Don't write on the BART train

"I wrote my report on the BART train."

This statement could get you into trouble. We know what you mean: You were on BART when you wrote your report. However, it actually says that you wrote the report on the BART train, as in graffiti. Misplaced and dangling modifiers say what you don't mean. Make sure prepositional phrases line up properly, and you don't write the way you speak.

NOT this: "I wrote my report on the BART train."
THIS: "I wrote my report while riding BART."

Tips for writing instructions

Instructions help people do something that accomplishes a specific result: set up a computer, bake a chocolate cake, change the oil in a car, put together an armoire.

In some cases, the person needs to master a process so that he/she can perform it independently of the instructions: reboot the computer when it crashes, send and receive email, take photographs with a 35 mm camera.

- Target instructions for the other person’s level of expertise. If you’re not sure how much they know, assume they know little.
· Use learning aids such as graphs, charts, tip sheets, quick steps, etc.
· Match the person’s preferred way of learning. Some people learn by watching, looking at diagrams, or training videos. They are visually oriented. Others prefer to listen to instructions and repeat them back. They are more auditory. Finally, some people need to perform the activity in order to learn it. They are probably kinesthetic.
· Test your instructions by asking the person to repeat what you told them or actually perform the activity.

When writing instructions:

· Break instructions into short, simple steps.
· Use imperative voice – start all sentences with a verb.
· Make sure sentences are concise and clear.
· Use “If” to denote something that may or may not occur; “when” to denote something that should occur. For example: “If the dial moves into the red zone, stop” and “When the dial moves into the red zone, stop.”

Those three dot dot dots

Ellipses
· Indicate a missing portion of a quote that does not end a sentence; use three dots:
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times...” begins Tale of Two Cities.”
· Indicate a missing portion of a quote that ends a sentence; use three dots plus
a period: “Tale of Two Cities begins with “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times....”
· Indicate an unfinished or unwritten thought: “Follow the steps in order -- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ....

Pronoun-Verb Agreement

Pronoun – Verb Agreement

Indefinite pronouns are always singular: another, each, every, either, neither, and one and the compound pronouns made with any-, every-, some-, and no-, such as anybody, everyone, someone, nobody, nothing.

The following pronouns are always plural and take plural verbs: both, few, many, others, and several.

The following pronouns are either singular or plural depending on usage: all, none, any, some, more, and most.

Relative pronouns -- who, whom, which, whoever, whomever, and that -- are singular if their antecedent is singular; plural, if the antecedent is plural.

Plan before you write

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

Describe your purpose -- what you hope to achieve as a result of writing your document. Generally, you want the reader to know something, be able to do something, or be persuaded to do something.

· Someone knows something after reading this document.
· Someone can do something after reading this document.
· Someone does something after reading this document.

In each case, the more you define the “someone,” the “something,” and the “document,” the easier it will be to decide what goes into the document and the proper order for the information.

What is the purpose for your document?

Editing vs. proofreading

Editing and proofreading are part of the revision process. While they require careful reading of a document, each focuses on different aspects of the document.

Editing guarantees that a document is logical. It corrects structural and organizational problems. The length of the document may change.

Items corrected in editing:
· wordiness and ambiguity
· unnecessary and/or awkward sentences, paragraphs, or pages
· inappropriate or poor word choice
· faulty organization
· passive voice
· tone

Proofreading guarantees that a documet is correct. The length of the manuscript will not change. Proofreading is the last step before printing or sending a document.

Items corrected in proofreading:
· spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
· typing and format errors
· redundancy
· inconsistencies in names, times, or places
· other inaccuracies

Use active verbs

Be active, not passive.

Active voice is dynamic and adds energy to your writing. When you use active voice you identify the “actor” in the document, and your writing seems more personal. Active voice sentences are direct, concise, and easy to understand. It shows accountability.

Passive voice sentences use forms of the verb “to be”: is, are, am, was, were, be, been. Passive voice tells what happened and gives the reader less information than active voice. Passive voice sentences are harder for some people to follow. Passive voice also gives your writing a more formal tone.

