bad news message.

WRTG 293 students, Your next writing assignment will be a bad news message . You have two options to choose from in writing this assignment. The options are described below. ________________________ Option #1: You are the founder of a SuperMicro, a computer store in your area. You sell all of the name brand computers — Dell, Acer, Hewlett -Packard, etc. — for prices that are competitive with the large retail stores in your area. You also provide repair and troubleshooting services at a reasonable cost. When you sell a new laptop computer, you provide a one -year warranty on it. If a customer would like to purchase a three -year warranty, he or she may do so for $40.00. You received the following letter from one of your customers, Ms. Rachel Smith. To W hom It May Concern: I purchased a Dell 300 laptop computer from your store on May 16, 2015 . I have been very satisfied with the computer. However, last week, I saw message noting that my computer is experiencing a hard drive failure. I cannot use my computer anymore. I am writing to request a new Dell 300 laptop or a similar laptop to replace my current Dell 300 laptop. I have been a regular customer of SuperMicro, having purchased a desktop four years ago and having made other purchases of accessor ies for my family members and me in the past several years. I have the receipt from my purchase of the Dell 300. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Rachel Smith You have to write a letter back to Ms. Smith informing her that her one -year warranty has expired. In addition, she did not purchase the three -year warranty. For this reason, you cannot repair the computer at no charge. You might mention your repair ser vices and their cost. You might also refer her to instructions on how she can repair the hard drive herself. Overall, you may take any approach you feel is best when responding to her. This is a typical “bad news” situation that any vendor encounters. Your goal is to inform the customer of the situation but also keep her business. You will write a letter in business format that provides a buffer statement, describes your reasons for not being able to replace the computer, and provides other options fo r Ms. Smith. Option #2: You are the Provost of Johnson College. You have decided not to renew your contract with LEO, Inc. in providing a learning management system (LMS) for your college. This option allows you to draw upon the situation discussed in the persuasive email message assignment . Please refer to that assignment for details. You will write a letter in business format that provides a buffer statement, describes your reasons for not renewing your contract, and expresses good will. You ha ve to write a letter to Mr. Robert Kurzwell informing him that you will not be renewing the contract. This is a typical “bad news” situation that organizations often encounter. Your goal is to inform the vendor of your decision but also to express good will and maintain a healthy business relationship. You will write a letter in business format that provides a buffer statement, describes your reasons for not renewing the contract, and expresses good will. ___________________________ Strategies to Consider for this Assignment: Consider your audience. Your primary audience is the recipient of your letter. The following websites offer excellent guidance in writing a bad -news letter:  The University of California -Santa Barbara offers a helpful guide in .pdf form for writing bad news messages.  The Online Writing La b (OWL) at Purdue University offers examples of bad news memos  Businesswriting.com -- Writing Tasks: Convey Good News and Bad News provides instruction and samples of bad news letters. Please use the block format in writing your letter. For information on the block format, access the University of Wisonsin's Business Letters: Block Form site . For general information on formatting and organizing a business letter, you might explore a Wikibooks Professional and Technical Writing/Business Communications/Letter s site . Length of your message: Your letter should be 200 -400 words in length. Due Date: Your instructor will notify you of the due date. Assignment Rubric: Formatting Excellent Good Fair Needs improve ment Not passing Uses block format 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Audience awareness and message Excellent Good Fair Needs improve ment Not passing Buffer statement presented 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Clear explanation given for denial 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Sentences are readable and appropriately concise 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Vocabulary is appropriate 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Tone is appropriate 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Paragraphs Excellent Good Fair Needs improve ment Not passing Paragraphs are unified 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Paragraphs are coherent, short, and readable for effective flow 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Ending of message present s good will Excellent Good Fair Needs improve ment Not passing Letter ends with clear contact information and other positive action steps 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Sentence skills Excellent Good Fair Needs improve ment Not passing Punctuation 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Word -form accuracy 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Sentence accuracy 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points Overall Score Excellen t 90 or more Good 80 or more Fair 70 or more Needs Improve ment 60 or more Not passing 0 or more