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Professional & Technical Writing: Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing Table of Contents About Professional & Technical Writing (PTW)

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Professional & Technical Writing: Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing Table of Contents About Professional & Technical Writing (PTW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Flesch-Kincaid Readability Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Dense Writing & Oppenheimer’s Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ig Nobel Prize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Writing Clearly Being Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ?Plain Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12 How to Write Clearly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 ? Active or Lazy Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ? Passive Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-17 ? Passive & Active Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-23 ? Topic Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25 ? Stress Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-29 Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 2 Table of Contents Writing Concisely Being Concise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Lardy Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 ? Unnecessary Repetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 ? Redundant Words & Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 ? Dead Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 ? Unnecessary Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Writing Precisely Being Precise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ? Low-level vs. High-level Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-41 ? Using Terms Consistently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 ? Level of Specifics & Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 3 About Professional & Technical Writing (PTW) For years, college students have been trained to write academically (i.e. essays). They’ve written to hit a page or word count and, consequently, have resorted to BS writing. Writing nonsense sentences, redundant writing with rephrasing and restating what they’ve already said, just to hit an elusive number. No more! Professional and Technical Writing is NOT Academic Writing. Readers of PTW are BUSY! They are managers, co-workers, clients, customers, and other busy people who don’t have time to waste wading through lardy/fluff writing. They have better things to do and, honestly, they don’t want to read what you’ve written – so keep documents clear, concise, and precise. PTW readers don’t read every word of a document, they skim, they use headers, they hunt for the information they want/need to make decisions or answer a question. They read PTW like a newspaper. They hop around and you, as a PTW writer always need to keep the reader in mind. 4 Flesch–Kincaid Readability Tests Flesch-Kincaid readability tests are designed to indicate how difficult a passage in English is to understand. There are two tests: Flesch Reading-Ease and FleschKincaid Grade Level. The tests use algorithms to determine the number of years of education a reader would need to understand a document. It is these two tests that both Microsoft Word and popular writing helper Grammarly use to determine the readability of a document. You can check your document’s readability in Word by following these instructions: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/get-your-documents-readability-and-level-statistics-85b4969e-e80a-4777-8dd3f7fc3c8b3fd2 5 Flesch-Kincaid Scores In the Flesch Reading-Ease test, higher scores indicate materials that are easier to read; lower numbers mark passages that are more difficult to read. Here’s a table to make the everything a bit easier to understand: 6 Flesch-Kincaid Scores in the World Average Scores • Reader’s Digest magazine = 65 → 8th & 9th grade • Time magazine = 52 → 10th-12th grade • Harvard Law Review = low 30s → college graduate • State of Florida law requires insurance policies MUST have a score of 45 or greater → college level • Average for Harry Potter series = 72.83 → 7th grade • Highest Score: Philosopher’s Stone = 81.32 → 6th grade • Lowest Score: Order of the Phoenix = 65.88 → 8th & 9th grade 7 Dense Writing & Oppenheimer’s Research Ever read a published research article and wondered what you just read? Not surprising. Many people, particularly academics, like to write technical and dense articles that score low on the Flesch-Kincaid Index. So, does dense writing help or hinder authors? Daniel Oppenheimer, a Psychology professor at Princeton wondered also. He did some research and published his findings in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology with the title: “Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly” 8 Ig Nobel Prize In 2006 Oppenheimer was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize. These awards are given for research that first makes people laugh, then makes them think. Oppenheimer gave the perfect acceptance speech. Here it is, in its entirety: “My research shows that conciseness is interpreted as intelligence. So, thank you.” So, writing concisely = smart . . . and your readers will thank you too! Being concise is one of three concepts to achieving a readable professional and technical style. Clarity and preciseness are the other two. 9 Writing Clearly, Concisely, and Precisely: Be Clear To be clear means to be plain in what you are writing. Be straightforward. Plain language strives to be easy to read, understand, and use. Plain language is so important and vital in clear writing that laws have been written about it. In many countries, laws mandate public agencies use plain language to increase access to programs and services. The United Nations’ “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” includes plain language as one of the “modes, means, and formats of communication.” 