April 11 to 15

For Monday

Read chapter 4

For Tuesday

Complete exercises 1 to 8 in chapter 4.

Wednesday

Meet in library

For Thursday

Read chapter 5

For Friday

Exercises 1 to 4, chapter 5

Writing 104

Sally Gove

Week four

April 18 to 22

This week, we will use the attached assignment, The Outfitter, to cover the material in Chapters 6 and 7.

For Monday

Read chapter 6. In class we will cover planning, purpose, audience analysis, content and organization. We’ll apply these concepts to The Outfitter.

Tuesday

Read chapter 7. We will discuss the characteristics of a routine message. We’ll begin to look at drafting the message.

Wednesday

We will continue to cover chapter 7material, and look at and assess examples of routine messages.

For Thursday

Bring a draft of The Outfitter assignment to class. We’ll cover revision, format, and proofreading.

Friday

Routine message assignment, The Outfitter, is due. See back of this page.

Sally Gove

Writing 104

Routine message assignment

Due dates: Draft for revision, Thursday, April 21

Final draft, Friday, April 22

The Outfitter

As the purchasing manager for The Outfitter, a new clothing store scheduled to open on September 15, 2005, in San Marcos, Texas, you are interested in carrying lines of relatively expensive clothing that will appeal to college students. Your store will be located just three blocks from the Southwest Texas State University campus, a university of over 20,000 students: therefore, you anticipate high-volume sales. Students are interested in fashionable, comfortable clothing.

You are in the business of selecting a line of slacks and shirts for both men and women. The Martin Company (618 Williams Ave, Dallas, TX 76054) carries the items in which you’re interested: however, you need more information about their credit policies, quantity discounts, retail sales agreements, and methods and time frames for shipments.

Write to the sales manager of Martin requesting the information you need. Ask at least four specific questions. Provide sufficient background information about your business so that the sales manager can respond with specific answers to your questions.

Along with your final product – the letter – you must pass in answers to the following:

· What is the purpose of your letter?

· Who is your audience? How would you describe them?

· Why would the direct organizational plan be used for this type of letter?

· What topics do you plan to cover in the letter? List them in order.

· Write the opening sentence using a polite request that clearly defines the purpose of your letter.

· What background information, in order of importance, should you give the reader? Why do you think that information should be helpful?

Write at least four specific questions that will elicit the information you will need.

In your closing paragraph, make a clear statement of the action you want the reader to take, with a deadline by which the information is needed. Make the paragraph positive and provide appropriate reader incentive.