MeritKeep

Tell them the deadline is slipping

A commitment you made will slip by two weeks. You have known for three days. Write the message to the person who is depending on it. The hard part is not the writing. It is putting the slip in the first sentence instead of the fourth paragraph, and resisting every instinct to pad it with context first.

Part of the Business Writing & Communication course~40 minutesEvidence: a write-upWe mark it against a checklist you can read first
01 · What counts as done

What you have to hand in

  • The slip is in the first sentence.
  • The new date is specific.
  • The cause is stated once, without a paragraph of justification.
  • It says what you are doing about it.
  • Under 200 words.
02 · How it will be marked

The checklist, published before you start

We score your work against each line below, and every score has to quote the part of your work it is based on. You read all of it first, so you can argue with any score on the specifics.
  • The news comes first35% of the grade

    The difficult part is in the opening, not buried after context.

    1. AbsentThe reader must reach the third paragraph to learn what happened.
    2. DevelopingPresent in the first paragraph but softened into ambiguity.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markThe first sentence states the news plainly.
    4. StrongStates it plainly and immediately follows with what happens next.
  • It cannot be misread as good news30% of the grade

    A hurried reader reaches the correct conclusion.

    1. AbsentA skim could plausibly read this as fine.
    2. DevelopingClear on careful reading only.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markUnambiguous on a skim.
    4. StrongUnambiguous, and pre-empts the most likely misreading.
  • Ownership is clear20% of the grade

    Who is responsible, and what they are doing about it.

    1. AbsentPassive throughout; no one appears to have done anything.
    2. DevelopingOwnership implied but never stated.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markThe author names what they own and what they will do.
    4. StrongOwnership stated without either over-apologising or deflecting.
  • Respectful without padding15% of the grade

    Warm enough for the relationship, without softening into evasion.

    1. AbsentEither cold, or so padded the message is lost.
    2. DevelopingTone is off for the relationship in one direction.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markWarmth and clarity coexist.
    4. StrongThe reader would feel respected even while receiving bad news.
03 · What this proves

The skills a pass would prove

Pass, and these skills count as proven, with this piece of work attached as the evidence.

This brief is part of the Business Writing & Communication course

Starting it starts the course: every skill above, in the order they depend on each other, with this brief at the end as the thing you hand in — marked against the checklist you have just read and nothing else.

About three minutes to set up: what you want to do with Business Writing & Communication, where you are starting from, and how many hours a week you actually have. The subject we already have from this page.Start the Business Writing & Communication course
See the whole Business Writing & Communication course, or every graded brief we run.

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