Imagine that you have graduated from college and are working in an entry-level position in your field of study. Your supervisor has given you your first on-the-job writing assignment. She has asked that you take a couple of days and learn about the organization and how it functions and to think about changes that would help improve the way the company works.
She has also asked you to write a 1 page, 3-4 paragraph, single spaced Preliminary Proposal that identifies one single problem within the organization that you think needs to be addressed and recommends one solution that you think will help solve this problem. This report should be in the form of a Memorandum and should be addressed to the supervisor who has requested this information and it should include summarized information from one source that helps to validate your recommendation.
Keep in mind that your supervisor may or may not accept the recommendation you propose in your Preliminary Proposal, but if she does, she will likely later ask for a more detailed report before implementing the solution. For now, your goal should be to write a concise report that demonstrates your writing and problem-solving skills and that motivates her to accept your proposal and move to the next step in the process for making changes within the organization.
Be sure that the final revised, edited, and proofread version of your Unit 9 Assignment meets the following requirements:
- Addresses one specific problem like the increased stress that police officers in your precinct are suffering from, or the high nursing turnover your hospital is witnessing.
- Explains why the problem needs addressing or how otherwise the organization may be harmed by this situation.
- Identifies one specific solution, a concrete action the audience can take to address the issue, like moving to a 4-day work week for nurses or offering free gym memberships to police officers.
- Motivates the audience to want to pursue this idea by showing that your recommendation has merit and stands to potentially solve a problem.
- Includes briefly summarized information from one reliable and relevant source to support your recommendation.
- Cites the source in text and in a Reference list at the end of the memo, using current APA format.
- Includes an APA formatted title page, as this is a course assignment.
- Demonstrates your ability to apply the writing and research skills you have built and strengthened in the previous units of this course.
- Demonstrates revision and editing skills to produce clear, concise, complete, and correct writing that accomplishes its purpose and meets your audience’s needs.
- Utilizes appropriately semi-formal or professional language.
