Document Development Exposition: Workplace Correspondence

Explain in detail your document’s development from planning to finish, describing your
challenges, how you overcame them, and what you learned.

Planning
I began planning for this document with the assignment prep sheet. I had a clear direction, as I
intended to complete the memo using the research from my white paper. However, I was not
entirely sure who I should address in both the email and the memo. I tried using the general title
“director,” but it was hard to form context around the email and the memo. Then, as I was exploring
my organization’s website, I stumbled across the contact page. There I found titles of real positions,
and a plausible scenario formed in my head. This taught me to seek inspiration from the real world.
Also, I made my headings look like hyperlinks again, as I had yet to gain feedback on this poor design
choice from the previous assignment. However, my peers were quick to bring this to my attention.
Once again, I was thankful for their input.

First Draft (for peer editing)

At this point in time, I had a time management issue. I had spent much of the allotted drafting period
studying for an exam in my other class. Thus, I was only able to complete the email and three
sections of the memo out of my planned ten. This was the peak of my stress levels this semester, and
it taught me that I cannot handle more than one condensed summer class at once. At the very least, I
felt confident about my problem-solution email.

Second Draft (for your packet)

As I did not finish my previous draft, I was not able to get feedback on all my ideas from my peers.
Also, only one of my group members replied, so I did not get a third opinion. Once again, I struggled
with incorporating their suggestions. They said my style of writing was their favorite thing about the
document, but it was too formal. I elected to disregard this advice. However, they also insisted that
images would not be necessary in a memo. I had not previously thought of this; I just thought of my
lack of images as another consequence of my poor time management. I double checked this using
Graves and Graves, and I was pleased to find it true. This reminded me that I can refer to the course
text when writing. Previously, I had not returned to it after an initial read. In addition, my peer gave
me some pointers regarding my headings that I subsequently heeded.

Final Draft (for your portfolio)

My email was missing a header. This was easily rectified. For the most part, the body was good at
explaining the problem and presenting a solution. However, I neglected to provide a reply date. I
now know it is important to clearly state what you need of people and when you need it by. As for
the memo, I finally had my headings right at this point. All the other sections were complete except
for the recommendations. I do not think that I fully understood what its purpose was. Initially, I just
made it a summary of the solution. However, it was brought to my attention that I need to state how
the audience can start implementing my solution after reading the document. Therefore, I
specifically stated what the reader should do before describing the subsequent steps in the plan.