The letter is written in a direct approach, which means from the letter the main idea can be straightly and clearly understood by the intended audience. The reason that direct approach is being used in this salary reduction letter is because among various kinds of bad news messages, salary reduction is not regarded as a very serious kind of bad news such as termination of contract etc. By looking at the heading of the letter ¡§Adjustment of University Salaries¡¨, the word ¡§adjustment¡¨ is a word with positive tone that effectively replaced the actual word ¡§deduction¡¨. It is good to use a positive tone in the heading to avoid pointing out the bad news right at the beginning. The reason for salary adjustment is clearly stated in the first paragraph. And the main idea ¡§salary reduction¡¨ is basically focused in the second paragraph, which is the middle of the letter; it is a very good example of cushion effect which lessens audience¡¦s uneasiness. But even if it is a bad news, it is very clearly stated, it can help to make things clear and avoid arguments later on. Also, the writer uses the phrase ¡§seek your consent¡¨ in the first paragraph; it gives the reader a feeling of being respected.
This bad news message is indeed a very effective bad news message in terms of the language, content and organization. Firstly, when the audience read through the letter, the wordings from the letter and mostly in a very positive tone which makes the reader feel less uneasy. Secondly, it is using a direct approach and the main idea of the letter is clearly pin-pointed without a lot