Download Basic Writing Skills for Business Presented by Sue

Basic Writing Skills
for Business
Presented by Sue McCullough
Workplace Learning Resource Center
Funded by an economic development grant
Business Writing
• Effective communication is a key element in an
organization’s success.
• It is important that employees communicate
effectively.
• The goal of this workshop is to reinforce your
writing skills to make you a more effective business
writer.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
2
Nouns
• Nouns name a person, place, or thing.
– Person (student), place (Tustin), thing (desk)
• The subject of a sentence is a noun or pronoun.
• A proper noun is the name of a specific person, place
or thing.
– Mary, Orange County
• A compound noun is made up of two or more words.
– File cabinet, staff meeting, time card
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
3
Adjectives
• An adjective is a word that modifies a noun. It
describes or tells about the noun.
– Big table, new computer, staff meeting
• Notice the difference between the following two
sentences:
– The dog barked.
– The tiny Pomeranian dog barked.
• A sentence may contain more than one adjective.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Verbs
• Verbs are words that describe an action--a physical
action, a mental action, or even a condition.
• A verb tells what happens to the subject, or what the
subject does.
– Physical actions: run, type, work
– Mental actions: think, remember
– Conditions: am, are, is, will, was
• A sentence may contain more than one verb—
“The men played soccer and then ate pizza.”
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Adverbs
• Adverbs are used to modify verbs.
James walks quickly.
• In this sentence, the noun is “James”, the verb is
“walks”, and the adverb is “quickly”.
• Sentences may contain more than one adverb.
• Most adverbs end in the letters –ly.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Pronouns
• A pronoun can be used in place of a noun or
nouns. It can stand for a person, place, or thing.
– Anton left work at 4:45 and drove to the movies.
Anton saw a movie and then went to Anton’s
home.
– Anton left work at 4:45 and drove to the movies.
He saw a movie and then went to his home.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Pronouns (continued)
•
When determining which pronoun to use in place of
a noun, there are several things to consider.
First, determine the case of the pronoun. There are
three case forms that pronouns can take:
1. Subjective- pronoun acts as the subject:
He wrote the letter
2. Objective- pronoun acts as the object:
Claire saw her.
3. Possessive- pronoun possesses something:
This is my book.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Pronouns (continued)
• Also determine whether the noun you are
replacing is masculine (he, him) or feminine
(she, her).
• And determine whether the noun you are
replacing is singular or plural.
• When using a possessive pronoun, you must
also look at whether it is used with a noun (my,
his, her) or without a noun (mine, his, hers).
• Possessive pronouns do not take an
apostrophe, because the pronoun is already
possessive (its, theirs, yours).
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Sentence Structure
• A sentence is a complete thought that contains both
a subject and a predicate (verb).
– The subject is the part of the sentence that tells
“who” or “what” the sentence is about.
– The predicate or verb is the part of the sentence
that describes what the subject did or what
happened to the subject.
• The dog howled.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Sentence Fragments
• When writing for business, write in complete
sentences. If a part of the sentence is missing, it is
called a fragment.
– The young cat
This fragment does not contain a verb.
Without a verb, the thought is incomplete.
– looked for its mother
This fragment does not contain a subject.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Sentence Fragments (continued)
• It is possible for a group of words to contain a
subject and a verb and still not be a sentence.
– Since the man ran to the bus
The phrase starting with “Since” does not express
a complete thought, and thus is a fragment.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
12
Run-on Sentences
• A run-on sentence occurs when two complete
sentences are joined together. They are difficult to
read and confusing.
– The principal was visiting we wanted students
to be quiet.
This run-on sentence has two complete thoughts,
not separated by proper punctuation.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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3 Ways to correct a run-on sentence
1. Divide the run-on into two separate sentences.
The Principal was visiting. We wanted students to be quiet.
2. Use a semicolon to divide the sentence into two
complete thoughts that are closely related.
The Principal was visiting; we wanted students to be quiet.
3. Add a comma and a coordinating conjunction, such
as “and, but, or, so, for, yet, nor”.
The Principal was visiting, and we wanted students to be
quiet.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Subject/Verb Agreement
• The subject and verb must agree in number.
• When the subject of the sentence is singular (only
one), then the verb must be singular, or the
sentence is not correct.
• If the subject is plural (meaning more than one), the
verb must also be in plural form.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Subject/Verb Agreement
• Additionally, if the subject is singular, the verb must
also be in singular form.
– The employee eats lunch.
• If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.
– The employees eat lunch.
