BP Oil

This exercise asks you to write a single, brief paragraph. It should not take the form of a larger
document, such as a letter, an email, a report, or a plan. Submit 1 paragraph with no more than
250 words.
In order to write your paragraph, complete the following steps:
1. Read the article. Although it is written for public and media relations professionals, it
also is useful to digital, corporate, non-profit, health, and political communicators.
2. Consider the following crisis. It is April 20, 2010. You are the Communication Director
for the company BP. You have just learned that an explosion occurred on an oil rig
called the Deepwater Horizon, killing an unspecified number of people and causing crude
oil to start spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.
3. Assume you are writing to the Chief Executive Officer for the company BP.
4. Present one specific recommendation for how your company should communicate about
the event to a stakeholder, ensuring your recommendation incorporates the advice in the
article. (You do not have to conduct research to complete this assignment.) In addition,
describe the specific arguments that you would use to convince the Chief Executive
Officer that your recommendation would be effective in reaching the stakeholder.
Note that your paragraph will represent one idea that could be part of a larger document
with additional ideas. This exercise is not asking you to write the entire document;
instead, it is looking for a sample of what could be part of the larger document.
5. Limit your writing to 1 paragraph that is double-spaced and contains no more than 250
words. Start the paragraph by presenting your recommendation. Then use the rest of
your paragraph to describe your arguments that justify your recommendation.