Overall Reflection of the reading "I Have Some Bad News For You"

Now that we went over what the two types of bad news letters are, it is time to look at the overall reflection of the reading, which I provided for everyone.  The reading called "I Have Some Bad News For You" is by Allan A. Glatthorn, who is a retired senior faculty member in the Teaching of Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

The overall reflection of the reading "I Have Some Bad News For You" is there are two types of Bad News Messages, Indirect and Direct.  Direct Bad News Messages are when you want to emphasize toughness and discourage any further discussion. The layout for Direct Bad News Messages is Appreciation, Bad News, Explanation, Thanks.  Indirect Bad News Letters are when you want to emphasize sensitivity.  The layout for Indirect Bad News Messages is Gratitude, Explanation, Bad News, Thanks.

When you are writing an Indirect Bad News Message, you want to further contact with the petitioner, project the image of a caring individual, and believe that the petitioner won't be able to handle a more direct statement.  Indirect uses the soft and gentle approach.  You send the indirect message under one or more of the circumstances.  The setup for an Indirect Bad News Letter has the heading To, From, Subject and Date. Bad News doesn't come till the Because and Sorry sections of the letter.  Those sections are in the middle of the letter or memo. 

Next is the Direct Bad News Message.  When you do this type of letter, you want to slam the door shut, discouraging any other request from that petitioner, project an image of toughness and directions, address an individual who prefers forthrightness and equates indirectness with softness or dishonesty.  Direct Messages are no-nonsense statements, gets right to the point, and does not try to bury bad news.  It would be used under one or more the the circumstances.  The language is less subtle and more direct. 

Overall, the reading I Have Some Bad News For You was helpful because it tells you everything you need to know, as well as tell you how to do a direct bad news message and indirect bad news message.  If I had to choose between direct and indirect, I would want to do an indirect bad news message because you can get to the point in the middle of the message.  In a direct message, you get right to the point, sometimes that could be a good thing, other times that could be a bad thing.  Either way, you should give a good explanation in either type of bad news message so the person you are sending it to has a better understanding on what you are telling them in the message.




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