• In this example, the subject (employees) is plural,
so the verb (eat) must also be plural. If the subject
and verb do not agree, the sentence is
grammatically incorrect.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Making Nouns Plural
• In order to understand the concept of subject/verb
agreement, we must first address how to make
words plural.
• Many singular nouns can be made plural simply by
adding an s to the end of the word.
– computer
– desk
– folder
→ computers
→ desks
→ folders
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Making Nouns Plural (continued)
• When a noun naturally ends in the letter s, add the
letters es to make the word plural.
– address
→ addresses
– class
→ classes
• Nouns that end in the letter z, x, sh, or ch also
need an es ending to make them plural.
– quiz
→ quizzes
– box
→ boxes
– dish
→ dishes
– batch
→ batches
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
18
Making Nouns Plural (continued)
• When nouns end in the letter y there are two ways
to make them plural. If the letter preceding the y is
a consonant, change the y to an i and add es.
– penny
→ pennies
– lobby
→ lobbies
– story
→ stories
• When the letter preceding the y is a vowel, add s.
– nay
→ nays
– day
→ days
– tray
→ trays
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Irregular Nouns
• As with many things in English, there are some
exceptions to these rules. There are many irregular
nouns that need special attention to make them
plural.
– half → halves
– knife → knives
– chief → chiefs
If in doubt, consult a dictionary.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Non-count Nouns
• Non-count nouns cannot be counted individually.
Non-count nouns always take the singular form of
the verb.
–
–
–
–
–
news
heat
RAM
music
media
The news was sad.
The heat is unbearable.
More computer RAM was needed.
The music is loud.
All media is important.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Non-count Nouns (continued)
• There is an exception. Certain words can be
considered non-count or count, depending on how
they are used in the sentence.
CountWe bought six lights.
Non-count- How much light came through the curtain?
CountWe need three spaces in the parking lot.
Non-count- How much space is left on the disk?
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Subject/Verb Agreement
• Generally, if the subject is singular then the verb
will have an s ending.
– The data entry operator inputs the data.
– The computer calculates the data.
• If the noun is plural, or you are using the pronoun I,
then the verb does not end in an s.
– The executives golf on weekends.
– Computers calculate data.
– I calculate the total to be 120.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Subject/Verb Agreement (continued)
• Words that naturally end in the letter s, such as
boss, may still be paired with a verb ending in the
letter s.
– The boss works hard.
– The bus transfers data.
– The circus comes to town once a year.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Subject/Verb Agreement (continued)
The following pronouns take the singular verb form:
each either
that neither
This whoever
someone
everyone
no one
somebody
everybody
nobody
something
everything
everybody
The following pronouns take the plural verb form:
few many
Weothers
some
these
both
those
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
several
they
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Commonly Misused Words
• Many words with similar spelling or meanings or the
same sound can be easily confused. Some
examples follow:
to
direction, intention, until
I went to the file cabinet to file the papers.
too
also, besides, to an excessive degree
That memo was too long.
two
the number that comes between one and three
The computer was two years old.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Commonly Misused Words (continued)
accept
to take on willingly
I will accept the invitation to lunch.
except
to exclude or omit
Everyone went to lunch except Sam.
thorough
completely
He created a thorough report.
through
from one end to the other.
He walked through the restaurant.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Commonly Misused Words (continued)
insure
to obtain insurance on
We will insure the business for $2 million.
ensure
to make certain
Please ensure that that the project is complete.
advise
a verb, to recommend a course of action
I advise you to arrive early.
advice
a noun, a recommendation or suggestion
He gave her good advice.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Commonly Misused Words (continued)
all together
a group united as one
The team was all together that day.
altogether
totally, completely
The printer stopped working altogether.
affect
to influence
The change did not affect me.
effect (n)
the result of an action
What was the effect of the new program?
effect (v)
to cause or accomplish
The agent was able to effect a change.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Commonly Misused Words (continued)
ad
an advertisement as in a newspaper
I am calling about your ad.
add
to put two or more items together
Please add your hours on your timesheet.
access
the ability to enter; the act of reaching
He was denied access to the office.
excess
beyond a usual or reasonable amount
He did everything to excess.
maybe
uncertainty, perhaps
Maybe we can meet for dinner Monday.
may be
to possibly be, might be
He may be stuck in traffic.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Commonly Misused Words (continued)
than
compared to
I would rather cook than clean.
then
referring to time
We first eat dinner, and then have dessert.
who’s
who is
Who’s going to the baseball game?
whose
relating to ownership
Whose chair is broken?
you’re
you are
I am sure you’re going to be successful.
your
belonging to you
It is your future.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Commonly Misused Words (continued)
it’s
it is
It’s your turn to clean the office.
its
belonging to it
The cat hurt its paw.
they’re
they are
They’re not going to be here tomorrow.
there
a relative location (not here)
I put the files over there.
their
establishing ownership
It is their responsibility to plan the meeting.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
32
Contractions
Contractions are special words that are created
when two words are combined into a single word.
