Overview of essay test the student is about to write:
Please carefully read the directions for this essay final. You must write an "Essay (a coherent/cohesive paper with complete sentences -- including a title, an introduction paragraph, several body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph). I do not want merely paragraph and/or short answer responses to the various rhetorical questions listed at end of this exam (if you do this, your final proctor test grade will suffer). Also, using subheadings between discussion parts are not allowed.
The rhetorical list of questions at the bottom of this test is there to help you focus/generate ideas for paragraphs for your Essay/paper exam. This "Final" essay/paper will be evaluated by the depth of your ideas/discussion, the clarity of your explanations, the quality of your writing, and the scope of information you include regarding the criteria listed below:
- Any relevant discussion of the various modes of business writing in your "Final" essay response: memos, letters, email, proposals, presentations, surveys, formal reports, internet research, research methods you have used in college and in this course. You can also briefly outline the formats of these various modes of writing.
- All weekly Discussion Topic Response issues you and your fellow EN306b students have posted and/or exchanged online about business writing and communications.
- Any textbook chapter information you have read/studied to help you write the various assignments.
- Any discussion of the trial and error process while writing the various assignments - explaining to your friend how important it is to write well, to use correct format, to know your audience and purpose, and to state your objectives or inquiries clearly.
- Use complete sentences and indented paragraph development in a formal, cohesive essay.
- No short answer or single paragraph responses to the questions listed at end of this exam.
- No books, notes, internet, or any outside resources are to be used - not even a dictionary.Your Assignment: the purpose of this final exam is to test your knowledge of business writing. So, write an essay (a paper) explaining the various kinds of business writing you have done this semester - and how these various kinds of business writing can help your friend with his new business. I don't want you to discuss "business management" - but business writing. Your paper will be graded on how well you discuss each paper assignment you have written his semester in this class -- in context with this test scenario explained above. Your essay final is this - please consider this hypothetical scenario:
A friend of yours just retired from the armed forces (or from a corporate structured company in business, education, finance, insurance, government, etc.) and spent most of his or her time working within an environment of strict internal, corporate policy and protocol. This meant that most forms of written communications were set forth in a long military-style (or corporate business-style) tradition and usually not designed for the general public. (An exception, of course, might be that correspondence form letter each sector mentioned above sends out to select personnel, clients, customers, etc.)
Yet, this friend now finds himself in the private sector competing with people from innovative mid-sized or small businesses, major universities, and a whole field of business professionals and entrepreneurs who are driving our information-oriented economy and markets today. They are creative, yet conform to standard forms of writing/communication presented in EN306b.
Your friend has invested most of his retirement money by setting up a new business, and needs a small business loan from the bank to help in sustain his company the first couple of years. He has also hired several staff people with limited experience (mostly friends and family) to assist him, and is now both financially and personally stressed.
So, he has called you on the phone because he knows that you have recently been complaining about this Business Communication class (EN306b) you had to take at Park University before graduating. Your friend realizes the importance of effective communications within his new business and among his new competitors and consumer-based clients. But, he knows virtually nothing about business communications or how to train his staff so that his new business will have a chance to succeed. In short - he wants you to explain to him how best to carry on the daily matters of writing communication for his new business. After taking a long sigh -- you finally agree to help him, over lunch of course.
His plea to you is this: How do I begin my daily communications on Monday morning when I show up at the new business site to meet my eager staff? Then, what kinds of business writing will help me keep this ship afloat?
You do this: To start your essay/paper, consider the questions listed below which will help you develop paragraphs for your essay/paper. (Remember that merely answering these questions below is not an acceptable essay test - you must write a cohesive essay/paper. The questions below serve merely as a way to help you begin thinking about what you need to write.)
- What writing formats do I use when considering inter-office communications (between or among staff within your company)? Discuss the relevance of memos, web pages, letters, proposals, research and formal reports.
- How and what do I teach my staff about communicating effectively, so we can operate without so many problems, and to maximize our production?
- How do I ask the bank for the small business loan I need - consider a business writing document?
- How do I correspond (in writing) with vendors, clients, competitors, IRS -- they view me as being professional?
- How do I do market research today if I am in the office all day?
- How do I document my periodic research articles I want to publish business and trade journals. so I can start communicating with other small business companies about various issues today in the economy?
- How would I present business information to possible investors?