Content and Background:

This is a memo that was written in my Style and Editing class geared toward Elon’s English faculty. The assignment was to write a memo to the English faculty presenting information I found about English majors and correlating job positions. The memo based upon extensive research I found with a partner. This research showed evidence that English students’ accomplishments, goals, and acquired skills lie in the same realm as multiple career paths’ job requirements. The information in the memo is presented based upon extensive research of twenty five different job positions and analyzing what their duties and skills entail.

 

Rhetorical Decisions:

Throughout the completion of this business memo, I utilized multiple different persuasion methods to get my main theses across: there are multiple jobs and job locations available for English students, English students need to be aware of these jobs, and that English professors need to not only let their students know that these jobs are available, but must incorporate the duties and skills necessary of these jobs into their regular lesson routines.

 

This project required me to also utilize a style in a different way than I am used to. Style, by definition, is the rhetorical canon that addresses how something will be said, and how ideas are encompassed through word choice in combination with strategic arrangement (Cicero). Style also includes the tone and the way one approaches an audience. With the memo, I had to strategically express my thoughts in a way that would appeal to a more formal, faculty audience.

 

In the beginning of this memo, I formally address the belief that the only career path available to English students is within the academic realm. This may be an assumption, but I believe that it is successful because it shares my main point the before the presentation of the data. This is also follows the style of a classic business memo: presenting the main point before going into factual evidence.

 

After presenting my data, I make a conscious effort to provide insight as to how the faculty can incorporate the duties and skills that I found into their daily lesson plans with outright suggestions, further identifying their personal ethos as professors. This had to be completed in a style, promoting a “you-attitude” or reader-friendly style. Rather than discussing solely what I learned and how I would present the data, I urge the faculty to draw their own inspiration from the information to give to their students.

 

Reflection:

This business memo taught me how to not only address a group of faculty members, but how to utilize the rhetorical concept of style when addressing any group of people. By altering style, one can convey the same message in multiple different ways to a myriad of audiences. The way one alters their style can change whether or not a message is received. By using style in combination with arrangement and audience-identification, I believe that I was able to accomplish “writing across fields”, and will be able to, furthermore, write across any field I put my mind to.