Effective

Writing
Module-I
Agenda

Importance of Effective Writing

Writing Process: Pre-writing, Writing &

Post writing

Developing Effective Sentences

 Good Writing is
Clear Thinking Made
Visible
 To effectively communicate
Why We
Need To sell ideas/products/services

Effective To leave a good impression

Writing
To persuade stakeholders
Skills
To share the vision of future

For professional success

 Purposeful

What is Persuasive

Effective
Writing Economical

Reader oriented
 The Writing Process

Pre-writing Writing(Drafting) Post-writing (Revising)

Analyze Research Edit
Anticipate Organize Proofread
Adapt Draft Evaluate
Pre-writing
 Analyze: The
Purpose
• The purpose:
Why am I sending this message?
What do I hope to achieve?
What do you want the receiver to do or believe?

• Purpose can be:

To inform
To persuade
To generate Goodwill
Analyze: The Channel

Factors influencing the selection of Channel:

Importance of the message
Amount and speed of feedback and interactivity
required
Necessity of a permanent record
Cost of the channel
Degree of formality desired
Confidentiality and sensitivity of the message
Complexity of message
 Anticipating
• Profile the audience.
• What does the receiver already know?
• Will the receiver’s response be neutral, positive,
or negative?

• Use the direct method for positive message

• Use the indirect method for negative or
persuasive messages.
Asking the Right Questions to Profile Your
Audience

Source: Guffey
 Adapt
• Adapt to the task and the Audience
• Develop audience benefits
• Cultivate ‘You’ Attitude
• Be conversational but Professional
• Express yourself positively
• Be Courteous
• Choose Bias-free language
• Use plain language and familiar words
• Employ precise, vigorous words
 Writing/Drafti
ng

Drafting is not only an

art, but there's a degree
of science as well.
 Research

• Research means collecting information about a

certain topic.
• Helps writer shape the message.
• Check authenticity of your sources:
Currency
Accuracy
Relevance
 Research Methods

Primary resources Secondary resources

Access digital sources Search your company’s files
Search manually Talk with the boss
Investigate primary sources Interview the target audience
Conduct scientific experiments Conduct an informal survey
 Organize
Group Group similar ideas, supporting facts and evidences together

Place ideas in a strategic sequence that helps the reader

Place understand relationships and accept the writer’s views

Organize direct messages with the big idea first, followed by an

Organize explanation and an action request in the closing

For persuasive or negative messages, use an indirect, problem-solving

Use plan

Make For short messages, make quick notes

Outline For longer messages, outline your plan and make notes.
Organize Ideas into Strategies

Direct Strategy for Indirect Strategy

Receptive for Unreceptive
Audiences Audiences
 Anticipate the audience’s reaction to your ideas and
Direct frame your message accordingly

Strategy Is used when you expect the reader to be pleased,

mildly interested, or neutral
for Put your main point—the purpose of your message
Receptiv —in the first or second sentence

e Explanations and details follow the direct opening

Audienc What’s important is getting to the main idea quickly!

es
This direct method is also called frontloading
Benefits of Direct Approach

• Saves the reader’s time

• Sets a proper frame of mind
• Reduces frustration
• Does not upset readers as sensitive subjects are avoided
Examples:
routine requests and responses, orders and acknowledgments, non-sensitive
memos, e-mails, informational reports, and informational oral presentations
Indirect Strategy for
Unreceptive Audiences
• When you expect the audience to be uninterested,
unwilling, displeased, or perhaps even hostile, the
indirect strategy is more appropriate
• Reveal the main idea only after you have offered an
explanation and evidence of the message
• This approach works well with:
(a) bad news
(b) ideas that require persuasion
(c) sensitive news, especially when being transmitted
to superiors
 Benefits of Indirect Strategy

• Respects the feelings of the audience

• Facilitates a fair hearing
• Minimizes a negative reaction
 Prepare your first draft.

Composin
g the First
Draft with Focus on short, clear sentences
using the active voice.
Effective
Sentences
Link ideas to build paragraph
coherence.
 Use a Variety of Sentence Types

• To avoid monotony and add spark include simple, compound, complex, and occasionally
compound-complex sentences in your writing

• Simple Sentence: Contains one complete thought (an independent clause) with a subject and
predicate verb:
• Compound Sentence: Contains two complete but related thoughts. May be joined by (a) a
conjunction such as and, but, or, or; (b) a semicolon; or (c) a conjunctive adverb such as
however, consequently, and therefore.
• Complex Sentence: Contains an independent clause (a complete thought) and a dependent
clause (a thought that cannot stand by itself). Dependent clauses are often introduced by
words such as although, since, because, when, and if. When dependent clauses precede
independent clauses, they always are followed by a comma:
• Compound-Complex Sentence: Contains at least two independent clauses and one dependent
clause:
 Avoid Common Sentence
Faults
Avoid fragments, be sure to use periods only after complete sentences.
A fragment is usually a broken-off part of a complex sentence.
Avoid Fragments often can be identified by the words that introduce them—words such as
although, as, because, even, except, for example, if, instead of, since, such as, that,
which, and when.

Avoid run-on (fused) sentences, do not join two clauses without appropriate
punctuation.
Avoid A sentence with two independent clauses must be joined by a coordinating conjunction
(and, or, nor, but) or by a semicolon (;) or separated into two sentences.
Without a conjunction or a semicolon, a run-on sentence results.

Avoid comma splices. Do not join two clauses with a comma.

