Instruction
Tips: How to do well on the business correspondence assignment
Tip 1: Don’t underestimate the complexity of the short business correspondence.
These messages require mastery of the forms, deep understanding of rhetorical situations and finesse with language.
Tip 2: Pay close attention to the rhetorical situation.
Make sure your message is an appropriate response. For instance, don’t write a message in the direct approach if your situation calls for an indirect approach (or vice versa). Don’t emphasize negativity, when positivity will work.
Tip 3: Analyze each scenario with a fresh perspective.
Some students will simply mirror the scenario, point by point. Don’t do it. For instance, you can walk right into a defamation suit if you aren’t extremely careful about what you say about a fired employee. Also, if you need to make up a detail or two, that’s also fine.
Tip 4: Keep your textbook close at hand (BCE Chapters 7, 8 and 9).
Within the larger categories (Routine and Positive, Negative, Persuasive), choose a particular type of message; then follow its particular strategies.