Effective Writing Techniques and Strategies

Researching and Finding Information

• Formal research involves finding information not available within the company and using outside resources.
• Informal research involves using readily available information.

Organizing Information

• Arrange information logically to make it easier to understand.
• Use scratching to write ideas randomly and then organize them.
• Create an outline to separate major and minor points.

Composing Effective Sentences

• Structured sentences should be used in business writing, including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
• Use active and passive voice correctly.
• Avoid errors such as sentence fragments, disguised sentences, fused sentences, and comma splices.
• Use parallelism consistently throughout the sentence or paragraph.

Developing Parallelism

• Inconsistent forms can be revised to improve parallelism.
• Example: "We are very concerned with the quality of raw materials, where they are located, and how much it costs to transport them."

Revising Grammar

• Use proper grammar, including subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent relationships.
• Verbs must agree with subjects in number and person.
• Avoid redundancy and revise verbs that have been converted to nouns.
• Use precise language and avoid unclear pronouns.

Mechanics and Writing Conventions

• Spelling and capitalization are important in business writing.
• Use proper design and physical appearance, including background, margins, and alignment.
• Use style and face, bullets, numbers, and letters correctly.

Communicating in the Workplace

• Organizational communication involves internal and external communication.
• Internal communication involves interaction between company representatives.
• External communication involves interaction between the company and outsiders.

Components of Emails and Memos

• Emails and memos can be used for various purposes, including informing, enumerating, procedures, requests, and replies.
• A good email or memo should have a clear subject line, opening, body, and closing.
• Use attention-grabbing subject lines, avoid reviewing background, and use numbered or bulleted lists.

Tips for Creating Email Messages

• Consider composing off-line and type the receiver's address correctly.
• Don't use email to avoid contact, and scan all messages before replying.
• Revise the subject line if the topic changes, and never respond when you are angry.
• Don't use company computers for personal matters unless allowed.