Assignment $1($b$)$ Preparing and Writing a Persuasive Letter

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to produce a persuasive message in the form of a letter, that demonstrate your understanding and use of the $3$x$3$ Writing Process.

What is a Persuasive Message?

Persuasion is the process in which the sender of a message attempts to convince another person to change their attitude or makes them take a desired action in an atmosphere of free choice. In business, persuasion is a valuable skill that helps advance ideas and get things done particularly from a leadership perspective.

What is the difference between a letter and an e$-$mail?

The letter in this assignment will be $($somewhat$)$ more formally written than the first e$-$mail assignment. It will include an address and proper formatting.

Context for the Assignment

The persuasive message for this assignment may be sent by you to a colleague, a manager or to an employee that reports to you. You, as the writer of the message can choose the role you wish to play. $($Consider the flow of information chart presented in class$)$

The message may address: $($a$)$ a current situation in your workplace; $($b$)$ a situation in a previous workplace or $($c$)$ a hypothetical work$-$place situation where you are persuading another person.

Note: The submission must provide responses to each of the following questions Some questions may be more relevant to some situations than others

Step $1$ Prewriting

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Identify the overall purpose of the message first and then create a $$message statement$$ that concisely states the purpose of the proposed message in a single sentence.

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Will there be both a primary and secondary audience?

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What do you want the readers to think, feel or do$?$

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What is the probable reception of the readers? Based on the predicted reader reception will you use a direct or indirect approach?

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How can you elicit feedback to determine the effectiveness of the message?

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Identify the techniques you will be using to persuade. Consider both the AIDA strategy $($gaining Attention, Interest, Desire and Action$)$ and the role of Pathos $($emotions and values$),$ Ethos $($credibility and trust$)$ or Logos $($logic and proof$)$

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Will your approach be primarily in a management mode or a leadership mode?

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Will you use an additional channel of communication?

Step $2$ Drafting

Gather any necessary background information and structure the message. Identify what data or facts you are using and why.

Prepare a draft letter, which is your first version, and allow at least one hour $($preferably longer$)$ before proceeding to the next step which involves editing and revising.

$***$Include the draft letter and the date and time of preparation.

Step $3$ Revising the Final Product

Edit the draft document by eliminating unnecessary words or fillers and strive for clarity of purpose.

Base on the identified clear purpose of the message in Step $1$ do you think the final message will accomplish the purpose? Explain why.

$***$Include the final product as well as the date and time of completion.

Step $4$ Personal Reflection on the entire process using the following questions as a guide.

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Did you gain new insights about your personal communication style or approach?

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Have you identified the strengths of your current style?

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Is there anything you would like to continue to improve?

Step $4$ is optional. If you gained new insight, you can identify it$.$ If you did not experience new insights about your communication style you can choose not to complete this section.

Comment on Number of Pages

It is difficult to predetermine the total number of pages for the assignment. The emphasis is on quality of all steps based on careful consideration and refection rather than quantity or number of pages. The final letter must not be longer than one page and it may be less than a full page.