Activities For Further Reflection

Your instructor may ask you to complete one or more of the following exercises.

1. Choose one of the following scenarios, then write an email, memo or letter as a response. Think about what genre would be most effective, then use the models discussed in the chapter to write your response.

• Your company has decided to consider allowing employees to work from home. Anyone who is interested in working from home must have a conversation with their manager to determine if their position would be appropriate for this arrangement. If the manager approves, they must submit Form 4A to their HR representative. Those who are approved to work from home will start with a 3 month trial period, where they will be required to submit a weekly log of the tasks they performed at home. Your job is to inform employees of this new opportunity and make sure they know how to apply.
• Easter is coming up in a few weeks and you work for a flower shop. Many people order lilies for Easter, but these can be toxic to pets. The florist has come up with a pet-friendly Easter bouquet. He asks you to let the customers know about the dangers of lilies and suggest that they order a non-toxic Easter bouquet instead.
• You work for a non-profit that gives out scholarships to disadvantaged teenagers. You’ve already informed the winners of the scholarship by phone, but your boss wants you to send them something in writing with all of the official details and any forms that need to be filled out to claim the scholarship.
• You volunteer on your condo’s strata. The strata has approved painting the outside of the building. Between April 5-10, the residents must not open their windows and must remove anything from their balconies. You don’t have email addresses for every resident, but you do have access to their physical mailboxes.
• You recently purchased a new guitar at a local music shop. One of the shop’s employees, Maria, spent over an hour helping you make your purchase. She was very knowledgeable, and was the reason that you purchased the guitar at the small local store instead of going to a larger store with more selection. You want to let Maria’s boss know about her excellent service.

2. Brenda Knights’ narrative talks about the perils of email. Why do you think it was included in the chapter? Do you agree that people should write fewer emails, memos and letters? Do you prefer to converse via email or in person?