On Writing: A few reminders

BA 301

Maureen O’Connor

Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.  ~Sholem Asch

FIVE COMPONENTS OF GOOD WRITING

– SOLID, WELL-RESEARCHED CONTENT– APPROPRIATE TO THE AUDIENCE– CONCISE– CLEAR– COHERENT

CONTENT

Have a I told the reader the purpose of my document?

… to provide information?… to propose a course of action?… to summarize a document?… to solve a problem?

Content, con’t.

Is my message clear to my reader?

Have I included all I know, and researched any potential questions?

Are my ideas organized by their relevance to my position?

Do my main ideas stand out? Have I kept my paragraphs to one idea each? Are my transitions smooth?

Understanding the Reader

– Who is my reader? How should I tailor my writing?

Internal vs. external audiences The reader’s familiarity with the topic The reader’s attitude toward the topic The reader’s style and tone expectations Removing bias and attitude from your writing

Content

Transitions and paragraph structure

Begin with your conclusion and offer support (deductive organization)

Use transitional phrases and words Repeat certain key phrases for emphasis and

transition Limit paragraphs to 4-5 sentences

Content

Paragraph structure:– Topic sentence – main idea

Supporting sentence Supporting sentence Supporting sentence Concluding or transitional sentence

Organizing sentences into paragraphs

Begin with the topic sentence The topic sentence defines the entire

paragraph Supporting sentences offer logical support in

logical order to the topic sentence 3-4 compound sentences in a paragraph

should be adequate

Paragraphs should contain

A controlling idea, defined by the topic sentence

The body of supporting information. The conclusion of the controlling idea. Paragraphs will also often contain a

transitional sentence

Content

Unified paragraphs “ Incorporation offers many benefits for a business

and its owners. For example, owners are not responsible for the business’s debts. Investors hope to make money when they buy a stock in a corporation. Incorporation also enables a business to obtain professional management skills. Corporations are subject to more governmental regulation than other forms of organization.”

Transitions

To show addition: – again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further, furthermore, in

addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too To give examples:

– for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate To compare:

– also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly To contrast:

– although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet

To summarize or conclude: – all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is,

therefore, to sum up To show time:

– after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally, formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, when, while

To show place or direction: – above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite, to the left

(north, etc.) To indicate logical relationship:

– accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if, otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus

“Writing is easy:  All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

Conciseness

– Edit for unnecessary words Due to the fact that = because In advance of = before Along the lines of = like At this point in time = now

Conciseness

To stay informed on the latest information, analysts must read a great number of published materials about finance

Conciseness

To stay current, analysts must read many finance publications

Conciseness

For the sake of our cost reduction goals, we changed the way we ordered equipment

Conciseness

To reduce costs, we changed the way we ordered equipment

Conciseness

There are several planning strategies that we can use to reduce our income taxes

Conciseness

We can reduce our income taxes by using several different planning strategies

Conciseness

In spite of the fact that our costs rose by 10 percent, we still were able to keep our prices stable

Conciseness

Although costs rose by 10 percent, our prices remained stable

Conciseness

Ultimate consumer means a person or group of persons, generally constituting a domestic household, who purchase eggs generally at the individual stores of retailers or purchase and receive deliveries of eggs at the place of abode of the individual or domestic household from producers or retail route sellers and who use such eggs for the consumption as food.

Conciseness

Ultimate consumers are people who buy eggs to eat them

Conciseness

Where’s the verb?– One of the fastest ways to add conciseness is to

search for your verb and ask yourself whether you’ve got a verb or a verb phrase

– Keep your verb fairly close to your noun

Conciseness

We made an analysis of ways to cut costs We analyzed ways to cut costs

We are able to make the determination of the cost of an asset due to the fact that we have records of its purchase

We can determine an asset’s cost because we have purchase records

Conciseness

Inaccurate or awkward use of words

– Our advertising expense, which is 1 percent of total sales in a negligent/negligible amount

– This memo will discuss how to account for the theft of the filling station.

– This memo will discuss how to account for the robbery at the filling station

Conciseness

Came to a conclusion = concluded Causes a misstatement = misstated Provides a matching of = matches Makes an analysis of = analyzes Will serve as an explanation of = will explain

Conciseness

Awkward word use

By using the net present value method, the chances of accepting a poor investment are reduced.