10 Plain Language Writings that use plain and clear language are still formal, but are easier to read and inspire reader confidence. Clear communication improves a user’s experience with the organization, ultimately creating trust in the company/organization. Plain language improves efficiency and minimizes reader confusion. Here’s what rewriting in plain language can look like: 11 Why Plain Language is Important Today, the average U.S. adult reads at the 9th-grade level. To ensure more citizens can access information, many adult educators, legal writers, and social program developers use clear and plain language when developing public documents. In the 1970s, consumer-rights groups won legislation that required plain language in contracts, insurance policies, and government regulations. During this same time, American law schools began requiring students take legal writing classes that encouraged them to use plain language as much as possible and avoid legal jargon, except when absolutely necessary. Presidents Nixon, Carter, Clinton, and Obama have all spoken out, written Executive Orders, memorandums, or signed acts all centered around the need for plain language to be used by federal agencies and in federal documents. 12 How to Write Clearly To write clearly and plainly, you need to use: • • • • mostly active verbs, mostly active voice (but know when passive is a better choice), topic position stress position 13 Are your Verbs Active or Lazy? Lazy verbs are generic and vague: • The results of this study show . . . • This study dealt with . . . • The test involves . . . Active verbs are specific and reveal analytical thinking: • The results of this study challenge . . . • This study characterizes . . . • The test measured . . . Here is a useful active verb list to use if you need to find the right active verb. 14 Are you using Passive Verbs Appropriately? To be verbs are passive because they cannot convey action on a state of being: is, are, was, were, etc. When defining a word or something else, a passive verb is fine: • An elephant is a large mammal with a prehensile trunk. • A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object. • Chemists are scientists trained in the study of chemistry. • Customers are those currently using our services. 15 Are you using Passive Verbs Needlessly? Needless use of passive verbs: A new process for eliminating nitrogen oxides from diesel exhaust engines is presented. Flow tube experiments to test this process are discussed. The percentage decrease in nitrogen oxide emissions is revealed. Revised with active verbs: This paper presents a new process for eliminating nitrogen oxides from the exhaust of diesel engines. To test this process, we performed experiments in flow tubes. These experiments revealed a 99 percent decrease in nitrogen oxide emissions. 16 Don’t confuse passive verbs with passive voice Not every sentence that uses a passive verb is in passive voice. You should use mostly active voice but know when passive is a better rhetorical choice. 17 Active Voice Active voice means the subject of a sentence is doing the action. • John washed the car “John” is the subject, and he is also doing the action. Passive voice means the object being acted upon is the subject and who is doing the action is not given (or added with a “by” phrase). • The car was washed. The car was washed by John. “Car” is now the subject and is doing the action is either not given or added using the “by” phrase. 18 About those Grammar Checkers . . . Grammar checkers will count the number of passive verbs (is, are, were, was, etc.). But a passive verb is not the same as passive voice. • John is washing the car. • The volcano is erupting. The two sentences above use passive verbs but are in active voice (remember, if the subject is doing the action, it’s active). Instead of using a grammar checker to determine if you are writing in passive voice, try using the zombies’ test. 19 Zombies’ Test for Passive Voice If you can add “by zombies” at the end of your sentence, it’s passive. • The experiment was conducted in the lab. (Is it passive?) • The experiment was conducted in the lab by zombies. (Yes!) But, just because a sentence is in passive voice doesn’t mean you should change it to active voice. You need to know when to use mostly active voice vs. when a passive voice is a better rhetorical choice. 20 When to use passive voice In professional and technical writing (and scientific writing), passive voice is preferred when what was done is more important than who did it. Examples: • DNA was extracted . . . • Test holes were bored . . . • Samples were taken . . . • Surveying was done . . . 