| Course | BU 245 Business Communication |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Professional correspondence portfolio |
| Length | About 1,200 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BS in Business Management |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for BU 245 Unit 8
Four Messages, Four Readers: A Professional Correspondence Portfolio From a Milwaukee Bakery's Operations Desk, With a Reflection on What Changed Between Drafts
Student Name
Business, Herzing University
BU 245: Business Communication
Instructor Name
March 11, 2026
Four Messages, Four Readers: A Professional Correspondence Portfolio From a Milwaukee Bakery's Operations Desk, With a Reflection on What Changed Between Drafts
Cover Memo
To: Course Instructor, BU 245. From: Dana Whitfield, Operations Coordinator, Lakeshore Bread Company. Date: March 11, 2026. Re: Correspondence portfolio, four documents and reflection.
This portfolio contains four messages written in my role at Lakeshore Bread Company, the composite Milwaukee bakery used throughout this course. Each addresses a different reader and follows the conventions of its own genre. Document 1 is a routine request to our flour supplier asking to move a delivery window. Document 2 declines a school's request for a weekly bread donation and offers a one-time alternative. Document 3 asks our delivery drivers to volunteer for a winter-driving refresher. Document 4 is a goodwill letter thanking a store manager for help during a truck breakdown. A reflection on the revisions made between drafts follows the four documents. All four use the same block format, date style and signature treatment.
Document 1: Routine Request to a Supplier
Subject: Request to move our Thursday flour delivery to 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. starting March 19
Dear Mr. Kowalski,
Could your drivers deliver our Thursday flour order between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. instead of 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., beginning Thursday, March 19?
Our morning dock is now used for staging bread trucks until about 10:30 a.m., and your drivers have waited up to 40 minutes on three recent Thursdays. An afternoon window would let them unload as soon as they arrive. The order size and pallet count stay the same.
If the new window works for your schedule, please confirm by March 16. I can be reached at extension 214 with any questions about the dock.
Thank you,
Dana Whitfield, Operations Coordinator, Lakeshore Bread Company
Document 2: Declining a Community Request
Dear Principal Reyes,
Thank you for your March 2 letter describing Garfield Elementary's new morning breakfast program. It is clear how much thought your staff has put into making sure students start the day fed, and several of our employees have children at Garfield.
Each year Lakeshore sets its community giving budget in January, and this year's budget is already committed to the two food pantries we have supported since 2021. A weekly donation of 150 loaves would equal about a quarter of that budget, and we could not add it without reducing what the pantries receive.
Lakeshore therefore cannot provide a standing weekly donation this school year.
We would be glad to supply 300 loaves at no cost for the program's launch week of April 13, delivered to your kitchen by 6:30 a.m. each day. Our giving budget for next year will be set in January 2027, and I will make sure your request is considered then.
With best wishes for the program's first weeks,
Dana Whitfield, Operations Coordinator, Lakeshore Bread Company
Document 3: Persuasive Message to Delivery Drivers
Subject: Two paid hours on March 21 that could make next winter easier
Drivers,
Three of our late routes in December started with a truck that slid or stalled on an icy on-ramp, and each of you has told me about at least one close call this winter. On Saturday, March 21, a driving instructor from the county's commercial driving school will run a two-hour winter-driving refresher in our lot: braking distance on ice, recovering from a skid in a loaded box truck and choosing when to wait out a storm. It is paid at your regular rate, and lunch is provided.
I know March feels like the wrong time to think about ice. The instructor is available only in the off-season, and next December the course would be full. Spaces are limited to eight, so please sign the sheet at the dispatch window by Friday, March 13, if you would like one.
Dana
Document 4: Goodwill Letter to a Store Manager
Dear Ms. Patel,
When our truck broke down on January 13 and your bread was running late, you moved your store's pastry display forward so your shelves did not look empty at opening, and you called me back within five minutes to confirm the new arrival time. Our driver told me your receiving team had the back door open and a cart waiting when he arrived at 7:52 a.m.
That kind of help made a difficult morning much easier for us, and I wanted you to know it was noticed. Please share our thanks with your receiving team as well.
Warm regards,
Dana Whitfield, Operations Coordinator, Lakeshore Bread Company
Reflection: What Changed Between Drafts
Schon (1983) described reflective practice as examining one's own work to understand the choices made and why they did or did not succeed. Looking back at the first drafts of these four messages, the most useful revisions fell into four patterns, one for each document.
In the supplier request, my first draft opened with a paragraph explaining our new truck-staging schedule and reached the request only in the third sentence. I moved the request to the first line and kept a two-sentence explanation after it. The revision follows the plain language advice to put the most important information first and write for what the reader needs to do (Digital.gov, n.d.). Mr. Kowalski needs to answer yes or no; he does not need our staging history to do it.
In the refusal to the school, my draft placed the decision in the middle of a long paragraph and softened it to "we may not be able to commit to weekly donations at this time." That wording left room for the principal to think the answer might change with a follow-up call. The revision gives the refusal its own sentence and uses definite language. I kept the reasons before it, because Limaye (1997) found the explanation to be the part of a negative message that lets a reader see the decision as fair, and I made the alternative concrete: a number of loaves, a date and a delivery time.
In the message to drivers, the first draft began, "I am writing to invite you to a training session." That opening states what I want. The revision opens with something drivers already care about, the icy mornings and close calls they had described, and only then introduces the course. Conger (1998) argued that persuasion begins with common ground, and the revised opening builds it in one sentence. I also added the objection drivers would raise, that March seems early, and answered it.
