1. Revise the following sentences to present the bad news with passive-voice verbs.
  1. We cannot offer free shipping after January 1. ?
  2. Our retail stores will no longer be accepting credit cards for purchases under $5.
  3. Company policy prevents us from offering health and ?dental benefits until employees have been on the job for 12 months. ?
  4. Your car rental insurance coverage does not cover large SUVs.
  5. We do not examine patients until we have verified their insurance ?coverage. ?

2. Revise the following statements to imply the bad news. If possible, use passive-voice verbs and subordinate clauses to further de-emphasize the bad news.

  1. Unfortunately, we find it impossible to contribute to your excellent and worthwhile fund-raising campaign this year. At present all the funds of my organization are needed to lease equipment and offices for our new branch in Hartford. We hope to be able to support this commendable endeavor in the future.
  2. We cannot ship our fresh fruit baskets. Your order was not accompanied by payment, so we are not shipping it. We have it ready, though, and will rush it to its destination as soon as you call us with your credit card number.
  3. Because of the holiday period, all our billboard space was used this month. Therefore, we are sorry to say that we could not give your charitable group free display space. However, next month, after the holidays, we hope to display your message as we promised.

3. Revise the following sentences to position the bad news in a subordinate clause. (Hint: Consider beginning the clause with Although.) Use passive-voice verbs for the bad news.
a. We regret that we cannot replace the cabinet hinge you need. The manufacturer no longer offers it. A new hinge should work for you, and we are sending it to you.
b. State law does not allow smoking within 5 feet of a state building. But the college has set aside 16 outdoor smoking areas.
c. We now offer all of our catalog choices at our Web site, which is always current. Unfortunately, we no longer print or mail a complete catalog.
d. We are sorry to report that we are unable to ship your complete order at this point in time. However, we are able to send two corner workstations now, and you should receive them within five days.
e. We appreciate your interest in our organization, but we are unable to extend an employment offer to you at this time.
4. Write an unsolicited job application letter for the post of Manager at Unilever. Use AIDA approach and follow the full block format of letter writing.
5. Being the CEO of Unilever, write a letter refusing the job applicant above. Use indirect approach and block format of letter writing.
6. Write an inter-office memo announcing the release of arrears to your employees.
7. Set agenda for a meeting of organizing Committee on the upcoming Women Conference at NED University.