Letters, memos, and email correspondence are the most typical types of business communication. The format of abstract, body, and conclusion that you will use in writing effective letters and memos is also the basic component of all business and professional communication and especially in professional email messages. You will apply the skills you develop in this module throughout the remainder of this course and also your professional life. In the abstract portion of a letter, memo, or email message, you begin by referring to any prior communication with your reader and by stating the purpose of your memo or letter. That purpose gives the reader your reason for writing and states the main idea of your letter or memo. In the body portion you will explain or develop your main idea. In the conclusion you will state any further action that your or your reader needs to take, and express any appreciation for any requested help or service. Usually you will write memos to someone within your own organization, and you will write letters to someone outside your organization. Most memos or letters, other than thank-you letters, fall into one of just a few categories:

• A request for information or services.
• An attempt to solve a problem with information or a service that you have received.
• A response to a request or complaint that you have received. Whenever you respond, you have basically two choices: yes or no.

The writing assignments of the first part of the course will focus on how to request information or services, how to resolve a problem, how to respond to someone else's letters and memos, and how to convince. You will also learn to be thorough, yet concise in your explanations. Finally, you will learn how to design letters and memos in a format that helps you communicate your ideas. You will need to use these skills throughout the course and in your professional career since employers seek job applicants who can communicate clearly, completely, and concisely.

• Addressing Postcards, Envelopes, and Packages
  This site gives advice from the United States Postal Service for addressing postcards, envelopes, and packages. You can also locate zip codes and calculate postage.
• Evaluation of Letters and Memos
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for writing effective letters and memos.
• Sample Negative (Bad News) Letter
  This link gives an example of an effectively written negative, or bad news, letter. Please note that the sample uses an unconventional greeting and closing without punctuation. Standard practice would include a colon after the greeting and a comma after the closing.
• Sample Negative Letter
  This link contains a sample negative letter written by an ENG 114 student. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Sample Positive (Recommendation) Letter
  This link gives an example of an effectively written positive letter, which in this case is a job recommendation letter.
• Sales Letter
  This link gives an example of an effectively written sales letter.
• Sample Positive Memo 1
  This link contains a sample positive memo written by an ENG 114 student. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Sample Positive Memo 2
  This link contains a second positive memo written by an ENG 114 student, which is a job promotion. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Sample Sales Memo
  This link contains a sample sales memo written by an ENG 114 student. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Sample Sales Letter
  This link contains a sample sales letter written by an ENG 114 student.
• Guide to Writing Paragraphs, Essays, Letters, and Memos with Microsoft Word®
  This site provides an explanation of the basic components of formatting documents using Microsoft Word®, including how to create and save files, how to change font size and style, how to change line spacing, how to use bullets and numbering, and how to change page format of documents.

Instructions and descriptions are the second most often used form of writing in business and the professions. These can be short, informal documents:

• Instructions written on a Post-it® pad.
• One-page instructions for taking a soil sample before planting a lawn.

• A pamphlet on programming a VCR.
• A book on using a word processing program.

All instructions contain some forms of description, but many descriptions never use instructions, such as magazine advertisements, catalog product descriptions, and labels on product packaging. After an employee has been on the job for just a few months, often he or she is asked to give instructions and descriptions to other employees and to customers or clients, either orally or in writing. The following resources may be helpful to you to become a more effective communicator with your clients and coworkers.

• Evaluation of Instructions and Descriptions
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for writing effective instructions and descriptions.
• Sample Technical Description
  This page is an example of an effective description of rip currents, provided by the National Weather Service. Be sure to note the use of an image that is written in the second person point of view although all other sentences, except one, are written in the third person point of view. The one-sentence exception uses the second-person point of view to warn the reader directly.
• Sample Technical Instructions
  This page is an example of an effective set of instructions on how to set up a Microsoft Outlook email account on your home computer. Notice that the author uses major and minor headings, graphics, and the second-person point of view to direct the reader.
• Sample Instructions 1
  This link contains a sample set of instructions written by an ENG 114 student. The author gives instructions on mowing tee boxes on a golf course.
• Sample Instructions 2
  This link contains a second sample set of instructions written by an ENG 114 student. The author gives supervisors instructions on how to complete annual performance reviews of employees. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Sample Technical Description
  This link contains a sample technical description written by an ENG 114 student. The author describes the theory of operation of a laser printer. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Sample Process Description
  This link contains a sample technical description written by an ENG 114 student. The author describes the accident report procedure that his firm uses. You can open or save the document written in MS Word®.
• Guide to Using Bullets, Numbering, Tab Stops, Headings, and Paragraph Styles in Microsoft Word®
  This document will instruct you in when and how to insert bullets, numbers, and headings into your document.
• Guide to Using Tables in Microsoft Word®.
  This guide is helpful when you are writing and formatting descriptions, instructions, comparisons, feasibility studies, and resumes. This guide will explain how to display data in a table format with columns, rows, and borders.

