ENGL1103 Unit 3 Written Assignment Analysis

ENGL1103 Unit 3 written assignment 1 of 4

ENGL 1103 Unit3 written assignment

University of People

ENGL1103 Unit 3 written assignment 2 of 4

Although there are several features to be a good writing, the most important

trait in a business context is to persuade or motivate a reader to conduct a target

action. For this purpose, the ancient Greek teacher Aristotle claimed “three

elements of rhetoric, or the art of presenting an argument”; logos (logic),

ethos(ethics and credibility), and pathos (emotional appeal) (Saylor Foundation,

n.d.). Kostelnick and Roberts (1998) also proposed the cognate strategies to create

an effective writing; clarity, conciseness, arrangement, credibility, expectation,

reference, tone, emphasis, and engagement. Here, I only pick up five strategies;

clarity, arrangement, credibility, reference and tone.
The clarity strategy is to make messages clear by using clear expressions and
relatively short sentences. For example, last week, I asked colleagues if they will
attend a party by e-mail. Off course, I wrote the deadline for response in the
message, but I forgot to add information about how to respond to me; e-mail,
phone, fax or face-to-face communication. A colleague may be confusing with the
point. In terms of clarity, it may be better for me to specify it.
The arrangement strategy is to organize information in a logical order. This
strategy is the strong method to change our message persuasive. Someone may
claim that they are not good at logical thinking. However, I believe it’s not difficult
task to organize our thoughts. We just need to be aware of several logical
relationships; problem-solution, cause-result, statement-evidence, outline-detail and
old-new relationships. For instance, when I wanted to claim a specific statement, I
usually wrote my opinion in the first paragraph, and then raised pieces of evidence
in the following paragraphs. This structure provided the strong logic to my writing,
makes a writer’s statement more rational and intelligent.

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The credibility strategy is to acquire an impression to be trustworthy. People often

judge the value of information based on who provide it, but not what it is. This

principal is true in written communication as well. Unlike oral communication, a

reader usually can’t see your non-verbal language such as facial expression and

clothes he/she wears. However, a reader still infers the writer’s personality, ability,

and trustworthiness by looking a style of writing. Therefore, a writer should care

about his/her writing style and avoid features to affect his/her impression negatively.

For example, I always make an effort to avoid spelling, grammar, and syntax errors

when I make a document. Additionally, I have decided to use a word processor to

create a decent document and did not handwrite. I believe these efforts make my

writing decent and increase the credibility.

The reference strategy is to support one’s opinion by other authoritative sources

or pieces of evidence. We use this strategy in everyday life intentionally or

unintentionally. For example, once I promoted sales of a diet supplement that

our
company invented, I asked a doctor to comment the product and attached her
comment on the advertisement. I thought that it would effectively send the message
that a researcher scientifically proved the supplement’s effect. In reality, consumers
positively reacted to the advertisement and the products sold very well.
The tone strategy is to adjust expressions such as words and phrases so that
they are comfortable to a reader. For example, I have the experience to write a
letter to a customer to apologize that our company sell him/her a defect product. At
that time, I carefully selected polite and modest phrases so that I wouldn’t do harm
to customer’s feeling anymore. Fortunately, my letter calmed down the customer’s
anger.
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Reference
Sayler foundation.(n.d.). Business Communication for Success. Retrieved from
http://my.uopeople.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=72016
Kostelnick, C., & Roberts, D. (1998). Designing visual language: Strategies for
professional communicators (p. 14). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.