On Writing: A few reminders

1. On Writing: A few reminders BA 301 Maureen O’Connor

2. Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.  ~Sholem Asch

3. FIVE COMPONENTS OF GOOD WRITING • SOLID, WELL-RESEARCHED CONTENT • APPROPRIATE TO THE AUDIENCE • CONCISE • CLEAR • COHERENT

4. CONTENT • Have a I told the reader the purpose of my document? … to provide information? … to propose a course of action? … to summarize a document? … to solve a problem?

5. Content, con’t. Is my message clear to my reader? • Have I included all I know, and researched any potential questions? • Are my ideas organized by their relevance to my position? • Do my main ideas stand out? • Have I kept my paragraphs to one idea each? • Are my transitions smooth?

6. Understanding the Reader • Who is my reader? How should I tailor my writing? • Internal vs. external audiences • The reader’s familiarity with the topic • The reader’s attitude toward the topic • The reader’s style and tone expectations • Removing bias and attitude from your writing

7. Content • Transitions and paragraph structure • Begin with your conclusion and offer support (deductive organization) • Use transitional phrases and words • Repeat certain key phrases for emphasis and transition • Limit paragraphs to 4-5 sentences

8. Content • Paragraph structure: • Topic sentence – main idea • Supporting sentence • Supporting sentence • Supporting sentence • Concluding or transitional sentence

9. Organizing sentences into paragraphs • Begin with the topic sentence • The topic sentence defines the entire paragraph • Supporting sentences offer logical support in logical order to the topic sentence • 3-4 compound sentences in a paragraph should be adequate

10. Paragraphs should contain • A controlling idea, defined by the topic sentence • The body of supporting information. • The conclusion of the controlling idea. • Paragraphs will also often contain a transitional sentence

11. Content • Unified paragraphs • “ Incorporation offers many benefits for a business and its owners. For example, owners are not responsible for the business’s debts. Investors hope to make money when they buy a stock in a corporation. Incorporation also enables a business to obtain professional management skills. Corporations are subject to more governmental regulation than other forms of organization.”

12. Transitions • To show addition: • again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too • To give examples: • for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate • To compare: • also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly • To contrast: • although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet • To summarize or conclude: • all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to sum up • To show time: • after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally, formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, when, while • To show place or direction: • above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite, to the left (north, etc.) • To indicate logical relationship: • accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if, otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus

13. “Writing is easy:  All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

14. Conciseness • Edit for unnecessary words • Due to the fact that = because • In advance of = before • Along the lines of = like • At this point in time = now

15. Conciseness • To stay informed on the latest information, analysts must read a great number of published materials about finance

16. Conciseness • To stay current, analysts must read many finance publications

17. Conciseness • For the sake of our cost reduction goals, we changed the way we ordered equipment

18. Conciseness • To reduce costs, we changed the way we ordered equipment

19. Conciseness • There are several planning strategies that we can use to reduce our income taxes

20. Conciseness • We can reduce our income taxes by using several different planning strategies

21. Conciseness • In spite of the fact that our costs rose by 10 percent, we still were able to keep our prices stable

22. Conciseness • Although costs rose by 10 percent, our prices remained stable

23. Conciseness • Ultimate consumer means a person or group of persons, generally constituting a domestic household, who purchase eggs generally at the individual stores of retailers or purchase and receive deliveries of eggs at the place of abode of the individual or domestic household from producers or retail route sellers and who use such eggs for the consumption as food.

