WRD202x | Marta Shcherbakova | Winter 2020

Adapted from Workplace Writing: Planning, Packaging, and Perfecting Communication by Sharon J.
Gerson and Steven M. Gerson. Copyright © 1995 – 2012 Pearson Education

Internal Correspondence Packet

Delivering Good and Bad News

Overview: In this assignment you need to craft two separate documents:

1. delivering good news
2.delivering bad news

Please study the scenario provided below to determine the audience, style, tone, and
structure of each document.

Background Knowledge: Review the criteria for writing successful letters and memos
that we discussed in class (the Power Point is available on our D2L page). Also, review
Chapter 4 “Preparing Correspondence” from Successful Writing at Work (only pages
98-133).

Learning Outcomes Transferable Skills

 Craft documents that address specific
audiences

 Compose documents that use appropriate
style choices for the genre (and/or
rhetorical situation)

 Produce documents that use standard
conventions of business genres

 Compose documents that are grammatically
and mechanically sound

 Plan/ organize/ prioritize

 Ethical reasoning and judgment

 Professionalism

 Information Technology Application

Writing a Memo Delivering Good News

Scenario 1: You are the manager of a clothing store. You just received an email from
your CEO about the raise in the yearly bonuses. Write a memo announcing this exciting
news regarding yearly bonuses for your employees.

Scenario 2: You are the manager of a local dealership, and one of your employees,
Samantha, wrote you a memo asking the company to pay for some business courses
she took at the College of Lake County. She vividly described the courses and their
relevance to the job she does at the dealership. After speaking with the upper
management and getting the approval for the reimbursement, you are eager to share
the news with Samantha. Write a memo to Samantha in which you praise her
outstanding work and extra effort followed by the announcement of the good news.

WRD 202x | Marta Shcherbakova | Winter 2020

Adapted from Workplace Writing: Planning, Packaging, and Perfecting Communication by Sharon J.
Gerson and Steven M. Gerson. Copyright © 1995 – 2012 Pearson Education

Writing a Memo Delivering Bad News

Scenario 1: Sales have decreased for two consecutive quarters at your business. You
have been instructed to inform your sales team that their hours, and base pay, will be
reduced by 20 percent. While you may have a few members of your sales team that are
underperforming, you want to retain the entire team. Write a negative news memo
informing your sales team of the news.

Scenario 2: You are a supervisor and have been given the task of discussing repeated
tardiness with an employee, Chris. Chris has frequently been late for work, and the
problem has grown worse over the last two weeks. The tardiness is impairing not only
Chris’s performance, but also that of the entire work team. Your manager has instructed
you to put an end to it. The desired result is for Chris to stop his tardiness behavior and
improve his performance. Write a negative news memo informing Chris about the
consequences of his tardiness.

Draft #1 – Thursday, January 23, before class (upload to D2L)

Draft #2 – Sunday, January 26, midnight (upload to D2L)

Grading Rubric

Criteria Excellent Good Inconsistent Below Average Poor

Clarity 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points /10

Conciseness 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points /10

Comprehensiveness 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points /10

Honesty/Accuracy 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point /5

Document Specific Concerns 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point /5

Rhetorical Awareness 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points /10

Total /50