During Week Five I'd like you to draft Project 3, a Cooperation Letter. This week you'll submit an Audience Profile Sheet and rough draft of your letter to Mr. McCord, the customer who has requested a refund for the computer product he bought. After I've had a chance to read all of the drafts and make general comments on them, you can revise your letters and resubmit them. The revised letters will be due at the beginning of Week Six, roughly on 09/29 or 09/30. (Please note that these due dates represent a slight change in previously stated due dates for the APS and rough draft of Project 3.)

During Week Five, there are three assignments due:

Writing/Online Exercise 5: Wednesday, 9/26
2. APS for Project 3 (2 pts.): Wednesday, 9/26
3. Rough Draft of Project 3 (1 pt.): Wednesday, 9/26
4. Revised Draft 0f Project 3 (6 pts.): Saturday-Sunday, 09/29-30 (Week 6)

• For 26 Sep
  Three Assignments:
  • Writing/Online Exercise 5 (2 pts.)
  • Rough Draft of Project 3 (1 pt.)
  • APS for Project 3 (2 pts.)
  1. Writing/Online Exercise 5
  
  Read Janic Tovey's essay "'As Per Your Request:...,'" which I handed out during the orientation session. That essay provides a good historical understanding of the kinds of jargon and conventional language that we find in business letters. Then, in at least two paragraphs, summarize Tovey's essay, and respond to it on the basis of your own awareness of and experience with jargon in business writing, the format of "form letters," and the like.)

  In order to be eligible for credit for this exercise, post your response to the class WebBoard discussion forum by 26 Sep.

  2. Rough Draft of Project 3, a Cooperation Letter (1 pt.)
     Use regular e-mail to submit a rough draft of your letter to Mr. McCord. The draft should be in a letter format. Use either a full-block or modified-block style. Follow the examples in the book. In my general comments to the drafts I will talk about which style seems most effective given the audience and context of the letter.

     Again, this formatting is important. So be sure that you have saved your file in Rich Text Format, which will preserve the formatting. Attach your revised project to an e-mail message to me. Be sure to fill in the "Subject" line of your e-mail message. In the body of the e-mail, be sure to put your name and to notify me that your rough draft of Project 3 is attached to the message. Last, in order to give you credit for the exercise I need to receive those drafts by 26 Sep.

  3. APS for Project 3 (2 pts.)
     Use the APS Form to submit an analysis of the audience for Project 3. A couple of things to keep in mind: First, even though none of us has ever met Mr. McCord, we must try our best to describe him. In marketing terms, we need to determine what demographic he is part of. Second, keep in mind that a secondary audience for such a letter would be a manager or supervisor; if it were a mail-order item, then typically a manager might ask the writer how the complaint had been addressed. Third, keep in mind that the purpose does not include just granting the adjustment. The purpose is also to maintain goodwill for the company. So, just sending a check might not do as much as the response could to promote goodwill. Last, especially with disgruntled customers, it's always helpful to provide a contact for the customer as a way of keeping open lines of communication.

     Submit the APS Form by 26 Sep.

• For 29-30 Sep
  One Assignment:
  • Revised Draft of Project 3 (9 pts.)

  1. Revised Draft of Project 3 (6 pts.)
     Use regular e-mail to submit a revised draft of your cooperation letter. Be sure that you file is formatted in Rich Text Format.