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Chapter 4

Chapter 4. Making Your Writing Easy to Read. Good Style Half Truths Better Style Ten Ways to Make Writing Easier to Read Readability Formulas Organizational Preferences. Good Business & Administrative Writing Style. Closer to conversation Varies by audience

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Chapter 4

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  1. Chapter 4 Making Your Writing Easy to Read • Good Style • Half Truths • Better Style • Ten Ways to Make Writing Easier to Read • Readability Formulas • Organizational Preferences

  2. Good Business & Administrative Writing Style • 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)

  3. Half-Truths about Style • Write as you talk • Never use I • Never begin sentence with and or but • Never end sentence with preposition • Big words impress people 1/2

  4. Write as You Talk: Yes . . . But • Yes • Do it for first draft • Read draft aloud to test • But • Expect awkward, repetitive, badly organized prose • Plan to revise and edit

  5. Never Use I: Yes . . . But • Yes • I can make writing seem self-centered • I can make ideas seem tentative • But • Use I to tell what you did, said, saw—it’s smoother

  6. Never Begin Sentence with And or But • And may make idea seem like afterthought • And gives effect of natural speech • But serves as a signpost, signals a shift • But can make writing smoother

  7. Never End a Sentence with a Preposition: Yes . . . But • Yes • A preposition may not be worth emphasizing this way • Readers expect something to follow a preposition • Avoid in job application letters, reports, formal presentations • But • OK now and then

  8. Big Words Impress People: Yes . . . But • Yes • You may want to show formality or technical expertise • But • Big words distance you from readers • Big words may be misunderstood • Misused words make you look foolish

  9. Building Better Style • Write WIRMI: What I Really Mean Is • Read draft aloud to person three feet away • Ask someone to read draft aloud No stiff words Fix words where reader stumbles

  10. Building Better Style, continued… • Read widely; write a lot • Study revised sentences • Polish your style with 10 techniques

  11. Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read As you draft— • Use accurate, appropriate, and familiar words • Avoid technical jargon; eliminate business jargon

  12. Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read, continued… As you write and revise— • Use active verbs most of the time • Use verbs—not nouns—to carry weight of sentence • Eliminate wordiness • Vary sentence length and structure • Use parallel structure • Put readers in your sentences

  13. Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read, continued… As you draft and revise paragraphs— • Begin most paragraphs with topic sentence • Use transitions to link ideas

  14. 1. Use Accurate, Appropriate Words • Denotation—literal meanings; dictionary definitions • Bypassing—two people using same word to mean different things; causes mix-ups • Connotation—emotional association; attitude - / + • nosy / curious • fearful / cautious • obstinate / firm • tax / user fee

  15. 2. Use Familiar Words • Words most people know • Words that best convey your meaning • Shorter, more common words • Specific, concrete words

  16. Use Short, Simple Alternatives • StuffySimple residelive commencebegin enumeratelist finalizefinish, complete utilizeuse

  17. Avoid Jargon—Mostly • Jargon—special terms of technical field • Use in job application letters • Use when essential and known to reader • Replace with plain English, when possible

  18. Omit Business Jargon • Businessese—needless, old-fashioned wording ExampleAlternative Enclosed please findHere is As per your requestAs you asked I acknowledge receipt of(begin reply) The undersigned Me

  19. 3. Use Active Verbs • Active—subject of sentence does action the verb describes • Passive—subject is acted upon • Usually includes form of “to be” • Change to active if you can • Direct object becomes subject

  20. Passive vs. Active Verbs • P: The program will be implemented by the agencies. • A: The agencies will implement the program. • P: These benefits are received by you. • A: You receive these benefits. • P: A video was ordered. • A: The customer ordered a video.

  21. Passive vs. Active Verbs, continued… • Active verbs are better because— • Shorter • Clearer • More interesting • Passive verbs are better to— • Emphasize object receiving action • Give coherence by repeating word in previous sentence • Avoid placing blame

  22. 4. Use Verbs to Carry Weight Replace this phrase with a verb • make an adjustment • make a decision • perform an examination • take into consideration = adjust = decide = examine = consider

  23. 5. Eliminate Wordiness • Wordy—idea can be said in fewer words • Concise; a mark of good writing • Omit words that say nothing • Use gerunds and infinitives • Combine sentences to save words • Put the meaning in subject and verb

  24. Omit Words that Say Nothing • Cut words if idea is clear without them • . . . period of three months • . . . at the present time • Replace wordy phrase with one word • Ideally, it would be best to put the. . . . • If possible, put the… • There are three reasons for our success… • Three reasons explain the…

  25. Use Gerunds & Infinitives • Gerund—“ing” form of verb used as noun • Infinitive—verb preceded by “to” • The completion of the project requires the collection and analysis of additional data. • Completing the project requires us to collect and analyze more data. wordy tight

  26. Combine Sentences to Save Words: Example • Infante projected sales of $43 million in the first quarter. Our actual sales have fallen short of that figure by $1.9 million. • Although Infante projected first-quarter sales of $43 million, actual sales are $1.9 million less than that. wordy tight

  27. Put Meaning of Sentence in Subject & Verb: Example • The reason we are recommending the computerization of this process is because it will reduce the time required to obtain data and will give us more accurate data. • Computerizing the process will give us more accurate data more quickly. wordy tight

  28. 6. Vary Sentence Length & Structure • Edit sentences for tightness • Use short sentences when subject matter is complicated • Use longer sentences to • Show how ideas link to each other • Avoid choppy copy • Reduce repetition

  29. Vary Sentence Length & Structure,continued… • Group words into chunks • Keep verb close to subject • Mix sentence structures • Simple – 1 main clause • Compound – 2 main clauses • Complex – 1 main, 1 subordinate clause

  30. 7. Use Parallel Structure: Example • During the interview, job candidates will • Take a skills test. • The supervisor will interview the prospective employee. • A meeting with recently hired workers will be held. • During the interview, job candidates will • Take a skills test. • Interview with the supervisor. • Meet with recently hired workers. faulty parallel

  31. 8. Put Readers in Your Sentences: Example • An election to name a beneficiary other than the participant’s spouse must be made with spousal consent, for any participant who is married. • If you are married, you need your spouse’s consent to name a beneficiary other than your spouse. “You” gives the second example more impact

  32. 9. Begin Most Paragraphs with Topic Sentence • Unity—¶ discusses one idea; a mark of good writing • Topic sentence—states main idea • Tells what paragraph is about • Forecasts paragraph’s structure • Helps readers remember points

  33. 10. Use Transitions to Link Ideas • Transition—signals the connections between ideas to the reader • Tells if next sentence continues or starts new idea • Tells if next sentence is more or less important than previous

  34. Use Transitions to Link Ideas • To add or continue an idea • also likewise • in addition similarly • first, second, finally consequently • To introduce an example • For example To illustrate • For instance Specifically • Indeed As shown in Table 2

  35. Use Transitions to Link Ideas • To show contrast • or on the other hand • To show contrast more important than previous idea • but however nevertheless • To show time • after in the future next • until when before

  36. Readability Formulas & Style • Measures text features, such as • Average word length • Average sentence length • Syllables per word • Ignores real difficulty factors • Complexity of ideas • Organization of ideas • Layout and design

  37. Instead of Readability Formulas— • Test drafts on actual audiences. • How long to find information they need? • Do they make mistakes using it? • Do they think draft is easy to use?

  38. Organizational Preferences in Writing Style • Good writing varies by organization • Preferred style should be used • When preferred style is bad • Use techniques in this chapter • Help boss learn about good writing • Recognize that a style may serve a purpose • Ask about poor examples you find

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