Lecture ThreeChapter Four

PREPARING TO WRITE

Writing Apprehension

• CAUSES– Early Efforts– Never Been Taught– Lack of Knowledge of

purpose, audience or point of the effort

• FIXES– Work Shops– Write then Right– Supportive Evaluation

COLLABORATIVE WRITING

• ADVANTAGES– IMPLEMENTATION– ADDITIONAL LABOR

APPLIED– MORE EXPERTISE– ACCULTURATE

NEWCOMER– BREAKDOWN

BARRIERS– IMPROVE QUALITY

• DISADVANTAGES– COORDINATION– RESPONSIBILITY– TIME– EGO– CONFLICT

CHARACTERISTICS

• FLEXIBLE• RESPECTFUL• LISTENERS• SPEAK AND WRITE

CLEARLY• DEPENDABLE• MEET DEADLINES• SHARE RESPONSIBILITY• FOLLOW AND LEAD• OPEN TO CRITICISM• CONFIDENT• CREATIVE USE OF

CONFLICT

PLANNING• WHAT

– Nature of the message– What needs to be communicated?

• WHY– Why bother? Does the receiver know why message is being

sent?• WHO

– Have I chosen the right person? (See page 96)– What channel is this person comfortable receiving?

• WHEN– Too early or to late. Close to critical meetings

• WHERE– Where should the message come from?

• HOW– Channel (Letter, Memo, Report, Email, Phone Call,

Brochure, Newsletter, Manual

PRINCIPLE ONE: Choose Words Precisely

• DENOTIVE - Word has a common meaning.– Malapropism - Confusing one word for another

• Allegory or Alligator Immoral or Immortal• CONNOTATIVE - Word’s meaning is subjective.

– Euphemism (Intended positive connotation)• Slim or Slender versus Skinny or Scrawny• Friendly Fire• Surgical Air Strike

• LANGUAGE IS FLUID NOT STATIC

PRINCIPLE TWOUse Short Rather Than Long Words

• The goal is clarity and understanding not a chance to show how smart you are.(Page 82)

PRINCIPLE 3Use Concrete Rather Than Abstract Words

• Concrete Specific at lower rung

• General at the higher rungs (Page 83)

PRINCIPLE 4Economize on the Use of Words

• Avoid Wordiness.

• Break old writing habits.

• Avoid use of old models of organizational writing.

• Look at examples on page 84

PRINCIPLE 5AVOID OVERUSED OR HACKNEYED

PHRASES OR JARGON

• Hackneyed– At your earliest convenience– Pursuant to– Thank you in advance

• Jargon– Check your skills handout

• (See examples on page 85 and 86)

PRINCIPLE 6Use Positive Words That Convey

Courtesy

• Minimize negative information

• State information positively

• Avoid gender terms

• Check page 88

PRINCIPLE 7Use a Conversational Style

• Everyday business language (face to face communication with receiver)

• Check your understanding of receiver (knowledge, expertise, interests, culture, and value system)

PRINCPLE 8Keep Sentence Relatively Short

• Most effective business sentences are between 15 to 20 words long.

• Sentences express one main point

PRINCIPLE 9

Prefer Active Voice to the Passive Voice • Subject - Verb - Object

– David Leeper directed the meeting. (A)– The meeting was directed by David Leeper

(P)

PRINCIPLE 10Develop Effective Paragraphs

• One Main Idea Per Paragraph• Determine if Deductive or Inductive

– If Deductive - Present main idea in lst sentence

– If Inductive - Begin with details then main idea• Use a Variety of Sentence Structures• Emphasize Important Points• Keep Paragraphs Short (See page 92 table 4-1)

PRINCIPLE 11DEVELOP COHERENCE

• Create a smooth flow between sentences

• Transitions can be created by– Repeating Key Words– Use pronouns and synonyms to avoid

repetition– Use transitional words or phrases (See Page

94 table 4-2)

PRINCIPLE 12Edit and Rewrite

• Read what was written• Exam for clarity, concreteness, and

conversational tone• Determine grammatical accuracy• Check organization to assure coherence• Accept that multiple drafts are necessary• Use questions on page 95

Stage Three Edit

• BECAUSE– Writer is Lazy– Writer does not know right from wrong – Writer is on a tight deadline

• Look for “Plain English” terms

• Eliminate Unneeded Words

• Explain Abbreviations and Acronyms

EDITING (Continued)

• Eliminate Jargon

• Eliminate Unnatural Phrases

• Use Small Words

• Use Active Instead of Passive Verbs

• Use a Fog Index

FINAL CHECK

• Proper or Effective Word Choice• Correct Spelling and Grammatical Errors• Correct Sexist Errors

– Gender Pronouns– Recast into Plural (Individuals, Their, They)– Avoid Certain Gender Terms (Lady)– Substitute for man or mankind (Humans)– Substitute non Sexist terms (Business person)– Use Current Job Title