST
Your Professional Brand
Have you researched how others in your field present themselves online?
(p. 392)
Is the information you present about yourself online truthful, well written,
and appropriate? (p. 392)
Does your online information describe your job skills and focus on
problem-solving and accomplishments? (p. 392)
Have you created a strong online presence, perhaps by creating your own
website? (p. 393)
Do you participate actively and professionally online through sites such as
LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter? (p. 393)
Do you have a business card? (p. 393)
Have you practiced an elevator pitch? (p. 394)
When presenting yourself online, have you avoided
provocative or inappropriate photos? (p. 394)
suggestion of drug or alcohol use? (p. 394)
negative comments about a former employer or coworker? (p. 394)
showing poor communication skills? (p. 394)
discriminatory comments about others? (p. 394)
Finding a Job
Have you done a self-inventory, considering your strengths and
weaknesses, favorite subjects, preferred type of organization, and ideal
location? (p. 395)
Have you researched potential employers? (p. 395)
Have you attended job fairs? (p. 395)
Have you read about the trends in your field? (p. 396)
Have you begun researching the process of writing a rsum and cover
letter? (p. 396)
Have you put portfolio items online? (p. 396)
Have you tried searching on organizations websites? (p. 397)
Have you tried searching on Internet job boards (such as Monster.com)?
(p. 397)
Have you tried networking in person and online? (p. 398)
Have you tried using university or professional placement services? (p.
400)
Have you made the most of LinkedIns employment features? (p. 400)
Rsum
Does the rsum include appropriate keywords? (p. 401)
Does the identifying information contain your name, address(es), phone
number(s), and email address(es)? (p. 402)
Does the rsum include a clear summary of your qualifications? (p. 402)
Does the education section include your degree, your institution and its
location, and your (anticipated) date of graduation, as well as any other
information that will help a reader appreciate your qualifications? (p. 404)
Does the employment section include, for each job, the dates of
employment, the organizations name and location, and (if you are writing
a chronological rsum) your position or title, as well as a description of
your duties and accomplishments? (p. 405)
Have you used strong action verbs? (p. 406)
Does the interests-and-activities section include relevant hobbies or
activities, including extracurricular interests? (p. 407)
Have you omitted any personal information that might reflect poorly on
you? (p. 408)
Does the rsum include any other appropriate sections, such as skills and
abilities, military service, language abilities, or willingness to relocate? (p.
409)
Job-Application Letter
Does the introductory paragraph identify the position you are applying for,
state that you wish to be considered, and forecast the rest of the letter?
(p. 415)
Does the education paragraph respond to your readers needs with a
unified idea introduced by a topic sentence? (p. 415)
Does the employment paragraph respond to your readers needs with a
unified idea introduced by a topic sentence? (p. 415)
Does the concluding paragraph include a reference to your rsum, a
request for an interview, your phone number, and your email address? (p.
415)
Does the letter include an enclosure notation? (p. 415)
Preparing for a Job Interview
Did you
study job interviews? (p. 416)
study the organization to which you applied? (p. 416)
think about what you can offer the organization? (p. 416)
study lists of common interview questions? (p. 416)
compile a list of questions you wish to ask? (p. 417)
rehearse for the interview? (p. 417)
Following Up
Does your letter of appreciation for a job interview thank the interviewer
and briefly restate your qualifications? (p. 417)
Does your letter accepting a job offer show enthusiasm and repeat the
major terms of your employment? (p. 418)
Does your letter rejecting a job offer express your appreciation for the offer
and, if appropriate, explain why you are declining it? (p. 418)
Does your letter acknowledging a rejection have a positive tone that will
help you maintain good relations? (p. 418)
EXERCISES
For more about memos, see Ch. 14, p. 376.
1. Browse a job-search website such as Indeed.com. Then, list and briefly
describe five positions being offered in a field that interests you. What
skills, experience, and background does each position require? What is the
salary range for each position?
2. Locate three job websites that provide interactive forms for creating a
rsum automatically. In a brief memo to your instructor, note the three
URLs and describe the strengths and weaknesses of each site. Which job
board appears to be the easiest to use? Why?
3. The following rsum was submitted in response to this ad: CAM
Technician to work with other technicians and manage some GIS and
mapping projects. Also perform updating of the GIS database. Experience
required. In a brief memo to your instructor, analyze the effectiveness of
the rsum. What are some of its problems?
Kenneth Bradley
530
Maplegrove
Bozeman, Mont. 59715 (406)-484-2916
Objective Entry level position as a CAM Technician. I am also
interested in staying with the company until after
graduation, possibly moving into a position as a
Mechanical Engineer.
Education Enrolled at Montana State University
August 2015- Present
Employment Fred Meyer
65520 Chinden
Garden City, MT
(208)-323-7030
Janitor- 7/14-6/15
Responsible for cleaning entire store, as well as
equipment maintenance and floor maintenance and
repair.
Assistant Janitorial Manager- 6/15-9/15
Responsible for cleaning entire store, equipment
maintenance, floor maintenance and repair, scheduling,
and managing personnel
Head of Freight- 9/15-Present
In charge of braking down all new freight, stocking
shelves, cleaning the stock room, and managing
personnel
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT
Teachers Aide ME 120- 1/14-5/14
Teachers Aide ME 120
In charge of keeping students in line and answering any
questions related to drafting.
References Timothy Rayburn
Janitorial Manager
(406)-555-8571
Eduardo Perez
Coworker
(406)-555-2032
4. The following job-application letter responds to this ad: CAM Technician to
work with other technicians and manage some GIS and mapping projects.
Also perform updating of the GIS database. Experience required. In a brief
memo to your instructor, analyze the effectiveness of the letter and suggest
how it could be improved.
530 Maplegrove
Bozeman, Mont. 59715
November 11, 2017
Mr. Bruce Hedley
Adecco Technical
Bozeman, Mont. 59715
Dear Mr. Hedley,
I am writing you in response to your ad on Monsterjobs.com. Would you please
consider me for the position of CAM technician? I believe that my academic schooling
at Montana State University, along with my work experience would make me an
excellent candidate for the position.
While at Montana State University, I took one class in particular that applies well to
this job. It was a CAD drafting class, which I received a 97% in. The next semester I
was a Teachers Aid for that same class, where I was responsible for answering
questions about drafting from my peers. This gave me a much stronger grasp on all
aspects of CAD work than I could have ever gotten from simply taking the class.
My employment at Fred Meyer is also a notable experience. While there is no
technical aspects of either positions I have held, I believe that my experience there
will shed light on my work ethic and interpersonal skills. I started out as a graveyard
shift janitor, with no previous experience. All of my coworkers were at least thirty
years older than me, and had a minimum of five years of janitorial experience.
However after working there for only one year I was promoted to assistant manager.
