Major Assignments:
Writing Instructions for Assignments
● Résumé and Application letter
● Quizzes and Reading Responses
The purpose of this assignment is to give you a chance to apply your rhetorical theory of audience
and purpose to the actual writing situation of creating a résumé and a letter of application for the
job you choose. It is also a practice on how you apply document design elements to make your
document appear professional. In writing these documents, you will gain valuable experience in
audience analysis and document design. In addition, you will see the value in presenting yourself
ethically and professionally. It demonstrates your ability to make critical decisions and in analyzing
your own skills with respect to the unique characteristics of the job to which you apply.
To complete this assignment, you need
1. To find a job either online or in print that is related to your major and submit this job ad to me.
This document helps to show you are able to do research in the job market and serves as the
criteria for me to see if you able to target your audience needs.
2. A description of the company (one page) to show you are able to do your audience analysis.
3. Refer to the samples of resumes on pages 559-563 and samples of letters on pages 571-573.
Use Word to write your assignment.
4. Write a resume and an accompanied letter of application and submit the two documents.
Only two pages are necessary: one for the resume and the other for the letter. Don't write more
than one page for either of the document unless you have more than 10 years' job experience.
5. All the four documents are to be submitted online to your class folder. Your make sure your
assignment is there.
Grading:
1. Document design (15 %)
Your document should look professional. You need to use appropriate levels of headings,
section chunks, line spacing, word spacing, at least one inch of margins. Text area is evenly
distributed on the page. If your text is a little more than one page, try to compress it into
one page. Don't cover the page by less than half of it.
2. Content (50%)
Both academic experience ( education, courses, etc selected ) and job experience meet the
audience 's (the employer) needs or expectations.
Substantial supporting details are provided.
the documents have the important and conventional sections of a resume and a letter.
3. Format ( 15 %)
Follow the conventional formats of letters and resumes (see samples of the chapter).
4. Style (20%)
Use action verbs.
Use parallel lists.
Use paragraphs effectively.
Use vocabulary appropriate to the audience.
Grammar and punctuation are correct, incl. no misspellings or typos
The purpose of this assignment is to give you a chance to practice on the principles of business
communication and the approaches for writing both positive and negative massages such as
sales and promotions, inquiries, acknowledgements, refusals, complaints, and collections.
The assignment also allows you to choose the appropriate medium and form such as a letter,
or a memo, or an email to deliver the massages. This assignment is an important part of the
course. Tips to remember when completing this assignment include:
● Audience, purpose and convention in the organization
● Different functions of different media (see checklist on page 266)
● The tone of your language (see checklist on page 269)
● Formatting of your document in light of letter and memo conventions
● Rhetorical patterns for good and bad messages.
● Design and correctness of your document
You have to choose to write one positive message (acknowledgement, promotion, etc.)
and one negative message (complaint, refusal, etc.) for this assignment. Refer to chapter
9 for these genres.
Grading criteria
Audience and purpose (20%)
tone and style (20%)
medium and form (10%)
organization(20%)
Correctness (20%)
Document design (10%)
Proposals are one of the most frequent workplace documents you are likely to write once you start
your work. They include external proposals and internal proposals as described in Chapter 13. The
purpose of this assignment is to train your ability to write a persuasive, well-organized proposal
so that you can really solve some workplace problems and increase your trustworthiness in the
company. You can choose to write either an external proposal or an internal proposal. But in each
case, you need to demonstrate your good audience awareness, your professionalism, and your
credibility, your persuasive arguments, clear purpose, good organization, and your good style.
The topics for the assignment can be a grant proposal for any RFP on the Internet, or an internal
research proposal for improving certain problematic situation (such as replacing old equipment,
adding new facilities, doing away with unnecessary things, etc.). Your assignment will be graded
in light of the following aspects:
Audience and purpose awareness (20%)
Are you able to use the right language and tone to address your audience?
Are you able to realize what they need to know in the rhetorical situation?
Are you able to address the problems they are concerned with?
Is your information presented in a way they find it easily understood?
Organization (20% )
Is the overall organization most effective for your audience?
Do you miss any important section? (Refer to the samples on pages 441-445).
Are the paragraphs coherently and logically organized, which lead to a natural conclusion?
Do you provide smooth transitions with a paragraph, between paragraphs, and between
different sections?
Content (40%)
Do you really justify the problem that you bring out is a significant problem that must be solved
because the advantages or benefits will be greatly increased, or the serious consequence the
problem will lead to if unsolved?
Do you use the right evidence to support your argument? Is the evidence adequate?
Are your points clearly articulated? Is your discussion to the necessary depth? Any
oversimplified information is presented? Are the supporting details relevant?
Do you meet the minimum word count (1200 words)?
Do you demonstrate your qualifications, professionalism and your trustworthiness in the proposal?
Style (20%)
Are the word used appropriate to your audience? Are the sentence patterns (too long and
complex, or too many choppy sentences) appropriate to your audience? Do you vary your sentence
rhythms? Is the grammar correct? Is the punctuation correct? Do you have any spelling error?
Does the document follow the conventional format?
Instructions are also frequently used at workplace. Mangers write them for the subordinates to
perform certain tasks, and engineers write them for workers to complete certain projects.
