MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: 104A Students Dr. Milton, Instructor August 7, 2019 Memo Assignment Instructions Genre and Purpose Write a 400-500 word memo to UC Davis students on the topic of how to be well prepared to join the workforce as an entry-level employee. You must refer to the issues and areas of concern raised in the two articles we read on student lack of preparedness for the workplace. Thinking about those problems and concerns will give you a better sense of what employers want. What skills and traits do you think your audience will need to demonstrate in the workplace? How do you know that? You should identify a specific problem and propose a solution. Your goal is to persuade students to take the issue of workplace preparedness seriously and convince them to act to prepare for post-graduation realities. Audience Your audience will be UC Davis students, but you may specify exactly whom. Choose your audience carefully: Even though you are writing to UC Davis students, you still need to think about the audience. Are you writing to all of them? Your UWP 104A classmates? Fellow international students? Members of a particular club or organization? Seniors? First years? You’ll need to identify the audience and address the memo accordingly. You might be more successful at persuading the audience to take your message seriously if you narrow the audience to people with whom you’re familiar. Pick which structure, direct or indirect, that you think is more appropriate and use an appropriate tone. However, any solutions you propose must be realistic for this audience and likely to get your audience on board, or cooperative. You do not need to incorporate any outside research, but you do you need to establish your ethos, or credibility. You may find it helpful to refer to the articles on workplace expectations to help establish your ethos and better persuade your audience to act. I would also recommend not focusing on too many subtopics or issues. Pick no more than a few points at most, and one would be fine. If you pick seven things students need to work on, you won’t be able to say much about any of them or why they matter, which will make your memo less convincing. You might need to use examples to develop your point and elaborate on why you think your solution will work. You will also be more persuasive if you tell your audience why this issue is one of significance. Portfolio Goals An excellent memo: the suggestions should be thoughtful, relevant, and realistic. You have established your ethos so readers have a reason to believe you. The tone should be appropriate to the audience and purpose. The memo should be clear, organized to suit the persuasive purpose, and easy to read quickly and file for future reference. The language should be active and concise. The memo should adhere to the format and structure shown on page 321 of Technical 1 Communication. Analyzing the document design of the examples in Chapter 14 will help you think about organization. After all of your revisions relating to the development of the ideas and the structure and organization, be sure to also save time to proofread and edit carefully. The memo should look polished and professional. Grammar and mechanical problems will affect your credibility, undermining the audience’s trust in you and causing them to doubt your ability to give them good advice. Mode of Submission For peer review, bring one hard copy for me and an electronic copy to put in the Share Folder. (You do not need to submit the first draft to Canvas.) You will upload the second draft to Canvas along with the process memo and the peer reviews. I want to see the progression from first to final draft and your peers’ comments for revision. You must upload all the documents to stay on the contract. 2
Purchase answer to see full attachment