- Demonstrate your understanding of a basic structure and components of a case-based essay
- Demonstrate your understanding of the key principles and concepts learned in this course
- Evaluate a sample case-based essay based on the criteria listed above and identify strengths and weaknesses based on at least three criteria of evaluation
- Make logical and specific recommendations (action plans) for overcoming the weaknesses in the sample essay and justify their recommendations through specific references to the course readings and lectures
Case: Professor Smith in Business
College at UIUC assigned his students an essay based on a case study titled “Heineken
N.V.: Global Branding and Advertising” (password: "esl505" - DO NOT SHARE this file with anyone who is not enrolled in this class) with specific requirements on
formatting and content (purple sheet) Hong, one of his students, read and analyzed the case
and produced this memo (white sheet).
Before
submitting the final draft, he wants to see whether or not his writing
will receive a positive evaluation from the professor. He is concerned
because he did not get a good grade on his previous assignment.
Task: Evaluate Hong’s writing based on three of the following criteria of successful business writing learned in our class: awareness of audience and purpose, clear thesis (position)
statement, problem statement, coherence and cohesion, conciseness and formality. Propose an action plan (a revision plan) for Hong based on your evaluation. In order to better demonstrate your ideas for
revising Hong’s essay, you may choose to attach possible revision examples as exhibits.
The
guiding questions below will help you closely evaluate the essay from different
angles, reflecting on important themes you learned throughout the semester. You
must choose three criteria and provide your evaluation, drawing upon
the readings and lectures from this course (making specific references to them
for evidence and explanation of your point).
Guiding Questions (yellow sheet)
Formatting Requirements: The length should be 3-4 pages (Times New Roman, 12, double-spaced) excluding exhibits and references.
Source Requirements and Plagiarism Disclaimer: Every source mentioned in the paper must be cited in APA style. Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism should be dealt with harshly at this point of the semester. Passing/failing a student should be seriously considered if they are not understanding the seriousness of plagiarism.
How to cite case essays, articles, and course materials in APA style
Sample Outline
The following outline was adapted from an outline of a business case evaluation essay found in William Ellet's Case Study Handbook, pp.163-180
I. Introduction
- A. Brief background information about the case (Hong's essay) to be analyzed (i.e. the author, audience, context, purpose of writing) - keep it brief
- B. Bottom-line evaluation (position statement) of the sample essay
- C. Preview (an outline) of the paper
- e.g. which criteria will be used to evaluate the sample essay, what the major recommendations are, etc. (with some justification about why these criteria were used for evaluation)
II. Body
- Each section of the body paragraphs will ideally have the following components:
- A. Description of the criteria of evaluation (Identifies the topics of analysis)
- B. Strengths of the essay based on this criteria (if applicable)
- C. Weaknesses of the essay based on this criteria (if applicable)
Note 2: You may choose to add "qualifications" section in your Body if you wants to discuss something that does not belong to any particular evaluation criteria listed in the guiding questions but has influenced your position about Hong's essay. If you do so, however, keep it brief and precise.
III. Conclusion (Action Plan)
- List of specific actions (revision plans) for improving weaknesses and enhancing the strengths of the essay
Deadlines/Timesline: Suggested due date is specified in the syllabus. Instructors may have several deadlines for multiple drafts.
Submission Instructions: Via Moodle or Dropbox
Grading Criteria: Refer to this grading rubric
Sample Essay: There is no sample essay for this particular case yet, but you may refer to this sample evaluation essay (blue sheet) based on a different case.