Three months after I received this position, I was informed that Fred Meyer was going
to contract out the janitorial work and that all of us would be losing our jobs. I decided
that I wanted to stay within the company, and I was able to receive a position as head
of freight.
The enclosed resum provides an overview of my education and work experience. I
would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you at your convience to disscuss my
qualifications for this position. Please write me at the above address or leave a
message any time. If you would like to contact me by email, my email address is
[email protected]
Yours truly,
Ken Bradley
5. How effective is the following letter of appreciation? How could it be
improved? Present your findings in a brief memo to your instructor.
914 Imperial Boulevard
Durham, NC 27708
November 13, 2017
Mr. Ronald OShea
Division Engineering
Safeway Electronics, Inc.
Holland, MI 49423
Dear Mr. OShea:
Thanks very much for showing me around your plant. I hope I was able to convince
you that Im the best person for the job.
Sincerely yours,
Rania Harad
6. In a newspaper or journal or on the Internet, find an ad for a position in
your field for which you might be qualified. Write a rsum and a jobapplication letter in response to the ad; include the job ad or a photocopy.
You will be evaluated not only on the content and appearance of the
materials, but also on how well you have targeted them to the job ad.
CASE 15: Identifying the Best-of-the-Best
Job-Search Sites
After the director of the Career Center at your school visits one of your
classes, you decide to visit the Career Centers website. You study the
available resources, but you find that they dont offer as much support as you
and your fellow classmates need navigating the online job-search
environment for the first time. You decide to write the director with your
concerns. She agrees with your critique and asks you to research online
information about job searching and begin putting together a new job-search
resource for seniors at your college. To get started with your project, go to
LaunchPad.
CHAPTER 16
Writing Proposals
Chapter Introduction
Understanding the Process of Writing Proposals
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Proposals
The Logistics of Proposals
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PROPOSALS
SOLICITED AND UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS
The Deliverables of Proposals
RESEARCH PROPOSALS
GOODS AND SERVICES PROPOSALS
Persuasion and Proposals
UNDERSTANDING CONTEXTS
DESCRIBING WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO
DEMONSTRATING YOUR PROFESSIONALISM
GUIDELINES: Demonstrating Your Professionalism in a Proposal
ETHICS NOTE: Writing Honest Proposals
Writing a Proposal
The Structure of the Proposal
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
GUIDELINES: Introducing a Proposal
PROPOSED PROGRAM
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS Activity: Writing the Proposed Program
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS Activity: Marketing Proposal Presentation
BUDGET
APPENDIXES
TASK SCHEDULE
TECH TIP: Why and How to Create a Gantt Chart
DESCRIPTION OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUES
Sample Internal Proposal
WRITERS CHECKLIST
EXERCISES
CASE 16: Writing an Introduction for a Proposal
Chapter Introduction
A PROPOSAL IS an offer to carry out research or to provide a product or service.
For instance, a physical therapist might write a proposal to her supervisor for
funding to attend a convention to learn about current rehabilitation practices. A
defense contractor might submit a proposal to design and build a fleet of drones
for the Air Force. A homeless shelter might submit a proposal to a philanthropic
organization for funding to provide more services to the homeless community.
Whether a project is small or big, within your own company or outside it, it is likely
to call for a proposal.
Understanding the Process of Writing Proposals
Writing a proposal calls for the same process of planning, drafting, revising,
editing, and proofreading that you use for other kinds of documents. The
Focus on Process box on the next page presents an overview of this process.
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Proposals
When writing a proposal, pay special attention to these steps in the writing
process.
PLANNING Consider your readers knowledge
about and attitudes toward what you are
proposing. Use the techniques
discussed in Chapters 5 and 6 to learn
as much as you can about your readers
needs and about the subject. Also
consider whether you have the
personnel, facilities, and equipment to
do what you propose to do.
DRAFTING Collaboration is critical for large
proposals because no one person has
the time and expertise to do all the
work. See Chapter 4 for more about
collaboration. In writing the proposal,
follow the instructions in any request for
proposal (RFP) or information for bid
(IFB) from the prospective customer. If
there are no instructions, follow the
structure for proposals outlined in this
chapter.
REVISING External proposals usually have a firm
deadline. Build in time to revise, edit,
and proofread the proposal thoroughly
and still get it to readers on time. See
the Writers Checklist at the end of this
chapter.
EDITING See Chapter 10 for advice on writing
correct and effective sentences.
PROOFREADING See Appendix, Part C, for proofreading
tips.
The Logistics of Proposals
Proposals can be classified as either internal or external; external proposals
are either solicited or unsolicited. Figure 16.1 shows the relationships among
these four terms.
FIGURE 16.1 The Logistics of Proposals
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PROPOSALS
Internal proposals are submitted to the writers own organization; external
proposals are submitted to another organization.
Internal Proposals An internal proposal is an argument, submitted within
an organization, for carrying out an activity that will benefit the organization.
An internal proposal might recommend that the organization conduct
research, purchase a product, or change some aspect of its policies or
procedures.
For example, while working on a project in the laboratory, you realize that
if you had a fiber-curl measurement system, you could do your job better and
faster. The increased productivity would save your company the cost of the
system in a few months. Your supervisor asks you to write a memo
describing what you want, why you want it, what youre going to do with it,
and what it costs; if your request seems reasonable and the money is
available, youll likely get the new system.
Often, the scope of a proposal determines its format. A request for a small
amount of money might be conveyed orally or by email or a brief memo. A
request for a large amount, however, is likely to be presented in a formal
report.
External Proposals No organization produces all the products or provides
all the services it needs. Websites need to be designed, written, and
maintained; inventory databases need to be created; facilities need to be
constructed. Sometimes projects require unusual expertise, such as
sophisticated market analyses. Because many companies supply such
products and services, most organizations require a prospective supplier to
compete for the business by submitting a proposal, a document arguing that it
deserves the business.
SOLICITED AND UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS
External proposals are either solicited or unsolicited. A solicited proposal is
submitted in response to a request from the prospective customer. An
unsolicited proposal is submitted by a supplier who believes that the
prospective customer has a need for goods or services.
Solicited Proposals When an organization wants to purchase a product or
service, it publishes one of two basic kinds of statements:
An information for bid (IFB) is used for standard products. When a state
agency needs desktop computers, for instance, it informs computer
manufacturers of the configuration it needs. All other things being equal,
the supplier that offers the lowest bid for a product with that
configuration wins the contract. When an agency solicits bids for a
specific brand and model, the solicitation is sometimes called a request
for quotation (RFQ).
A request for proposal (RFP) is used for more customized products or
services. For example, if the Air Force needs an identification, friend or
foe system, the RFP it publishes might be a long and detailed set of
technical specifications. The supplier that can design, produce, and
deliver the device most closely resembling the specifications at a
reasonable price will probably win the contract.
