Introduction
In my cover letter to Omnibus, I believe that I achieved my goal, which was to communicate effectively through the cover letter and the report. My word choices, formats, tone, and color choices needed to be professional, and this is what was achieved.
Format
My format choices were quite appropriate for the pieces of writing under consideration. First, I chose to have an Omnibus letterhead from MS Template. The letter would have been very plain if there was no professional letterhead, so the template came in handy; I wanted Omnibus to look distinctive. Since the business letter represented my company, it had to stand for high quality. My letter contained the sender’s address on the right side of the letter.
This is expected in any formal letter because it immediately lets the reader know who the letter is from and what organization that person represents. It also provides a return address in case of future communication. I placed a date, a few lines after the printed letterhead because this would let the recipient known exactly when the letter was written. A salutation was placed below the date as a courtesy to the reader. It was then followed by the message of the letter, where I let the reader know about the plagiarism report. I chose to start with the message because this was a business letter and the concerned person might have no time to look through the entire communication to find the main message.
I needed to be as straightforward as possible. The cover letter ended with a complimentary close i.e., “Sincerely…” This paved the way for the signature block that was seen as space “….” These two components were important choices because they provided details about the sender’s identity. The upper section that contained Omnibus’ address had not specified the actual person that was writing the letter. It was necessary to give this information at the end through the complimentary close and the signature block (Scott, 1995).
My format choices for the report were also appropriate because of several reasons. I started my report with a title. The title was important in summarizing or capturing the main message in the document. It was emboldened to capture the attention of the reader. The title was the most important part of the report, so the reader needed to see it right away. After completion of this portion, I immediately started with an introduction; it was critical because it explained the reasons for writing the report and summarized what was expected in the rest of the report. My introduction was short and precise because this was a business report and needed to appear as professional as possible.
The body of the report had sections that were important because they all represented a particular idea. This outlined information and probably made it easier for the reader to go through the report. It would have been very difficult to follow the assertions in the document if everything flowed together in the form of prose. The report ended with a conclusion. This part was also vital because it summarized the main claims in the report.
No new information was introduced in this section because that would violate the very term ‘conclusion’. The conclusion was also free from jargon and was short because several business people only read the conclusion and the introduction to a business letter. It is essential to make these sections very concise and representative of the entire document. At the end of the report, I had a reference section. This was important because it provided solid baking for my ideas from academic writings. The reference section also illustrated that I was being professional in my approach towards the business (Scott, 1995).
Color choices
When composing the cover letter, my letterhead had several colors that included: brown, yellow, orange, green, grey, and maroon. These colors always work together since they are recognized as ‘earth’ colors. Furthermore, they looked professional. The colors did not shout too much as this would have drawn attention away from the content of the cover letter. If the letter had been plain, then the reader would not be encouraged to read it.
The colors were important in highlighting the organization’s name and details; these are very crucial aspects of the letter. In the plagiarism report, the paper was written in plain colors i.e. black and white. Since the report was a formal document, it was advisable to leave it in those neutral colors. Colorful reports are more appropriate for PowerPoint presentations.
Tone
The choice of tone in the cover letter and the report were based on the fact that these two documents were all formal. I needed to use a formal style of writing. For instance, I addressed the recipient of the letter as ‘Ms’ in the salutation. If this was an informal letter, I would have used her name. The complementary close also portrayed this kind of formality. It ended with the phrase ‘Sincerely..’. An informal letter would have been personalized.
The letter needed to have such a tone to convey the fact that the interaction was strictly about business. Nonetheless, I was careful not to go ‘over the top’. I needed to sound as natural as possible. This was why I did not refrain from using the words ‘I’ and ‘you’ in the letter. It was necessary to provide a conversational feel in the letter. I was also very courteous in my writing. For instance, I did not command the reader. Instead, I chose to use neutral statements. When talking about potential questions, I used the phrase ‘If you have any further questions, please contact me at…” It would have been rude and informal if I said “Send your questions to …” My sentences conveyed a formal tone through such kinds of words.
I did not want to be overconfident in my writing because this would have pushed away from the person. In the report, my tone was also formal. Most of the time, I made sure that I was respectful and polite. For example, when talking about the differences between the American and Saudi Arabian students on their perception of plagiarism, I made sure that I explained what goes into Saudi Arabian universities. While American institutions focus on content and academic integrity, Saudi Arabian institutions tended to dwell on content and the curriculum. I knew that the education system in Saudi Arabia was wanting, but I did not want it to look like there was nothing good to be found in their institutions. They still needed to be treated with respect in the report.
Phrasing
The kind of phrasing that I chose was also quite appropriate in the formal letter as well as the report. I needed to use certain words that captured the essence of my message in the letter. This document was written to inform the recipient of a request he had made. I needed to state this at the beginning of the letter, and that was why I used the phrase “I am writing …in response to your request…” At the end of the letter, I needed to make sure that the receiver fully understood what I had talked about in the letter, and this was the reason why I chose particular words.
I said “ If you have any further questions, please contact me at…” this was a standard way of ending the letter and it also illustrated that I was willing to help out the receiver as much as possible. When ending the letter, I chose to use the word “Sincerely’.
This was because the word is quite appropriate for business people who may not be very familiar with one another as the case was between the two parties involved in this letter. If I was sending the letter to an acquaintance, then a word like ‘Regards’ would have been more appropriate. When writing the report, I paid a lot of attention to my sentence structure and my choice of words. First, I tried as much as possible to have a variety at the beginning of my sentences and paragraphs.
The first paragraph starts with “This report..”, the next one starts with “In the US…”, and the third one starts with “Phrasing”. I needed to avoid repetition and this was one way of achieving it. The recipient could then find my work very easy to read. Even the length of my sentences was quite variable because of this added flavor to the report. For instance, in the last paragraph just before the conclusion, this is what I wrote: “This subject is essential in the debate concerning plagiarism. If the issue of plagiarism is not addressed in Saudi Arabian schools, then it can be detrimental to the future of the country and its citizens.” I started the first part with a shorter sentence and then used a longer one to expound on the first.
Such flexibility added a lot of creativity to the report (Scott, 1995). I needed to sound persuasive in the report, consequently, my choice of words was in line with this intention. It was done by offering proof of my assertions. I used expert opinions to expound on some of the major concepts. For example, I quoted Arab News when talking about the government curriculum. When talking about that report, I chose to quote the words so that I wouldn’t distort their message. I also needed to give the report some oomph, and this was achieved by making a call to action at the end of the report. I stated that teachers needed to be instructed on the need to avoid plagiarism.
Conclusion
My tone was formal in the cover letter and the report because these were business documents. In terms of the format, my choices focused on proving concise information. My colors intended on emphasizing the most important aspects of the documents. Lastly, my phrasing was done to make the work easy to read, but formal too.
Reference
Scott, O. (1995). Contemporary business communication. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.