Anna DeSalvo

Dr. Pinkert
ENC 3250
8 February 2016
Reflective Cover Memo
Memorandum
To: Dr. Pinkert
From: Anna DeSalvo
Date: 2/8/2016
RE: Reflective Cover Memo for Genre Analysis Project
When starting the Genre Analysis Project and completing the Genre
Analysis Project Planning Worksheet, I named a few organizations that I
believed that I could write about in my project. I initially chose the UCF
Foundation, which is where I work. I wanted to understand more about
the genre of scholarship forms, such as how donors submit a proposal
for a scholarship, how much money is used for each scholarship, where
the money goes towards, etc. But when trying to research more
information about the topic, I became aware that the information that I
was trying to research was confidential information because the UCF
Foundation is owned by the State and the government. I then decided
to change the topic to my sorority Pi Beta Phi, and focus on the genre
analysis of Chapter Evaluations, which lies in the standards of
determining the success of every chapter and the quality of the
membership experience. These include accomplishments in the
membership, academics, philanthropy, finances, housing and
Panhellenic and campus involvement (Pi Beta Phi).
The purpose of the Genre Analysis of the Chapter Evaluation was to
better understand the Chapter Evaluation, such as what the purpose of
it is, the format and structure of it, the content in it, and how I use it as
a guide and reference for writing other evaluations. I also selected
Chapter Evaluation because I am a new officer within Pi Phi, and I
wanted to gain a better understanding for Evaluation. I wanted to learn
how the Chapter Evaluation can help me in my position as Vice
President of Member Development. The information that I include in
the Genre Analysis includes the purpose of the Chapter Evaluation, the
structure of the Evaluation, the audience and authors of it, how much
time goes into writing it and comprehending it, grading scale of the
Evaluation, and examples of Pi Phi lexis and terms.
This assignment helped me grasp a better understanding of
professional and what goes into writing in a professional setting. Even
though the Chapter Evaluation is unique to Pi Beta Phi, other
companies have evaluations or standards that they want company

employees and members to uphold. In-class and group discussions

helped me gain a better understanding on how I can make my
information more clear for the audience to understand and that can
prove my credibility. The activity that helped me was the in-class
activity of going over a memo that had some errors in it and explaining
why we believed that it was flawed and how it could become better.
That made me realize how important it is to make information clear
and explain it well so that it can show that I know my information.
In an interview with a member of Executive Board, Vice President of
Communications, Ashley Zielke, I gained a better understanding for the
Chapter Evaluation from another perspective. The first question that I
asked Ashley was, In your opinion, what is the importance of the
Chapter Evaluation. Her response was, the importance is to keep
track of what we are doing within our chapter and making sure we are
fulfilling the duties. The second question was, How do you use the
Chapter Evaluation for your position? She responded by saying, I use
Chapter Evaluation by making sure I complete the tasks that I need to
in order to achieve a chapter standing. I then asked her, How do you
think the Chapter Evaluation, or a like document, can be used in a
professional work setting? Ashley said, It can be used in the
professional work setting as a way of doing a check list. The last
question was, What are some things in the Chapter Evaluation that
make it unique to Pi Phi? Such as terms, language, and structure. She
responded, What makes it unique to Pi Phi are how it is organized by
Vice Presidents. Also, how they use certain terms like sister, sisterhood,
Panhellenic, etc. Through this interview I learned how other people
comprehend the Chapter Evaluation and how they apply it to their
position.
Overall, the Genre Analysis Project helped me gain a better
understanding of writing in the professional work setting and the
thought process that goes behind it. When analyzing the Chapter
Evaluation, I analyzed it in the mindset of a professional writer, and
thought about the audience reading the Chapter Evaluation how the
information needs to be clear in order to understand and to look like a
credible writer. I enjoyed this project and I look forward to completing
more projects like it in the future in order to become a more
professional writer.

Works Cited
Zielke, Ashley. Personal Interview. 4 February 2016.