Assignmrnt:
FINAL PORTFOLIO PROJECT
This assignment is the capstone of this course. It asks that you bring together and showcase your business writing skills in a professionally packaged portfolio. Keep this portfolio and take it with you on job interviews-business internships and careers often ask for writing samples.
Keep in mind that all components in this portfolio are new-you cannot reuse assignments we have already completed in class. Use this as an opportunity to showcase your skills.
Project Components
1. Email: Include one email with prefatory information (To, Copy, BCC, Subject), that you feel you might send to someone in your current place of employment or in a future position. This email should be about 200-300 words long and must showcase email writing skills learned in class and reviewed in of your text book.
2. Memo:Write a memo to a department or team in your current place of employment or imagine a future situation where a memo might be necessary. This memo should conform with standard memo formatting (see course materials and Chapter 2) and should be no longer than one page.
3. Sales Letter:Sales letters are covered in Chapter 7 of your textbook. Be sure to review the information in Chapter 7 as well as the sample sales letters. Use proper letter formatting and focus on persuasion in your letter. The topic and product being sold is your decision.
4. Bad News Letter:You work in the customer service department of a pest control company, Gooden Gone. Recently, Marjorie Jones, a client located in North Park, encountered a termite infestation in the lower level of her 1940s bungalow. Ms. Jones will need to replace the entire first floor of her home. She claims that Gooden Gone is responsible for the cost of her repairs. After researching the case you learn that Ms. Jones has two homes under termite coverage with your company-one in North Park and one in Chula Vista. The Chula Vista home is protected by the "Kitchen Sink" policy which covers annual treatments and the cost of repairs should an infestation occur. The North Park home, the one with the current infestation, is covered on the by the "Back Up" plan that covers only annual prevention treatments. The "Back Up" plan does not cover the cost of repairs. However, it will cover retreatment once the repairs have been made.
You will need to write to Ms. Jones and inform her that Gooden Gone is not responsible for the cost of her floor repairs in North Park. Ms. Jones has been a client for over 30 years. Maintain her goodwill while making sure she fully understands why the claim is being rejected.
5. Short Report:One of your responsibilities at work is to help maintain your company's blog. The traffic to the blog, however, has recently been in decline. Your boss has asked you to identify ways to generate more visits and comments. Research corporate blogs and write a short report (1-2 pages) summarizing your findings on how to increase traffic to your company's blog. The company can be real, or you can create your own.
Project Guidelines
• All project components must be typed, saved, and submitted on Blackboard.
• All assignments must be submitted on time. No exceptions.
Project Evaluation
• Does each piece of the portfolio follow established guidelines for the genre?
• Is the content and subject matter appropriate to each genre?
• Does each document reflect an analysis of the rhetorical situation?
• Is the font and design of each document suitable for the intended audience?
• Is this portfolio professionally designed?
• Is the portfolio free from grammar and punctuation errors?
• Has the writing been edited for clarity, conciseness, and directness?
• Are the documents scannable? Easy to access?