Most organizations issue IFBs and RFPs in print and online. Government
solicitations are published on the FedBizOpps website. Figure 16.2 (on page
426) shows a portion of an RFQ.
FIGURE 16.2 Excerpt from an RFQ
Unsolicited Proposals An unsolicited proposal is like a solicited proposal
except that it does not refer to an RFP. In most cases, even though the
potential customer did not formally request the proposal, the supplier was
invited to submit the proposal after people from the two organizations met
and discussed the project. Because proposals are expensive to write, suppliers
are reluctant to submit them without assurances that they will be considered
carefully. Thus, the word unsolicited is only partially accurate.
The Deliverables of Proposals
A deliverable is what a supplier will deliver at the end of a project.
Deliverables can be classified into two major categories: research or goods
and services.
RESEARCH PROPOSALS
In a research proposal, you are promising to perform research and then
provide a report about it. For example, a biologist for a state bureau of land
management writes a proposal to the National Science Foundation requesting
resources to build a window-lined tunnel in the forest to study tree and plant
roots and the growth of fungi. The biologist also wishes to investigate the
relationship between plant growth and the activity of insects and worms. The
deliverable will be a report submitted to the National Science Foundation
and, perhaps, an article published in a professional journal.
Research proposals often lead to two other applications: progress reports
and recommendation reports.
After a proposal has been approved and the researchers have begun work,
they often submit one or more progress reports, which tell the sponsor of the
project how the work is proceeding. Is it following the plan of work outlined
in the proposal? Is it going according to schedule? Is it staying within
budget?
At the end of the project, researchers prepare a recommendation report,
often called a final report, a project report, a completion report, or simply a
report. A recommendation report tells the whole story of a research project,
beginning with the problem or opportunity that motivated it and continuing
with the methods used in carrying it out, the results, and the researchers
conclusions and recommendations.
For more about progress reports and recommendation reports, see Ch. 17, p. 454,
and Ch. 18.
People carry out research projects to satisfy their curiosity and to advance
professionally. Organizations often require that their professional employees
carry out research and publish in appropriate journals or books. Government
researchers and university professors, for instance, are expected to remain
active in their fields. Writing proposals is one way to get the resources
time and money for travel, equipment, and assistants to carry out research.
GOODS AND SERVICES PROPOSALS
A goods and services proposal is an offer to supply a tangible product (a fleet
of automobiles), a service (building maintenance), or some combination of
the two (the construction of a building).
A vast network of goods and services contracts spans the working world.
The U.S. government, the worlds biggest customer, spent over $270 billion
in 2015 buying military equipment from organizations that submitted
proposals (USAspending.gov, 2016). But goods and services contracts are by
no means limited to government contractors. An auto manufacturer might
buy its engines from another manufacturer; a company that makes spark
plugs might buy its steel and other raw materials from another company.
Another kind of goods and services proposal requests funding to support a
local organization. For example, a womens shelter might receive some of its
funding from a city or county but might rely on grants from private
philanthropies. Typically, an organization such as a shelter would apply for a
grant to fund increased demand for its services because of a natural disaster
or an economic slowdown in the community. Or it might apply for a grant to
fund a pilot program to offer job training at the shelter. Most large
corporations have philanthropic programs offering grants to help local
colleges and universities, arts organizations, and social-service agencies.
Persuasion and Proposals
A proposal is an argument. You must convince readers that the future
benefits will outweigh the immediate and projected costs. Basically, you
must persuade your readers of three things:
that you understand the context: what your readers need
that you have already determined what you plan to do and that you are
able to do it
that you are a professional and are committed to fulfilling your promises
For more about persuasion, see Ch. 8.
UNDERSTANDING CONTEXTS
The most crucial element of the proposal is the definition of the problem or
opportunity to which the proposed project responds. Although this point
seems obvious, people who evaluate proposals agree that the most common
weakness they see is an inadequate or inaccurate understanding of the
problem or opportunity.
For more about analyzing your audience, see Ch. 5.
Internal Contexts Writing an internal proposal is both simpler and more
complicated than writing an external one. It is simpler because you have
greater access to internal readers than you do to external readers and you can
get information more easily. However, it is more complicated because you
might find it hard to understand the situation in your organization. Some
colleagues will not tell you that your proposal is a long shot or that your ideas
might threaten someone in the organization. Before you write an internal
proposal, discuss your ideas with as many potential readers as you can to
learn what those in the organization really think of them.
External Contexts When you receive an RFP, study it thoroughly. If you
dont understand something in it, contact the organization. People there will
be happy to clarify it: a proposal based on misunderstood needs wastes
everyones time.
When you write an unsolicited proposal, analyze your audience carefully.
How can you define the problem or opportunity so that readers will
understand it? Keep in mind readers needs and, if possible, their
backgrounds. Concentrate on how the problem has decreased productivity or
quality or how your ideas would create new opportunities. When you submit
an unsolicited proposal, your task in many cases is to convince readers that a
need exists. Even if you have reached an understanding with some of your
potential customers representatives, your proposal will still have to persuade
other officials in the company. Most readers will reject a proposal as soon as
they realize that it doesnt address their needs.
When you are preparing a proposal to be submitted to an organization in
another culture, keep in mind the following six suggestions (Newman, 2011):
Understand that what makes an argument persuasive can differ from one
culture to another. Paying attention to the welfare of the company or the
community might be more persuasive than offering a low bottom-line
price. Representatives of an American company were surprised to learn
that the Venezuelan readers of their proposal had selected a French
company whose staff had been making personal visits for years, bringing
their families, and engaging in social activities long before there was any
question of a contract (Thrush, 2000).
Budget enough time for translating. If your proposal has to be translated
into another language, build in plenty of time. Translating long technical
documents is a lengthy process because, even though some of the work
can be done by computer software, the machine translation needs to be
reviewed by native speakers of the target language.
Use simple graphics, with captions. To reduce the chances of
misunderstanding, use a lot of simple graphics, such as pie charts and bar
graphs. Include captions so that readers can understand the graphics
easily, without having to look through the text to see what each graphic
means.
For more about graphics, see Ch. 12.
Write short sentences, using common vocabulary. Short sentences are
easier to understand than long sentences. Choose words that have few
meanings. For example, use the word right as the opposite of left; use
correct as the opposite of incorrect.
Use local conventions regarding punctuation, spelling, and mechanics.
Be aware that these conventions differ from place to place, even in the
English-speaking world.
Ask if the prospective customer will do a read-through. A read-through
is the process of reading a draft of a proposal to look for any
misunderstandings due to language or cultural differences. Why do
prospective customers do this? Because its in everyones interest for the
proposal to respond clearly to the customers needs.
