Business Writing Exercises: Lessons and Exercises

Lesson 1 No writing exercises

The “Chapters” refer to the text book. Lesson 1 No writing exercises

Lesson 2 Complete these Chapter 4 exercises: ? Exercise

4.4 Planning Messages: Audience Profile—any two from a to f (p. 120 of text book) ? Exercise

4.12 Message Organization: Audience Focus—any two from a to e (p. 121 of text book) Lesson 3 Complete these Chapter 5 exercises: ?

5.2 Audience Relationship: The “You” Attitude—any five sentences from a to I (p. 151 of text book) ? 5.3 Audience Relationship: Emphasize the Positive—any three from a to e (p. 151 of text book) ?

5.7 Message Composition: Controlling Style (pp. 151-152 of text book) Lesson 4 Complete this Chapter 5 exercise: ?

5.14 Message Composition: Creating Sentences (p. 152 of text book) Complete this exercise, as well: ? Find TWO (not four) interesting press releases or news stories from different organizations. Summarize the main idea of each one in a message short enough to be a Twitter post (up to 280 characters). Include the originals in the portfolio submission. Lesson 5 Complete these Chapter 6 exercises: ? Practice Your Knowledge:

6.A (p. 183 of text book) ? Practice Your Knowledge: 6.B (p. 183 of text book)

Lesson 6 ? Complete any Chapter 8 case (pp. 254-255 of text book). Do not answer the questions for the portfolio; submit just the “Your Task” item. Choose ONE of these exercises, as well (not both): ? Imagine you are a real estate agent. A client has written to say he has decided to switch to a different agent. You are upset, because you have spent weeks showing him homes and will now miss out on any commission. Also, the other agent is not as familiar with the area as you are, having just moved here. Respond to this ex-client. ? Write an open letter to announce you have reversed an unpopular decision. Invent any details you need. Lesson 7 ? Exercise 9.2 Teamwork: Communicating Bad News—solo part only (p. 298 of text book) Chose ONE of these exercises, as well (not both): ? The charismatic CEO of your company is awaiting the results of medical tests that could reveal she has a serious incurable illness. If she is ill, there would be significant media interest, so she asks you to prepare an open letter in her name that would deliver the bad news to the public and reassure investors that the company’s prospects are strong. Invent any details you need. ? You are the online community manager for a company that sells e-book readers. Your company substantially dropped the price of its flagship e-book reader only three months after its release. Someone posts a message on your Facebook page, saying, “You should refund money to people who paid the original price!” Many visitors click Like on this message, showing support for the idea. Refuse this request in a brief note that would be posted as a reply on Facebook. Lesson 8 ? Write an email to your local, provincial, or federal government to persuade it to change a policy or priority (choose any topic that interests you). Length – approximately 150 words. Lesson 9 ? Read Document 9.A: Providing Negative News about Transactions in Chapter 9’s Practice Your Knowledge section (p. 297 of text book). Write a 100-word comment providing constructive feedback, summarizing the changes you think would most improve the message. You may want to provide an example or two, but you do not need to specify every change. Think of yourself as a busy executive who has time only to provide direction. Be succinct, while remaining polite and professional. Lesson 10 No writing exercises Lesson 11 •

Write a  analysis of a presentation’s slides, focusing on slide design, organization, and other elements. Include a link to the presentation. Lesson 12 ? Write a cover letter for a current employment opportunity. Use real information about yourself. Submit the link to the job posting as part of the assignment. Here is how the Assignment #1 portfolio will be graded out of 100: 80-100 • Excellent effort • Content of professional standard • Portfolio complete 70-79 • Very good effort. • Content of high standard • Portfolio nearly complete 60-69 • Adequate effort • Content of acceptable standard • Several omissions 50-59 • Minimal effort. • Content of less than acceptable standard • Many omissions 0-49 • Little to no effort • Content unclear, confusing, and/or containing many errors • Many omissions The instructor’s opinion of the quality of the work determines the grade. i will provide all details and text material if you need