24. Conciseness • Ultimate consumers are people who buy eggs to eat them

25. Conciseness • Where’s the verb? • One of the fastest ways to add conciseness is to search for your verb and ask yourself whether you’ve got a verb or a verb phrase • Keep your verb fairly close to your noun

26. Conciseness • We made an analysis of ways to cut costs • We analyzed ways to cut costs • We are able to make the determination of the cost of an asset due to the fact that we have records of its purchase • We can determine an asset’s cost because we have purchase records

27. Conciseness • Inaccurate or awkward use of words • Our advertising expense, which is 1 percent of total sales in a negligent/negligible amount • This memo will discuss how to account for the theft of the filling station. • This memo will discuss how to account for the robbery at the filling station

28. Conciseness • Came to a conclusion = concluded • Causes a misstatement = misstated • Provides a matching of = matches • Makes an analysis of = analyzes • Will serve as an explanation of = will explain

29. Conciseness • Awkward word use • By using the net present value method, the chances of accepting a poor investment are reduced. • Use of the net present value method reduces the chances of accepting a poor investment

30. Conciseness • Avoid the passive; always use active verbs • “Corporate income taxes were raised by 15% by the current administration” = “The current administration raised corporate taxes by 15%” • It was decided by management that work hours would increase by 10%” = “Management decided to increase work hours by 10%.”

31. Conciseness • Avoid big words endeavor = try interface with = work with utilize = use

32. Conciseness • Avoid jargon • Spell out acronyms in first use • Use words with precision • Use words you know

33. Writing is thinking on paper – William Zinsner

34. Grammar and Punctuation • Watch for: • Sentence fragments • Run-on sentences • Misuse of clauses • Parallel construction • Apostrophes and plurals • Quotations • spelling

35. Grammar • The road signs you give a reader to help navigate your thoughts and words • Fragments: • To measure the yield correctly • For example, all the employees who are eligible for retirement

36. Grammar and punctuation • Punctuation • It’s and its • Commas vs. semicolons • Commas separate an independent from a dependent clause • She flew home to Chicago, leaving her dog behind.

37. Semicolons are used to separate two independent clauses • I flew home to Chicago; it will be good to be home. • (don’t capitalize the first word in the second clause)

38. All punctuation sits inside the quotation marks. • According to Dean Dawson, all students are expected to “be as honest as George Washington.”

39. Capitalization • Proper nouns are capitalized • Portland State University • John Smith • President Wim Wiewel • The position people hold is not capitalized unless the name succeeds it. • He was a vice president in the finance department.

40. Capitalization • Departments, fields of study, topics are NOT capitalized unless they appear at the start of a sentence. • Advertising is an exciting field • He studied advertising in school.

41. Grammar • Commas • In a series of three things, there is only a comma between the first two: • I like apples, oranges and tangerines

42. Grammar • Independent clauses and dependent clauses are connected with a comma • I went to the store, which was down the street. • The dress she wore, which was blue, was very striking on her. • Of all the gin joints in the world, this one served the best martinis

43. Grammar • Run on sentences: when independent thoughts are connected with no punctuation: • Discounted cash flow techniques are not used by all companies however, they are popular in large corporations.

44. Grammar • Parallel structure: grammatical equality in verbs, nouns, pronouns, etc. • This report will discuss the computer’s features, how much it costs and its disadvantages. • This report will discuss the computer’s features, costs and disadvantages.

45. Grammar • We recommend the following procedures: • Hire a consultant to help us determine our needs • Investigate alternative makes and models of equipment • We should then set up a pilot program to assess retraining needs for employees who will use the new equipment.

46. Why we like parallel structure • Friends, Romans and you people from the countryside, lend me your ears.

47. Subject verb agreement • Singular noun = singular verb • Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the pizza • Correct?

48. Verb tense agreement • Keep the tense within your sentence appropriate for the time • Sarah attended the Crockett School of Business, which was in San Antonio, Texas.

49. Frowned upon Accompanied by a person Accompanied with a thing Angry with someone Angry about something Argue about an issue Argue with a person Concerned with a problem Concerned for a person Good/well Idioms and word choice

50. Accept/except Affect/effect Among/between (3 vs 2) Amount of/Number of (can’t be counted, can be counted) Fewer/less (can be counted/can’t be counted) More than/over Passed/past (the former is a verb, the latter never is) Because/that (“the reason is because” is redundant; “the reason that” is correct Regardless/irregardless (no such word in English) Who’s/whose Idioms and word choice