DESCRIBING WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO
Once you have shown that you understand what needs to be done and why,
describe what you plan to do. Convince your readers that you can respond
effectively to the situation you have just described. Discuss procedures and
equipment you would use. If appropriate, justify your choices. For example,
if you say you want to do ultrasonic testing on a structure, explain why,
unless the reason is obvious.
Present a complete picture of what you would do from the first day of the
project to the last. You need more than enthusiasm and good faith; you need a
detailed plan showing that you have already started to do the work. Although
no proposal can anticipate every question about what you plan to do, the
more planning you have done before you submit the proposal, the greater the
chances you will be able to do the work successfully if it is approved.
DEMONSTRATING YOUR PROFESSIONALISM
Once you have shown that you understand readers needs and can offer a
well-conceived plan, demonstrate that you are the kind of person (or that
yours is the kind of organization) that is committed to delivering what you
promise. Convince readers that you have the pride, ingenuity, and
perseverance to solve the problems that are likely to occur. In short, show
that you are a professional.
GUIDELINES: Demonstrating Your Professionalism in a
Proposal
In your proposal, demonstrate your ability to carry out the project by providing
four kinds of information:
Credentials and work history. Show that you know how to do this project
because you have done similar ones. Who are the people in your
organization with the qualifications to carry out the project? What
equipment and facilities do you have that will enable you to do the work?
What management structure will you use to coordinate the activities and
keep the project running smoothly?
Work schedule. Sometimes called a task schedule, a work schedule is a
graph or chart that shows when the various phases of the project will be
carried out. The work schedule reveals more about your attitudes toward
your work than about what you will be doing on any given day. A detailed
work schedule shows that you have tried to foresee problems that might
threaten the project.
Quality-control measures. Describe how you will evaluate the effectiveness
and efficiency of your work. Quality-control procedures might consist of
technical evaluations carried out periodically by the project staff, on-site
evaluations by recognized authorities or by the prospective customer, or
progress reports.
Budget. Most proposals conclude with a detailed budget, a statement of how
much the project will cost. Including a budget is another way of showing
that you have done your homework on a project.
ETHICS NOTE
WRITING HONEST PROPOSALS
When an organization approves a proposal, it needs to trust that the people
who will carry out the project will do it professionally. Over the centuries,
however, dishonest proposal writers have perfected a number of ways to trick
prospective customers into thinking the project will go smoothly:
saying that certain qualified people will participate in the project, even
though they will not
saying that the project will be finished by a certain date, even though it
will not
saying that the deliverable will have certain characteristics, even though
it will not
saying that the project will be completed under budget, even though it will
not
Copying from another companys proposal is another common dishonest
tactic. Proposals are protected by copyright law. An employee may not copy
from a proposal he or she wrote while working for a different company.
There are three reasons to be honest in writing a proposal:
to avoid serious legal trouble stemming from breach-of-contract suits
to avoid acquiring a bad reputation, thus ruining your business
to do the right thing
Writing a Proposal
Although writing a proposal requires the same writing process that you use
for most other kinds of technical documents, a proposal can be so large that
two aspects of the writing process resource planning and collaboration
are even more important than they are for smaller documents.
Like planning a writing project, discussed in Chapter 5, planning a
proposal requires a lot of work. You need to see whether your organization
can devote the needed resources to writing the proposal and then to carrying
out the project if the proposal is approved. Sometimes an organization writes
a proposal, wins the contract, and then loses money because it lacks the
resources to do the project and must subcontract major portions of it. The
resources you need fall into three basic categories:
Personnel. Will you have the technical personnel, managers, and support
people you will need?
Facilities. Will you have the facilities, or can you lease them? Can you
profitably subcontract tasks to companies that have the necessary
facilities?
Equipment. Do you have the right equipment? If not, can you buy it or
lease it or subcontract the work? Some contracts provide for the purchase
of equipment, but others dont.
Dont write the proposal unless you are confident that you can carry out the
project if you get the go-ahead.
Collaboration is critical in preparing large proposals because no one
person has the time and expertise to do all the work. Writing major proposals
requires the expertise of technical personnel, writers, editors, graphic artists,
managers, lawyers, and document-production specialists. Often, proposal
writers use shared document workspaces and wikis. Usually, a project
manager coordinates the process.
For more about collaboration, see Ch. 4.
Proposal writers almost always reuse existing information, including
boilerplate such as descriptions of other projects the company has done,
histories and descriptions of the company, and rsums of the primary
personnel who will work on the project. This reuse of information is legal
and ethical as long as the information is the intellectual property of the
company.
For more about boilerplate, see Ch. 2, p. 26.
The Structure of the Proposal
Proposal structures vary greatly from one organization to another. A long,
complex proposal might have 10 or more sections, including introduction,
problem, objectives, solution, methods and resources, and management. If the
authorizing agency provides an IFB, an RFP, an RFQ, or a set of guidelines,
follow it closely. If you have no guidelines, or if you are writing an
unsolicited proposal, use the structure shown here as a starting point. Then
modify it according to your subject, your purpose, and the needs of your
audience. An example of a proposal is presented at the end of this chapter, in
Figure 16.6 (pp. 43945).
SUMMARY
For a proposal of more than a few pages, provide a summary. Many
organizations impose a length limit such as 250 words and ask the
writer to present the summary, single-spaced, on the title page. The summary
is crucial, because it might be the only item that readers study in their initial
review of the proposal.
For more about summaries, see Ch. 18, p. 485.
The summary covers the major elements of the proposal but devotes only
a few sentences to each. Define the problem in a sentence or two. Next,
describe the proposed program and provide a brief statement of your
qualifications and experience. Some organizations wish to see the completion
date and the final budget figure in the summary; others prefer that this
information be presented separately on the title page along with other
identifying information about the supplier and the proposed project.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the introduction is to help readers understand the context,
scope, and organization of the proposal.
GUIDELINES: Introducing a Proposal
The introduction to a proposal should answer the following seven questions:
What is the problem or opportunity? Describe the problem or opportunity in
specific monetary terms, because the proposal itself will include a budget,
and you want to convince your readers that spending money on what you
propose is smart. Dont say that a design problem is slowing down
production; say that it is costing $4,500 a day in lost productivity.
What is the purpose of the proposal? The purpose of the proposal is to
describe a solution to a problem or an approach to an opportunity and
propose activities that will culminate in a deliverable. Be specific in
explaining what you want to do.
What is the background of the problem or opportunity? Although you probably
will not be telling your readers anything they dont already know, show
them that you understand the problem or opportunity: the circumstances
that led to its discovery, the relationships or events that will affect the
problem and its solution, and so on.
What are your sources of information? Review the relevant literature, ranging
from internal reports and memos to published articles or even books, so
that readers will understand the context of your work.
