Details about daily assignments will be posted here and announced at class sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Check this website as you prepare for each upcoming class period. See the schedule posted in the syllabus for the tentative course outline.

Assigned September 2
For Thursday, January 21:

1. Read OBA Ch. 9, “Writing Business Correspondence.”  Pay careful attention to the patterns for sensitive and negative messages. 

2. Read Bawarshi’s “Genre Analysis Heuristic” (coursepack p. 8). As you write the correspondence for the ONE scenario assigned to you at class from the list that follows, apply Bawarshi’s suggestions for collecting and studying genre samples.

a. Complaint:  On your trip to attend a friend’s wedding, the airline temporarily misplaced your luggage.  While it was returned 23 hours later—and, technically, this means the luggage won’t qualify as “lost”—it meant that you didn’t have the fancy dress/suit that you were to wear as an attendant at the wedding.  Write an e-mail or letter of complaint. 

b.  Adjustment:  You have been teaching private (music? swimming? English?) lessons to a middle school student.  You receive an e-mail from the parents, who thought they were paying you $10 for 45-minute lessons.  In fact, this is your standard rate for 30-minute lessons.  The parents have just discovered that for the past few months, their child has been waiting on the curb for 15 minutes after each lesson, not “just a minute,” as they had assumed.  You had simply assumed that the parents were habitually late for picking up the student.  Write an adjustment letter or e-mail.

c. Collection:  An acquaintance hires you to do some consulting work in your area of expertise.  You spend about 20 hours on the project; 2 months later, you haven’t seen the check that was promised, even though you’ve seen and talked with this person at social functions.  Write a collection letter or e-mail. 

Assigned August 31
For Thursday, September 2:  Read OBA Ch. 8, “Understanding the Principles of Business Communication.”  As best you can, chart the differences in the GAPS for professional emails, instant messages, memos, and letters. As always, make note of your questions and comments as you read the chapter.

Assigned August 26
For Tuesday, August 31: Read the sample emails (on the handout) before you begin the rest of the homework, and choose the best and worst examples. As you read, think not only about what makes a good email, but also about what makes good professional writing. When we discuss the sample emails, you will be asked to cite specific examples and quotes from the reading as you justify your nominations for the best and worst messages.

• Read Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred Ch. 1, “Assessing Audience and Purpose.”
• Read Van Rys, Meyer, Sebranek, “The Business Writer’s Code of Ethics” and “Business Writing Ethics” (coursepack pp. 1-7, or Courses@Dordt).
• Interview (briefly!) one professor about the traits of well-written and poorly written emails. Ask about emails from students as well as about work-related emails from nonstudents.

Review the set of sample emails (on the handout); revise your selection of the best and worst emails as needed. Mark and annotate all of the messages to prepare for discussion about the best and worst of the batch.

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