Whenever you are trying to solve a problem, you can engage in a logical thinking process known as feasibility thinking. It is used to define a problem, determine a method of analysis, collect findings, and make a written or oral presentation that will logically convince your reader or listener of the validity of your conclusions. This type of thinking is useful whenever a person is making a proposal or recommendation, engaging in a feasibility study, or writing a problem analysis report. The following resources may be helpful to you in analyzing a problem and then making a proposal to solve the problem.

• Criteria for Evaluating a Proposal
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an effective proposal.
• Criteria for Evaluating a Feasibility Study
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an effective feasibility study.
• Criteria for Evaluating a Problem Analysis Report
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an effective problem analysis report.
• Criteria for Evaluating a Recommendation
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an effective recommendation.
• Criteria for Evaluating an Evaluation Report
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an effective evaluation report.
• Sample Proposal in Memo Format
  Click the link to open a sample proposal written by an ENG 114 student. This proposal recommends a change in a student's program of study and is written in a memo format from this student to his professor.
• Sample Proposal in Letter Format
  Click the link to open a sample proposal written by an ENG 114 student. This is a proposal written in letter format for training services to be provided by a consulting company.
• Sample Recommendation Report
  Click the link to save or open a sample recommendation report written in MS Word® by an ENG 114 student.
• Sample Equipment Evaluation
  Click the link to save or open a sample equipment evaluation report written in MS Word® by an ENG 114 student.
• Critical Analysis
  Click the link to read a summary of how to analyze anyone's written or spoken argument and why this type of analysis is important for acadmeic and professional life. This advice comes from an Deakins University, located in Warrnambool, which is on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia.

At the end of the research part of the course, you should be able to do the following:

1. Focus on a subject for research and develop a purpose or question to guide your research.
2. Locate information to help you answer your research question.
3. Determine which information is useful.
Report and document the findings of your research.

These skills are important for professionals who must do research to keep up with changes in their field. In the process of conducting research, reporting findings, and drawing conclusions, it is often necessary to support opinions with facts and to document facts by appropriate citations to the sources of the information. This module is designed to help you learn these professional skills.

• Checklist for Avoiding Plagiarism
  Use this checklist as a guide to reviewing your research paper to make sure that you have not accidentally plagiarised any quotation, paraphrases, or summaries of information that you have located outside common knowledge. If you would like to use this guide in the MS Word format, you can open and print it or save it on your computer: Checklist for Avoiding Plagiarism in MS Word Format.
• Plagiarism and Collusion
  This site provides a self-test that you can use to determine if you are plagiarizing any part of a report or research paper. This site is provided by Deakins University, located in Warrnambool, which is on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia.
• Create a Bibliography in Microsoft Word 2007
  Read how to create a bibliography in APA, MLA, and other formats with Word 2007.
• Evaluating Resources
  This site, provided by the Learning Resource Center in Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College, explains how to evaluate the sources that you use when writing your research report.
• Evaluation of a Research Report
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an effective research report.
• Locating and Documenting Internet Sources in MLA Style
  This site explains how to locate and document Internet sources using the MLA style of documentation.
• Logical Fallacy
  The "Logical Fallacy" entry from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia defines logical fallacies in general and then gives an index of fallacies with detailed examples for each type of fallacy to help you identify fallacies in reasoning.
• Logical Fallacies
  This Encyclopedia of Errors of Reasoning helps you identify logical fallacies in the arguments of others and to avoid them in your own arguments.
• MLA Citation Style Examples
  This source from Northwest Missouri State University gives excellent examples for citing sources from a variety of documents, especially online sources.
• MLA Format for Essays and Research Papers
  This site provides an explanation of the MLA format required when writing research reports.
• Online Research Resources for ENG 114
  This site provides a list of resources to aid students in writing research reports related to their field of study.
• TRAILS - Tools for Research and Advanced Information Literacy Skills
  TRAILS provides detailed instructions on locating information, principles of searching, evaluating resources, and citing resources. These skills are essential for anyone who wants to write a successful research paper.

