Letter: \"Bad News Letter\" example (The situation here is straightforward. The
ID: 113506 • Letter: L
Question
Letter:
"Bad News Letter" example
(The situation here is straightforward. The recipient of the letter is a college student who has declared and done coursework for a particular major. Because of budget cuts, the college is phasing out this major, and no new students will be allowed to declare/enroll in that major. The chair of the department sends this letter to inform the student of this change.)
Dear [student name here]:
As you know, the university is in the midst of planning budget reductions, in accord with the state board of Education's directive that we reduce our budget by 4 percent. At the direction of President Chambliss, it has been decided that your major will no longer be permitted to enroll new students, effective August 30.
Over the next month, the department will be meeting to map out strategies to accommodate your needs. You will hear from us, before the end of the semester, about your options.
We regret that this action is necessary, and we ask for your cooperation as we go through this difficult period.
Sincerely,
Department Chair Felix Freeman PhD
What to be thinking about
Re-read the "Bad News Letter," taking into account what you have learned about technical writing in general and letters in particular. What do you think the letter hopes to convey and achieve--what is its purpose? What would be your reaction upon receiving this letter and why? What works about the letter, and what would you change to make it more effective in conveying its purpose? How does the letter's formatting look (see the OWL link above)?
You will have the chance in this week's discussion to share ideas with your classmates about these concerns.
"Bad News Letter" example
(The situation here is straightforward. The recipient of the letter is a college student who has declared and done coursework for a particular major. Because of budget cuts, the college is phasing out this major, and no new students will be allowed to declare/enroll in that major. The chair of the department sends this letter to inform the student of this change.)
Dear [student name here]:
As you know, the university is in the midst of planning budget reductions, in accord with the state board of Education's directive that we reduce our budget by 4 percent. At the direction of President Chambliss, it has been decided that your major will no longer be permitted to enroll new students, effective August 30.
Over the next month, the department will be meeting to map out strategies to accommodate your needs. You will hear from us, before the end of the semester, about your options.
We regret that this action is necessary, and we ask for your cooperation as we go through this difficult period.
Sincerely,
Department Chair Felix Freeman PhD
For this discussion, you will write three posts (one main post and then two responses to classmates) discussing the "Bad News Letter" (by Dr. Freeman) from the previous page.
For the main post:
· Articulate in your own words what this letter hopes to convey and achieve. (2-3 sentences)
· What would be your reaction upon receiving this letter? (2-3 sentences)
· What questions do you have about the context/situation, and how would having answers to these questions help you revise this into a better letter? (2-3?
· What works about the letter, and what would you do to make it better? (2-3 sentences)
· Briefly evaluate the formatting of the letter (2-3 sentences)
Explanation / Answer
The letter conveys a bad news for the college students who has done coursework for a particular major. Since the college is planning a budget reduction by about 4%. No new students are allowed to enroll in the major. This will be effective from 30 August.
The students will obviouly feel bad. They will feel worried or anxious on recieving the letter.
The question is about the concern of the students. Since due to budget cuts the college is planning to phasing out the major and no new students will be enrolled in that major.
The letter is straigthforward in its approach. It could be a more polite approach to request the student to cooperate with the difficult time and the budget planning strategies. It could also propose an alternative approach to hear out the problems of the student.
The letter formatting is quite simple and straightforward. It gives the direct information without beating about the bush. Although the approach can be more polite if the sentences and words are used correctly.
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