An apostrophe is added to the contracted word in
place of the letters that have been omitted.
–
–
–
–
–
couldn’t
they’ve
we’ve
won’t
wouldn’t
(could not)
(they have)
(we have)
(will not)
(would not)
Avoid using contractions in business writing.
Instead, use the pair of words listed to the right.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Contractions
(continued)
Here are contractions that sound like other words
that have a different meaning.
•
•
•
•
it’s, its
you’re, your
they’re, there, their
who’s, whose
We don’t have to think about which word to use
when speaking since the words sound the same.
However, when writing, be sure to use the correct
word.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Confusing Words
Dear Albert,
Congratulations on topping the sells in the district candy
drive. This was the most successful drive sense we started.
As you no, these funds effect many district programs. This
year I challenged our schools too approve income over last
term’s drive, and your school was the first to except the
challenge! We can never do to much for our students and
the quality of they’re education.
Please advise me on the prizes chosen by your top
salespeople.
Mary Brown, Assistant Superintendent
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Basic Writing Skills
for Business
Presented by Sue McCullough
Workplace Learning Resource Center
Funded by an economic development grant
Vocabulary and Spelling Tricks
•
•
Clever little devices and memory tricks
–
i before e except after c, or when sounded as ‘a’ as in
‘neighbor’ and ‘weigh’.
–
‘Too’ has too many o’s (to remember the correct spelling
of ‘too’ vs. ‘to’.
New Word List
–
Start a new word list with dictionary spelling, phonetic
spelling, and meaning noted for each new word.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
37
Where to Put Commas
•
Before the conjunction that connects two thoughts
(compound sentence)
–
–
•
To separate three or more items in a series.
–
–
•
Bill was best, but Mary won.
I stayed home, and now I’m glad.
Correct: I saw Frank, Sam, and Shirley at the theater.
Incorrect: We met Mary, and Tran for dinner.
To set off the following:
–
–
–
Names used in direct address. Molly, come to the table.
Introductory words, phrases, clauses. Before I can
graduate, I must pass the test.
Parenthetical comments. The test, by the way, is hard.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
38
Avoid Overuse of Words
Unnecessary words or groups of words quickly take
the reader’s attention away from the message.
Example: “Thank you very much for the very generous
donation.”
Solutions:
1. Delete all occurrences of the repeated word.
2. Delete one occurrence.
3. Use synonyms.
4. Reword the sentence.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
39
One Word Or Two?
Correct any errors in the following sentences:
1. Everyone worked late.
2. Our records are already for the audit.
3. Our method is indirect conflict with board policy.
4. No body wanted the job.
5. Does anyone have a suggestion?
6. Put the English classes altogether for the assembly.
7. All ways be courteous.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
40
Spotlight the Reader
•
Focus on the reader (instead of the writer) to
stimulate interest in the content of your message.
“I think you do fine work and I want to thank you.” (Writer
centered)
“Thank you for doing such fine work.” (Reader centered)
•
Use positive language. Avoid don’t and can’t.
•
Use active voice. Make the subject the doer,
rather than the receiver, of the action.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
41
Email Suggestions
• Keep it simple; use short sentences.
• Follow the rules we have learned.
• Pay particular attention to subject/verb agreement.
• Fragments may be acceptable in numbered or
bulleted lists, but you should only use one or the
other in each bulleted or numbered list.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
42
Email Suggestions (continued)
• Consider writing your message in MS Word.
Use its spelling and grammar features, then
copy and paste the message into your email.
• Before you hit “send” be sure to proofread
your email to ensure that
– It provides or requests the desired information
– It is clearly written and brief
– There are no errors in spelling or grammar
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
43
Email Etiquette
•
Don’t use email for thank-you notes or
congratulations. Hand-write a note.
•
Don’t send personal email from the office.
•
Don’t send jokes over office email.
•
Don’t use email as a substitute for a face-to-face
meeting.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
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Email Etiquette (continued)
•
Use proper grammar and punctuation.