Sometimes, passive voice is appropriate. Use passive voice when you don’t want to identify the actor or you don’t know who performed the action. It can also be politically correct to not identify the actor. For example, it might be more politic to write, “We lost the bid because the cost analysis was not included,” not “We lost the bid because James forgot to include the cost analysis.”

Use of active or passive voice also depends on what you want to emphasize. For example, how does the emphasis shift in each sentence below?

The company was founded in 1833.
Abraham Stokes founded the company in 1833.

In the first sentence, the emphasis is on the company; in the second, it’s on the founder.

The sentences that follow are written in passive voice and have been rewritten in active voice.

Passive: The car was test-driven by a potential buyer.
Active:

Passive: The chart is designed to help readers follow the process.
Active:

Passive: A check for $15 is being sent to you.
Active:

Passive: The process may be changed only with the approval of a vice president or higher.
Active:

Passive: It has been determined that the new procedures will be able to save the organization time and money.
Active:

Passive: A list of faculty can be found on page 33.
Active:

A, An, The: Little words, big meaning

"A," "An," and "The" are adjectives called articles. Special usage rules apply:

• "A" and "An" are indefinite and are used with general nouns or nouns not previously mentioned. I have a cat and a dog for pets; Geri has an octopus for a pet. A man and a woman walk on a path.
• "The" refers to nouns previously mentioned. The cat and the dog don't get along. The octopus is a baby. The man took the woman's hand when the path got rocky.
• "The" is used to refer to specific nouns: The elephant is a highly intelligent animal. The Nile is found in the African continent. The sun should shine tomorrow after the storm passsed overnight.
• "A" is used before nouns that begin with a consonant or consonant sound: A history assignment, an university degree.
• "An" is used before nouns that begin with a vowel or vowel sound: An assignment, an hour.
• "A" and "An" are also used to refer to your profession: I am an admin.

Writing Instructions

Procedures are a set of instructions. Instructions are a set of steps for doing a specific activity.

· Use numbers when steps must be taken in order; otherwise, use bullets.
· Use imperative sentences for action steps.
· Write one action per step.
· Identify main steps and provide detail in sub-steps.
· Identify the person who will perform the step if other than the reader.
· Start conditional steps with “If” or “When.”
· Use bold and/or all caps for conditional steps that are critical or safety issues.
· Limit branching, cross-references, or hyperlinks to action steps.
· Test the steps with end users.

"Restrictions" have become "options"

I've been fighting with a hotel chain to have money refunded because of a cancelled reservation. I received the following "spin" e-mail. Note how "options" has become a euphemism for "restrictions." Emphasis is mine:

"Thank you for contacting Guest Relations. When we received your email we became quite concerned that we had not adequately explained the choices available to you at the time of booking.

"We have recently implemented a new pricing structure that allows us the opportunity to offer deeper discounts to our customers. In order to offer these rates we must attach restrictions such as cancellation fees or full prepayment. Some of our lowest discounted rates carry full prepayment requirements while others carry a cancellation fee.

"If rooms are available for your travel date, we will always offer the option of booking either restrictive (with cancellation/prepayment requirements) or non-restrictive (can be changed and cancelled without penalty) rates. This will allow you more flexibility in making your specific travel arrangements. For example: if you are certain about your travel plans, the restricted rate will be a consideration, whereas if your travel plans are less definite the unrestricted rate may better meet your needs.

"It is certainly not our intent to inconvenience our valued customers, but to instead offer options that make sense. We always appreciate comments from our guests, and we will use this feedback in making decisions about our future pricing strategies.

"As a ... Rewards member you are one of our most important guests, and as a one time goodwill gesture the hotel has reversed the charges to your credit card. This credit should appear on your credit card in 1 to 2 billing cycles.

"Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. We look forward to meeting your specific travel needs the next time you require hotel accommodations."

Parallel construction keeps things equal

Parallel construction means that like parts of a document are treated in the same way. Parallel construction helps create consistency; the reader can move through the document. When parallel construction is violated, readers subconsciously know something is wrong, even if they can’t recognize what it is.

When you use bullets, numbers, heads, or subheads, pay attention to parallel construction. Most bullets are organized with a lead verb. With numbers, each number usually is a complete, stand-alone sentence. Here’s an example of proper parallel construction for bullets where each bullet starts with a verb:

Here’s the plan for communicating the new vacation procedures:
· Draft the procedures.
· Have the draft reviewed.
· Revise draft.
· Obtain approvals.

