ASSOC. PROF. DR. MARDZIAH HAYATI

ABDULLAH

mazha@upm.edu.my mazha@upm.my

03-89471404 / 89468718

BBI3415Professional Writing

Overview

Course materials Course assessmentUnderstanding professional writing

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Course materials

Compulsory course text and notes BBI3415 Module (not written by instructor) Notes from the two FTF slide shows / videos

Recommended reference text Guffey, M.E. & Almonte, R. (2008). Essentials of Business

Communication. 7th Canadian Edition. Scarborough: Nelson.

Useful online resources (examples) Professional Writing Style http://www.designsensory.com/pws/index.html Purdue Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/4/16/

(Some content in this slide show has been borrowed or adapted from the sources mentioned above.)

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Course Assessment

Refer to page 3 of the module

Portfolio (20%)o Tutorial work Units 5 – 8* only (*note this change)

Mid-semester test (40%) – 1 hour 30 min o Structured questions based on Units 1 – 6 and notes

from the FTF slide showo Writing a letter

Final Exam (40%) – 1 hour 45 min o Structured and essay questions based on all the units

and notes from the FTF slide show

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What is professional writing? (1)

What is professional writing?o Writing in and for business and various professions, following

accepted conventionso Writing for a specific audience in a profession to achieve a

specific purpose

What is the general nature of professional writing?o Action-oriented: it aims to effect positive changeo Rhetorical: it uses persuasive and informative strategies o User-centred: reader must understand the purpose of the written

communication

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o Letterso Memoso Reportso Circularso Notices, etc.

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What types of writing are involved?

How do you communicate?

Channels o Print o Email

Formso Verbalo Visual

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Focus and purposeAudienceRhetorical requirements Design of documents

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What do you need to consider?

Why is the document being written?Do you intend too provide information?o persuade?o inquire?o complain?o apologise?, etc.

What do you want your reader to do when s/he finishes reading the document?

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Focus and purpose

• Audience o To whom am I writing? Who will read the

document?o How do I want to position myself in relation to

the reader?

• Context o What is the situation in which the document is

being written? What is the background?

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Audience awareness

• Languageo Transactional and interpersonal functions o grammar and vocabulary

• Tone• Format and design conventions, etc.

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Rhetorical awareness

• Transactional and interpersonal functions o Transactional – focus on content and message

=> What should I write to get the message across?o Interpersonal – focus on the relationship between writer and

reader

=> How should I sound?

• To fulfill both functions, you need appropriateo Toneo Grammar and vocabulary

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Language in professional writing

ACTIVITY

Study the two memos shown and discuss o which memo you would like to

receive, and whyo When it might be appropriate for one

memo to be used instead of the other

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Tone refers to how a communication “sounds”o Serious, cheerful, authoritative, gentle,

demanding, threatening, forgiving, patronizing, inviting, panicky, confident, uncertain, plaintive, reassuring, etc.

Tone in your writing that lets your readers know how you regard them and the topic of the written communication

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Tone in professional writing (1)

General tone for business communication: confident, courteous, and sincere

General guidelines o Be confident.o Be courteous and sincere.o Use appropriate emphasis and subordination.o Use non-discriminatory language.o Stress the benefits for the reader – the ‘you’ attitude.o Write at an appropriate level of difficulty for the reader.

Exceptions: writing a negative business message, e.g., denying a job offer or a customer request.

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Tone in professional writing (2)

Assume a confident tone - you want the reader to do as you ask or to accept your decision.

A confident tone will have a persuasive effect on your audience. Do not appear overconfident, arrogant or presumptuous.

o You must agree that my school is the best. X

o My school’s achievements make it outstanding. √

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Being confident

Be polite and sincere. Without sincerity, politeness can sound condescending.

If we are respectful and honest, readers will be more willing to accept our message, even if it is negative.

o Your system did not work because you did not follow the installation instructions carefully. X

o The system will not work if there are mistakes in the installation

process. √

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Being courteous and sincere

Help readers to understand the relative importance of ideas by using emphasis and subordination.

To emphasize an idea, place it in a short sentence. A short and simple sentence will most effectively convey an important idea. You can provide further explanation, sufficient examples, or evidence in following sentences.

To subordinate an idea, place it in a compound sentence.o Emphasis

Smoking will no longer be permitted in the building. The committee on employee health and safety reached this decision after considering evidence from researchers and physicians on the dangers of second-hand smoke.o Subordination

The committee on employee health and safety has finished considering evidence, and they have reached the decision that smoking will no longer be permitted in the building.

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Using emphasis and subordination (1)

Ideas placed in the first paragraph of a document or message receive the most emphasis, followed by information placed in the last paragraph. You can subordinate an idea by placing it in middle paragraphs of your message because these paragraphs receive the least emphasis.