•
Don’t write in all lower case.
•
Don’t write in all CAPS (shouting).
•
Keep sentences short.
•
Don’t repeat.
•
Use bullet points and headlines
•
Use a spell checker.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
45
Email Etiquette (continued)
•
Never forward email without the original author’s
permission.
•
Don’t send anything in email that you don’t want to
see on the office bulletin board.
•
Watch the tone of all your writing.
•
Perception of the receiver is reality.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
46
Email Etiquette (continued)
•
Avoid phrases that irritate.
•
Have someone else read your written
communication before you send it to make sure
your tone is appropriate.
•
Set it aside for a few minutes, then come back and
reread it before sending.
•
Think before you hit send.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
47
Good Business Communications
•
Focus on the reader (audience).
•
Maintain a formal but conversational tone.
•
Contain short sentences that are organized.
•
Include words that are easy to understand.
•
Are professional in appearance and style.
•
Must be proofread for grammar, punctuation, and
spelling.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
48
Email Assignment A
•
•
Prepare the following emails by using your
email program and printing the email.
Do not send the emails.
Case Study A
– Your supervisor, Sam Brown, has a policy in
place for requesting time off. The policy states
that if employees need time off from their
regularly scheduled workday, they must submit
the request in writing with as much advance
notice as possible.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
49
Email Assignment B
Case Study B
Please prepare an email to Mary Graham,
Purchasing Agent at your corporate
headquarters, requesting a new copier for the
office in Santa Ana. Your present machine is
small and inadequate for your needs. You need
a copier that has these features: enlarging,
reducing, stapling, collating, automatic feeder.
You produce reports, manuals, and lesson plans
for your corporate-wide training programs.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
50
Email Assignment C
Case Study C
–
–
–
Please email Anna Haro and ask that she contact
John Day at the Monroe Plaza Hotel and get this
information by Tuesday:
Room & meal costs for 360 people & 180 double
rooms for two nights and three days
Costs for the Grand Banquet Hall for these three
days
A cordless microphone in the Banquet Hall
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
51
Writing Business Letters & Memos
•
Business letters and memos are ways you
communicate with others.
•
Neatness counts – no errors in spelling or
grammar.
•
Organized in a very specific way following an exact
format.
•
Use “Formal English” with no slang or casual chat.
•
All parts “left Justified” on the left side of the page.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
52
Parts of a Business Letter
•
Return address – address of letter writer. First and
last name, address, city, state and zip code.
•
The date
•
Inside address – of recipient. First and last name,
title, Company address, city, state and zip code.
•
Salutation – If the person is not a friend, write
“Dear Mr. Smith”.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
53
Parts of a Business Letter (continued)
•
Body of Letter – this is the purpose of the letter. It
should be clear and concise, with more than one
paragraph.
•
Closing – “Sincerely,” or “Best regards,” “Yours
truly,” etc.
•
Space for a handwritten signature
•
Typed name of writer
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
54
Parts of a Business Letter (continued)
Use the list of word choices to answer the following questions:
1.
__________ is the place for the writer to handwrite their name.
2.
The recipient’s name, company name, and address are called the
_______.
3.
The purpose of the letter is included in the __________.
4.
Yours truly, is an example of a _______.
5.
The last line in a business letter is the _______.
6.
The _______ is when the letter is written.
7.
The __________ is the address of the letter writer.
8.
Dear Mr. Johnson is a __________.
Salutation
Inside address
date
body
complimentary closing
writer’s typed name
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
signature
return address
55
Keep Your Writing Concise
•
Use short, familiar words.
•
Get rid of extra words.
•
Use a conversational tone
•
Be positive
•
Be specific
•
Don’t use jargon
•
Make items parallel
•
Keep terms consistent
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
56
Verbs Are Power Words
•
Use active voice.
•
Use verbs.
•
Be specific.
•
Tell the reader what to do.
•
Tell the reader what you will do.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
57
Keep it Short and Simple
•
Write shorter sentences.
•
Create Must-read Reference Lines.
•
Get To The Point.
•
Close with Goodwill.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
58
Design Your Page Visually
•
Use headings and labels.
•
Make letters and memos scannable.
•
Leave lots of white space.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
59
Creating Successful Memos
•
Memos have a specific subject and a purpose.
•
Consider the who, what, where, when, why, and
how before writing a memo.
•
Good memos clearly state their purpose and
indicate any required action requested of the
reader.
Basic Writing Skills for Business
2006
Sue McCullough
60