GIA: General Inquiry Application Letter
Point Value: up to 100 points
Parameters: This is an exercise in identification, composition, and formatting. You will be required to assume the Jack Turner identity below. Read the narrative, identify your key information and compose the letter in a persuasive manner.
Refer to the spacing illustration in section 6 of the textbook as your formatting guide for the modified block.
Refer to the Toulmin illustration in section 6 of the textbook as your guide for placement of Toulmin Elements.
Refer to the letter style, modified-block format style in section 5 for an additional example of the modified-block style.
Instructions: Compose one’s general inquiry letter in a modified- block format using information from the narrative below. You will need to include 4 Toulmin elements in this letter: claim, support, warrants, backing.
Submission: Save your document as a word document or rich.txt file using the file name:
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My name is Jack S. Turner. Right now, I live in Houston in an apartment at 1423 Jamison Ave, #222, but not for long if I dont find a job before I finish school. My dream job would be to work as a logistics manager for a major international container shipping line. I cant expect to walk right into this job, so settling for an entry level management position may be within reach. Ill graduate college in December from Rice University with a B.A. in International Business.
I know my experience is pretty close to what companies might want given Im just finishing school and havent had much direct experience. I did land an intern position APL Lines the summer of 2008 where I worked in export documentation and created international bills of lading for global accounts. I learned all about shipping lanes, how goods are rated for shipping cost, insurance, arrival times, and even restrictions on goods going to certain countries. During the summer of 2007, I worked at the same shipping line but as a dock worker loading shipping containers. Its a good thing there is a port in Houston, I would not have been able to learn about commercial merchant ships, the speed, the design, the crew compliment, and loading the containers. I even learned how the ships are loaded using cranes that run alongside the ships, how they are secured for storms at sea, and how they are manifested aboard the ship.
Im hoping my summer jobs will be enough to land a good entry-level position because its rare to have related skills for your dream career right after you graduate. Both summer experiences really helped me to see that international shipping is more than just filling out paperwork. Theres a lot to learn when it comes to the actual physical work that is involved, the ships that carry the goods, and the high risk of shipping over the ocean rather than by air. Just wearing a tie or nice trousers looks good, but its also good to be able to say I loaded the container. I know about commercial ships and ocean travel. In other words, Ive gotten my hands dirty learning from the bottom up.
I have also learned that hands on work experience makes me a better person with other employees. I can talk to them easier, I can even make suggestions that they actually follow sometime. I try to think ahead about problems that come up so that I and my teammates can avoid mistakes in the work. An employer wont have to worry about training me after I hopefully get hired. Besides, Im motivated and a quick learner. Yeah, I feel pretty good about myself gave the economy. So good, Ill write to the human resource offices in the states at two major container shipping lines line Maersk and Evergreen.
Note: I need this letter done in 12 hours because the due date is today.
