Objectives
On successful completion of this assignment, students will have achieved the following:
Practice creating electronic communications including SMS, blogs, and social media posts that reflect the appropriate tone and content.
Description
This assignment will serve to orient you to the concepts of considering audience and tone in written communication; to expose you to the basic components of a written communication in an electronic media; and to provide you with some general feedback on your basic social media skills and writing style. For this assignment, complete the Blog Template (Appendix C), in which you will write 4 blog postings to address the 4 scenarios provided. It should be submitted as one complete MS Word document with a title page.
Instructions and Submission
Step 1: Complete all four required postings in the blog template as per below.
Background: You are the Director of Communications for a large Canadian-based corporation, and it is your responsibility to write the company blog that is posted on the Internet for all stakeholders and the general public to read. You can select the name of the company and its type of business in line with the scenarios. The Blog Worksheet outlines four scenarios (situations) for which you must make a blog post.
Click here to use the Communication Blog Template to write and organize your four blog entries and submit it by the assignment due date.
Step 2: Prior to beginning this exercise, complete the unit readings and conduct some basic research on what constitutes a blog (short for web log), and how blogs differ from other types of more formal writing styles.
Step 3: When writing your blog posts, consider the following:
The subject matter and whether it is good news or bad news.
The appropriate tone for your message to ensure consistency.
The audience for your message. Note the background information below states that it is a public blog. Consider who will read a public blog and who will be the primary audience.
The length and the importance of being succinct (Though the average blog length is between 500-1,000 words, for the purposes of this assignment, keep each of your postings to a maximum of 250 words).
Submission Details
Your overall submission should include:
Title page (include title, name, date, course code/title, instructor name)
Completed Communication Blog template, which includes 4 blog postings. Each blog posting should be a maximum of 250 words
References Page (if applicable, full references for all work cited in body)
Helpful Hints
Papers should be written with double-spacing to allow easier review and editing (and to be in correct APA format).
Use APA referencing guidelines for citation and references.
Write in first person (I, we, our) because you are writing from the point of view of the company’s Communication Director.
Ensure all references are academic sources. If an article is found in an academic journal in one of the library databases, then you can assume it has been peer reviewed and thus acceptable. Many articles found readily online may not have been exposed to any editorial vetting process, and thus should not be used as a resource.
Evaluation
The Individual Assignment 3: Communication Blog will be marked in its entirety out of 100. The following rubric indicates the criteria students are to adhere to, and their relative weights to the assignment overall.
Activity/Competencies Demonstrated % of Final Grade
1. Content (60%)
a. Considered audience and wrote appropriately to address them. /20
b. Presented clear and concise blog posts. /10
c. Considered appropriate handling of good or bad news. /15
d. Effectively used active voice. /5
e. Respected length of posts. /10
2. Creativity (10%)
a. Demonstrated creativity in writing style. /10
3. Format and Language (30%)
a. Followed blog post format. /10
b. Effective use of English language with minimal errors in spelling and grammar. /20
Total /100