Professionals of various fields normally have to write instructions. As you will become a professional
or an engineer, it is important for you to command this writing skill. The purpose of this assignment
is to test your ability to write instructions that have a clear audience awareness, use clear
and appropriate language, informative illustrations, and proper safety information. To complete
this task, you need to choose a task that can be
completed with 7 steps. Previous successful instances include replacing parts, paper cutting ,
paperfolding, cleaning something, planting something. etc. Do choose a complicated task that
takes a manual to explain it. Specifically speaking, you will be graded in light of the following
aspects:
Introduction 40%
Audience and purpose (7.5%)
(Do you state your audience and purpose explicitly?)
Items needed (tools and materials) (7.5%)
Safety information (Do you provide safety information and design it by using color, font size, box,
proper use of terminology?) 25%
Body 50%
Number the steps (5%)
Appropriate amount of information (15%)
(Do you have unnecessary information and oversimplified information?)
Graphics (25%)
(You should use informative, not decorative information)
Imperative mood (5%) (Use action verbs.)
Do not omit articles (a, an, the.)
Don’t confuse feedback and steps (5%)
Document Design 10%
Use of white space
Use of font (size and style)
Integration of verbal text with graphics
Follow design principles such as alignment, approximate, contrast, and repetition
Use a list if possible for the materials and tools needed.
Presentations are an important means to communicate information and knowledge nowadays in all
places. This assignment aims at training your verbal fluency so that you can do good presentations.
Specifically speaking, this assignment help train your ability to organize your speech in
a logic manner, your ability to accommodate your speech to your audience needs, and your ability
to use visual means to make your speech more interesting and understandable to your audience.
In addition, this will also give you valuable practice in listening and note-taking as you will be
evaluating other presenters and asking questions. This assignment asks you to be prepared, but it
also asks you to think on your feet. You must be prepared to answer the audience's questions, so
you will have to know your stuff!
You need to prepare for a seven-minute presentation on a topic you are interested in. You can use
PowerPoint slides or overhead projector. You will be evaluated in light of the following criteria:
The presentation has an introduction, a body and a conclusion
The introduction announces the main points and the organization of the presentation,
has an interesting, attractive opening. (10 %)
The language is direct, clear, and precise. (10%)
Smooth transition between sections. (10%)
Supporting examples and illustrations are used.(15%)
Evidence is adequate and relevant.(15%)
Speech is well paced with proper non-verbal communication messages such as eye-gaze,
hand gestures, body movement.(15%)
Illustrations are professional, correct, informative, and clear to see.(10%)
In conclusion, the speaker summarizes the key points. (7%)
S/he politely invites questions and answers questions effectively. (8%)
Websites are effective means to communicate all kinds of information in the fastest manner to
the farthest places in the world. Because of their multimedia features, they are welcome all over the
world. Almost all the companies, institutes, organizations, etc have a Web site for their business.
In fact, many individuals also have Web sites. In this era of high-tech, it is important you need to
command this Web design skill.
To create this Web site, you need to command some software skill such as FrontPage or HTML and
apply rhetorical theory and document design theory to it. You can choose a topic for you are
interested in for the Web site or creates one for any company, institute, etc. that needs it. Your
Web site will be evaluated according to the following criteria.
The Web site has a clear audience awareness and purpose. (20%)
The Web site has a reasonable layout that helps navigate the site. (20%)
The Web site has good accessibility to the information the audience needs.(20%)
The Web site has a professional appearance.(10%)
The Web site has interactive functions. (10%)
The Web site has substantive, ethic information about the chosen topic.(20%)
Please avoid the following weaknesses:
Formal reports are the written accounts of major projects, which include research into new
development, explorations of the feasibility of a new product or new service, or an end-of-year
review of development within an organization. Such reports are also commonly seen in an
organization. Any professional may have the chance to write a formal report, so practice on this
genre of writing is necessary. This assignment is to be a group project that tests your collaboration
ability with others. To finish this assignment, you can use your research proposal as the basis.
But you need to remember that your report serves multiple audiences, so you need to have
different sections for them. Specifically speaking , your formal report must have theses
components:
● Transmittal letter (5%)
● Front matter (10%)
▪ Title page
▪ Abstract
▪ Table of Contents
▪ List of Figures
▪ List of Tables
▪ Foreword
▪ Preface
▪ List of Abbreviations and symbols
● Body (75%)
▪ Executive Summary
▪ Introduction
▪ Text
▪ Headings
▪ Explanatory Notes
▪ Graphic and Tabulary Matter
▪ Conclusion
▪ Recommendation
▪ Works Cited
● Back matter (10%)
▪ Bibliography
▪ Appendixes
▪ Glossary
▪ Index
For each part and section, you will be graded on the following aspects accordingly:
● Correct format and document design
● Audience and purpose
● Organization
● Clarity
● Adequate information or supporting evidence
● Correctness
To write this report successfully, you also need to edit, revise or proofread the document in
light of the checklist provided on page 403.
You are going to have three quizzes and 10 reading responses throughout the semester.
Quiz 1 will test your understanding and application of document design features. It will be
in the form of multiple choice, definitions and short answers.
Quiz 2 will test your ability to write a business letter in class by following the principles you
have learned (Writing instructions (rubric) will be given when you take the quiz.
Quiz 3 will test your ability to write an informal report in class by following the principles
you have learned (Wring instructions will be given when you take the quiz.
For the reading responses, you will be given two questions or so for each chapter. You
should respond to the questions before each class in which the chapter is taught.
Final exam will be open-book, which test the important knowledge and skills you have learned
from taking this class. For this exam, you will be required to explain how you apply the rhetoric
theory, writing skills, and document design principles to the writing of your formal report.
Specific instructions will be given when the time is due.