Often in professional life you will need to communicate orally. Many people refer to this type of communication as "verbal communication"; since the term "verbal" means "with words, either written or spoken, it is more appropriate to use the term "oral communication" when referring to speech communication. In your professional life, you will find that oral communication is required in many situations:

• Answering questions about your organization's products or services.
• Explaining to clients or colleagues how to use products or services that your company provides.
• Explaining to colleagues how to follow policies or procedures required by your firm.

Often in your work you will be asked to summarize the findings of your research and communicate your findings orally. You will need to use these skills throughout your professional career since employers seek job applicants who can communicate clearly, completely, and concisely.

• Communication Skills in the Workplace
  "Communication Skills in the Workplace: Employers Talk Back" by Nancy Martin-Young, an English professor at Wake Technical Community College focuses on the communication expectations of central North Carolina employers.
• Evaluation of Oral Presentation
  This page lists the evaluation criteria for an oral presentation that summarizes the findings of research.
• Criteria for Evaluating an Individual Presentation
  This page lists the evaluation criteria used in COM 231 Public Speaking to evaluate individual oral presentations. It gives excellent advice in practicing for oral presentations.
• Criteria for Evaluating a Group Presentation
  This page lists the evaluation criteria used in ENG 112 and literature courses to evaluate group oral presentations. Although these criteria are designed for students who are making an oral report on a piece of literature, the introductory portion of these criteria gives excellent advice in practicing for group presentations in general.

The purpose of studying the job application process is to learn how to do the following:

• Assess your employment and educational experiences to determine the type of job for which you are suited.
• Identify job opportunities that match your skills and experiences.
• Present your qualifications to a prospective employer in a job application letter and resume that will show the employer that your skills and experiences match the job criteria.
• Follow up a job interview with an appropriate letter.

The skills of this section of the course are very similar to the skills of the sales letter that you learned in writing letters and memos and to the research skills you developed recently, except that in this case you will be researching yourself and the company to which you wish to apply. Furthermore, the product or service or idea you wish to sell the employer is you. You want to sell your reader on the idea that you are the person with the skills, attitudes, and experiences that will meet the needs of the firm. The following reading and writing assignments are designed to help you meet these goals.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook
  This online publication of the United States Department of Labor gives you the abiltity to search for hundreds of different jobs and receive detailed information about required education and training, working conditions, projected job availability, and current salary ranges.
• Degree Titles Used in Job Applications and Resumes
  This site provides a list of all degree titles offered at Sandhills Community College. Students writing a resume should use this site to make sure that they use the correct degree title when writing a job application letter and resume.
• Sample Job Letter Evaluation
  This site provides an example of an evaluation of a student's job application letter.
Evaluation of Job Application Documents
This page lists the evaluation criteria for a job application letter, resume, and interview follow-up letter.
• Guide to Designing a Resume with Microsoft Word®
  This guide will help you design two different styles of resumes with neatly aligned columns and rows, including headings and bullets to emphasize your text. Be sure to read this guide. It explains how to use Microsoft Word® to create an attractive resume. The purpose of the form of a resume is to help the reader quickly and easily understand the content, but the content must be worth reading and appropriate for the type of job. This guide emphasizes both form and content to help you sell your reader on the idea of interviewing you for a job.
• Sandhills Resort & Spa
  If you have not located an actual advertisement for a job, this fictious company contains a list of job opportunities related to most degree programs offered at Sandhills Community College. You can write a job application letter for your job application assignment by choosing one of the jobs listed on this site.