COM223e Copyright © 2017 SIM University Page 1 of 5 ECA – January Semester 2017 COM223e End-of-Course Assessment – January Semester 2017 Writing for Strategic Communication __________________________________________________________________________________________ INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS: 1. This End-of-Course Assessment paper contains ONE (1) question and comprises FIVE (5) pages (including cover page). 2. You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Course Title, Your PI, Your Name, and Submission Date. 3. Ensure that you submit your End-of-Course Assessment by the deadline. After the 12-hour grace period, 10% of the total End-of-Course Assessment mark will be deducted for each 24-hour block or part thereof by which your submission is late. Submissions with more than 50 marks deducted will be awarded 0 marks. 4. You are allowed multiple submissions to Turnitin before the deadline. After the deadline, only one submission is allowed, and only if you have not already made a prior submission. 5. If you fail to submit your End-of-Course Assessment, you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course. IMPORTANT NOTE ECA Submission Date: 8 May 2017 (Monday) 12:00 NoonCOM223e Copyright © 2017 SIM University Page 2 of 5 ECA – January Semester 2017 Please read this information before you start working on your ECA. This ECA carries 50% of the course marks and is a compulsory component. It is to be done individually and not collaboratively with other students. You must submit it on time. Submission You are to submit the end-of-course assignment (ECA) in exactly the same manner as your tutor-marked assignments (TMA), i.e. using MyUniSIM. Submission in any other manner such as hardcopy or any other means will not be accepted. Ensure that you submit your ECA by the deadline. After the 12-hour grace period, 10% of the total ECA mark will be deducted for every 24-hour block or part thereof by which your submission is late. Submissions with more than 50 marks deducted will be awarded 0 marks. You are allowed multiple submissions to Turnitin before the deadline, after which only one submission is allowed, and only if you have not already previously submitted. If you fail to submit your ECA, you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course. You are reminded that electronic transmission is not always immediate. It is possible that network traffic may be particularly heavy on the cut-off date, and connections to the system cannot be guaranteed. Hence, you are advised to submit your work no later than the day before the cut-off date in order to make sure that the submission is accepted and in good time. Once you have submitted your ECA, the status is displayed on the computer screen. You will receive a digital acknowledgement message. Please note that it is the digital time-stamp—and not the acknowledgement message—that indicates that you have submitted your ECA. To ensure a timely submission and to have your ECAs marked, you should therefore not jeopardise your course result by submitting your ECA at the last minute. Do ensure that you have the correct files for submission. Any submission, extra files, missing appendices or corrections received separately after the submission of the ECA will not be considered in the grading of your ECA assignment. Plagiarism and Collusion The University takes a very serious view of plagiarism (passing off someone else’s ideas as your own, or recycling of contents from your own earlier marked TMA from the same course or another course) and collusion (submitting an assignment which is the same or very similar to another student’s). Both are forms of cheating, and neither is acceptable in any form in a student’s work, including this ECA assignment. Avoid plagiarism by giving yourself sufficient time to research and understand the material so that you can write up your assignment in your own words, and ensure that you provide appropriate references when necessary. You can avoid collusion by ensuring that your submission is based on your own individual effort. Penalties for plagiarism and collusion are severe. Serious cases will normally result in the student being referred to UniSIM’s Student Disciplinary Group. For other cases, significant marking penalties or expulsion from the course may be imposed. For more information about the University’s policies on plagiarism and collusion, refer to the Student Handbook (Section 5.2, paragraph 1.3).COM223e Copyright © 2017 SIM University Page 3 of 5 ECA – January Semester 2017 Answer the following question. (Total 100 marks) Question Bio-X is a leading research organisation with a mission to advance science through biotransformation and to develop innovative products and solutions for improving the lives of Singaporeans. For the past three years, Bio-X has been working closely with the National Environment Agency (NEA) in its fight against dengue by harnessing the powers of biotransformation as an alternative to a vaccine. Bio-X has recently been awarded a patent for developing an innovative formula for a mosquito repellent for application in a shower gel. Unlike most commercially available mosquito repellents, Bio-X’s formula is derived from 100% natural plant-based materials. When applied in the bath or shower, it forms a protective layer on the skin by altering the pheromones that attract the female Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent it from biting. As such, the formula has the potential to limit not only the spread of dengue fever, but also Zika and Chikungunya fever. Clinical trials have indicated that the protective layer works for up to 12 hours. The formula is completely