ENGLISH II TEST - Algonquin College



ENGLISH II TEST

Chapter 8 - Letters & Memos That Carry Negative News

and

Chapter 9 - Letters & Memos that Persuade

I. FILL-IN-THE-BLANK (5 points)

Complete the following statements by writing the appropriate words in the blanks.

1. _______________________________, _____________________________

and ____________________________ are three problem words that signal to

your reader that you are going to deliver bad news.

2. Effective development of one or two central selling points in a sales letter

depends on _______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________.

3. An emotional appeal to the reader is appropriate when ______________________

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________.

4. __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

is the principal reason for using the indirect method.

5. The purpose of the closing in a letter that carries negative news is_____________

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________.

II. SHORT ANSWER (15 points)

Answer the following questions in point form or short sentences.

1. What is a buffer? What are the qualities of a good buffer?

2. What is an effective closing for a sales or persuasive letter? Give an example of an effective sentence to close a sales or persuasive letter.

3. Why is the use of the passive voice recommended when conveying bad news?

4. Identify five attention-getting techniques used in sales letters.

5. What is the difference between writing routine claim letters and persuasive requests?

III. WRITING IMPROVEMENT (40 points)

Revise the following poorly written messages. (5 points each)

1. Our family-owned business is struggling during these hard economic times and we regret to inform you we can’t afford to offer refunds on store purchases any more. Effective immediately, ALL SALES ARE FINAL. There are no exceptions to this new store policy so please don’t ask our salespeople.

2. Unfortunately, the number of problems and high cost of repair service due to ignorant people using the wrong kind of overhead transparencies in the photocopy machines means no one is permitted to make overhead transparencies on these photocopiers.

3. I’ve just been laid off and I’m in no situation this year to donate to your charity. Kindly don’t solicit from me in the future either.

4. Don’t use company e-mail or Internet access for personal use. You can be subject to immediate disciplinary action or dismissal for doing so.

5. Our cashiers have been warned by the police of the increase in counterfeit one hundred dollar bills in circulation. Management has pre-authorized them to refuse all purchases using suspicious looking bills.

6. Because your payment was late for the third time in a row, we must charge you a late fee in addition to the interest charges.

7. My children will not be taking part in the inappropriate and poorly planned field trip scheduled by their teacher. I refuse to have my children involved and forbid their participation.

8. Due to the increase in long distance phone billing, from now on, use of the company fax machine for sending or receiving faxes of a personal nature is forbidden. If you have a problem with this, speak to your manager.

IV. STRATEGY ANALYSIS (30 points)

Carefully read the accompanying authentic example of a sales/persuasive or negative news business letter.

In several clear, concise, well-written paragraphs, analyze the letter according to the writing strategies outlined in Essentials of Business Communication.

TOTAL _________ / 5% of Final Grade

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