Use of the net present value method reduces the chances of accepting a poor investment

Conciseness

– Avoid the passive; always use active verbs

“Corporate income taxes were raised by 15% by the current administration” = “The current administration raised corporate taxes by 15%”

It was decided by management that work hours would increase by 10%” = “Management decided to increase work hours by 10%.”

Conciseness

– Avoid big words

endeavor = try

interface with = work with

utilize = use

Conciseness

– Avoid jargon

Spell out acronyms in first use Use words with precision Use words you know

Writing is thinking on paper – William Zinsner

Grammar and Punctuation

– Watch for: Sentence fragments Run-on sentences Misuse of clauses Parallel construction Apostrophes and plurals Quotations spelling

Grammar

The road signs you give a reader to help navigate your thoughts and words

– Fragments: To measure the yield correctly For example, all the employees who are eligible for

retirement

Grammar and punctuation

Punctuation– It’s and its– Commas vs. semicolons

Commas separate an independent from a dependent clause

She flew home to Chicago, leaving her dog behind.

Semicolons are used to separate two independent clauses

I flew home to Chicago; it will be good to be home.

(don’t capitalize the first word in the second clause)

All punctuation sits inside the quotation marks.

According to Dean Dawson, all students are expected to “be as honest as George Washington.”

Capitalization

Proper nouns are capitalized– Portland State University– John Smith– President Wim Wiewel

The position people hold is not capitalized unless the name succeeds it.– He was a vice president in the finance

department.

Capitalization

Departments, fields of study, topics are NOT capitalized unless they appear at the start of a sentence.

– Advertising is an exciting field– He studied advertising in school.

Grammar

Commas

– In a series of three things, there is only a comma between the first two:

I like apples, oranges and tangerines

Grammar

Independent clauses and dependent clauses are connected with a comma– I went to the store, which was down the street.– The dress she wore, which was blue, was very

striking on her.– Of all the gin joints in the world, this one served

the best martinis

Grammar

Run on sentences: when independent thoughts are connected with no punctuation:

– Discounted cash flow techniques are not used by all companies however, they are popular in large corporations.

Grammar

Parallel structure: grammatical equality in verbs, nouns, pronouns, etc.– This report will discuss the computer’s features,

how much it costs and its disadvantages.– This report will discuss the computer’s features,

costs and disadvantages.

Grammar

We recommend the following procedures:– Hire a consultant to help us determine our needs– Investigate alternative makes and models of equipment– We should then set up a pilot program to assess retraining

needs for employees who will use the new equipment.

Why we like parallel structure

Friends, Romans and you people from the countryside, lend me your ears.

Subject verb agreement

Singular noun = singular verb

Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the pizza

Correct?

Verb tense agreement

Keep the tense within your sentence appropriate for the time

Sarah attended the Crockett School of Business, which was in San Antonio, Texas.

Idioms and word choice

Frowned upon Accompanied by a

person Accompanied with a

thing Angry with someone Angry about something

Argue about an issue Argue with a person Concerned with a

problem Concerned for a person Good/well

Idioms and word choice

Accept/except Affect/effect Among/between (3 vs 2) Amount of/Number of (can’t

be counted, can be counted) Fewer/less (can be

counted/can’t be counted) More than/over

Passed/past (the former is a verb, the latter never is)

Because/that (“the reason is because” is redundant; “the reason that” is correct

Regardless/irregardless (no such word in English)

Who’s/whose

Most Common Mistakes

Its and it’s Whose and who’s Which and that Affect and effect Who and whom Verb tense Active verbs Buzzwords

Too many words Possessives and

plurals Using quotation marks Using “and” instead of

“to” Using “of” instead of

“have” Top heavy sentences

What to use?

It’s a nice day (it is) vs. Its hair was red (possessive) Whose house is it (possessive) vs. Who’s going?

(who is) The weather will affect us (verb) vs. The weather has

an effect (noun). Buy the dress that is red and white (specific to the

object) vs. She wore a lovely dress, which was red and white (not critical to the object)

To whom are you speaking (follows a pronoun) vs. Who is at the door? (no pronoun implied)

Easily confused words

Allusion/illusion Beside/besides Bimonthly/semi-monthly Concurrent/consecutive

Discreet/discrete Principle/principal Desert/dessert There/they’re/their

The preposition thing

– Try and come to my party vs. Try to come to my party

– You should of seen her face vs. You should have seen her face.