Business Writing Workshop - Good Business Writing Starts With the End in Mind

To improve business writing:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Writing-Workshop---Good-Business-Writing-Starts-With-the-End-in-Mind&id=1529482

Adjective comparatives

Adjectives describe nouns and other adjectives -- brown puppy or chocolate brown puppy. They show what kind, how many, and which one. Adjectives must be placed near the words they modify. They may come before the word they describe -- a cute puppy -- or they may follow the word they describe -- the puppy is cute.

Comparatives compare two things connected with "than" or "but." Examples:

- Steve is older than Carl.
- Steve is older, but Carl is taller.

Note: When using pronouns, the subject form of the pronoun always follows "than." Example:

- Steve is older than I [am].

Superlatives compare more than two things and usually use "the" because only one element is the superlative. Examples:

- Sears Tower in Chicago is the tallest building in North America.
- The Empire State Building in New York is tall, but the Sears Tower in Chicago is taller. Taipei 101 in Taiwan is the tallest building in the world.

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Write to Persuade -- Credibility

In order to persuade, you must:

Establish the trustworthiness of you and your organization. Your audience must believe you are a competent person, a professional.
Present information accurately
Use verifiable data
Use meaningful resources and expert opinion
Ensure accuracy

List three ways you establish the trustworthiness of you and your organization:

1.


2.


3.

Cut the fat

Here are some other common circumlocutions that can be compressed into just one word:

Replace:
· the reason for
· for the reason that
· owing/due to the fact
· in light of the fact that
· considering the fact
· on the grounds that
· this is why

with: because, since, why

Replace:
· on the occasion of
· in a situation in which
· under circumstances in which

with: when

Replace:
· as regards
· in reference to
· with regard to
· concerning the matter of

with: about

Replace:
· it is crucial that
· it is necessary that
· it is important that

with: must, should

Replace:
· is able to
· has the opportunity to
· has the capacity for
· has the ability to

with: can

Replace:
· it is possible that
· it could happen that
· the possibility exists for

with: may, might, could

Order of adjectives

Why is it "the quick, brown fox" and not "the brown, quick fox," or "a fat, green toad" and not "a green, fat toad"?

The order of the adjectives is as follows:

- Determiner - a, an, her, five, many, much several etc.
- Opinion - pretty, ugly, smart, cheap, etc.
- Size - big, fat, thin, tall, large, small etc.
- Shape - circle, square, tall, short etc.
- Age - old, young 10 years, a year, a week, new etc.
- Color - yellow, green, pink etc.
- Origin - American, English, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, European, Chinese etc.
- Material - cotton, wood, plastic, cloth, glass, gold etc.
- Purpose/Qualifier - hat box, sleeping bag, computer table,safe island, football field.

Source: http://www.english-the-easy-way.com/Adjectives/Adjectives_Order.htm

Report writing

Reports are used to describe outcomes, i.e., report decisions made at meetings, progress on a project, or assessment of competition.

• State the purpose of the report.
• Include an executive summary.
• State all relevant findings and facts, pro and con.
• Include first-hand observations, if appropriate.
• Separate fact from opinion.
• Conclude with recommendations and next steps.
  

Spell check, but use grammar check with care

Spell check everything, but don't rely entirely spelling check. It can be a useful tool, but it's not. Spell check has a limited dictionary and some words will show as misspelled when they aren't. In addition, spell check will not catch misspellings that form another valid word. For example, if you type "your" instead of "you're" or "to" instead of "too", spell check won't catch the error.

Grammar check can be a nightmare. It will show the rule, but not apply it correctly. It also won't identify every grammar error. However, grammar check can be a tool for catching something you should think about; just don't automatically do what it tells you to do.

Watch your tone!

Tone conveys attitude and how readers respond to your message. It also communicates your image and your company’s image to your reader.

Tone is affected by:

· Word choice
· Pronoun usage
· Sentence structure
· Format

Most people respond favorably to a warm, friendly, courteous tone, which requires you to write in a natural, conversational style. To do this, concentrate on expressing your points, not impressing your reader. Be direct and get to the point.

Use positive, not negative, words. Avoid words such as “you claim,” “failed to, “neglected to,” and “lack of,” and statements that begin with “if.”

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.”