″Many students come to this writing class doubting their ability to write and/or participate in a community of business writers. Write a concise welcome memo to the next Business Writing class. Briefly explain an important tool in our business writer’s toolkit: PASS analysis. Convey confidence that this tool can help address one (or both, if inspired) of their doubts. If you provide an example from your experience to support your point, be very brief. No more than 1 page for the memo.″ Use PASS: Purpose Audience Scope Staging ——————————– Purpose of an informal report • To keep the reader informed of an activity or project • To summarize the results or recommend follow-up ——————————— Audience for the informal report • The AUDIENCE is generally familiar with the subject of your report, so… – Specialized or technical language is used. ——————————— Scope of the informal report • It’s easier to determine SCOPE: – Usually, less background info is needed. – Report information comes from keeping notes of every stage of the activity ———————————- Staging of informal reports • For internal audiences: – Generally a memo; can be an email • For external audiences: – Letter – The writer then organizes notes into a working outline from which to develop a meaningful story
