Assignment #1 Routine Messages

Due date: You must deliver your completed assignment via the Turnitin function available on UR CoursesThis assignment requires you to draft and assess professional messages. Formatting requirements are provided below.* A title page is not required, simply indicate the following information at the top of the first page of your document:Name and student numberAbbreviated course title (ENGG 123)Name and number of the assignment (Assignment #1 Routine Messages)* Number each of your answers according to task number and present them in numerical order. Do not repeat the questions, that would beredundant.* Use single spacing, since we want our memos to conform to a real world format.* Do not invent facts that are not included in the scenarios provided unless such facts can be reasonably assumed as compatible withthe scenario from the perspective of a conventional professional setting.* You may use a brief “Note to reader” to provide a brief explanation of your style and formatting choices.None of your answers, including any Note to reader you might include, should be longer then 1.5 pages.Tasks 1 and 2 scenarioTasks 1 and 2, request memos, require you to write emails based on the following scenario.You are a student in Professor Bill Jones’s Chemistry 303. There is a midterm exam worth 20% of the term grade scheduled for February9. You are taking five classes and are swamped with work, and are feeling the stress. You have two additional midterms during the sameweek. You know you would have a better chance of obtaining good grades on all three exams if they were spread out over two weeks.You are aware of the following conditions:* Professor Jones does not allow additional sittings for his midterms;* unless an exception is made, if you miss the midterm you lose 20% of the grade;* the university has been stressing the importance of managing student stress and appears to be anxious to reduce anxiety levels, and;* scheduling an additional exam and exam sitting will cause the professor to perform a non-routine task.Task 1 Direct requestUse a direct email message format to request a one week deferral for the Chem. 303 midterm exam.Be sure to include all of the components of a standard email memo (e.g., coordinates, subject line, valediction, etc.).Task 2 Indirect RequestUse an indirect email message format to request a one week deferral for the Chem. 303 midterm. In your message provide a reasonablesuggestion for how any extra effort required by the Professor could be minimized, should the request be granted.Task 3 Scenario Request RejectionFor this task assume you are a third-year engineering student with an excellent academic record. The Dean of Engineering, ProfessorHelen Smith, has written you a memo inviting you to participate in a prestigious Canadian engineering students’ team competition; TheCanadian Innovation Challenge is an annual competition. This year’s event will be held in Toronto. According to the Dean’s message, theU of R team will consist of ten students who have demonstrated academic ability and an aptitude for innovation. Unfortunately, yourbrother Jason is getting married over the same weekend as the competition. You would like to be involved in the competition but willnot miss the wedding.Task 3Your task is to draft an email message informing Dean Smith of your situation and decision. One of your principal purposes is to retainthe goodwill of the dean.Task 4 ScenarioYou are a first year engineering student and are somewhat troubled by the fact that you have never actually met a professional engineerand are not really sure what a career in engineering entails. You would like to find out. To that end you have decided to compose anemail letter and send it to the manager of a professional engineering firm with an office located in Regina. Finding a firm andidentifying its manager will require you to do a bit of research. The purpose of this letter is to get a personal (face-to-face)meeting with a professional engineer at which you hope to garner the sort of information you require.Task 4 External request letterDraft an external message making the request described in the scenario. Provide a note to reader indicating why you chose the formatand vehicle you selected for the message.Task 5 Editing scenarioFor this task you are required to proofread and rewrite an email message. The message was drafted to meet the objectives described inthe following scenario. The Engineering Students Society has sent out invitations to students for a welcome week event at the start ofthe semester. The event will be held at the Owl on the evening of Friday January 15. There will be free snacks and one free bar ticket.The Students’ Society asked for an RSVP so they can anticipate how much snack food to order. The student who wrote the message, AlexSmith, is a friend of yours and has asked you to take a look at the “in your face” response she has produced. You have determined thatthe message is not very professional and could damage Alex’s goodwill status within the faculty. You have composed an alternativemessage for Alex. You have told her, “If you really don’t want to go to the event and feel compelled to say so, this is what you shouldsay.”Task 5 editingFor this task you are required to rewrite Alex’s message using the principles of effective professional communications. Rememberbuilding and maintaining goodwill are important professional goals. You are free to retain or remove any or all of Alex’s originalcopy.January 11, 2015From: Alex SmithTo: Engineering Students SocietyCC: Dean of EngineeringSubject: Waste of my time and moneyDear Student Society,Unlike some students, I take my studies seriously. I don’t waste time drinking and partying on Friday nights because I am busystudying. Some of us recognize the importance of grades and are striving to be quality professionals.Furthermore, I do not approve of money I have been forced to contribute to student fees being wasted on frivolous social events. Idon’t recall giving permission to use my fees to buy people booze. I thoroughly disapprove of this event and have copied this messageto the Dean of Engineering in the hope that this sort of activity is prevented in the future.So, regarding your question, NO, I won’t be wasting my time by attending your event. You won’t have to blow student funds purchasingsnacks for me.Sincerely,Alex SmithStudentUniversity of Regina Faculty of Engineering.Grading system for communications assignmentsPercentages Thematic categories30 Effective structure/format: Effective use of the structures, format models and concepts presented in the course. Were all ofthe assigned tasks performed? Were the required formatting parameters followed? Were course concepts properly employed? Is appropriatereferencing employed? Is the paper organized in a usefully systematic fashion (e.g., appropriate use of headings and subheadings)?30 Effective reasoning: Logical application of course concepts to the task at hand. Cogent well-structured, logical argumentation.Effective use and analysis of evidence. The capacity to think critically about course related issues and problems and arrive at logicalconclusions. Special notice for thinking outside the box (useful novelty).40 Effective writing: Concise, coherent writing with the appropriate tone and style; clean error-free copy; Significant penaltieswill be incurred for incoherent, ambiguous, or extremely awkward sentences which affect meaning and readability.