= Business Writing
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Before You Write
Before you start writing, it’s important to understand what business writing is and identify the objective of your message.
What is business writing?
The primary purpose of business writing is to provide information so the reader can
learn something or do something. It could be supplemental information for a
meeting, a report, or a request.
How do you determine the objective?
The message needs to have a clear objective to be effective. Identify who the reader is
and what they need to know or do. Consider:
The purpose is to __________ so that readers will __________.
Organize Your Thoughts
Organizing your thoughts before writing helps to craft a more direct and effective message. Following the 5 W’s is one
method used to gather information for business writing.
Who What When Where Why
Who is the What is the When is it taking Where is it Why is it
message about or objective to be place? taking place? happening?
who is involved? communicated?
Write Your Message
Being an effective writer is an essential business skill. Those who perfect their writing skills are better at advancing their
career, build confidence in others, and gain the ability to direct, persuade, and inform.
Follow these simple rules when writing your message:
1 Be Concise: Use only the words necessary to convey your message.
2 Be Clear: Be specific instead of general, be definite instead of vague.
2
3 Be Positive: Make definite statements and avoid noncommittal language.
4 Be Active: The active voice is direct, and it sounds energetic and confident.
5 Be Professional: Act in a way that meets the standards of your profession.
© 2021 CustomGuide, Inc.
Anatomy of Communication Editing
Just like other forms of writing, business writing has 3 basic parts: A Revising your work is essential in writing;
greeting, a body, and a closing. Keep this in mind as you write. rarely will you get the message right in the
first draft. Read through your work and
revise it until it says exactly what you want
Dear Howie, it to say.
Greeting
Congratulations on your promotion! Kicks off your Step away before you dig in
message and sets
Rayna Oden told me the good If time allows, give yourself some
the tone.
news last week. I understand you time away from the document.
were chosen from a large pool of Body
candidates; what a great testament Where the bulk of Get feedback from others
to your skills and talents as a the communication Sharing your writing with others
programmer. takes place. ensures your document reads
I look forward to working with you the way you want it to.
more in the near future. Closing
Wraps up your Print the document
Sincerely, writing and allows
Reed Stephens No matter how good you are at
you to leave a
Project Manager lasting impression. reading and writing on-screen, it
is still easier to read from paper.
Read the document aloud
When writing, people naturally want to start with background info,
Hearing your message will give
then details of the issue, and finally the call to action. However,
many people don't take the time to read an entire message. Instead, you a better idea of how it will
start with the call to action. That way the objective will be addressed, sound to others as they read it.
even if the reader doesn’t thoroughly read the entire message.
Document Design
Just as important as what you write in a message is the design and layout of the document. A reader can glance at the
design and decide if the document is worth reading. It’s extremely important to consider the length of the document,
the font size, and the amount of white space on the page.
Marketing Meeting
Keep paragraphs short—no Bold key information and
more than 5 to 7 sentences Recent economic changes have presented headings
us an opportunity to increase business.
We’ll discuss how to take advantage of this
on Thursday, November 19th at 9:30am
in the conference room.
We will discuss:
Use lists over paragraphs
Add extra space between whenever possible
paragraphs • How to gain the attention of customers
in the right markets
• Which branding initiatives to focus on
Serif fonts (AaBbCc) are best
Attendance
for printing
Everyone on the team is required to attend
Use at least 1” margins for Sans-serif fonts (AaBbCc) are
Questions? best for on-screen reading
printed documents
Contact Alan with questions prior to the
meeting.
© 2021 CustomGuide, Inc.
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