For this assignment, you will write two messages:
- Message 1: A Routine Explanatory Email to Dr. Trainor
- Message 2: An Indirect Bad News Email to an Audience of Your Choosing
In the routine message component of this assignment, you should provide background information / introduce the scenario for your bad news message. In the bad news message component of this assignment, you should subtly but clearly, convey your bad news to your audience.
In total, both messages (excluding headings and salutations) should not exceed one page in length. You may, however, put your two messages on separate pages to make the documents easier to read.
Message 1: Routine Explanatory Email
Write your routine explanatory email to me (Dr. Trainor). In this message, you should provide background information / introduce the scenario for the second message, your indirect bad news email. More specifically, you should encourage me (Dr. Trainor) to review the context for the bad news message portion of this assignment and provide me with any contextual information I would need to know to grasp the second part of your assignment. This information might include background on your audience, on the institutional or workplace setting where the bad news is taking place, or even on the bad news itself.
Your routine message should:
- Follow business email formatting (including To, From, Date, and Subject lines; opening and concluding salutations; and an email signature block)
- Contain a strong, action-oriented subject line (i.e. you should frame your subject line as either a polite question or polite command)
- Follow routine message structure (i.e. your message should identify your main point in your first 1-5 sentences)
- Clearly indicate the action you want you reader to take
- Please note: Your message should ask me to review the context for your bad news message assignment
- Provide your reader with any contextual information they will need to understand your bad news message
- Adhere to all of the 4-C style principles (clarity, concision, continuity, and cohesion)
- Use block formatting to create a visually-appealing document
- Conclude with specific, personalized goodwill and, if necessary, a summative closing statement
As usual, ensure that your routine message is reader-focused. You can make this portion of the assignment reader-focused by making your reader feel appreciated, appealing to your reader’s priorities, and motivating your reader to read your message.
Message 2: Indirect Bad News Message
Write a short, indirect bad news email to an audience of your choosing. In this email, you should convey bad news of your choice in a sensitive, indirect fashion.
Your bad news message should:
- Follow business email formatting (including To, From, Date, and Subject lines; opening and concluding salutations; and an email signature block)
- Contain a subject line that provides context for the message but refrains from revealing the bad news
- Follow indirect bad news message structure (i.e. your message should begin with a neutral buffer; include a middle rationale-bad news-resolution [R-B-R] paragraph; and conclude with goodwill)
- Fully explain your rationale for the bad news before stating the bad news itself
- Use one of the three techniques for softening the bad news (preferred, though optional)
- Adhere, where appropriate, to all of the 4-C style principles (with particular emphasis on continuity)
- Avoid repeating the bad news more than once to prevent unwanted emphasis on the bad news
- Use block formatting to create a visually-appealing document
- Devote extra attention to developing goodwill with the reader
You may use your bad news message to convey any kind of information that would be appropriate to convey in an indirect bad news message. You may not, however, use your bad news message to terminate someone’s employment, decline an applicant for a job opening, reject an applicant from an undergraduate or graduate program, or notify your reader of someone’s death, illness, or injury.
Finally, make sure that your bad news message is reader-focused. In bad news messages, reader focus will help you manage your reader’s reaction to the bad news. In this portion of the assignment, you can achieve reader focus by using positive or neutral (not negative!) language throughout, making your message easy to read and understand, and closing with a detailed, sincere resolution to leave your reader with a positive impression of your future relationship.
Note: Please upload a single.doc, .docx, or .pdf file containing both your routine and bad news messages.