Use active voice to emphasize the person or thing performing an action and passive voice to emphasize the action that is being performed.o Active: Scientists have conducted experiments to test the hypothesis.o Passive: Experiments have been conducted to test the hypothesis.

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Using emphasis and subordination (2)

Use neutral job titleso Not: Chairman

But: Chairperson Avoid demeaning or stereotypical terms

o Not: After the girls in the office receive an order, our office fills it within 24 hours.But: When orders are received from the office, they are filled within 24 hours.

Avoid words and phrases that unnecessarily imply gender.o Not: Executives and their wives

But: Executives and their spouses Omit information about group membership.

o Not: Connie Green performed the job well for her age.But: Connie Green performed the job well.

If you do not know a reader's gender, use a nonsexist salutation.o Not: Dear Gentlemen:

But: To Whom it May Concern: Do not use masculine pronouns.

o Not: Each student must provide his own lab jacket.But: Students must provide their own lab jackets. Or Each student must provide his or her own lab jacket.

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Using Nondiscriminatory Language

Write from the reader's perspective. Instead of simply writing from the perspective of what the reader can do for you, write in a way that shows what you can do for the reader.

o I am mailing you the agreement tomorrow. X

o You should receive the agreement in a week. √

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Stressing Benefits For the Reader

Use the pronouns “you” and “your” liberally. Focus on the reader’s needs and benefits, or on how something affects the reader. Don’t write about your own emotions unless you’re very sure that would be

appropriate and welcome. Don’t tell the reader how to feel or what to decide; feeling and decision is the

reader’s privilege. Give the reader lots of reference points from her perspective. Refer to her previous

communications, her company’s challenges and goals, her concerns. Name yourself, your work group, your co-workers, your company, your organization

to give “flesh” to constructions like “SafeCo will protect you and your family,” “You will open your eyes in the recovery room to find Nurse Fred Feelwell attending to you.”

Example of a “we-attitude” sentence transformed into a “you-attitude” sentence:o After years of research, our company has been successful in developing a

corrosion-resistant metal finishing alternative for counter tops.o Your company can now take advantage of a new product from ACME that will

make the finish on your counter tops more resistant to corrosion.

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Use the pronouns “you” and “your” liberally. Unless you’re writing in an informal mode to Southerners, “you” and “your” serve as both

singular and plural.2. Focus on the reader’s needs and benefits, or on how something affects the reader--not

on what you or your product or service or company offers or how you are affected.3. Don’t write about your own emotions unless you’re very sure that would be

appropriate and welcome. (Yes, sometimes a reader wants to know how you feel about

something. But not often.)4. Don’t tell the reader how to feel or what to decide; feeling and decision is the reader’s

privilege. This goes in spades for communicating with managers or evaluators

of any kind.5. Give the reader lots of reference points

from her perspective. For example: refer to her previous communications, her

company’s challenges and goals, her concerns.

6. Name yourself, your work group, your co-workers, your company, your organization to give “flesh” to constructions like “SafeCo will protect you and your family,” “You will open

your eyes in the recovery room to find Nurse Fred Feelwell attending to you.”

Here’s an example of a “we-attitude” sentence transformed into a “you-attitude”

sentence:After years of research, our company has

been successful in developing a corrosion-resistant metal finishing alternative for

counter tops.• Your company can now take advantage of a new product from ACME that will make the finish on your counter tops more resistant to

corrosion.Notice that I employed not only the you attitude, but made the sentence more

readable by breaking up a long adjective-noun string. Remember to employ all your

professional stylistic skills!

The ‘you’ attitude

ACTIVITY (1)

Change each sentence below to reflect a ‘you’ attitude.

I have sent item #446 out of our Dallas location this afternoon; I've used

priority mail, so the package should arrive in no more than two days.

Customers will be glad to know that our new insurance cards are now

honored by pharmacies all over Canada.

We are happy to report that our diesel engines passed every EPA

emissions test with flying colors.

Next week the location of office thermostats is being changed; they will

be placed near doorways.

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ACTIVITY (2)

Next week the location of office thermostats is being

changed; they will be placed near doorways.

We are proud to announce our new line of impact-resistant,

lightweight laptop computers.

I'm delighted to hear of your much-deserved promotion to

Unit Manager; congratulations!

All gear, including sleeping bag, food, and eating utensils, is

provided in a pre-packed backpack at the trail head.

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Follow the conventions accepted in your organisation.

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Design of documents

Submission details

Please submit your portfolio assignment as a hard copy, before or

on the date of the final exam All assignments should be sent through UPMET (the PJJ

administration) for their records. Please do NOT send assignments

directly to me.

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