21 When to be careful with active voice When using active voice with an inanimate object, avoid the Frankenstein effect. Reasonable: • The oscilloscope displayed the voltage. • The oscilloscope measured the voltage. Not reasonable. An oscilloscope doesn’t display or measure…It’s Alive!!! • The oscilloscope calculated the voltage. 22 Are you using the topic position? The beginning of a sentence or paragraph sets up the topic, so it’s referred to as the topic position. Readers use the topic position to get a sense of where a sentence or paragraph is going to take them. If you don’t use the topic position, readers will get lost or confused. 23 Try reading this She first tried setting loose a team of gophers. The plan backfired when a dog chased them away. She then entertained a group of teenagers and was delighted when they brought their motorcycles. Unfortunately, she failed to find a Peeping Tom. Furthermore, her stereo system was not loud enough. The crab grass might have worked, but she didn’t have a fan that was sufficiently powerful enough to blow the seed. She made obscene phone calls that gave her hope until the number was changed, so she decided to hang up a clothesline. It was the installation of blinking neon lights she bought that did the trick. She eventually framed the ad from the classified section. • It doesn’t make any sense, right? That’s because it needs a topic sentence. 24 Now try it with a topic sentence added Sally disliked her neighbors and wanted them to leave the area. She first tried setting loose a team of gophers. The plan backfired when a dog chased them away. She then entertained a group of teenagers and was delighted when they brought their motorcycles. Unfortunately, she failed to find a Peeping Tom. Furthermore, her stereo system was not loud enough. The crab grass might have worked, but she didn’t have a fan that was sufficiently powerful enough to blow the seed. She made obscene phone calls that gave her hope until the number was changed, so she decided to hang up a clothesline. It was the installation of blinking neon lights she bought that did the trick. She eventually framed the ad from the classified section. • All of the details now make sense because the topic sentence provides the point of the paragraph. 25 Are you using the stress position? Readers place greater emphasis on information that is at the end of a sentence, paragraph, or chapter. It’s where they look to figure out the point a writer is making. This placement is known as the stress position or stress emphasis. If the ending leaves readers wondering what the sentence or paragraph means, it’s like never arriving at a destination. 26 How to check the stress position Look at the end of your sentences. Are the words in the stress position saying what you want to emphasize? If not . . . trim the end! Psychologists claim environment controls our social behavior in the way we act in situations we are in every day. Since “social behavior” means the way we act in situations, the words at the end are unnecessary and throw the emphasis off in this sentence. 27 Dead phrases are often in the stress position Job opportunities in computer programming are getting scarcer, it must be remembered. Dead phrases sound preachy and pompous and don’t say anything meaningful, so remove them. Get read of dead phrases can show up ANYWHERE in a sentence. Sometimes they show up at the beginning of a sentence (“As stated previously,”) or clutter up the middle. Get rid of any dead weight in your writing. 28 Preposition strings make finding emphasis hard The condition of the patient was documented in the patient profile written by the nurse on duty during the after-hours shift. (22 words) Eliminate strings of prepositions by being direct, which makes the stress position clearer. The after-hours nurse documented the patient’s condition in the patient profile. (12 words) 29 Summary: Is your writing clear? Check if you are writing: • mostly active verbs • mostly active voice (though you know when passive is preferred) • topic sentences • and check if what you want to emphasize (your point) is in the stress position 30 Writing Clearly, Concisely, and Precisely: Be Concise To be concise means to be brief (of short length) yet still comprehensive (containing all information). So, how do you do both things? Write only the words necessary to meet your audience needs and your purpose for writing. No more. No less. One of the biggest obstacles to developing a concise writing style is padding your sentences with lard. 31 Lard’s great for cooking, not writing Lard in cooking can add to the flavor and taste of a dish, in writing . . . not so much. Padding sentences with words or phrases that don’t contribute to meaning is lardy writing. We love lard! Yes, but we only eat it, we NEVER write it. 32 What causes lard? The most common reason students develop the habit of writing lard is trying to reach word or page counts. When teachers state a word or page count, they are telling you how much development within your writing is expected. Filling a page with redundancies and lardy language just makes your main point or argument harder to locate and/or follow. It hurts your writing and it’s a bad habit. In professional and technical writing, your reader is busy! So wading through lardy language hurts your credibility as a writer. Get to the point, tell the busy reader what they need to know, and move on! 33 Eliminate Unnecessary Repetition Look for any words or phrases you have repeated and think about whether the repetition is serving a purpose or if it’s just padding. Example of Unnecessary Repetition: • The length of the transistor is related to its junction depth. The junction depth can be reduced by lowering the implant energy. Revised to eliminate Unnecessary Repetition: • The length of the transistor is related to its junction depth, which can be reduced by lowering the implant energy. 