Background

Background Your favorite cousin has moved to your town and is looking for a job. Her previous experiences are working as a cashier and sales clerk at two department stores. You know she plans to apply at similar stores in your town. But you also know she is a perfect match for a job opening as a reliable assistant to your boss. You know she has the skills, though she doesn’t think she is as capable as she is, and you’re sure she’d be good at this job. Your goal is to persuade your cousin to apply for the job. You e-mail her a paragraph explaining the specifics of the job and the reasons she should apply. You want to convince her that she has the job skills required. You’ll use an informal tone, of course, but will take care to use correct business writing to show her that you take your recommendation seriously. Process 1. Using your imagination, create the kind of skills the job as boss’s assistant requires. Make up names for your boss and the company, as well as any facts that might help you prove your case to your cousin. Freewrite about the skills you’ve seen her show in other settings and about how you can convince her to use those abilities in this position. In addition, consider personality traits that show she would work well with your boss. Also make up details and figures about how this job will benefit your cousin personally and professionally. 2. Circle the information your cousin most needs to hear to be persuaded to apply for this job. You won’t be able to use everything you made up. Organize the details and explanation using an order of importance pattern. 3. Open the Word document containing your draft of Paragraph 1 and begin a new page. Type the heading Paragraph 2 and draft your 8—12 sentence paragraph. Begin with the topic sentence, in which you establish your confidence in your cousin and spark her interest in applying for this job. Develop your paragraph using clear, varied sentences and concrete words with transitions or connectives that create a logical flow. Use the information you’ve identified as most important and make your paragraph as persuasive as possible. 4. Set aside this draft for a few days while you return to the first paragraph, revising it according to the following instructions. Once you’ve revised Paragraph 1 into a polished product, do the same with Paragraph 2.