What is the scope of the proposal? If appropriate, indicate not only what you
are proposing to do but also what you are not proposing to do.
What is the organization of the proposal? Explain the organizational pattern
you will use.
What are the key terms that you will use in the proposal? If you will use any
specialized or unusual terms, define them in the introduction.
PROPOSED PROGRAM
In the section on the proposed program, sometimes called the plan of work,
explain what you want to do. Be specific. You wont persuade anyone by
saying that you plan to gather the data and analyze it. How will you gather
and analyze the data? Justify your claims. Every word you say or dont
say will give your readers evidence on which to base their decision.
If your project concerns a subject written about in the professional
literature, show your familiarity with the scholarship by referring to the
pertinent studies. However, dont just string together a bunch of citations. For
example, dont write, Carruthers (2012), Harding (2013), and Vega (2013)
have all researched the relationship between global warming and
groundwater contamination. Rather, use the recent literature to sketch the
necessary background and provide the justification for your proposed
program. For instance:
Carruthers (2012), Harding (2013), and Vega (2013) have demonstrated the
relationship between global warming and groundwater contamination. None of
these studies, however, included an analysis of the long-term contamination of
the aquifer. The current study will consist of .
You might include only a few references to recent research. However, if your
topic is complex, you might devote several paragraphs or even several pages
to recent scholarship.
For more about researching a subject, see Ch. 6.
Whether your project calls for primary research, secondary research, or
both, the proposal will be unpersuasive if you havent already done a
substantial amount of research. For instance, say you are writing a proposal
to do research on purchasing new industrial-grade lawn mowers for your
company. Simply stating that you will visit Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Home
Depot to see what kinds of lawn mowers they carry would be unpersuasive
for two reasons:
You need to justify why you are going to visit those three retailers rather
than others. Anticipate your readers questions: Why did you choose
these three retailers? Why didnt you choose specialized dealers?
You should already have determined what stores carry what kinds of lawn
mowers and completed any other preliminary research. If you havent
done the homework, readers have no assurance that you will in fact do it
or that it will pay off. If your supervisor authorizes the project and then
you learn that none of the lawn mowers in these stores meets your
organizations needs, you will have to go back and submit a different
proposal an embarrassing move.
Unless you can show in your proposed program that you have done the
research and that the research indicates that the project is likely to succeed
the reader has no reason to authorize the project.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
After you have described how you would carry out the project, show that you
can do it. The more elaborate the proposal, the more substantial the
discussion of your qualifications and experience has to be. For a small
project, include a few paragraphs describing your technical credentials and
those of your co-workers. For larger projects, include the rsums of the
project leader, often called the principal investigator, and the other primary
participants.
External proposals should also discuss the qualifications of the suppliers
organization, describing similar projects the supplier has completed
successfully. For example, a company bidding on a contract to build a large
suspension bridge should describe other suspension bridges it has built. It
should also focus on the equipment and facilities the company already has
and on the management structure that will ensure the project will go
smoothly.
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
Writing the Proposed Program
The following project description is excerpted from a sample grant proposal
seeking funding to begin a project to help police officers stay healthy. The
questions in the margin ask you to think about how to describe the project in
a proposal.
1. The writer has used a lettering system to describe the four main
tasks that will be undertaken if the project receives funding.
What are the advantages of a lettering system?
2. How effective is the description of Task A? What factors
contribute to the descriptions effectiveness or lack of
effectiveness?
3. The descriptions of the tasks do not include cost estimates.
Where would those estimates be presented in the proposal?
Why would they be presented there?
4. How effective is the description of Task D? What additional
information would improve its effectiveness?
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
To analyze a as a Prezi presentation, go to
LaunchPad.
Marketing Proposal Presentation
BUDGET
Good ideas arent good unless theyre affordable. The budget section of a
proposal specifies how much the proposed program will cost.
Budgets vary greatly in scope and format. For simple internal proposals,
add the budget request to the statement of the proposed program: This study
will take me two days, at a cost of about $400 or The variable-speed
recorder currently costs $225, with a 10 percent discount on orders of five or
more. For more complicated internal proposals and for all external
proposals, include a more explicit and complete budget.
Many budgets are divided into two parts: direct costs and indirect costs.
Direct costs include such expenses as salaries and fringe benefits of program
personnel, travel costs, and costs of necessary equipment, materials, and
supplies. Indirect costs cover expenses that are sometimes called overhead:
general secretarial and clerical expenses not devoted exclusively to any one
project, as well as operating expenses such as costs of utilities and
maintenance. Indirect costs are usually expressed as a percentage ranging
from less than 20 percent to more than 100 percent of the direct expenses.
APPENDIXES
Many types of appendixes might accompany a proposal. Most organizations
have boilerplate descriptions of the organization and of the projects it has
completed. Another item commonly included in an appendix is a supporting
letter: a testimonial to the suppliers skill and integrity, written by a reputable
and well-known person in the field.
Two other sections commonly found in proposals can be positioned either
in the appendix or in the main body of the document: the task schedule and
the description of evaluation techniques.
TASK SCHEDULE
A task schedule is almost always presented in one of three graphical formats:
as a table, a bar chart, or a network diagram.
Tables The simplest but least informative way to present a schedule is in a
table, as shown in Figure 16.3. As with all graphics, provide a textual
reference that introduces and, if necessary, explains the table.
FIGURE 16.3 Task Schedule Presented as a Table
Although displaying information in a table is better than writing it out in
sentences, readers still cannot see the information. They have to read the
table to figure out how long each activity will last, and they cannot tell
whether any of the activities are interdependent. They have no way of
determining what would happen to the overall project schedule if one of the
activities faced delays.
Bar Charts Bar charts, also called Gantt charts after the early twentiethcentury civil engineer who first used them, are more informative than tables.
The basic bar chart shown in Figure 16.4 allows readers to see how long each
task will take and whether different tasks will occur simultaneously. Like
tables, however, bar charts do not indicate the interdependence of tasks.
FIGURE 16.4 Task Schedule Presented as a Bar Chart
TECH TIP
Network Diagrams Network diagrams show interdependence among
various activities, clearly indicating which must be completed before others
can begin. However, even a relatively simple network diagram, such as the
one shown in Figure 16.5, can be difficult to read. You would probably not
use this type of diagram in a document intended for general readers.
FIGURE 16.5 Task Schedule Presented as a Network Diagram
A network diagram provides more useful information than either a table or a bar
chart.
DESCRIPTION OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUES
Although evaluation can mean different things to different people, an
evaluation technique typically refers to any procedure used to determine
whether the proposed program is both effective and efficient. Evaluation
techniques can range from writing simple progress reports to conducting
sophisticated statistical analyses. Some proposals call for evaluation by an
outside agent, such as a consultant, a testing laboratory, or a university. Other
proposals describe evaluation techniques that the supplier will perform, such
as cost-benefit analyses.