34 Eliminate Redundant Words and Phrases already existing alternative choices at the present time presently basic fundamentals currently at this time completely eliminate continue to remain had done previously introduced a new mix together now at this time private industry the reason being because silver in color start out still persists whether or not first began period of time empty space This is not a comprehensive list, so carefully check your own writing. 35 Are you writing dead phrases? RIP Dead Phrases A dead phrase has a pompous tone and is not saying anything necessary. Here are some examples: • • • • • • • it is my intent to show as a matter of fact as is well known as stated earlier (or previously) it is noteworthy it goes without saying to begin/in conclusion And many other phrases . . . 36 Are you writing unnecessary modifiers? In professional and technical writing, unnecessary modifiers are too vague. But, they may be useful in other types of writing such as academic essays. So, if you are analyzing your prior writing for unnecessary modifiers, keep the purpose and genre of your writing in mind. Examples (not all of them): • Actually • Really • Basically • Very • Definitely • Somewhat • Probably • Extremely • Practically 37 Summary: Is your writing concise? Check your writing for: • • • • Lardy language Redundant words and phrases Dead phrases Unnecessary modifiers 38 Writing Clearly, Concisely, and Precisely: Be Precise To be precise means to be exact and accurate. In technical writing, how precise you need to be is based on the audience you are writing for. • When writing to audiences with a low-level of technical expertise, do not use technical terminology that is so exact the audience would not understand what you mean. AND • When writing to an audience with a high level of technical expertise, use technical terminology that is more accurate than common words and phrases. 39 Low-level expertise = less precise language A bid proposal to homeowners about the cost of paving their driveway would not use these technical terms: • The cost to pave your driveway using a mix of aggregate bonded with calcium to form a agglomerate will be . . . The word “concrete” is precise enough. So consider who your audience is and how precise you really need to be. 40 High-level expertise = more precise language Needs to be more precise: • Our research presents a new technique for studying the complex phenomena associated with the development of sparks and other gas discharges. Gas discharge vs. spark Audiences with a high-level of technical expertise would question why the author is conflating sparks and gas discharges because these are different, so the writing is not precise. 41 Are you using terms consistently? Although young drivers say they believe that distracted driving is a problem, our tests revealed that over 90% of teenage drivers still engage in distracted driving behaviors. The objective of this study was to survey the effectiveness of involving students in the production of public service announcements (PSA). The PSAs were aimed at changing the disconnect between what drivers say they believe and what they do. Our experiment revealed that when students produced PSAs, these announcements were more effective in changing this disconnect. • Was it a test, study, survey, or an experiment? • Were they young drivers, teenage drivers, all drivers, or just students? NOTE: In some disciplines the word “study” refers to all of the research that was done and the methodology then names the specific type of research that was done (i.e. a test or experiment etc.). 42 Level of specifics and detail To determine if specifics and details are at the right level, you need to think about audience and your purpose for writing. Example: A mailing address is specific and contains the details necessary for someone to send you mail or a package. The specifics and details of a mailing address, however, may not be specific enough for someone to locate your cubicle or office on the 64th floor of an office building, in the southeast corner by the elevator. Different audiences --- Different purposes --- Different needs. 43 Summary: Is your writing precise? Check : • If you are writing technical terminology appropriate to the audience’s level of technical expertise. • If you are being consistent I using terminology. • If the level of specifics and details are appropriate to meet audience needs and your purpose for writing. 