MEMO

TO: Chelsea Choo <Chelsea.Choo@dreamcorp.com> FROM: Marisa Bloodgood <Marisa.Bloodgood@asu.edu> DATE: 2/7/13 SUBJECT: Writing Sample The following memo serves as evidence of my writing skills, as requested as part of my application. This memo has been composed in five sections: 1) an overview (below), 2) a scenario response, 3) a discussion of my process and a conclusion. I have also attached an early draft in an Appendix. These sections document my writing process when asked to respond to a hypothetical customers email. In this scenario, I was in the position of Advertising Manager for Northern Outfitters, a company that sells camping gear, hunting and fishing equipment, skis, snowshoes, clothing, non-perishable food and dry good, canoes, kayaks anything anyone would need for an outdoor venture no matter how large or how small. In addition, Northern Outfitters offers weekend rental packages that include a tent, canoe, backpacks, and supplies for $200 per weekend. Northern Outfitters also rents canoes, kayaks, skis, snowshoes, and camping gear separately. As manager, Rick Jenkins, president of Northern Universitys Beta Upsilon Sigma business fraternity, contacted me. They were holding a silent auction to raise money for the local humane association and contacted me to see if Northern Outfitters could supply some items for the auction. Provided for you in this sample is the response email I sent Rick in regards to donating to the auction. I agree to donate towards the silent auction and offer Mr. Jenkins an opportunity to help decide what products will be best for his auction based on the expected audience preferences.

SCENARIO RESPONSE
To: Rick Jenkins <rick.jenkins.bus@gmail.com> From: Marisa Bloodgood <Marisa.Bloodgood@northernoutfitters.com> Dear Mr. Jenkins, Thank you for your inquiry and invitation for Northern Outfitters to participate in Beta Upsilon Sigmas silent auction. We would very much be interested in donating some gift packages to be used in this auction. I would like to donate a variety of different sized packages. One includes a few smaller gifts such as clothing and hiking accessories, and another bigger prize of a weekend rental package $200 value. I would like for you to come into the store one day next week for you to decide what items to put in the small gift baskets that will attract the crowd you will have attending this silent auction. Please get back to me by the end of this week with a time that will be best. Thank you again for thinking of Northern Outfitters to participate in your auction. Best, Marisa Bloodgood Northern Outfitters Advertising Manager Marisa.Bloodgood@northernoutfitters.com 908-601-9963

COMPOSITION PROCESS
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Figure 1 The Three-Step Writing Process

Composing this e-mail message, I utilized this three step writing process shown in the figure above. In the initial planning stages, I first had to decide what my response would be to Mr. Jenkins, I either was going to contribute to his auction or I wasnt. I had to collect all the details and logistics involved in order to make my decision. The opportunity would be great marketing for Northern Outfitters so I decided to accept and therefore was writing a positive response. Due to the fact that I was initially approach via e-mail it was appropriate to respond in the same medium. I took a direct approach and started the message with the good news that I was accepting the offer to supply items for the auction and followed with an explanation and details of expectations. When I was prepared to begin the writing stage, I already knew what I was going to say and just put it in words that were appealing to the reader. All of what I had to say was obliging to what he had requested so the message very much used a you emphasis. The fact that I wanted Rick to come into the store himself to pick out what items he would like to be donated were just an added bonus of adapting to the readers needs. After writing my first draft, I moved onto the completion stage, which included my revisions, as you will find noted in the Appendix of this memo. When the email was finalized I was ready to send it to Mr. Jenkins and wait for his next response.

CONCLUSION
The final draft of my message to Mr. Jenkins was very effective and stands as an example of how I can communicate effectively in the business world. I was able to attend to the readers needs and express a clear plan to follow through. The message was concise all while getting the point across without chance of confusion. I can use this skill while working for your company on a daily basis to communicate with customers and coworkers to fulfill their needs. This is a crucial skill to have in this industry because if you are unable to communicate you will be unable to accomplish anything productively.

APPENDIX - PRELIMINARY DRAFT CRITIQUE

Below find my initial draft followed by a critique.

Dear Mr. Jenkins, Thank you for your inquiry and invitation for Northern Outfitters to participate in Beta Upsilon Sigmas silent auction. We would very much be interested in donating some gift packages to be used in this auction. I would like to donate a few smaller gifts such as clothing and hiking accessories, as well as one bigger prize of a weekend rental package $200 value. If you would like, I wouldnt mind having you come into the store one day next week and you can help me decide what items to put in the small gift baskets that will most likely attract the crowd you will have attending this silent auction. Please get back to be with a time that will be best. Thank you again for thinking of Northern Outfitters to participate in your auction. Best, Marisa Bloodgood Northern Outfitters Advertising Manager
My initial response was ineffective because much of it was just too complex which made it confusing. This made it difficult for the reader to directly comprehend the point of the message and it would take too much effort to decode. Explanations were given with abstract descriptions, which in turn made it unclear. In order to make it more understandable I had to adjust those explanations to be more concrete. While revising I simplified what I had to say in order to make it clear and direct. I said what I wanted him to know and laid out any expectations so there was no uncertainty. Some formatting issues I had in the first draft were that I forgot to use the proper fourline header along with contact information in my signature. Some strengths in my original draft were the use of a positive direct message as well as fulfilling all the customers need utilizing the you approach towards it.