It results when a writer joins (splices together) two independent clauses with a
comma. Independent clauses may be joined with a coordinating conjunction (and, or,
Avoid nor, but) or a conjunctive adverb (however, consequently, therefore, and others).
Clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions require only a comma. Clauses joined by a
coordinating adverb require a semicolon. Source: Guffey
Sentence Length
Sentence Length Comprehension
Rate
8 words 100%
• Use varied length of sentences
• Use longer sentences occasionally 15 words 90%
• Short sentences increase the comprehension of
the ideas. 19 words 80%

28 words 50%
Source: Guffey
Emphasizing
Important Ideas

• Use Underlining, Italics, Boldface, Font Change, All Caps,

Dashes, Tabulation, space, color, lines, boxes, columns,
titles, headings, and subheadings carefully because they
can alter the meaning.

• Avoid using multiple emphasizing tools together.

Emphasizing
Important Ideas
• Choose words carefully and construct sentences skillfully
to emphasize main ideas and de-emphasize negative
ideas.

Use vivid not General words

Label the main idea
Place the important idea first or last
Give the important idea the spotlight
De-emphasize when necessary
Employ Parallelism
Is a skillful writing technique that creates balanced writing

Sentences written so that their parts are balanced, or parallel, are easy to read
and understand

Balance similar ideas like match nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, and clauses
with clauses. Avoid mixing active-voice verbs with passive-voice verbs.

Example: biking, jogging, and walking instead of biking, jogging, and to walk.
Source: Guffey
Apply Active- and Passive-
Voice Verbs Strategically
• Use active-voice verbs most frequently
• They are direct and immediately identify the doer/performer
• Easy to understand and short
Example: She sent the text. / The text was sent by her.

• In passive-voice sentences, the subject receives the action.

• Use passive-voice verbs to:
(a) emphasize an action rather than a person
(b) de-emphasize negative news
(c) conceal the doer of an action
 Eliminate Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

• A modifier dangles when the word or phrase it describes is missing from its sentence
• To avoid misplaced modifiers, place them close to the words they modify
Example: Driving through Malibu Canyon, the ocean came into view.
Driving through Malibu Canyon, we saw the ocean come into view.

• A modifier is misplaced when the word or phrase it describes is not close enough to
be clear
Example: Firefighters rescued a dog from a burning car that had a broken leg.
Firefighters rescued a dog with a broken leg from a burning car.
 Preparing Meaningful
Paragraphs
• Develop one idea
• Each paragraph should include a topic sentence plus supporting and limiting sentences to
develop a single idea
• Topic sentence: Expresses the primary idea of the paragraph
• Supporting sentence: Illustrates, explains, or strengthens the primary idea
• Limiting sentence: Opposes the primary idea by suggesting a negative or contrasting
thought; may precede or follow the topic sentence
• Three classic paragraph plans: Direct, Pivoting, Indirect
Build Coherence with Linking
Techniques
• Paragraphs are coherent when ideas cohere—that is,
when the ideas stick together and when one idea
logically leads to the next
• Well-written paragraphs take the reader through a
number of steps
• When the author skips from Step 1 to Step 3 and
forgets Step 2, the reader is lost
 How to Achieve Coherence

• Sustaining the Key Idea: Hold ideas together by repeating key words
• Dovetailing sentences: Sentences are dovetailed when an idea at the end of
one connects with an idea at the beginning of the next.
• Including Pronouns: Familiar pronouns, such as we, they, he, she, and it,
help build continuity, as do demonstrative pronouns, such as this, that,
these, and those.
• These words confirm that something under discussion is still being
discussed.
• They often need a noun with them to make their meaning clear.
How to Achieve Coherence

Employing Transitional Expressions: Use verbal

signals to help the audience know where the idea
is going.

Words and phrases such as moreover, accordingly,

as a result, and therefore function as idea pointers.

Transitions can add or strengthen a thought, show

time or order, clarify ideas, show cause and effect,
contradict thoughts, and contrast ideas.
Source: Guffey
 No rule regulates the length of
paragraphs

Short paragraphs are more attractive and

readable.
Limit
paragrap Paragraphs with eight or fewer printed
h length lines look inviting.

Break longer paragraphs if necessary.

Post-writing/Revising
 Edit: Revising for Conciseness

Edit your message to be sure it is clear, conversational, concise, and readable.

Eliminating flabby expressions (as a general rule, at a later date, at this point in
time).

Eliminate long lead-ins (this is to inform you that),fillers (there is, there are),
redundancies (basic essentials), and empty words (in the case of, the fact that).

Revise microblogging messages rigorously to convey meaning in as few as 140

characters.
 Enhance Readability &
Comprehension

• Provide ample white space, appropriate side margins, and ragged-right (not
justified) margins.
• For body text use serif typefaces (fonts with small features at the ends of strokes,
such as Times New Roman, Century, and Palatino)
• For headings and signs, use sans serif typefaces (clean fonts without small
features, such as Arial, Helvetica, and Tahoma).
• Create numbered and bulleted lists to provide high skim value in messages.
• Boost visual impact and readability with headings in business messages and
reports.
 Proofreading
• Take the time to read over every message carefully
• Recognize proofreading problem areas and apply effective
techniques to catch mistakes in both routine and complex
documents.
• Be especially alert to spelling, grammar, punctuation, names,
numbers, and document format.
• Proofread routine documents line by line on the computer
screen or from a printed draft copy immediately after
finishing.
• Proofread complex documents after a breather.
• Read from a printed copy, allow adequate time, reduce your
reading speed, and read the document at least three times—
for word meanings, grammar and mechanics, and formatting.
• Enlist a proofreading buddy. Have someone read the message
aloud. Spell names and difficult words, note capitalization,
and read punctuation.
 Evaluate

• Decide whether this message will achieve your

purpose
• Have you thought enough about the audience to
be sure this message is appropriate and
appealing.
• Encourage feedback from the receiver of your
message so that you can determine whether your
communication achieved its goal.
• Be open to any advice from your instructor on
how to improve your writing skills.
Overview