The Art of the Executive Summary

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/04/the_art_of_the_.html

Great information from Guy Kawasaki's blog.

Working Writers Newsletter: WOW! Women On Writing Celebrates its First Anniversary

Working Writers Newsletter: WOW! Women On Writing Celebrates its First Anniversary

Quick guide to capitalization

Capitalize:

• The first word of a sentence, of a line of poetry, of a direct quote.
• The days of the week, months of the year, and holidays (but not seasons).
• Proper names of persons, places, and things; trade names and commercial products; the names of geographic regions, continents, nations, cities, bodies of water, streets, languages, government agencies, specific landmarks, streets, buildings, works of art, religious groups, companies, holidays; educational institutions, degrees, courses, and academic departments; and acronyms.
• Titles that appear before a proper name, e.g., “President George W. Bush” and abbreviated titles appearing after a name, e.g., "John Smith, CEO."
• Titles of books, magazines, CDs, films, white papers, etc. Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, and conjunctions unless it is the first word of the title.

Editing and proofreading tips

• Editing and proofreading require you get some distance from the document. The closer you are to having written a document, the harder it if to proof and edit. Familiarity clouds judgment. Get away from the document. Set it aside for a few hours. Take a walk. Have lunch. Read it after your next meeting.
• Edit and proofread in your preferred medium. Some people like to work online; others need hard copy.
• Change the type size or font of the draft. This will give you a fresh eye. Return to the standard size and font after editing and proofreading.
• Find a quiet place to work. Distractions and interruptions lead to overlooked errors.
• Break down editing and proofreading into chunks of time. Don’t tackle them all at once.
• Schedule editing and proofreading tasks when you are most alert.

Use gender neutral language

• Avoid irrelevant gender descriptions such as “lady lawyer,” “woman pilot,” or “male nurse.”
• Watch your language. Waiters and waitresses are servers. Stewardesses are flight attendants. Mailmen, policemen, and firemen are, respectively, mail or postal carriers, police officers, and firefighters.
• Terms like “Girls,” and “Girl Fridays,” and "secretary" are as antiquated as typewriters. Use "assistant" or "admin."
• Avoid the he/she or him/her problem by using plural nouns such as employees, readers, clients that take plural pronouns -- their and them.
• Avoid sexist assumptions. A spouse is not always a wife -- and, in fact, there may be a partner, not a spouse.
• Avoid characterizing men and women in a way that is derogatory to one, such as “assertive men” and “aggressive women.”

Schedule big writing projects

Faced with a big writing project such as a manual or white paper? Determining how much time you need for each part of a writing project can help you plan your time to meet your deadline. Start with the deadline date and back up to find out when you need to start each part of the project. You might discover that you should have started working on the project two weeks -- or two months! -- ago.

For example, let's say your deadline is May 1 to write a white paper that will be approximately 20 pages. You estimate the following time frames:

* Planning - 1 day
* Organizing - 2 days
* Researching- 3 days
* Writing - 5 days
* Revising - 3 days
Total - 14 days

Few of us can devote 14 straight days to a writing project. In this example, 14 days of work means that we need to find 112 hours for this project, assuming an eight-hour day. We need to allocate time for each part of the process on our calendar, usually in one-hour increments.

Time set aside to work on this writing project should be treated as if it were an appointment or meeting that you cannot cancel. Otherwise, you will find yourself avoiding the work and struggline to meet your deadline, or worse, missing it.

E-mail is business correspondence, not IM

As we deal with customers via e-mail, we need to remember e-mail is a substitute for what we used to put on paper and snail mail. E-mail that goes to customers is business correspondence, not IM. Because it's business correspondence, it needs to meet the rule of business correspondence. Here's a formula for a good customer e-mail:

1. Use a salutation: Dear Title Last Name: or Dear First Name,.
2. Offer your help.
3. Use a meaningful subject line, re: or title.
4. Keep the e-mail short and simple.
5. Provide assurance that any promises will be fulfilled.
6. Leave the customer with a positive feeling.
7. Use a signature line that shows your name, department and phone number.
8. Proofread.
9. Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

An important comma rule

Comma rules are important; incorrect comma use is not only wrong, it can change the meaning of a sentence. Here is one of the most important comma rules that many writers don't understand.