The issue of evaluation is complicated by the fact that some people think
in terms of quantitative evaluations tests of measurable quantities, such as
production increases whereas others think in terms of qualitative
evaluations tests of whether a proposed program is improving, say, the
workmanship on a product. And some people include both qualitative and
quantitative testing when they refer to evaluation. An additional complication
is that projects can be tested while they are being carried out (formative
evaluations) as well as after they have been completed (summative
evaluations).
When an RFP calls for evaluation, experienced proposal writers contact
the prospective customers representatives to determine precisely what the
word means.
Sample Internal Proposal
The following example of an internal proposal has been formatted as a memo
rather than as a formal proposal. (See Chapter 17, Figure 17.4, on pp. 457
64, for the progress report written after this project was under way and
Chapter 18, Figure 18.8, on pp. 490513, for the recommendation report.)
FIGURE 16.6 Sample Internal Proposal
WRITERS CHECKLIST
The following checklist covers the basic elements of a proposal. Guidelines
established by the recipient of the proposal should take precedence over
these general suggestions.
Did you consider the context of your proposal and make it clear to your
readers? (p. 428)
Did you describe to your reader what you plan to do? (p. 429)
Did you demonstrate your professionalism? (p. 429)
Did you write an honest proposal? (p. 430)
Does the summary provide an overview of
the problem or the opportunity? (p. 432)
the proposed program? (p. 432)
your qualifications and experience? (p. 432)
Does the introduction indicate
the problem or opportunity? (p. 432)
the purpose of the proposal? (p. 432)
the background of the problem or opportunity? (p. 432)
your sources of information? (p. 432)
the scope of the proposal? (p. 432)
the organization of the proposal? (p. 432)
the key terms that you will use in the proposal? (p. 432)
Does the description of the proposed program provide a clear, specific plan
of action and justify the tasks you propose performing? (p. 433)
Does the description of qualifications and experience clearly outline
your relevant skills and past work? (p. 433)
the skills and background of the other participants? (p. 435)
your departments (or organizations) relevant equipment, facilities, and
experience? (p. 435)
Is the budget
complete? (p. 435)
correct? (p. 435)
accompanied by an in-text reference? (p. 435)
Do the appendixes include the relevant supporting materials? (p. 435)
Did you include other relevant sections, such as a task schedule or a
description of evaluation techniques? (p. 436)
EXERCISES
For more about memos, see Ch. 14, p. 376.
1. Study the National Science Foundations (NSF) Grant Proposal Guide
(http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg). In what
important ways does the NSFs guide differ from the advice provided in this
chapter? What accounts for these differences? Present your findings in a
500-word memo to your instructor.
2. TEAM EXERCISE Form groups according to major. Using the FedBizOpps
website (https://www.fbo.gov), find and study an RFP for a project related
to your academic field. What can you learn about the needs of the
organization that issued the RFP? How effectively does the RFP describe
what the issuing organization expects to see in the proposal? Is it relatively
general or specific? What sorts of evaluation techniques does it call for? In
your response, include a list of questions that you would ask the issuing
organization if you were considering responding to the RFP. Present your
results in a memo to your instructor.
3. Write a proposal for a research project that will constitute a major
assignment in this course. Your instructor will tell you whether the proposal
is to be written individually or collaboratively. Start by defining a technical
subject that interests you. (This subject could be one that is relevant to
your job or that you have encountered in another course.) Using abstract
services and other bibliographic tools, compile a bibliography of articles
and books on the subject. (See Chapter 6 for a discussion of finding
information.) Create a reasonable real-world context. Here are three
common scenarios from the business world:
Our company uses Technology X to perform Task A. Should we instead
be using Technology Y to perform Task A? For instance, our company
uses standard surveying tools in its contracting business. Should we be
using 3D-equipped stations instead?
Our company has decided to purchase a tool to perform Task A. Which
make and model of the tool should we purchase, and from which supplier
should we buy it? For instance, our company has decided to purchase
10 multimedia computers. Which brand and model should we buy, and
from whom should we buy them? Is leasing the tool a better option than
purchasing?
Our company does not currently perform Function X. Is it feasible to
perform Function X? For instance, we do not currently offer day care for
our employees. Should we? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of doing so? What forms can day care take? How is it
paid for?
Following are some additional ideas for topics:
the value of using social media to form ties with students in a technicalcommunication class on another campus
the need for for internships or service-learning in
your major
the need to create an advisory board of industry professionals to provide
expertise about your major
the need to raise money to keep the colleges computer labs up to date
the need to evaluate the course of study offered by your university in
your major to ensure that it is responsive to students needs
the advisability of starting a campus branch of a professional
organization in your field
the need to improve parking facilities on campus
the need to create or improve organizations for minorities or women on
campus
CASE 16: Writing an Introduction for a
Proposal
You work for a company that provides web-development services to external
clients. Your job is to seek out requests for proposals (RFPs) posted by
organizations looking for companies like yours. You have found an RFP
posted by the borough council of a small town, seeking help in updating and
enhancing the towns website. You know that your company is capable of
providing these services. Your supervisor agrees and asks you to draft an
introduction to the proposal while other team members work on incorporating
boilerplate language and handle the scheduling and budgeting details. To get
started drafting the introduction, go to LaunchPad.
CHAPTER 17
Writing Informational Reports
Chapter Introduction
Understanding the Process of Writing Informational Reports
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Informational Reports
Writing Directives
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: High Plains Water-Level Monitoring
Study
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Global Forest Change Interactive
Map
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Writing a Persuasive Directive
Writing Field Reports
GUIDELINES: Responding to Readers Questions in a Field Report
Writing Progress and Status Reports
ETHICS NOTE: Reporting Your Progress Honestly
ORGANIZING PROGRESS AND STATUS REPORTS
CONCLUDING PROGRESS AND STATUS REPORTS
GUIDELINES: Projecting an Appropriate Tone in a Progress or Status
Report
Sample Progress Report
Writing Incident Reports
Writing Meeting Minutes
WRITERS CHECKLIST
EXERCISES
CASE 17: Writing a Directive
Chapter Introduction
COMPLEX, EXPENSIVE PROJECTS call for a lot of documents. Before a project
begins, a vendor might write a proposal to interest prospective clients in its work.
After a project is completed, an organization might write a completion report to
document the project or a recommendation report to argue for a future course of
action. In between, many people will write various informational reports.
Whether they are presented as memos, emails, reports, or web pages,
informational reports share one goal: to describe something that has happened or
is happening now. Their main purpose is to provide clear, accurate, specific
information to an audience. Sometimes, informational reports also analyze the
situation. An analysis is an explanation of why something happened or how it
happened. For instance, in an incident report about an accident on the job, the
writer might speculate about how and why the accident occurred.
