Background

Imagine that you work as the Assistant Director of Public Relations for a large real estate firm that owns an apartment building in the city of Philadelphia. Your primary responsibility is to communicate important information to apartment residents. The apartment building houses one-hundred and fifty residents. A majority of the residents are middle-income earners with a college degree. Some apartments are occupied by families and elderly people.

Problem

During a routine test, radon was detected at very minimal levels in the apartment building. It presents a relatively low level of risk to the building's residents, but residents need to be informed of its presence and made aware of the installation of a radon mitigation system.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in soil. It has been classified by the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency as a health hazard.

Radon gas can enter the home through cracks in the foundation, building materials such as brick and concrete, and through well water. When radon enters the lungs it leaves deposits. According to a 2012 EPA report, epidemiological evidence shows a clear link between lung cancer and high concentrations of radon with 21,000 radon-induced U.S. lung cancer deaths per year - second only to cigarette smoking.

Submission Guidelines

Use the planning checklist to plan your informative email to the apartment residents. Once you complete your first draft of the email submit it to Smarthinking for feedback.

Consider the feedback from Smarthinking and make improvements to your original draft. Submit your planning checklist, the original draft and your final draft in one document in Canvas under Written Assignment #2 - Informative Letter. Make sure to format your writing using a professional letter template in Word. Directions for submitting through Smarthinking are located at the end of the document and within Canvas.

Part 1 - The Planning Checklist

1. Determine your general purpose: are you trying to inform, persuade, entertain, facilitate interaction, or motivate a reader?

2. Determine your specific purpose (the desired outcome).

3. What information from the scenario will you include in your message to residents? Why?

4. Does the message reflect positively on your business?

5. Discuss the audience size, composition, knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward the topic.

6. What are possible responses from the residents?

7. Determine whether you'll use the direct or indirect approach.

Part 2 - The Informative Letter

Directions: Compose an informative letter that includes a clear statement of purpose at the beginning. Ensure that the tone is appropriate and that it has been written to reflect the concerns and interests of the audience. Make sure that the information is organized in a logical way, and that it closes effectively.

· Has each question in the planning checklist been answered clearly and completely?

· Do answers demonstrate serious consideration, a high level of analysis, and a high level of effort?

· Is the planning checklist free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes?

· Does the email include a clear statement of purpose at the start of the email?

· Is the tone appropriate?

· Is it clear and concise?

· Has it been adapted to meet the profile (i.e. concerns and values) of the audience?

· Is the information well-organized and does it flow logically?

· Is it free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes?