Writing That Works by Kenmeth Roman and Joel Raphaelson

Make the organization of your writing clear

End with a summary. And keep in mind that a summary is not a conclusion. Your summary should introduce no new ideas; it should summarize, as briefly as possible, the most important points you have made.

2. Use short paragraphs, short sentences — and short words

Prefer this… … to this

Now Currently

Start initiate

Show Indicate

Finish Finalize

Speed up, move along Expedite

Use Utilize

Place, put Position

3. Make your writing active — and personal

Good writers choose the active voice over the passive voice whenever possible — and it’s possible most of the time. Active verbs add energy to your writing. That’s why they’re called active.

Passive, impersonal Active, personal

It is recommended We recommend

He should be told Get Alice to tell him

It is respectfully requested that you send a representative to our conference.

All of us here hope that you’ll send a representative Won’t you please send a representative …

4. Avoid vague adjectives and adverbs

Vague Precise

Very overspent Overspent by $10,000

Slightly behind schedule One day late

5. Use down-to-earth language

Buzzword Down-to-earth

To interface Discuss, meet, work with

To impact To affect, to do to

Modality Style, method

Resource constrained Not enough people(or money)

Incent Motivate

Skill set Skills, abilities

Solution set Solutions

Resultful Effective, achieve results

Meaningful Real, actual, tangible

Judgmentally I think

Net net Conclusion

Suboptimal Less than ideal

Push the envelope Test the limits

Scope down (from microscope) Look at more closely

Scope out (from telescope) Take a long view

Workshopping Trying out, working on

6. Be specific

Our adult program was a great success. We attracted more students from more places than ever before.

>>>>Our enrollment doubled to 560. Students came from Wyoming and twenty-seven other states, and from Germany and Canada.

7. Choose the right word

8. Make it perfect

No typos, no misspellings, no errors in numbers or dates.

9. Come to the point

10. Write simply and naturally — the way (we hope) you talk

Stiff Natural

The reasons are fourfold There are four reasons

Importantly The important point is

Visitation Visit

11. Strike out words you don’t need

Don’t write Write

Advance plan Plan

Take action Act

Equally as Equally

Hold a meeting Meet

Study in depth Study

New innovations Innovations

Consensus of opinion Consensus

At this point in time Now

Until such time as Until

In the majority of instances In most cases, usually

On a local basis Locally

Basically unaware of Did not know

The overall plan The plan

In the area of Roughly

With regard to About

In view of, on the basis of Because

In the event of If

For the purpose of, in order to To

Despite the fact that Although

Inasmuch as Since

13. Don’t write like a lawyer or a bureaucrat

14. Keep in mind what your reader doesn’t know

Watch your abbreviations. Will they be an indecipherable code to some readers?

15. Punctuate carefully

Most dictionaries offer lucid help on common problems of punctuation, such as the difference between a colon and a semicolon.

16. Understate rather than overstate

Never exaggerate, unless you do so overtly to achieve an effect, and not to deceive.

17. Write so that you cannot be misunderstood

18. Use plain English even on technical subjects

ow to Write Effective E-Mail

1. Make the subject heading clear — and compelling

2. Cut to the point

3. Avoid e-mail tag

It’s forgetting to set the context that causes so much e-mail tag. If the writer sends a message and the reader has to ask for clarification, the e-mail points of contact have been doubled. Be clear about the purpose of your message. What do you want the reader to do? If you expect a response, you may want to set a deadline so that the response is not at the reader’s inclination, which maybe never.

4. Set the right tone of voice

How to Write a Memo

1. Put a title on every memo

2. Address memos only to the person who must take action

3. Make your structure obvious

4. End with a call to action

5. Send handwritten notes

6. Be careful with humor — or anger

How to Write a Business Letter

1. Get the name and address right

2. Think carefully about the salutation

3. Consider beginning with a title

4. Make your first sentence work hard

5. Stop when you’re through

6. Be specific about the next steps

7. Use an appropriate sign-off

How to Handle Some Common Kinds of Letters

• Letters that ask for something
• Says what we want and that we’ll pay
• Explains why
• Thanks!

How to say no

• Seriously considers reader’s request, gives full reasons for turning it down 
• Even the turndown is sympathetic
• Leaves door open

How to answer complaints

• Accepts the complaint at face value
• Says what he’s going to do about it
• Apologizes
• Asks for continued business

The logic of business communication

• The format carries the audience on a flow of logic:
• Objective
• Background
• Facts
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Next steps

How to Organize a Presentation

1. Keep things simple — keep them on target

2. Tell your audience where you’re going

3. Talk about them, not about us

4. Think headlines, not labels

5. Involve the audience

6. Finish strong

Speeches That Make a Point

1. Frame the subject with a point of view

2. Start fast

3. Write your speech to be spoken

4. Leave them thinking

5. No speech was ever too short

How to Write a Report

1. Make it clear why you’re writing the report

2. Give your report a structure

• Purpose — why the reader should pay attention
• Summary — no surprise endings
• Findings — what facts can you marshal?
• Conclusions — what patterns do you see?
• Recommendations — what action do you propose?
• Next steps — costs, timing, issues to be resolved

3. State the facts fully and accurately

4. Separate opinion from fact

Recommendations That Persuade

1. Think of it as selling — not as presenting

2. Tell people where you are going

3. Lead people through with headings

4. Recommend — and do it early

5. Emphasize the benefits of your recommendation

What the pros do

1. Get people to open the envelope

ADVANCE NOTICE

PLEASE OPEN AT ONCE: DATED MATERIALS INSIDE

WE HAVE A FREE GIFT FOR YOU

RECEIVE FOUR ISSUES FREE

7.8% INTEREST ON AND ON (

2. Find the audience, then the message

3. Favor long letters over short ones

Most amateurs assume people won’t read more than a page or two at most. The fact is that long letters generally pull better than short ones — if you:

• Grab the reader’s attention at the beginning
• Load the letter with relevant facts
• Have an attractive offer

4. Make it inviting to read

5. Don’t let the reader off the hook

Writing a Resume — and Getting an Interview

Summarize what you have to offer (or what you want)

1. Think about the reader

2. Identify the sort of job you’re looking for

3. Pique the interest of the reader

4. Address an individual, never a title by itself

5. Be specific and factual

6. Be personal, direct, and natural

7. Propose a specific next step

8. Send different letters to different readers

9. Follow up an interview in writing

Making It Easy to Read

1. Start with a heading

2. Keep paragraphs short

3. Use typographic devices for clarity and emphasis

To stress key ideas, put them into indented paragraphs. This emphasizes them by setting them apart. Italics can add even greater emphasis

4. Numbered, lettered, or bulleted points help your reader follow your thinking

5. Use uppercase and lowercase.

6. Break up large masses of type

7. Use space to separate paragraphs

8. Handle numbers consistently

9. Make charts easy to handle — and interesting

10. Number your pages, even in early drafts