Your total score is likely to be somewhere between twenty and thirty. The
higher the score, the less formal the communication should be. Doesn’t it
make sense in this case that the note you’ll include with the cookies should
be quite informal? Now answer the questions while considering a different
situation.
Let’s say you want to apply for a job. You’ve found a posting on a website
that seems perfect. The ad instructs you to send your résumé and a
cover letter.
1. Do you know your target reader(s) well and personally?
No. You’ve never met the person you’re writing to. You score it
a one.
2. Are they below you in “rank”?
Most of us would consider a person who has the power to hire us
for a job we’ve defined as “ideal” as above us in “rank” and
would therefore assess it as a one. But let us assume that you are
at a very high level yourself and that the person you’re writing to
is only slightly above you or is your equal. Even under these circumstances,
the most you are likely to score this question is a
five or a six.
3. Is the subject of your communication good news?
It’s tempting to think “Yes!—I’m perfect for the job”—score this
a ten! Avoid puffery. Certainly it makes sense that your score
will be rather high—otherwise why would you apply for the job.
But in considering the proper level of formality—the format,