Assignment 3: Straightforward Messages

Plan and write two straightforward messages.

Read the two scenarios below. For each scenario, complete the following steps:

Identify the purpose of your message.

Develop a brief audience analysis. You can guide your analysis with the questions in your textbook in the “Audience Profile” section of Chapter 3, but focus on what the recipient will care about and need to know. Your analysis should be around 150 words.

Write a talking outline of your message that shows a hierarchy of your main points and subpoints. As you outline, consider the appropriate scope for your message. You will not need to convey every piece of information in the scenario.

Write a first draft of your message. Include all required elements and formatting. For example, if you are writing a paper letter, include an address block, a signature block, and other standard features of a letter. If you are writing an email, include a subject line and other features of a professional email. Save a copy of your first draft before proceeding, since you will need to submit it later.

Revise your message. Complete as many rounds of revision as required to make your message effective. Your finished draft should be clear, concise, well-organized, and mechanically correct. (See the marking guideline for more detail.) It’s a good idea to pause between drafts, so you will have a fresh perspective when you revise.

Finalize your message with one last round of proofreading and polish. You may want to have a colleague proofread it for you too.

Create a single document that contains all the above planning material and finished message for BOTH scenarios. Be sure to include your:

Purpose statement

Audience analysis

Outline

First draft

Finished message

Clearly label each part (for example, “Scenario 1: Audience Analysis”).

Submit the document to your Open Learning Faculty Member.

Scenario 1
You work at the Lamplight Foundation, a charitable organization.

The organization’s mission is to unlock the potential of local communities and build ties between neighbours. Lamplight gives grants to community projects that further this mission. The foundation has a worldwide reputation for making effective use of its donors’ contributions.

Your director, Alexander Lamp, asks you to prepare a paper letter to notify Anabel Sepp that she has been selected to receive a grant. He will sign the letter.

Mr. Lamp tells you “As director, I get the chance to mingle with world leaders and pop stars, but the best part of the job for me has always been awarding these community grants.”

Ms. Sepp applied for a grant for her proposal, the Rooftop Farm Pilot Project.

The Rooftop Farm Pilot Project’s vision is of a city that can grow its own food. The grant will fund a single test farm.

The Lamplight Foundation receives hundreds of inventive and worthwhile proposals every year.

Ms. Sepp’s proposal was selected because of her professional business plan and because her report on successful rooftop farms in other regions showed that the foundation’s money would be wisely invested. She has an established network of volunteers, which will help her project succeed. These volunteers could be a receptive audience for the foundation’s future fundraising campaigns.

Ms. Sepp is 21 years old. The foundation’s grants usually go to older people with more experience, but she impressed the interview team with her professionalism and what one panelist described as a “perky attitude.”

In order to serve as many communities as possible, the foundation sometimes provides only part of the funding requested. This approach forces some grant recipients to scale back their projects, but it lets the foundation help more people.

Ms. Sepp will receive the full $8,000 grant she requested.

Ms. Sepp failed to include a signed release form with her original proposal. She must provide one by certified mail to the foundation’s head office before the foundation can issue the cheque for the grant.

Ms. Sepp’s pilot project expects to install its first rooftop farms this summer.

Anabel Sepp can be reached at 111 Tulip Avenue in Surrey, British Columbia, V8V 8V8. Her phone number is 250-555-1515. Her email is anabel@sepp.com.

Scenario 2
You work in the constituency office of an elected official. Your job is to help members of the community with their problems. Your office receives this email:

Subject: (blank)

hi. i want to find what BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION courses tru-ol offers but their web site is confusing…. can you tell me how to list courses by subject. I am no dummy but not a computer guy so go easy on me!! this computer puts x’s where all the pictures should be so no pictures please. APPRECIATE the help. -mr h. smith

Although your office is not affiliated with Thompson Rivers University-Open Learning, your manager suggests you provide instructions for Mr. Smith and then direct him to TRU-OL for any other questions. You can find the information he needs at https://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/

Mr. Smith’s email address is hsmith@mymail.com.

You can offer to assist in another channel, but your email should provide all the information the correspondent needs.

Assignment 3 Marking Guideline
Your Open Learning Faculty Member will consider how well each finished message achieves the goals below. Each message is assessed separately, and the overall grade will be an average of the two submissions.

Last Completed Projects

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