• Use a comma to set off nonessential information and clauses. Generally, if you can take out the information set off by the commas and the sentence still makes sense, the information is nonessential and the commas are correct. If the sentence no longer makes sense when the information is removed, the commas should be deleted from the sentence.
• This sentence is wrong: "Those residents of San Francisco, who do not hold secure well-paying jobs, must resent the common portrayal of the city as a land of opportunity." The information inside the two commas is essential and should not be set off by commas.
• This version is correct: "Those residents of San Francisco who do not hold secure well-paying jobs must resent the common portrayal of the city as a land of opportunity." No commas are necessary since we are qualifying which residents we talking about.
  

What makes effective business correspondence?

Business correspondence is effective when it:

· Is targeted to a specific, appropriate reader.
· Uses language the reader understands.
· Has a clear purpose.
· Has the right tone.
· Gets to the point early and stays on point.
· Is well organized.
· Provides context for understanding.
· Includes all necessary information.
· Has a strong introduction and conclusion.
· Uses accurate grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
· Avoids jargon and idioms.

What does your reader want?

Putting yourself in the reader’s point of view gives you valuable information about what you need to say and how to say it. It helps you focus on your material on the end result -- being read.

1. Who is your reader?
· Team Members
· Management
· Public
· Students
· Customers
· Vendors
· Others:

2. Why does your reader need to know this information?

3. How much does your reader already know about the topic?
 Knows nothing  Knows something  Is an expert

4. How interested is the reader in the topic?
 Not interested  Somewhat interested  Very interested

5. How well does your reader understand topic jargon?
 Not at all  Somewhat  Is fluent

6. What are the reader’s priorities?

7. What is the reader’s level of education?

The reader wants something from having read your document. Always answer WIIFM -- what's in it for me? -- from the reader's perspective!

Collective nouns can trip you up

Collective nouns are words that appear singular, but represent a group, such as flock, staff, class, committee, and jury.

If the group acts as a single unit, or if the idea of oneness is key, use a singular verb:
- The jury has reached a verdict.
- A couple of birds has built a nest in the eaves of my house.
- My staff is preparing the report to the board.

If members of the group act separately or if the word refers to individuals within the group, use the plural verb:
- A group of researchers from Europe are coming to the conference.
- A couple of latecomers are not seated.
- My staff are consistently late for work.


What about these?
- Human rights is a sensitive issue.
- Human rights are often ignored.

Nouns that end in “-ics” take a singular verb if they refer to a body of knowledge; a plural verb, if they refer to particular activities:
- Statistics is a boring subject for many students.
- Statistics are often interpreted for the benefit of the speaker.

Keywords for subject lines

I refuse to open e-mail from senders I don't recognize. If I don't know who sent it, it goes straight into the trash. If I do know the sender, I look at the subject line (SL) to decide when -- or if -- I'm going to read it.

Subject lines have to say something, have to help me prioritize my e-mail, or they get relegated to the bottom of my to-do list for the day. I like an SL that tells me what the e-mail is about.

Here's a trick I learned from a project manager who attended one of my workshops. Start every e-mail with a keyword, such as "Review," "Approve," "Action," "Decision Needed." A keyword can be anything that tells me what I'm expected to do with this e-mail. When I put a keyword in an e-mail, I get a faster, more complete response.

E-mail matters in business

Why care about grammar and punctuation in e-mail? Y cnt we jst ttfy and lol n eml?

Taking time to use correct grammar and punctuation is good business. It shows respect for the reader, reflects well on your professionalism, and, most importantly, contributes to understanding. Grammar and punctuation mistakes and text messaging abbreviations open the door to misinterpretation -- and readers will always interpret something to their advantage, not yours.

What about those oh-so-cute smilies and emoticons? What's wrong with ;-)? Nothing -- if you want to come across like a 14-year-old. If you want to look like a professional, limit the smilies and emoticons to non-business e-mails to your BFF.