This chapter discusses five kinds of informational reports:
A supervisor writes a directive explaining a companys new policy on recycling
and describing informational sessions that the company will offer to help
employees understand how to implement the policy.
An insurance adjuster writes a field report presenting the results of his
inspection of a building after a storm caused extensive damage.
A research team writes a progress report explaining what the team has
accomplished in the first half of the project, speculating on whether it will finish
on time and within budget, and describing how it has responded to unexpected
problems.
A worker at a manufacturing company writes an incident report after a toxicchemical spill.
A recording secretary writes a set of meeting minutes that will become the
official record of what occurred at a meeting of the management team of a
government agency.
Other types of informational reports are recommendation reports (see Chapter
18) and lab reports (see Chapter 19).
Understanding the Process of Writing
Informational Reports
Writing informational reports involves the same writing process used in most
other kinds of technical communication. The Focus on Process box on page
450 outlines this process.
Much informational report writing involves synthesizing material from
other sources. For an explanation of how to incorporate outside sources into
your document without plagiarizing, see Appendix, Part A. For details on
documenting your sources, see Appendix, Part B.
As with any type of writing, you should begin by analyzing your audience.
If your informational report is being written for a nontechnical audience, you
will want to take care to use terminology that a general audience will
understand and to define any important terms they may be unfamiliar with. If
your report will be addressed to people from another culture, think about how
your readers will react to your choice of application and your writing style. If
your readers expect a formal style, you will want to select a formal
application (such as a report) rather than a memo. And consider adjusting
your writing style, perhaps by adding parenthetical definitions and graphics
or by using shorter sentences or more headings, to help readers whose first
language is not English.
For more about analyzing your audience, see Ch. 5.
FOCUS ON PROCESS: Informational Reports
In writing informational reports, pay special attention to these steps in the
writing process.
PLANNING In some cases, determining your
audience and to whom to address the
report is difficult. Choosing the
appropriate format for your report can
also be difficult. Consider whether your
organization has a preferred format for
reports and whether your report will be
read by readers from other cultures who
might expect a formal style and
application. See Chapter 5 for more
about analyzing your audience.
DRAFTING Some informational reports are drafted
on site. For instance, an engineer might
use a tablet computer to draft a report
as she walks around a site. For routine
reports, you can sometimes use
sections of previous reports or
boilerplate. In a status report, for
instance, you can copy the description
of your current project from the previous
report and then update it as necessary.
See Chapter 2, page 26, for more about
boilerplate.
REVISING Even brief or informal reports sent by
email should be free of errors. Revise,
edit, and proofread the report
thoroughly. See the Writers Checklist at
the end of this chapter.
EDITING See Chapter 10 for advice on writing
correct and effective sentences.
PROOFREADING See Appendix, Part C, for proofreading
tips.
Writing Directives
In a directive, you explain a policy or a procedure you want your readers to
follow. Even though you have the authority to require your readers to follow
the policy, you want to explain why the policy is desirable or at least
necessary. As discussed in Chapter 8, you are most persuasive when you
present clear, compelling evidence (in the form of commonsense arguments,
numerical data, and examples); when you consider opposing arguments
effectively; and when you present yourself as cooperative, moderate, fairminded, and modest. If appropriate, include arguments that appeal to your
readers broader goals of security, recognition, personal and professional
growth, and connectedness. Figure 17.1 is an example of a directive.
FIGURE 17.1 A Directive
For more about understanding your audiences goals, see Ch. 8, p. 173.
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
To analyze a report presented as a website and a report presented
through an interactive graphic, go to LaunchPad.
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY
Writing a Persuasive Directive
This directive was sent to the members of a Montana government
department. The questions below ask you to think about the process of
writing persuasive directives (as discussed on p. 450).
1. How would you describe the tone used by the writer? Provide
an example to support your claim.
2. The writer presents examples of what he calls violations of the
state travel policy. Do these examples provide solid evidence
that violations of the policy have in fact occurred?
3. How effectively has the writer encouraged his staff to abide by
the travel policy? How might he improve the persuasiveness of
the directive?
Writing Field Reports
A common kind of informational report describes inspections, maintenance,
and site studies. Such reports, often known as field reports, explain problems,
methods, results, and conclusions, but they deemphasize methods and can
include recommendations. The report in Figure 17.2 illustrates a possible
variation on this standard report structure.
FIGURE 17.2 A Field Report
GUIDELINES: Responding to Readers Questions in a Field
Report
When you write a field report, be sure to answer the following six questions:
What is the purpose of the report?
What are the main points covered in the report?
What were the problems leading to the decision to perform the procedure?
What methods were used?
What were the results?
What do the results mean?
If appropriate, also discuss what you think should be done next.
Writing Progress and Status Reports
A progress report describes an ongoing project. A status report, sometimes
called an activity report, describes the entire range of operations of a
department or division. For example, the director of marketing for a
manufacturing company might submit a monthly status report.
A progress report is an intermediate communication between a proposal
(the argument that a project be undertaken) and a completion report (the
comprehensive record of a completed project) or a recommendation report
(an argument to take further action). Progress reports let you check in with
your audience.
For more about proposals, see Ch. 16.
For more about completion reports and recommendation reports, see Ch. 18.
Regardless of how well the project is proceeding, explain clearly and fully
what has happened and how those activities or events will affect the overall
project. Your tone should be objective, neither defensive nor casual. Unless
your own ineptitude or negligence caused a problem, youre not to blame.
Regardless of the news you are delivering good, bad, or mixed your job
is the same: to provide a clear and complete account of your activities and to
forecast the next stage of the project.
When things go wrong, you might be tempted to cover up problems and
hope that you can solve them before the next progress report. This course of
action is unwise and unethical. Chances are that problems will multiply, and
you will have a harder time explaining why you didnt alert your readers
earlier.
ETHICS NOTE
REPORTING YOUR PROGRESS HONESTLY
Withholding bad news is unethical because it can mislead readers. As
sponsors or supervisors of the project, readers have a right to know how it is
going. If you find yourself faced with any of the following three common
problems, consider responding in these ways:
The deliverable the document or product you will submit at the
end of the project wont be what you thought it would be. Without
being defensive, describe the events that led to the situation and explain
how the deliverable will differ from what you described in the proposal.
You wont meet your schedule. Explain why you are going to be late,
and state when the project will be complete.
You wont meet the budget. Explain why you need more money, and
state how much more you will need.
ORGANIZING PROGRESS AND STATUS REPORTS
The time pattern and the task pattern, two organizational patterns frequently
used in progress and status reports, are illustrated in Figure 17.3. A status
report is to task; by its nature, this type of report
covers a specified time period.
