Bruce, a research chemist for a major petro-chemical company, wrote a dense report
about some new compounds he had synthesized in the laboratory from oil-refining by-
products. The bulk of the report consisted of tables listing their chemical and physical
properties, diagrams of their molecular structure, chemical formulas and data from
toxicity tests. Buried at the end of the report was a casual speculation that one of the
compounds might be a particularly safe and effective insecticide.
Seven years later, the same oil company launched a major research program to find
more effective but environmentally safe insecticides. After six months of research,
someone uncovered Bruce's report and his toxicity tests. A few hours of further testing
confirmed that one of Bruce's compounds was the safe, economical insecticide they
had been looking for.
Next answer these questions:
Draw
Bruce had since left the company, because he felt that the importance of his research
was not being appreciated.
T
(Adapted from Last, 2019).
a. What was a communication problem with this scenario?
b. What was the purpose of the document being described? Was this
purpose achieved?
c. Who was the audience?
d. What approach, direct or indirect, was used?