Feb 24 (ch 7): Planning, Composing, and Revising

Ways Good Writers Write

• Revise first drafts
• Write regularly
• Break big jobs into small chunks
• Focus on purpose, audience
• Choose from several different strategies
• Use rules flexibly
• Finish a draft before editing text

Four Basic Composing Activities

1. Plan – analyze, gather
2. Write – transform ideas into words
3. Revise – evaluate, get feedback, change
4. Edit – correct grammar, typos

More About Composing Activities

Don’t have to do in 1-2-3 order
Don’t have to finish one to start another
Don’t have to use all activities for every message

Brainstorm, Plan, and Organize

When content isn’t obvious—

• Brainstorm
• Freewrite
• Cluster
• Talk to audiences
  

Writing Good Business and Administrative Documents

• Closer to conversation
• Varies by audience
• Contains easy-to-read words, sentences, and paragraphs
• Attention to visual impact
• Less formal than academic writing (except reports)

Half-Truths about Style

• Write as you talk
• Never use I
• Never use You
• Never begin sentence with And or But
• Never end sentence with preposition
• Big words impress people

Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read

As you choose words—

1. Use accurate, appropriate, and familiar words
2. Avoid technical jargon; eliminate business jargon

As you write and revise sentences—

1. Use active voice most of the time
2. Use verbs—not nouns—to carry weight of sentence…
   Mary’s kindness was much appreciated by all her colleagues. Mary’s colleagues appreciated her kindness
3. Eliminate wordiness

As you write and revise sentences—

1. Vary sentence length and structure
2. Use parallel structure
   Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
3. Put readers in your sentences

As you write and revise paragraphs—

1. Begin most with topic sentence
2. Use transitions to link ideas

Organizational Preferences in Writing Style

• Good writing varies by organization
• Preferred style should be used
• When preferred style is bad
  Ask about poor examples you find
  Recognize that a style may serve a purpose
  Revise, Edit, and Proofread
  Revise – change content, organization, and tone to satisfy purposes and audiences
  Edit – change mechanical flaws, grammar errors
  Proofread – correct typing errors

Use Feedback

• Ask for feedback you want
  Approach  Benefits  Tone  Grammar
  Heed comments, even if you disagree
  Rephrase
  Give more details
  Document sources

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Content attributed to Locker, Kitty O. and Donna Kienzler. Business and Administrative Communication, 9/e. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2010.