COMM 200. Business Communication
Assignment 1
1. Outlining Your Content
A writer is working on an insurance information brochure and is having trouble grouping the ideas logically into an outline. Using the following information, prepare the outline, paying attention to the appropriate hierarchy of ideas. If necessary, rewrite phrases to make them all consistent.
Accident Protection Insurance Plan
• Coverage is only pennies a day
• Benefit is $100,000 for accidental death on common carrier
• Benefit is $100 a day for hospitalization as result of motor vehicle or common carrier accident
• Benefit is $20,000 for accidental death in motor vehicle accident
• Individual coverage is only $17.85 per quarter; family coverage is just $26.85 per quarter
• No physical exam or health questions
• Convenient payment-billed quarterly
• No individual rate increases
• Free, no-obligation examination period
• Cash paid in addition to any other insurance carried
• Covers accidental death when riding as fare-paying passage on public transportation, including buses, jets, ships, trolleys, subways, or any other common carrier
• Covers accidental death in motor vehicle accidents occurring while driving or riding in or on automobile, truck, camper, motor home, or no motorized bicycle
2. Planning: Assessing Audience Needs
For each communication task that follows, write brief answers to three questions: Who is the audience? What is the audience’s general attitude toward my subject? What does the audience need to know?
a. A final-notice collection letter from an appliance manufacturer to an appliance dealer that is 3 months behind on payments, sent 10 days before initiating legal collection procedures
b. An advertisement for smartphones
c. A proposal to top management, suggesting that the four sales regions in the United States be combined into just two regions
d. Fliers announcing reduced rates for chimney cleaning or repairs, to be attached to doorknobs in the neighborhood
e. A cover letter sent along with your résumé to a potential employer
f. A website that describes the services offered by a consulting firm that helps accounting managers comply with government regulations.