Technical and Professional Writing

Technical and Professional Writing

Bad News Letter Assignment and Grading Rubric

You are the customer service manager of Dunbar Publishers.  Recently you received a shipment of books returned from the Shaughnessy College bookstore. Christopher Lorenzo, the manager, has written asking for a full refund on 66 books.  He has enclosed an invoice dated 14 months ago which shows his purchase of 70 copies of a marketing text at $40.00 each and 200 copies of your College Style Guide at $20.00 each.

When you opened the shipment from Mr. Lorenzo, you found that it contained the following:

• 14 books which are not published by your company.

• 22 copies of the marketing text. These have been stamped with the Shaughnessy College logo.

• 30 copies of the College Style Guide. 10 are water damaged.

Your company’s policy is to provide a full refund if books are returned in new, unmarked, and saleable condition. The return must be within 12 months of the original invoice date. This policy is published and sent with every order of books.

Write to Christopher Lorenzo, Manager, Shaughnessy College Bookstore. You may invent plausible details as necessary.

Grading Template for BAD NEWS letter assignment

Criteria (points)	Exemplary (3)	Proficient (2)	Marginal (1)	Unacceptable
Student’s paper is formatted according to correct business letter format (block format)
Student follows indirect pattern for bad news correspondence (TC p. 375)
Opening of letter attempts to form a bond with the reader
Body of the letter includes explanatory details leading to the bad news message, using positive words and showing reader benefits if possible
Bad news is positioned so that it does not stand out
Letter suggests an alternative or compromise or “sweetener” if possible (optional)
The closing of the letter ends politely
The overall tone of the letter is both positive and professional
Student used appropriate language (good grammar, syntax, word choice, punctuation, etc.)

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