Placing the refusal in the first sentence of a bad-news message usually means that _____.
a. the message is easily accepted
b. the reader tends to concentrate on understanding the supporting details
c. the reader's reaction is likely to be negative
d. the supporting details need not be presented
The correct answer is: c. the reader's reaction is likely to be negative.
Placing the refusal at the beginning of a bad-news message often sets a negative tone, which can lead to a more adverse reaction from the reader.