Collect a sampling of business letters, reports, presentations, and memos. At least eight
pieces of correspondence/messages must be included. Organize the answers to these
analysis questions in an accessible, bound report. It does not need to be fancy binding,
but a stack of loose papers will be hard to manage, so keep that in mind. Please mark
your class and section clearly on the cover.
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A minimum of eight samples are needed in total. None of the documents can be
previously connected to our class.
One sample must be a formal report from outside of this class. If your
workplace and family connections cannot offer you one to work with, consider
contacting a PSU department with which you are familiar to access a report.
□ Determine the central purpose of each letter, report, or memo. What was the writer
trying to do? What responses does the writer want from the reader?
□ Based on the above questions, place the samples in designated and organized stacks:
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routine information or good news
refusal or bad-news messages
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persuasive requests
reports
a miscellaneous category, only if necessary (label as needed)
For each document,
□ Share how you found this sample. The documents must not be the result of random
internet searching. They should each be connected to a context about which you can
write.
□ Identify the category of the sample and specifically state its purpose and intended
audience.
□ Determine the reading level of each document by performing a readability analysis
using the Gunning Fog Index (found easily on many sites online). Also, apply the
sentence tips from Chapter 10 as you evaluate sentence structure. That chapter had so
many ideas, so try to comment on the successful use or dire misuse of them in the
document. Pay special attention to the ‘you’ attitude when it is present (or should be
present).
□ Evaluate the message of each sample according to the content of the textbook. For
example, apply guidelines from the Correspondence chapter (14) to letters, emails, and
memos.
□ As with each point of analysis, use examples to explain how the document designer
organized information, and how this affected clarity. Do comment on whether the
designer used a direct or indirect strategy, and explain why this choice was made.
□ Where appropriate, list one or two specific things that could be done to improve a
particular letter or memo. If content has been well designed, point out the strengths of
the correspondence instead.
Finally, submit a 1-2 page Reflection Piece, in business letter format, which shares
what you have learned throughout the course. Offer specific examples of challenges and
examples of personal growth.