44 Presentation adapted from “ENGL 317 ADA Project 1 Slidedoc 2” created by Karen Thompson at the University of Idaho, Accessed 11, April 2021. https://www.slideshare.net/thompsonkaren/engl-317-ada-project-1slidedoc-2 45 Business Letter Writing & Formatting Table of Contents About Business Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Formatting Rhetoric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letter Standards & Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13 Word Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Direct Business Writing Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-19 Statement of Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Forecasting Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Justification/Support/Reasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Concluding Paragraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2 About Business Letters While used less often than memos or emails, business letters still serve an important function and purpose: letter to a client or customer, letter to a potential employee, cover letter for a resume, letter to shareholders, letter of transmittal to accompany a report, etc. Keep in mind that business letters are FORMAL and are primarily used when communicating with someone OUTSIDE the organization. 3 Formatting Rhetoric Approach business letters like putting on your best clothes and going to a job interview – you want to make a good impression! Consequently, more formal language, punctuation, and style is used. Persuade the reader to trust you and you are “in the know” because of how you adhere to standards and norms of professional business letter writing. That is formatting rhetoric. 4 Letter Standards & Expectations The following slides will list SIXTEEN (16) standard components and characteristics of business letters. Links to online resources that teach you how to make the appropriate changes within Microsoft Word will also be provided when needed. 1. Letterhead or “Return Address”. When working for a company, use their letterhead. If you don’t have a letterhead, then you need to provide the reader with YOUR contact information, also known as the “Return Address.” Format the “Return Address” as you would if you were writing it on an envelope. If you want, you can include your email and/or phone number after the City, State, Zip Code line. (See image to right.) {2 blank lines} {2 blank lines} 5 Letter Standards & Expectations 2. Date. This is the date the letter is mailed. Type out the entire month and include the day and year. For example: April 1, 20xx. Typing it all out is more formal than using dashes/hyphens (4/1/20xx or 4-1-20xx) 3. Inside Address/Mailing Address. This is the address of the letter recipient. Start with the person’s First and Last Name (or position within the organization) then the rest of the mailing address. NOTE: Do not use antiquated gender designations (Mr., Ms, Miss, or Mrs.). Because of gender neutral names (Are Kody or Taylor male or female? It could be either!) and how people personally identify means using only the reader’s first and last name is the new standard. An exception is a designation related to schooling or an employment position (i.e. President Chuck E. Cheese or Dr. Hermione Granger). 6 Letter Standards & Expectations 4. Salutation. Again, just the person’s first and last name. Leave off any gender designators. ALSO, the punctuation at the end is a colon, not a comma. Example: Dear Kody Russell: 5. Left Align EVERYTHING. Everything in professional writing is left aligned. This includes headers. Visually it is cleaner and lines everything up along the left margin. DO NOT fully justify text…it creates weird spaces in a line. Leave that for newspapers. 6. 1” Margins. This may be different for a company you work for (based on an organization’s style guide), but for this course, 1” margins are the norm. NOTE: Word has a different default margin, so you MUST go in and change this in your document. 7 Letter Standards & Expectations 7. Single-spaced. ALWAYS singlespace your documents. Not double-space, not 1.08 spacing (Word’s weird default…so go in and fix it!). SINGLE-SPACE…like every slide in this presentation is single-spaced. Keep things short! Here’s a link with instructions on how to fix line spacing: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word201 6/line-and-paragraph-spacing/1/ Word Default: 1.08 line Single-Spaced Double-Spaced 8 Letter Standards & Expectations 8. No paragraph indents. NEVER indent the first line of your paragraph. That’s for letters to grandma and academic essays, not professional or technical writing. 9. One blank line between paragraphs. Again, you MUST remove the Word default here. You need to go into the “Paragraph” settings in Word and make the line spacing before and after “0 pt” – Word’s default is 8pt after. NO! Between paragraphs, a single blank line is the professional standard. Here’s a link that walks you through how to remove the line spacing: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word2016/line-andparagraph-spacing/1/ NOTE: Pay attention to the yellow star example after Step #3 under “To Format Paragraph Spacing:” – about the middle of the page. 9 Letter Standards 10. Spacing. Make sure you follow the standard spacing requirements. There are very specific spaces required in this most formal of documents, the business letter. If you don’t have a letterhead, see slide #5 for proper spacing between the mailing address, date, and inside address. See the spacing requirements on the image to the right. 