BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SECOND CANADIAN EDITION Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SECOND CANADIAN EDITION Part II: Letters, memos, email, and other brief messages Chapter Four: Composing and revising your message Original Slides by Gates Stoner Pima Community College Adapted by Alan T. Orr
Objectives of this Chapter Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Objectives of this Chapter Appreciate the importance of word choice in writing Learn guidelines for writing effective sentences Be aware of tools for writing coherent paragraphs Understand the benefits of revisions and proofreading
Importance of Effective Writing Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Importance of Effective Writing Good Writing: Clearly conveys ideas to customers & clients Prevents ambiguity in your message Gives you credibility Poor writing does the opposite of the above.
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Choosing Your Voice Encyclopedic Emotional Business Business voice Direct, controlled, and reasonable. Personal but not self-centered.
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Word Choice Be specific and concrete Employ positive words Avoid: - vague pronouns - sexist language - clichés and slang
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Effective Sentences Convey ideas with clarity and style Begin strongly Vary sentence length Use action verbs Eliminate wordiness Example Ambiguous “We are interested in your products.” Clear “We would like some information about your superpower vacuum.”
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Effective Sentences Convey ideas with clarity and style Begin strong Vary sentence length Use action verbs Eliminate wordiness Example Weak “As the details are not yet known, we are unable to decide.” Strong “Mr. Smith cannot decide, since the details are not yet known.”
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Effective Sentences Convey ideas with clarity and style Begin strong Vary sentence length Use action verbs Eliminate wordiness By mixing short, medium, and long sentences, a skilled business writer holds a reader’s attention.
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Effective Sentences Convey ideas with clarity and style Begin strong Vary sentence length Use action verbs Eliminate wordiness Example Passive “Your order was shipped…” Active “We shipped your order…”
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Effective Sentences Convey ideas with clarity and style Begin strong Vary sentence length Use action verbs Eliminate wordiness Example Wordy “Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can answer any questions you may have.” Concise “Please contact me if you have any questions.”
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Effective Paragraphs Transition, Transition, Transition One central idea (not 2 or 3) Not a measurement of length Free of logical errors
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Logical Errors Either/or thinking Circular reasoning False cause
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Proofreading More than just spell checking Check grammar and logical connections Review transitions Reduce wordiness Make stylistic improvements “There is no great writing, only great rewriting.” ~ US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
Copyright by John Wiley and Sons, 2006 Proofing Checklist Sentence structure Fragments Comma splices Subject-verb agreement Punctuation Spelling Pronoun form Capitalization
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