In the goodwill letter, the draft thanked Ms. Patel "for all your help and support." The revision names exactly what she did, moving the pastry display, calling back within five minutes, having the door open, because specific thanks shows the writer noticed and general thanks could be sent to anyone. I also removed a closing line inviting her to contact me with any questions, since a thank-you letter asks nothing of its reader.
Across all four revisions, the common change was the same: each message now does its one job earlier and more plainly. The course's emphasis on the reader, first taught in the audience analysis exercise, turned out to be the rule that settled every revision.
References
Conger, J. A. (1998). The necessary art of persuasion. Harvard Business Review, 76(3), 84-95.
Digital.gov. (n.d.). Plain language guide series. U.S. General Services Administration. https://digital.gov/guides/plain-language
Limaye, M. R. (1997). Further conceptualization of explanation in negative messages. Business Communication Quarterly, 60(2), 38-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/108056999706000204
Schon, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
The Herzing BU 245 Unit 8 instructions
The Unit 8 instructions ask you to compile a portfolio of professional correspondence, usually several messages of different types written for different readers, with a cover memo or introduction and a reflection. Some sections allow revised versions of earlier assignments, while others require new documents. Each message should follow the conventions of its genre, and formatting should be consistent across the set. The reflection should discuss specific revisions and what you learned, rather than general impressions. Citations in APA 7 support any principles discussed in the reflection. Check whether your instructor sets a minimum number of documents or requires particular genres. Drawing all the documents from one workplace, as the sample does, makes consistent formatting easier and lets the reflection compare like with like.
How the BU 245 Unit 8 example is put together
The sample begins with a cover memo that lists each document, its reader and its purpose, and notes the shared format. The four documents follow, each formatted as it would be sent. The supplier request opens with its question. The school refusal gives reasons before the decision, states it once and offers 300 loaves for launch week. The drivers' message opens with icy mornings they had described and answers the objection that March is early. The goodwill letter names exactly what the store manager did. The reflection then takes each document in turn, describes one change from its first draft and gives the reason, ending with the common thread across all four revisions.
Where the points sit in the BU 245 Unit 8 rubric
The rubric for the portfolio usually weighs the quality of each document, variety and genre conventions, consistency of format, the cover memo and the reflection. Document quality earns full points when each message meets the standards taught for its type. Variety and conventions are judged by different readers and purposes, each handled in the right order. Consistency covers matching headers, date styles and signatures. The cover memo should orient the reader to the whole set. The reflection is often weighted heavily and rewards specific revisions tied to reasons or sources, as in the sample, over general statements about growth. Correct citations and clean formatting complete the grade.
Common BU 245 Unit 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A common Unit 8 problem is a portfolio of messages that all sound the same, with a refusal written as directly as a routine request. Another is inconsistent formatting from one document to the next. Students often reuse earlier assignments without revision when the instructions ask for improvement. Cover memos sometimes list documents without saying who each is for or why. Reflections frequently say the writer learned a lot without naming a single change. Finally, keep each document short and complete; a portfolio is judged on range and control, and four tight messages show more skill than two long ones.
Get a BU 245 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
Attach the Unit 8 instructions and the BU 245 rubric, with the list of documents your section requires and any feedback you received on the earlier drafts. We write a custom example with a cover memo, four messages in their own formats to four readers, consistent styling and a reflection naming real revisions. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
More BU 245 papers and business management samples
- BU 245 Unit 1: Audience analysis exercise
- BU 245 Unit 2: Routine memo or email
- BU 245 Unit 3: Bad-news message
- BU 245 Unit 4: Persuasive message
- BU 245 Unit 5: Short report with summary
- BU 245 Unit 6: Proposal
- BU 245 Unit 7: Presentation with speaker notes
- BU 106 Unit 8: Company analysis with recommendation
- BU 217 Unit 8: Recommendation with defense
- BU 231 Unit 8: Market entry recommendation
- BU 242 Unit 8: Improvement recommendation
BU 245 Unit 8 questions, answered
Can I reuse the messages I wrote earlier in the course?
In most sections that is the intention, but they come back revised rather than resubmitted. Work the instructor's comments into each piece, and keep a note of what you changed so the reflection has something specific to point at. A portfolio containing four unaltered documents that were already graded gives the final unit nothing new to assess.
How many documents does the portfolio need?
Whatever the instructions list, commonly three to five, and often with the genres specified. Where the selection is yours, choose items differing in reader and in purpose rather than in subject, since range is what the collection demonstrates. Two persuasive messages about different products still show one skill, and the second one earns very little.
What belongs in the reflection?
Named changes and the reasoning behind them: a paragraph moved, an opening rewritten for a reader with less authority, a refusal made unambiguous. Say what each revision was meant to do for the person receiving the message. Statements about having learned a great deal, with nothing specific attached, are the standard way this section loses its marks.
Where can I find a free BU 245 Unit 8 sample paper?
Everything in the BU 245 Unit 8 portfolio, from the cover memo to the reflection, can be read above free of charge. If you need a portfolio built around different readers or genres, send your requirements and one will be put together for you free, normally within 48 hours.
Can the BU 245 Unit 8 portfolio reuse earlier assignments?
Check your instructions. Some sections allow revised versions of earlier messages, while others want new ones. The sample uses four new documents from the same workplace and explains the revisions made between drafts, which satisfies either kind of instruction.