10 Letter Standards & Expectations 11. Subheaders. If your document is longer than FIVE (5) paragraphs, use a subheader. This makes it easier for your reader to locate information quickly. Subheaders are usually formatted different from the body text. They can be: • 2 point larger font • Underlined • Bolded • ALL CAPS • Italicized • An obviously different font DON’T choose more than two of these formatting choices. Just one is usually enough to help the header stand out from the body text. ALSO, there is NO blank line between the subheader and corresponding paragraph. NOTE: You MUST have at least 2 paragraphs under a section to justify a header. Just one paragraph isn’t enough. 11 Letter Standards & Expectations 12. Page Numbering/Headers. Every page, after the first page, MUST have a page number and header. What the header looks like varies, but for this course, you can choose either of these two styles: NOTE: 2+ page header information does NOT appear on the first page of your document. To learn how to keep the 2+ page header from appearing on the first page, see the “To hide the number on the first page,” section in this link: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word2016/page-numbers/1/ 12 Letter Standards & Expectations 13. Closing. “Sincerely,” That’s it. Sure, you could use other closings if you want, but Sincerely works just fine. 14. Signature Line. After the appropriate 3 blank lines (see standard #11), you type out your name and, in the space created, sign the letter. 15. Direct Business Writing Format. See forthcoming slides. 16. Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing. Please see the “Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing” slide presentation. 13 Word Default Settings Since you will be writing a lot of business letters & memos in this course, and in the future, it is recommended you use Word’s convenient Set as Default feature. Doing this will save all required and standard formatting changes to future new Word documents so you don’t have to go through and fix everything over and over again. To learn how to set defaults, here is a link to take you through the process: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/wordtips/changing-your-default-settings-in-word/1/ 14 Direct Business Writing (DBW) Format Ninety-five percent, 95%!, of all professional writing follows the Direct Business Writing Format (DBW). The other 5% (problem writing) uses a format called indirect business writing for things like firing someone, a letter of reprimand, etc. DBW is the standard for organizing information and content in an email, memo, letter, report, newsletter, etc. This format/structure is what co-workers, your boss and supervisor, etc. expect you to follow, so let’s learn it! There are three components to DBW, they are: 1. Statement of Purpose & Forecasting Statement (Intro Paragraph) 2. Justification/Support/Reasons (Body Paragraphs) 3. Thanks, Reader Directive Statement, and Author Contact Information (Concluding Paragraph) 15 Statement of Purpose (SOP) In the FIRST LINE of any document (first line of the first paragraph), you state the purpose and/or tell the reader why they are getting the document. If your document is a reply/response to someone, the Statement of Purpose (SOP) could read: “As requested, . . .” This reminds your reader why they are getting the document (they requested it). If the reader did not ask for this information (i.e. it’s unsolicited), the SOP would still clearly tell the reader why they are receiving the document. Such a SOP might look like this: “To keep waste and cost to a minimum, . . . Please note that each SOP is followed by a comma. This may not always happen, but it happens a lot more often than not! 16 Forecasting Statement The Forecasting Statement is similar to a thesis statement that tells the reader what you will be trying to argue/convince the reader of and how the document does this. For example: “This document looks at current practices, changes in the field, and proposes ways to improve and increase revenue.” Sometimes the Statement of Purpose and Forecasting Statement are found in the SAME sentence. Look at this example: “To keep waste and costs to a minimum, this memo lists ways to streamline procedures within our factories.” The sentence clearly states the purpose/why a reader is getting the document (to keep waste and costs down) AND forecasts what the memo will argue and how it will support the argument (listing ways to streamline procedures). 17 Justification/Support/Reasons This section is all of the document’s body paragraphs. It consists of multiple focused paragraphs providing details and justification for your message/argument. A single idea is presented in a single paragraph. Don’t let paragraphs get bulky! Too many times paragraphs get too long (longer than 5 sentences) because the writer is trying to do too much in a paragraph. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Single sentence paragraphs are often found in professional and technical writing. 