odourless, non-greasy, non-sticky, and safe for babies. Bio-X has now entered negotiations with the Haw Par Corporation, a leading local manufacturer of balms and ointments, which has agreed to mass-produce and distribute the shower gel under licence. The following questions are based on the above scenario. a) You are the research assistant to Professor Derek DeSilva, Lead Researcher and Director of Bio-X. It is your responsibility to secure media attendance at a publicity event to officially introduce the breakthrough formula to the Singapore public. Conduct secondary research* on biotransformation innovation, similar products, and other research initiatives against mosquito-born diseases, as well as how to effectively pitch an event to the media. Apply your knowledge of public relations writing to write a media invite for the publicity event that incorporates the following additional information:  The publicity event will feature distinguished personalities such as Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*Star, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and Mr Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment Agency.  Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health, will be the Guest-of-Honour.  The event will also feature motivational speaker Dr Michelle Chang, from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, whose mother died of dengue fever in 2015. Although this is a hypothetical case, you are required to conduct proper secondary research and incorporate relevant information about the industry and products into the media invite. Your media invite should be presented in the form of an e-mail. *The secondary research you are asked to conduct involves finding information from thirdparty sources such as market research reports, company websites, news articles and other sources; you will be required to discuss this research and cite your sources in Part d) of the question. You should write no more than 600 words. (30 marks)COM223e Copyright © 2017 SIM University Page 4 of 5 ECA – January Semester 2017 b) You have also been tasked to develop and write a news release, which will be distributed at the publicity event. You have been informed that the ‘mosquito repellent in a shower gel’ should be available for purchase at leading pharmacies by the end of 2017. The shower gel will be available in 350ml and 950ml bottles, priced at S$7.99 and S$17.99 respectively. Conduct relevant secondary research (see (a) above) on similar cases, especially on how research organisations announce their innovations. Apply your knowledge of public relations writing to write a news release. You are required to conduct proper secondary research and incorporate relevant information about the industry and products into the news release. Use a fictitious name to sign off for this task. You should write no more than 400 words. (30 marks) c) The final material you have been asked to craft is the opening remarks to be delivered by the Lead Researcher and Director of Bio-X at the start of the publicity event. Apply your knowledge of public relations writing and write a speech to be delivered by the Lead Researcher. You are required to conduct proper secondary research and incorporate relevant information about the industry and products into the speech that you formulate. You should write no more than 600 words. (30 marks) d) Now that you have completed all the communication materials, describe and reflect on the research process you undertook to help you successfully complete the assignment professionally. For example, if your reference sources included similar public relations materials crafted by other companies as they launched new products in a new market, cite your secondary research sources. Explain how these sources were useful to you. Please use the APA format as your citation style. You should write no more than 200 words, excluding APA referencing. (10 marks)COM223e Copyright © 2017 SIM University Page 5 of 5 ECA – January Semester 2017 Students’ Notes Your ECA is an act of research. Your ECA will be assessed in terms of quality of writing, the contents of the media invite, press release and speech, as well as the quality of scholarly writing e.g., APA citation, reference list. Although this is a hypothetical case, your media invite, press release and speech should show that you have done substantial research on the industry, similar products, strategic communication write-up for product launches, etc. References Referencing is important as it allows your reader to trace the sources of your ideas you have cited. Take a look at an academic journal article and see how the referencing is done. For more information on APA style in-text citation and referencing, you can visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. Resources Use the SIM library, or visit the NUS or National Library, and scan through books and websites that might be useful for your ECA. Optional: Personal Research Folder You should buy a ring file to organise all the readings (journal articles, book chapters, newspaper or magazine articles, printouts of web pages, etc.) that might be relevant to your ECA. Make sure you have the full references of all your readings, in case you do use them and need to cite them in your ECA. In your research folder, you should also have a Research Diary where you record the things you have done for your project and/or things that you have to do. You do not have to submit this Research Diary, so it does not need to be scrupulously tidy, but if a dispute arises over the originality of your work, this will be evidence that you need to present. DO NOT submit your research folder. — END OF ECA Paper — .