The Use of MAF and BLAF Analytical Tools in Assessing Business Communication Texts

This paper provides a vivid explanation of two analytical frameworks I designed for grading business communication texts. These frameworks are Memorandum Analytical Framework (MAF), and Business Letter Analytical Framework (BLAF). The paper, furthermore, provides a pedagogical guide about how MAF and BLAF are applied in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) classrooms, and in the world of business. It is my hope that these two frameworks will not only serve as potent benchmarks for assessing business communication texts that learners generate in SLA classrooms but frameworks that regulators of businesses can depend on for maintaining standards in terms of presentation styles for letter and memo writing. The paper is segmented into four sections. The introduction presents the background information about the problem, grading of business communication texts (i.e. memos and business letters), and my justification for propounding these frameworks. The next section, analytical tools—MAF and BLAF, projects graphical representation of the frameworks, and explanation of the variables used. The third section, pedagogical application of MAF and BLAF, explains how MAF and BLAF are used in assessing business communication texts. The conclusion section summarizes the paper, and presents a statement of expectation concerning how stakeholders in SLA can utilize MAF and BLAF.