18 Concluding Paragraph The last paragraph of your document, be it a letter, email, memo, etc. should always: • Thank the reader for taking the time to read the document • Give a directive statement telling the reader what action to take next • Provide author contact information about how to contact you Remember, the reader didn’t have to read your document, so show good manners. A directive statement can simply be: “If you have any questions, please let me know.” Providing author contact information is always helpful to a reader…even if you provided it earlier. Give the reader the best way to contact you in the conclusion, be it phone number or email address. A standard concluding paragraph, with everything provided in just two short sentences: “Thank you for taking the time to read this memo. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me via email at a.employe@prestigeww.com.” 19 Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNgQOHwsIbg Common Grading Issues | Business Letter YOU must come up with a letterhead or return address of your own. Make sure the “company” of the inside/mailing address matches the one mentioned in the body of the letter. First and last name AND watch the punctuation! Word changed its default margins to 1.25”. You need to go in and change them to 1” margins. Word’s default is 1.08 or 1.15 spacing – change it to SINGLE spacing. Don’t change it to “exactly” 12pt or 14pt…that actually hurts you in the long run, just make it SINGLE spacing. Word default is 8pt. spacing AFTER lines. You need to go in and make the default spacing 0pt BOTH before and after. NOTE: Just checking the “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same type” box isn’t enough! That primarily applies to lists (bullet & numbered). Instead, you need to go in and physically type in 0pt before and after. See the screenshot in the “Deliverable 2 – Business Letter Formatting” PDF file. Remember, also, once you have removed the default spacing, that there is ONE blank line between paragraphs, main memo header, etc. There is very specific spacing between different components of a business letter. Refer to the layout provided in the “Deliverable 2 – Business Letter Formatting” PDF file to see how many blank lines are required before/after various components. Watch the introductory paragraph. Too often I advised students their letter was “Missing DBW intro w/Statement of Purpose and forecasting statement. This is just a bunch of fluff. Your reader is busy, so tell them exactly why they’re getting the letter and what the letter is about.” KEEP PARAGRAPHS SHORT. Shoot for around 4-5 SHORT sentences. Also, once you have your reader (i.e. me) in mind, think about if they really need to know all of this information to take action or come to a decision. If not, slice and dice baby! Don’t be afraid to rewrite sentences to make them shorter and clearer OR break them up into two, more focused, paragraphs OR create a bulleted/numbered list. READER’S LOVE LISTS! Reader’s know lists are compact pieces of information that are NOT complete sentences, so usually free of unnecessary words. Embrace bulleted or numbered lists in professional and technical writing (keep in mind numbered lists = order of importance/sequence, bulleted lists = can go in any order). ONE idea per paragraph. Keep paragraphs short and focused. Remember, a one sentence paragraph is just fine in professional/technical writing. Common Grading Issues | Business Letter If you have more than FIVE (5) paragraphs of text, then you MUST use subheaders. Avoid “Introduction” or “Conclusion” subheaders…your reader is educated and knows where an introduction and conclusion come…don’t talk down to them. Use subheaders as street signs for your reader to quickly and easily locate information in the memo. REMEMBER, subheaders should NOT more than 2 pt font larger than the body font. And you MUST have at least 2 paragraphs within a section to be allowed to use a subheader. Lastly – there is no blank line between the subheader and following paragraph. If your business letter goes onto a second page, make sure your 2+ page header (with page number, reader info, topic of your business letter – just like a 2+ header for a memo) is typed into the header section of the document, NOT the body. Follow the instructions provided to learn how to use the header portion of your document…and the same formatting instructions apply – if you choose to use the 3-line header, make sure it’s singlespaced with 0pt default between the lines! Also, the header should NOT appear on the first line of the business letter – the letter already contains all the information, so having the header is just redundant. Don’t add extra blank lines at the end of the 1st page to make your last paragraph go onto the 2nd page…I will catch you! Follow the link in the original instructions to teach you how to type in the very specific 3-lines in the 2+ page header AND keep it from showing up on the first page. Needs Improvement Satisfactory/Competent Praiseworthy/Outstanding Submission 0 (0.00%) - 0 (0.00%) Late & submitted as wrong document file type. 2.8 (5.60%) - 2.8 (5.60%) Submitted on Time, but not as a Microsoft Word Document 4 (8.00%) - 4 (8.00%) Submitted on Time and as a Microsoft Word Document Ethics Analysis 0 (0.00%) - 13.8 (27.60%) Response to less than 2 of the "pieces" Sinek talks about in the "This is Why You Don't Succeed Video". Letter comes across as quickly written with very little thought or effort put into it. Unclear what clarifying or follow-up