Correspondence Assignment

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Background

The Correspondence Assignment presented me with a scenario in which I played the role of a manager while my direct supervisor was in absence. Numerous unfortunate events were taking place negatively impacting my company's relationship with our customers. I was asked to draw up correspondence between myself and the customer explaining the situation at hand and how I would fix it, as well as correspondence between myself and my boss explaining the same. I constructed a letter to the customer and a memo to my boss.

What I Did Well

Overall, I performed well on this assignment by demonstrating my understanding of its purpose. I was able to appropriately identify and utilize the proper tone for both the correspondence to the customer as well as to my manager, recognizing that corresponding with different types of people requires a different level of formality.

Also, I was able to successfully differentiate between the levels of detail that needed to be included in each correspondence, taking care to include only relevant information to each recipient.

Additionally, I was successfully able to identify the audiences and their needs, the audience's probable attitude and personality, and the audience's expectations about the document. Taking this information into account allowed me to better tailor my correspondence to provide the recipient with exactly what they needed to keep them happy. This was especially useful in this particular scenario where I am delivering bad news.

Considering this was the first writing assignment that I had written for a grade in a long time, I did well with proof reading, mechanics, and using the appropriate writing style.

What Needed Improvement

As with any assignment, there were some aspects of my correspondence that needed improvement.

One aspect of this assignment that I was slightly unsure of was how to use bullets effectively. Bullets are used when presenting your audience with a list and also that they are acceptable even in letters to your boss. I had previously viewed them as a less formal form of communication. I have since taken care to always utilize bullets when listing a set of ideas, suggestions, facts, etc.

Another problem that I had with this assignment was that I made several broad claims without providing adequate support when justifying my choice of strategy. In order to get a point across, a claim must be supported by evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of the point.

What I Learned

With this assignment being my first serious writing assignment in a few years, I learned a number of facts about the field of technical communication. From this assignment, I learned that letters are still a popular form of correspondence in the corporate world. I had previously viewed them as a slow form of communication but have since recognized when it is appropriate to use them. I also learned when it is appropriate to use email as a form of correspondence. Perhaps the most important concept I learned from this assignment was how to identify my audience, their needs, and their expectations, and how to cater my technical communication appropriately to them.