Paul macrae business and professional writing

Persuasive Memo

Final Exam Study Guide

English 3430 – Professional Writing Review: Business and Professional Writing: A Basic Guide for Americans, Paul MacRae:

Ch. 1 (Plain Language), Ch. 2 (The Seven C’s…), Ch. 3 (The Eighth C), Ch. 4 (Copy Editing), Ch. 6 (Formatting for Correspondence), Ch. 7 (Emails and Memos), Ch. 8 (Letters: Good, Bad, Neutral), Ch. 9 (Persuasive Letters) Make sure you focus on the important aspects of professional communication. Stick to these basic principles in choosing your tone when constructing your response to the cases presented to you during the exam. All good professional communication is clear, concise, and:

1. Audience-Centered 2. Information-Based 3. Action-Oriented

Sample Exam Question

Please read carefully and respond to the sample case presented below. You may invent needed

information, but ensure that it is pertinent and realistic. You will be evaluated on your writing

style and tone, as well as the formatting for each type of correspondence.

Sample Case

You are the manager of a chain of print shops, CopyMAX, and have just received some good

news from your corporate office. Next Thursday is Independence Day, and all of your 85

employees will be given a paid vacation day. There’s a problem, though. One of your biggest

clients has asked for a rush-order that relates to their summer marketing campaign, and you

need to produce 10,000 postcards, 95 large posters, and 10 banners by July 7. To complete

the job, at least five of your staff members are going to have to work during the holiday,

including one of your four graphic designers.

You would like to ask for volunteers, but you need five employees. So, if fewer than five

volunteer, you will assign employees based on seniority—those hired most recently will be

asked to work.

Employees who work during the holiday will have two options: they can be paid overtime at the

time-and-a-half rate, or they can receive two vacation days.

Write a persuasive memo to your employees and ask them to volunteer to work. Indicate what

will need to happen if you don’t get enough volunteers.