Memorandum

Memorandum
To: TCOM 3302

From: Mike Duncan

Subject: Scenario One, Due 9/9/21

Date: 8/31/21

The first major assignment for this class is Scenario One, which follows this memo of transmittal.

Why did I start with a memo? That’s because you’ll be attaching a memo much like it to some of your assignments! Check out the “Memo Format” file in the Scenario One folder for instructions on how to write memos.

Memos of transmittal harken back to the days of typewriters and paper-only documents. They are a clear ancestor to the structure of email. They still serve a useful function, even when in digital form, as they are ideal for introducing a more complex document that follows, without requiring the reader to get too deep into reading the second document.

The following scenario begins your “storyline” in the class, as a newly minted professional writer at a new job. Your parallel-universe career in the five scenarios of the class may have some unexpected ups and downs, depending both on your decisions and how well you delivered on those decisions in the previous scenario.

Keep in mind, though, that your grade in each scenario is completely independent of which avenue, A, B, or C, that you pick. Rather, you’re graded on how the documents that you produce fit the larger decisions that you’ve made.

The key to doing well in these scenarios is understanding the context of the situation. No document is ever independent of context. Writing can only be fairly judged in the context of the situation for which it was written. Understanding this concept is key to strong technical writing – and in doing well your first assignment, which follows.

Scenario One

It’s 9:32 am on August 31, 2021, in another universe where you already have your UHD degree in hand.

Two months ago, you took a salaried job as a technical writer at EMCA, a local Texas corporation that designs a wide variety of consumer products. It wasn’t your first pick, but life doesn’t always hand you what you want, and your health insurance just vested, so things aren’t bad. Not at all. Taxes have taken an alarming amount of your first two paychecks, but you can live well if the money keeps coming.

You’re in the toy design division, which is less than a year old. Your first project, which took over a month to complete, was writing instructions for a line of talking toy bears for children under 6, acquired from a rival company (the bears, not the children). Half of the instructions ended up being safety information and legal boilerplate, but the bears were well designed, relatively easy to document, and not particularly flammable.

The desk chair in your small cubicle finally feels comfortable. You could keep working here.

This feeling lasts about thirty seconds before your supervisor, Rick, comes by with a second project for you. He wants you to write a new consumer manual for a new toy. He leaves it on your desk, in a box, for you to examine and test.

“This one will go quicker,” he says. “We’ve got a plant lined up to crank these out, so you’ve got until Friday end of day to get a draft to me.”

YARD MISSILES, the brightly colored box announces.

Unpacking the contents, you’re sure you’ve seen something like these before. You poke around on Google, and quickly find that the “yard missiles” are lawn darts, which were banned in the U.S. in the late 1980s after the death of a young girl. More benign foam and sand variants exist that are legal, but these “yard missiles” are like the old “Jart” brand – heavy and weighted with steel tips. The design and colors are different, but functionally, they’re the same product.

You tell Rick, but he doesn’t seem concerned. “Yeah, but legal cleared them for 12 and up. All you need to do is write the manual. Standard disclaimers, all that.” He departs for another meeting before you can object further.

You return to your desk. What do you do?

Option A: Write the instructions as requested.

· Hey, if you don’t do it, someone else will, and they might not be as careful, concerned, and professional as you are, right?

· There is a small gallery of vintage lawn dart packaging and instructions in the Scenario One folder to give you an idea of how lawn darts were originally marketed and what the “rules” are. You may do additional research if you wish.

· Rick expects at least 2-3 pages that fit on standard copy paper. There is no upper limit. The instructions should match the 12+ age range.

· Chapters 4 and 5 in your textbook will be particularly useful for this option.

· There is no set format for the instructions. Feel free to use any design you see fit. You may model it on a completely different set that you favor, though if you duplicate any content, you’ll have to cite it.

· Remember this is not a MLA research paper. Citation outside academia is still needed, but it’s not standardized. If you make clear where the original language/info is, you’re fine. In a formal report, citation standards kick in, but in a document like this, things are relaxed.

· A focused persuasive goal helps. If your goal is to sell YARD MISSILES in vast quantities regardless of safety, act accordingly. If you want to increase the likelihood of a specific set of rules being employed in their use, then a numbered list may be your best bet. If you want to decrease the chances of death or injury, stress safety above all else. I could go on at great length but note how changing the goal changes what to include.

· Consider the physical form. Note the historical Jart box has both a sheet of paper with directions and more on the packaging. These are not the only two options you have. The missiles themselves could have warnings on them, for example. Rick may expect 2-3 pages, but what if you submit something else?

· Everything is a tradeoff in persuasion. If you stress one thing, you’re taking away attention from another.

· Visuals should be included, but only if you produce them yourself or clearly attribute them to their source. The simple diagrams of the original might just work, if updated.

· A memo of transmittal must be attached to the front of your instructions document, explaining how you’ve approached the writing. Address it to Rick , not me.

· If you are describing any process that is inherently dangerous or could lead to legal action, provide appropriate warnings.

· Don’t forget to include troubleshooting information.

· Given that both children and adults often disregard instructions, consider ways to persuade them to start reading and keep reading. Don’t be afraid to use humor. Instructions are, by their nature, often boring. But they don’t have to be.

Option B: Refuse to write the instructions, and instead write a detailed memo (at least 2 pages long) to Rick and his supervisor, Whitney, head of the toy design division, explaining your reasoning.

· Chapter 2 of your textbook discusses ethics. I suggest reading it before taking this option.

· By taking this option, you commit to not writing the instructions under any circumstances. You haven’t been at EMCA long enough to know how Rick or Whitney or any other person at EMCA might respond. You might lose your job, depending on what you write and argue. A positive outcome is not guaranteed.

· Consider what arguments or combination of arguments might work best. There’s the legal angle – the threat of federal, state, and consumer lawsuits. There’s the safety angle, especially given it’s marketed toward children. There’s also a possible financial angle in that it won’t sell, or it’s aimed to the wrong market. And then there is the moral aspect.

· Given this option requires a memo to begin with, a separate memo of transmittal is not necessary.

Option C: Be creative. You can take another course of action of your own design. However, it must involve (but is not limited to) producing an example of either the memo or instructions genres. Remember documents are a good tool for solving problems in a corporate environment, but not your only one. Consider audiences other than your immediate superior or EMCA.

· Include a memo of transmittal that discusses how your Option C (for Creative!) differs from Options A or B. This one should be addressed to me, so I understand your approach.

· Don’t be afraid to “break the scenario.” You’re not the only student that will tackle these assignments. I appreciate ways to strengthen the premise.

Due Date: September 9, 2021, at midnight. Submit your documents on BB as a single .doc or .docx file, or PDF if necessary.

Scenario Two will appear on BB on September 14, 2021, along with your grade for Scenario One. The exact nature of Scenario Two will be different for each student depending on what option you picked in Scenario One.

If you have any questions about this assignment, email me at duncanm@uhd.edu. I am not the kind of professor that bites – ask away with any question you have, at any hour.