Business Writing
Business writing is similar to technical writing;
the concerns and strategies are the same.
You start by collecting information—whether
you're writing a letter, an email, a press release,
or preparing a presentation, you start by gathering
your thoughts and doing research. The research might
involve reading relevant research papers, clinical
trials, and review articles. You may want to talk
with researchers,
colleagues, or peruse your notes you made at
relevant meetings....
It's a good idea to begin by asking yourself "What
am I trying to achieve?" If you can't answer
that question. the chances of writing a good piece
are slim. If you can identify your global intentions,
then you can evaluate your information, arguments,
and recommendations against those intentions.
Start immediately to identify
the main issues, think about how to organize
them, make some notes, brainstorm, and so
on.
By focusing your thoughts, you've started to think
about what your readers might want or need to know.
Some Things To Keep In Mind
This is the same list of strategies used for technical
writing:
- Understand the type of report/memo/synopsis
you are writing—find examples and notice
the structure and organization other authors have
used
- Write down your global intentions—a phrase
or two that captures the gist of your potential
writing
- Tentatively identify possible sections and subsections—this
is a brainstorming or clustering activity
- Try writing some headings using strong verbs
and specific nouns—it may be too soon for
this activity; however, it will allow you to see
where you need to do more research or identify
where you have holes you'll want to think about
later. You will certainly revisit headings and
subheadings after you've got a draft
- Think about your readers' knowledge and needs—this
is crucial! Try to imagine what the reader knows
and expects from such a text
- Keep information specific rather than general—it's
the details that pursuade, so be sure you've provided
enough "data" for your readers to understand
the issues as you see them
- Try beginning with lists in simple English—this
will likely take several attempts, the lists may
expand or become smaller on each successive go-around,
items may be moved to other lists...
- Keep your list items or points short
- Turn your lists into prose—keep your language
as direct as you can
- Use active verbs rather than passive voice constructions
- Vary sentence length
- Avoid jargon
- Keep technical terms to a minimum (or provide
an explanation in the text itself)
- A helpful hint when you're drafting:
If in doubt, PUT IT IN!
- Another helpful hint: When
you quote from other writing or make an attribution,
make sure you put the complete citation (including
page numbers) in a separate file. This "references" file
doesn't have to be in any kind of order at this
point—it will be easy to order it later—but
it's invaluable not to have to track down an obscure
citation after you've forgotten where you got
it from!
- A third hint: Instead of deleting
passages from your evolving text, cut and paste
them into a separate "out-takes" file—that
way you can review what you've deleted and have
it on hand should want or need it later
- Once you have a draft, ask some readers for
feedback—at this point you're interested
in what meaning they make, you're not interested
in editing help, so be sure to let them know what
information you're looking for
- Test your document with the intended audience
- Revise based on their feedback
- Remember that editing / revision isn't just
about errors. You want to polish your sentences
at this point, making them smooth, interesting,
and clear. Watch for very long sentences, since
they may be less clear than shorter, more direct
sentences
- Pay attention to the rhythm of your writing;
try to use sentences of varying lengths and patterns.
Look for unnecessary phrases, repetition, and
awkward spots
- When you're revising—if in doubt,
TAKE IT OUT!
- Published authors usually have access to editors;
if you have to edit your own work here are some
things to think about: Effective
Editing
- Think about layout
- Use examples and illustrations; consider tables
and visuals that might explain your arguments
- Use diagrams, flowcharts, and graphs
- Don't forget to proofread: Checklist
for a "Third" Read
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