Business Letters:
Assignment
This week’s assignment is to write a business letter. The guidelines are as follows.
Length: Between 150-300 words. Business letters tend to be short, so I will be deducting points if your paper exceeds 300 words. That said, I do want to see a letter that extends a particular chain of thought, so anything less than 150 words will be unsatisfactory.
Format: Be sure to follow the formatting guidelines.
Topic: Business letters come in two different types; business to business, and business to customer. I’m not concerned with which of these types you choose to write, but your letter should incorporate at least two TQ concepts from any of the chapters covered so far (Chapters 1-4). For example, you can choose to write a letter of introduction (introducing your business to someone), a letter regarding change in the organization or business, a letter discussing the need for a new policy (do not write the policy), a letter recommending someone for promotion, or a letter recommending the company for an award. I’m assuming that everyone can come up with an appropriate topic, but if you’re having difficulty then email me and we’ll come up with something together.
Content: Your letter should be concise, but it should also cover all relevant points regarding a business letter and the TQ concepts/ideas you chose. Additionally, do not include any ‘business cliches’. Phrases like ‘we regret to inform you’, or ‘if you have any other questions do not hesitate to contact us’ should be cut out on your first edit.
If you do a web search for ‘business letters’ you will find all kinds of templates available. I think every one of these templates is worthless, so you should not succumb to the temptation of using them. These are canned responses, devoid of original thought or substance, and the use of them runs completely contrary to what we are trying to accomplish in this class.
Syntax and Style: You are responsible for all of the syntactical and stylistic considerations which we have covered to date. Your business letter should exhibit a firm command of the basic elements of strong writing which we have discussed to this point.
List of TQ Concepts: In the same document, but below your business letter, list the TQ Concepts you used in your letter (at least two). You do not need to explain them; just list them.
Business Letter Grading Rubric:
Possible Points
Criteria
20
Letter conforms to the length requirement. All rules pertaining to formatting are acknowledged. Body of letter satisfies the content requirements. No grammatical, syntactical or spelling errors.
13-19
Letter is close to the length requirement, none or one formatting mistakes. Body of the letter misses one or two key points. Two to eight grammatical, syntactical or spelling errors.
6-12
Multiple formatting mistakes. Letter exhibits major structural flaws within the body. Between eight and twenty grammatical, syntactical or spelling errors.
0-5
Letter exhibits major structural and formatting flaws. Over twenty grammatical, syntactical or spelling errors.