questions you are asking Sinek for. 14 (28.00%) - 16.8 (33.60%) Clear and respectful response to at least 2 of the "pieces" Sinek talks about in the "This is Why You Don't Succeed Video". Good job asking clear and specific questions to Sinek for clarity and further understanding of what he is discussing. Minor reader confusion with what, exactly, you were asking about/for. 17 (34.00%) - 20 (40.00%) Strong and respectful response to at least 2 of the "pieces" Sinek talks about in the "This is Why You Don't Succeed Video". Outstanding job asking clear and specific questions to Sinek for clarity and further understanding of what he is discussing. Business Letter Formatting & Direct Business Writing Layout 0 (0.00%) - 13.8 (27.60%) Memo formatting standards, as outlined in the "Deliverable 2 - Business Letter Formatting" PDF slides followed. 6+ formatting issues need addressed. 14 (28.00%) - 16.8 (33.60%) Memo formatting standards, as outlined in the "Deliverable 2 - Business Letter Formatting" PDF slides followed. No more than 5 areas needing fixed. 17 (34.00%) - 20 (40.00%) Memo formatting standards, as outlined in the "Deliverable 2 - Business Letter Formatting" PDF slides followed. No more than 3 areas needing fixed. Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing/Editing 0 (0.00%) - 4.14 (8.28%) Major issues following the "Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing" PDF slides. Wordiness, confusing sentences, and/or lardy writing -- causing more than 3 areas of reader confusion. Many paragraphs overly long and unfocused. Major revision needed to make paragraphs more professional in length and content. 4.2 (8.40%) - 5.04 (10.08%) Good job following the "Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing" PDF slides. Some issues of overly wordy, confusing, or lardy writing -- causing no more than 2 areas of reader confusion. For the most part, paragraphs are focused and short, sentences clear and using active voice and verbs for clarity and increase reader engagement. Some overly long paragraphs need to be reassessed to make them more professional in length and content. 5.1 (10.20%) - 6 (12.00%) Very strong writing with minimal issues of overly wordy, confusing, or lardy writing. Paragraphs focused and short, sentences clear and using active voice and verbs for clarity and increase reader engagement. Name:M1, Deliverable 2: Business Letter Needs Improvement Satisfactory/Competent Praiseworthy/Outstanding Submission 0 (0.00%) - 0 (0.00%) Late & submitted as wrong document file type. 2.8 (5.60%) - 2.8 (5.60%) Submitted on Time, but not as a Microsoft Word Document 4 (8.00%) - 4 (8.00%) Submitted on Time and as a Microsoft Word Document Ethics Analysis 0 (0.00%) - 13.8 (27.60%) Response to less than 2 of the "pieces" Sinek talks about in the "This is Why You Don't Succeed Video". Letter comes across as quickly written with very little thought or effort put into it. Unclear what clarifying or follow-up questions you are asking Sinek for. 14 (28.00%) - 16.8 (33.60%) Clear and respectful response to at least 2 of the "pieces" Sinek talks about in the "This is Why You Don't Succeed Video". Good job asking clear and specific questions to Sinek for clarity and further understanding of what he is discussing. Minor reader confusion with what, exactly, you were asking about/for. 17 (34.00%) - 20 (40.00%) Strong and respectful response to at least 2 of the "pieces" Sinek talks about in the "This is Why You Don't Succeed Video". Outstanding job asking clear and specific questions to Sinek for clarity and further understanding of what he is discussing. Business Letter Formatting & Direct Business Writing Layout 0 (0.00%) - 13.8 (27.60%) Memo formatting standards, as outlined in the "Deliverable 2 - Business Letter Formatting" PDF slides followed. 6+ formatting issues need addressed. 14 (28.00%) - 16.8 (33.60%) Memo formatting standards, as outlined in the "Deliverable 2 - Business Letter Formatting" PDF slides followed. No more than 5 areas needing fixed. 17 (34.00%) - 20 (40.00%) Memo formatting standards, as outlined in the "Deliverable 2 - Business Letter Formatting" PDF slides followed. No more than 3 areas needing fixed. Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing/Editing 0 (0.00%) - 4.14 (8.28%) Major issues following the "Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing" PDF slides. Wordiness, confusing sentences, and/or lardy writing -- causing more than 3 areas of reader confusion. Many paragraphs overly long and unfocused. Major revision needed to make paragraphs more professional in length and content. 4.2 (8.40%) - 5.04 (10.08%) Good job following the "Clear, Concise, and Precise Writing" PDF slides. Some issues of overly wordy, confusing, or lardy writing -- causing no more than 2 areas of reader confusion. For the most part, paragraphs are focused and short, sentences clear and using active voice and verbs for clarity and increase reader engagement. Some overly long paragraphs need to be reassessed to make them more professional in length and content. 5.1 (10.20%) - 6 (12.00%) Very strong writing with minimal issues of overly wordy, confusing, or lardy writing. Paragraphs focused and short, sentences clear and using active voice and verbs for clarity and increase reader engagement. Name:M1, Deliverable 2: Business Letter