FIGURE 17.3 Organizational Patterns in Reports
CONCLUDING PROGRESS AND STATUS REPORTS
In the conclusion of a progress or status report, evaluate how the project is
proceeding. In the broadest sense, there are two possible messages: things are
going well, or things are not going as well as anticipated.
If appropriate, use appendixes for supporting materials, such as
computations, printouts, schematics, diagrams, tables, or a revised task
schedule. Be sure to cross-reference these appendixes in the body of the
report, so that readers can find them easily.
GUIDELINES: Projecting an Appropriate Tone in a Progress
or Status Report
Whether the news is positive or negative, these two suggestions will help you
sound like a professional.
If the news is good, convey your optimism but avoid overstatement.
OVERSTATED We are sure the device will do all that we ask of it, and more.
REALISTIC We expect that the device will perform well and that, in addition, it
might offer some unanticipated advantages.
Beware of promising early completion. Such optimistic forecasts rarely prove
accurate, and it is embarrassing to have to report a failure to meet an
optimistic deadline.
Dont panic if the preliminary results are not as promising as you had planned or
if the project is behind schedule. Even the best-prepared proposal writers
cannot anticipate all problems. As long as the original proposal was well
planned and contained no wildly inaccurate computations, dont feel
responsible. Just do your best to explain unanticipated problems and the
status of the project. If your news is bad, at least give the reader as much
time as possible to deal with it effectively.
Sample Progress Report
The progress report in Figure 17.4 (pp. 45764) was written for the project
proposed in Figure 16.6 (pp. 43945) in Chapter 16. [The recommendation
report for this study is in Figure 18.8 (pp. 490513) in Chapter 18.]
FIGURE 17.4 Sample Progress Report
Writing Incident Reports
An incident report describes an event such as a workplace accident, a health
or safety emergency, or an equipment problem. (Specialized kinds of incident
reports go by other names, such as accident reports or trouble reports.) The
purpose of an incident report is to explain what happened, why it happened,
and what the organization did (or is going to do) to follow up on the incident.
Incident reports often contain a variety of graphics, including tables,
drawings, diagrams, and photographs, as well as videos.
Incident reports can range from single-page forms that are filled out on
paper or online to reports hundreds of pages long. Figure 17.5 shows an
accident form used at a university.
FIGURE 17.5 An Accident Report Form
Figure 17.6 is the executive summary of a National Transportation Safety
Board accident report on a 2012 head-on collision between two freight trains
in Oklahoma. Investigators spent many months researching and writing the
full report.
FIGURE 17.6 Executive Summary of a Complex Accident Report
Writing Meeting Minutes
Minutes, an organizations official record of a meeting, are distributed to all
those who belong to the committee or group represented at the meeting.
Sometimes, minutes are written by administrative assistants; other times they
are written by technical professionals or technical communicators.
For more about conducting meetings, see Ch. 4, p. 70.
In writing minutes, be clear, comprehensive, objective, and diplomatic. Do
not interpret what happened; simply report it. Because meetings rarely follow
the agenda perfectly, you might find it challenging to provide an accurate
record of the meeting. If necessary, interrupt the discussion to request a
clarification.
Do not record emotional exchanges between participants. Because minutes
are the official record of the meeting, you want them to reflect positively on
the participants and the organization. For example, in a meeting a person
might say, undiplomatically, that another persons idea is stupid, a comment
that might lead to an argument. Dont record the argument. Instead, describe
the outcome: After a discussion of the merits of the two approaches, the
chair asked the Facilities Committee to consider the approaches and report
back to membership at the next meeting.
Figure 17.7 (on page 468), an example of an effective set of minutes, was
written using a Microsoft template. Many organizations today use templates
like this one, which has three advantages:
Because it is a word-processing template, the note taker can enter
information on his or her computer or tablet during the meeting, reducing
the time it takes to publish the minutes.
Because the template is a form, it prompts the note taker to fill in the
appropriate information, thus reducing the chances that he or she will
overlook something important.
Because the template is a table, readers quickly become accustomed to
reading it and thereby learn where to look for the information they seek.
FIGURE 17.7 A Set of Meeting Minutes
WRITERS CHECKLIST
Did you choose an appropriate application for the informational report? (p.
449)
Does the directive
clearly and politely explain your message? (p. 451)
explain your reasoning, if appropriate? (p. 451)
Does the field report
clearly explain the important information? (p. 453)
use, if appropriate, a problem-methods-results-conclusionrecommendations organization? (p. 453)
Does the progress or status report
clearly announce that it is a progress or status report? (p. 455)
use an appropriate organization? (p. 455)
clearly and honestly report on the subject and forecast the problems and
possibilities of the future work? (p. 455)
include, if appropriate, an appendix containing supporting materials that
substantiate the discussion? (p. 456)
Does the incident report
explain what happened? (p. 465)
explain why it happened? (p. 465)
explain what the organization did about it or will do about it? (p. 465)
Do the minutes
provide the necessary housekeeping details about the meeting? (p. 467)
explain the events of the meeting accurately? (p. 467)
reflect positively on the participants and the organization? (p. 467)
EXERCISES
For more about memos, see Ch. 14, p. 376.
1. As the manager of Lewis, Lewis, and Wollensky Law, LLC, you have been
informed by some clients that tattoos on the arms and necks of your
employees are creating a negative impression. Write a directive in the form
of a memo defining a new policy: employees are required to wear clothing
that covers any tattoos on their arms and necks.
2. Write a progress report about the research project you are working on in
response to Exercise 3 on page 446 in Chapter 16. If the proposal was a
collaborative effort, collaborate with the same group members on the
progress report.
3. TEAM EXERCISE You are one of three members of the administrative
council of your colleges student association. Recently, the three of you
have concluded that your weekly meetings, which are open to all students,
have become chaotic. There are two main reasons for this: you do not use
parliamentary procedure (rules for conducting meetings so that they are
efficient and fair), and controversial issues have arisen that have attracted
an increasing number of students. You have decided that it is time to
consider adopting parliamentary procedures. Look on the web for models
of parliamentary procedure. Is there one that you can adopt? Could you
combine elements of several models to create an effective process? Find
or write a brief set of procedures, being sure to cite your sources. In a
memo to your instructor, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the
model you propose, and submit it along with the procedures.
CASE 17: Writing a Directive
You work for a company that is implementing a new waste-reduction
initiative, with the goal of saving money and benefiting the environment. Your
supervisor has given you an outline of the new policy and asked you to draft
a directive that she will distribute to department heads. The directive should
explain the purpose and importance of the policy and outline ways
department heads and their employees will be expected to participate. To get
started drafting the directive, go to LaunchPad.
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We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
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Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.
Read moreEach paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.
Read moreThanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.
Read moreYour email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.
Read moreBy sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.
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