Writing for Business

Prepare a progress report, in the form of letter of introduction about yourself to the professor, that describes your educational goals, the progress that you have made in reaching those goals, the work that you have completed so far, the work currently in progress (including your assessment of your successes and anticipated obstacles), what you have left to accomplish in order to reach your educational goals, and how you believe that reaching those goals will assist you in ultimately achieving your career goals.

The letter should be in business-letter format, which would include a letterhead (or return address), an addressee, a date, a business-letter type of salutation, the body of the letter, and a complimentary close and signature line. 

For information about how to format a business letter generally, follow the guidelines and samples that are set forth in Chapter 9, pp. 262-265; and in Appendix A, pp. A-2 through A-10, including the sample business letter in Figure A.2 on page A-4. Also, look at the tips for formatting business letters that appear in Chapter 6, pp. 151-152. In addition, for guidance about how to organize the information contained in a progress report (including the use of subheads, if appropriate, for increased clarity and ease of reading), look at the discussion of progress reports generally in Chapter 9 as specified above.

The assignment is worth a maximum of 10% of the 40% for all writing assignments. Your letter should be single-spaced, in 12-point type, and no longer than one page in length.

The project will be evaluated based on content, the use of specific details and examples, doing the assignment as directed, clarity, conciseness, tone, organization, grammar/punctuation, spelling, and proofreading. The assignment is due to the professor on Canvas. Assignments turned in after that due date will not be accepted.

Good luck and have fun! (After all, writing is supposed to be enjoyable!)

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