MEMORANDUM
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
UWP 104A Students
Cassie Hemstrom, Instructor
5 February 2020
EMPLOYMENT MATERIALS ASSIGNMENT1
Securing a job interview is largely the result of a well-written and carefully designed résumé and cover
letter that takes into account the needs of the hiring company (the audience), the author’s demonstration
of how they can fill those needs (purpose in writing). A business writing class is the ideal place for
students to practice these rhetorical awareness and critical thinking skills, as business communication is
all about clear, concise, reader-centered communication that gets results. For this final project, we will
bring together the work we’ve done on analyzing rhetorical situations in business writing with exploring
the résumé and cover letter genres. For the employment materials assignment, then, you will complete the
following tasks:
1. Identify a real job/internship with a real organization that requests application materials (not a
job that only asks you to fill out a questionnaire with no required writing beyond filling in name,
employment history, etc.). If you would prefer, you can write a Statement of Purpose for a
graduate school application – in this case, you will identify a program you would like to apply
for.
2. Conduct research on the job/internship/graduate program AND the organization/university
3. Write an investigative report in which you create an accurate, composite picture of the
organization, what is needed to enter and succeed in the field/program, and then analyze what
your findings mean in terms of the employment materials or statement of purpose that you plan
to write and design.
4. Design a targeted cover letter or statement of purpose; use your investigative report, and class
readings and discussions to guide your content, organization, style, and design decision.
Whether or not you actually submit your employment materials to the organization is up to you!
Task 1
Find a job/internship advertisement that fits your major and interest, in a newspaper, magazine, the UC
Davis Internship and Career Center website, Handshake, Monster.com or another employment database,
and make a copy of the advertisement. The job must include a listing of information about the position,
and you must be able to submit a resume and cover letter with the job application.
If you would prefer to write a Statement of Purpose for a graduate school application, find a graduate
program you would like to apply for and locate the prompt for the Statement of Purpose. You might have
to begin an application in order to get the full prompt. If the application cycle isn’t open, you may need to
find last year’s prompt to use instead – you can locate these by emailing the program, or often by looking
on reddit or other discussion forums.
Task 2
Do some research into the job/internship/graduate program, the organization, and the genre conventions
through various sources such as the following:
• The job/internship ad or statement of purpose prompt (pay attention to its description of job
responsibilities, any specific questions that are asked, keywords that seem to be important, and
qualification requirements)
• In class readings on statement of purpose or job application cover letter genres
Credible online guides for statement of purpose or cover letter writing such as online samples or guides
shared by the program you will be applying to, or the Owl at Purdue Statement of Purpose resources:
1
Adapted from Rebecca Anderson’s Employment Materials assignment
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/preparing_an_application/writing_the_personal_s
tatement/index.html
•
The organizational literature such as the promotional materials produced by the organization
(look for key words as well as information on the organization’s mission, size, location, product,
or services provided)
• Published materials online or in newspapers, magazines, or other resources
• Friends, acquaintances, family members who know about the organization or the position
The library's subject guide for Business, Marketing and Management:
https://www.library.ucdavis.edu/guide/business-marketing-management/
•
•
In addition to Business Source Complete and LexisNexis Academic, the Factiva database also
includes company (and industry) information.
The internet: review the organization website and other websites that provide information about
this organization, such as:
o The Better Business Bureau
o The Blue Pages
o Business-related databases
o www.datacenter.org/research/corp_res.htm
o www.glassdoor.com
o Yelp
Task 3
Write an internal memo.2 In your memo, synthesize and cite the research you found about the
organization to which you are applying and the genre that you will be using. Explain how these findings
will influence your writing choices, and discuss what rhetorical strategies you will use – what tone, style,
language will you use and why? What information or examples will you include to show why you are a
good candidate and fit for this organization? What genre moves will you use to create a compelling
argument and meet the audience’s needs? The audience for your memo will be an informed audience who
are still beginners at compiling employment materials – a junior or senior in your major at UC Davis, for
example who is applying for their first internship or professional position.
Organize your memo logically, grouping material in ways that helps you to achieve your purpose for
writing. Be sure to use descriptive headings and subheadings to help me navigate your document.
Consider using lists (numbered or bulleted) when they will help me better understand or easily compare
information. Your report should be thorough but concise and 700-900 words in length. Include
recommendations for how your reader should tailor their application materials based on the analysis you
have done of the position and the organization. Provide evidence for your recommendations. Be careful to
avoid any unintentional plagiarism by summarizing and paraphrasing rather than copy and pasting
information from sources, citing your sources, and including quotation marks and discussion of any
quotes.
Task 4
Write and design either a targeted cover letter or a statement of purpose that fits the position described in
the prompt. Use effective genre moves, examples and strategies from your field, as well as the samples
and resources we compile in class to guide your content, organization, and style decisions.
Task 5
Workshop your draft in class, then write a revision reflection to include in the memo. In 450-700 words,
explain the rhetorical choices you’ve made after the workshop, revisions you plan to do based on
2
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/memos/form
at.html
the peer workshop, what you feel went well in your draft and what you struggled with, as well as
any questions that you have for Dr. Cassie to consider as she responds to your draft. Add the
Revision Reflection to the top of your workshopped Google Doc.
Due Dates
Due Monday, Feb. 10: Bring a statement of purpose prompt, or a job or internship posting
that you would like to apply for, as well as initial research on the position and organization.
IN CLASS: We will work on the EM mindapping and fastwriting assignment. Be sure to turn
the table in to Assignments by classtime on Wed. Feb. 12
Due Wednesday, Feb. 19: Rough draft of Memo and Statement of Purpose or Cover Letter
due by class time (post a link to the googledoc that has your draft to Out of Class Work
Discussion for workshop). We will workshop in class. Reply to your partners’ drafts on their
googledocs, AND answer the questions from the Workshop Response Sheet for both of your
partners, also on their googledoc, by 11:59pm on Friday, Feb. 21. Also by 11:59pm on Friday,
Feb. 21, post the links to your feedback, and your partners’ names to Assignments on Canvas.
Due Monday, Feb. 24: Read your partners' feedback, and by classtime, post a link to your
revision reflection along with your paper as a googledoc to Assignments in Canvas. Make sure
you work in the same googledoc your partner's commented in, and turn sharing settings to
"everyone with the link can edit".
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