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© 2019 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized
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APPENDIX II
Business Writing
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About Appendix II
Writing skills are necessary at all steps of the employment process. From crafting cover letters and
résumés to composing e-mail messages, proposals, project reports, and social media content, the modern
work environment requires writing proficiency. This appendix informs students of the most common
types of writing they will encounter in their professional lives.
First, students will learn the following components of writing effectively: adapting to the
Discussion Launchers
1. What are some types of writing that you have used, or observed being used, in various
workplaces?
2. In more formal types of business writing, it is not considered professional to use emojis or gifs to
convey emotion. What are some ways that we can show interest, concern, and empathy without
these images?
3. Recall e-mail messages that you have received. We tend to have an ability to identify those that
are spam or imposter accounts as opposed to being official messages from companies we do
business with. How does the appearance of the message play a role in our ability to discern
between real and fake messages?
4. We now have the choice between using paper or e-mail to send messages. In what situation(s)
6. What type of company information would be considered newsworthy by audiences outside of the
organization?
7. What are some common mistakes that you think people make when creating and submitting a
résumé for a job search? How might we prevent those types of mistakes?
8. Many jobs expect applicants to have several years of experience. How might you gain experience
while still a student?
9. Consider the career you would like to begin upon graduation. How might you tailor the skills and
experiences you have had in previous employment (unrelated to your career field) to demonstrate
that you have gained relatable skills?
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10. Consider the reports you have had to deliver in school. How do these reports compare and
contrast to business reports?
Classroom Activities
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1. Writing Well
Objective: Students will understand the importance of writing in professional environments.
Procedure: One to two weeks prior to covering the unit on writing, students should be instructed to
conduct a brief interview with a business professional who is working in the industry in which the student
wishes to be employed after graduation. It is recommended that this interview be conducted over the
• What types of writing is required of you on a regular basis?
• How important is writing to this line of work?
• What are some tips that you have for being an effective writer?
• May I see a few examples of the types of documents that you have written in this job?
Class Discussion: On the day that this unit is covered, ask students to share what they learned during the
2. Writing Well
Objective: Students will apply the components of effective writing to improve an existing business letter.
Procedure: The focus of this activity will be writing well when responding to upset customers. In
preparation for this activity, instructors should either locate an existing business letter (such as Wells
Fargo’s “A Letter from our CEO Tim Sloan” that was published in response to the 2017 scandal where
employees opened more than 2 million banking and credit card accounts without customers’ approval) or
During class, provide students with a brief explanation of the scenario that has led to the distribution of
this letter. Place students in pairs or small teams to discuss the following questions:
• Who is the intended audience for this message?
• Given the scenario, what type of information will the audience want to know? What type of
information do they need to know?
• Given the scenario, what level of formality is appropriate for this letter?
Class Discussion: After this preliminary discussion, provide a copy of the letter to each team. Ask
students to critique the letter based on their responses. Begin a class discussion regarding the
effectiveness of the writing in this letter. Ask students specific questions that pertain to the characteristics
for writing that are provided in the Appendix:
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• Does the writer demonstrate concern for the audience? Explain.
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3. News Releases
Objective: Students will understand the elements that comprise a news release.
Procedure: One to two weeks prior to covering news releases, students should be instructed to locate a
news release (press release) online. It is recommended that they use an Internet search engine like Google
to search for a prominent organization’s (such as Disney, Netflix, etc.) online news room. Terms like
“Disney news releases,” as well as browsing the organization’s official website are both acceptable ways
Class Discussion: This version of the activity requires a central computer and projector in the classroom.
While students share the news releases they have brought to class, the instructor should conduct a Google
search using key words from the headline of the news release. The goal is to locate media coverage of the
topic, to show students how news releases are converted into news stories.
For example, a Walt Disney Company news release (dated August 29, 2017) features the headline
Class discussion should cover the following topics:
• whether the headline remains the same or was modified
• how information from the lead appears in the article
4. Résumés
Objective: Students will identify career-related skills that they have gained in other situations.
Procedure: This classroom activity is tied to the Cover Letter and Résumé assignment included in this
section of the Instructor’s Manual. Often, students do not realize that they have gained career-related
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Class Discussion: On the day that the Cover Letter and Résumé assignment is due, students should be
prompted to come to class prepared to discuss the duties they have had while employed or when engaged
5. Reports
Objective: Students will practice writing a report.
Procedure: This activity should be tied to a larger class assignment. A few days or weeks before the
assignment is due, students should be given class time to compose a brief progress report. This may best
be done in groups, to alleviate any additional stress on individual students. Students should be encouraged
to share the status of the project, describe any challenges they have overcome or still need to overcome,
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Assignments
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Memo
Business Letter
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Memo
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Using the hypothetical scenario below, place yourself in the role of a Payroll Manager at a company of
your choice. Submit to your instructor a typed memo of one page maximum that communicates the
forthcoming payroll changes to your employees. Use the formal memo format, as described in the
Appendix of your text. Use subheadings in the body of your memo.
Scenario: Your company will be adopting a new software system to track time and manage payroll for
employees in three months. Currently, employees can opt to set aside a percentage (either 10% or 15%) of
Relevant Information:
• Employees who are currently enrolled in the program to set aside a percentage of their paycheck
for retirement will automatically be enrolled in the program equivalent with the new system.
• Employees who no longer wish to participate in this program can cancel at any time.
• If an employee cancels, they will need to wait for one fiscal year to re-enroll in the program.
• The new program no longer calculates a percentage of monthly pay; participants will need to
specify a dollar amount that they would like to save each month. If an employee was making
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Business Letter
Using the hypothetical scenario below, place yourself in the role of a Communications Manager for a
non-profit organization. Compose a typed business letter of one page to thank a specific individual that
donated money to your organization. Use the block letter format, as described in the Appendix of your
Scenario: Your non-profit organization, Construction for a Cause, participates in construction projects
aimed at improving the quality of life for persons with short- and long-term disabilities and the elderly
who are living in your state. Almost one year ago, your organization held a day-long online fundraising
Relevant Information:
• This is the 14th year that Construction for a Cause has been in existence, and this was the 3rd year
You may create details for this assignment, including your contact information, the name of the donor, as
well as stories about the beneficiaries of the ramps and modifications.
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News Release*
Create a typed standard news release of one page to promote an upcoming event featuring a prominent
speaker held at your local bookstore. Use the guidelines, as described in the Appendix of your text.
Include contact information, header, headline, dateline, lead, body, search-engine optimized keywords,
You may create details for this assignment, including the name and details surrounding the event, people
and quotes, etc.
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Cover Letter and Résumé*
Create a typed cover letter and résumé suitable for use in a professional job search.
Guidelines: Begin by searching the classifieds in the newspaper or online for jobs related to your degree
currently have.
• a cover letter tailed to this specific job
• a résumé tailored to this specific job
Give your cover letter and résumé a professional appearance, free from grammatical and typographical
errors. Be sure to prepare accurate documents – only discuss credentials that you have earned.
*Adapted from an assignment by Michelle M. Maresh-Fuehrer, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
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Additional Resources
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Print
Williams, A. G., & Hall, K. J. (2017). Creating your career portfolio: At a glance guide for students (4th
Web
Lewis, H. (2017, August 29). Disney, Beyonce, Sandra Bullock pledge millions to hurricane relief. The
Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-donates-hurricane-
harvey-relief-efforts-1033600
On Target English (n.d.). Business communication targets. Retrieved from
http://www.ontargetenglish.com/bct
