ENGR 1273 Writing Assignment 3

1. Generating and responding to email in a professional and ethical manner

Note that there are TWO parts to this third assignment set:

1. 1st email: Request (Worth 3%) Approximate time to complete: 1 Hours
2. 2nd email: Response to Complaint (Worth 3%) Approximate time to complete: 2 Hours

This assignment consists of two distinct exercises. One involves writing and sending an email request, and the other involves responding to an email complaint. These two emails are NOT connected to each other.

Choose a real person who could be considered to be a subject matter expert in one or more aspects of the design project you are working on. You are to compose and send an email to that person¹⁾ requesting an interview to discuss one or more aspects of your proposed design. It must be someone you might actually have a real chance of interviewing. In other words, people who are deceased, half-way across the world, senior members of major corporations or groups should not be chosen. Use the template below as a guide. Remember to maintain a a professional tone, even if you already know them.

[Your address]

[Date]

[Addressee's name
Title
Address]

[Salutation]

[Introduce yourself; inform how you get the addressee's information; inform the purpose of writing the letter]

[Introduce the project topic and its organisers; its purpose; your topic, explaining why you are interested]

[Invite your addressee to be the interviewee; share how he/she could assist you with his/her expertise]

[Request for an interview; mention your contact details. Thank the addressee]

[Closing;
Signature;
Name]

On the day of your 3rd lecture, your boss forwards an email complaint to you to handle as fielding complaints is part of your job at the firm where you work. It is forwarded to you without explanation. You are to compose a response to the person who made the complaint that will help to alleviate the concern without making any claims your company can not live up to. You must remain polite and use an appropriate tone throughout. Make use of the resources provided for guidance. The email must be sent back to your supervisor²⁾ for approval.

NOTE that this email will NOT be posted on this website. It will ONLY be emailed to you.

You are to respond to the complaint email using mru [at] minkhollow [dot] ca ONLY. Email sent ANY OTHER WAY will be IGNORED.

This complaint email will be sent to you on the day of your lecture this week. There is a n opportunity for bonus marks if you respond (i.e. DO that part of the assignment) within 24 hours. In other words, Tuesday's classes must respond by the end of Wednesday and Thursday's classes must respond by the end of Thursday in order to be eligible for the bonus marks. In addition, the submission must pass in order to get the bonus.

• Gmail does NOT support acknowledgments.
• Yahoo does NOT support acknowledgments. (note: many free accounts appear to follow this model).
• Outlook: Press the Options button while composing to set the tracking options.
• Webmail: there are checkboxes: Receipt: _On Read _On Delivery

This assignment will not be submitted using Moodle. Your marks will still be posted there as always. Submission of this assignment must be made strictly by email, as follows:

• This assignment will be submitted using email to the link on this website (mru [at] minkhollow [dot] ca) ONLY.
• ALL assignment submissions MUST include the following tag in the subject line (OR THEY WILL NOT BE READ):
  • [ENGR 1273 Asst 3.1]: for the first email
  • [ENGR 1273 Asst 3.2]: for the second email
• Both emails MUST include a suitable subject header following the tag.
• Remember that the second email is a response and must also include the subject header of the original email.

THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS TWO OPPORTUNITIES FOR BONUS MARKS

Part One will earn an extra 1%³⁾ if it is submitted by TUESDAY Feb. 23 (i.e after reading week) BEFORE MIDNIGHT. The timestamp on your email MUST indicate that it was sent BEFORE 00:00:00 Wednesday, February 24 2010.

Part Two will earn an extra 1%⁴⁾ if it is submitted within 24 HOURS of your 3rd writing lecture (i.e. Feb. 9th or 11th). For this bonus your registered section is the one that is used to determine your eligibility for the bonus (i.e. you do not get extra time if you come to a different lecture). The timestamp of your email must be less than 24 hours from the end of your lecture.

Late assignments will NOT be accepted. Note also that the instructor may not be reachable by email during reading week.

Grading of each part of this assignment will be as follows:

• 3% = Good. Contains no major omissions or flaws.
• 2% = Average. Contains a few problems, but not enough to fail it.
• 1% = Poor. Too many minor errors or up to two major ones.
• 0% = Rejected. Contains more than two Major flaws; Failed to follow instructions.

1. No Header : will result in rejection (⇒ 0)
2. Failure to include specified tag : will result in rejection (⇒ 0)
3. email sent to wrong address : will result in rejection (⇒ 0)

1. Capitalization: All names, sentences, lists and other items must be correctly capitalized.
2. Improper tone: too casual; flippant; hostile; rude; etc.
3. Grammar: errors range from minor to major. More than 2 minor errors constitute a major flaw.
4. Punctuation: errors range from minor to major. More than 2 minor errors constitute a major flaw.
5. Unrealistic claims or promises made.
6. Any deception.

These will not result in failure if they do not occur too often and if they are not combined with too many other flaws.

1. Incorrect Salutation
2. Incorrect Closing
3. Included entire original email in reply.