Vladimir Zaremba
Senior faculty, Linguistics Dpt., National Technical University of Ukraine ‘KPI’
Technical
and Business Writing
Course Description
Technical and Business Writing
(TBW), is a course offered by the Department of Linguistics at NTUU ‘KPI’ for
the first time. TBW is designed to help undergraduates and graduates write with
impact and effectiveness. It teaches them to master the skills of workplace
writing, the kind of writing students will apply to a wide variety of formats.
It places strong emphasis on research and basic writing skills, with the intent
of preparing students for writing clear, concise, and understandable
business-related documents. The course will cover several practical genres of
written communication used daily in business that prepares students for the
unique demands and challenges of researching topics in the ‘real world.’
TBW has many forms, including technical
descriptions, business letters, manuals, memos, reports, proposals, and
presentations. Since there are so many forms and such variety within the forms,
it is not possible for students to learn everything they might eventually need
for a workplace in this one course. They can, however, gain an appreciation for
a refine skills needed to develop writings that are, in effect, representative
of what effective business communication entails.
The course is organized to cover the purposes and styles of business
writing and to offer students a variety of focused writing exercises, quizzes,
assignments, and tasks structured around scenarios or actual work situations.
The course gives students an opportunity to learn and apply both writing and
critical thinking skills. Students will develop resumes; write memos, different
types of business letters, and electronic messages; work on teams to create
collaborative report; write a short individual research proposal; prepare and
present oral presentations; and engage in revision and evaluating business
writings. Work will be graded on a portfolio system where revision and class
participation will be rewarded. Students of this course will develop a mid-term
and final research papers, either alone or as part at a group.
Contents
Module 1: Theoretical, a ’technical’ approach, technical and business writing
definitions
Module 2: Business correspondence (overview), business letter formats,
style in
business
correspondence
Module 3: Purpose and audience, keywords challenge, topic indicators,
important
Information
Module 4: Business writing skills, plain English, key grammatical rules
for business
writing,
articles, punctuation marks, emphasis in
writing, choice and
arrangement of
words
Module 5: Principles of composition, use of active vs. passive voice,
use of simple
vs. complex
language, paraphrasing, eliminating wordiness, sentence
fragments
2.
Module 6: Proofreading, general strategies, common errors, steps for
revising your
paper
Module 7: Technical and professional documentation, manuals,
instructions, reports,
Projects
Module 9: Resume (CV) design (overview), basic business letters,
application letter,
cover letter,
complaint letter
Module 10: Assignments, quizzes, exercises, case studies, examples,
samples.
Section 1
Basic Things to Keep in Mind
Technical and Business Writing
is Different
It is essential to realize that writing for technical and business
context or audience can be distinctly different than writing in the social
sciences, humanities, or other acade-
mic disciplines. Writing for business should be crisp and succinct. It
should be to the point, specific and accurate. If you have not read and wrote
many business letters before, seek out some examples (refer to the Module 10 at
this handout).
In most cases, the business letter will be the first impression that you
make on someone. For this reason it is important that you are persevering in
your mission of writing an effective business document. Even though business
writing is likely less formal than it once was, your writing must still adhere
to the conventions of standard English by using conventional spelling and
standard grammatical forms.
Business writing varies from the chatty, conversational style often
found in E-mail
messages to a familiar colleagues, to the more formal, legalistic style
found in contracts. In the majority of documents, messages, and letters, a
style between these two extremes is appropriate. Always remember, writing that
is too formal can alienate readers, and an overly obvious attempt to be causal
and informal may strike the reader as
insincere or unprofessional. In business
writing, as in all writing, knowing your audience is critical.
Part 1
Writing clearly is hard work.
Perhaps I should
restate that. It is clear that writing is hard work. No, that’s not what I
meant. To write with clarity is hard work.
Not only do you have to know your purpose,
audience, and subject, but you have to apply certain principles of good writing
to convey your message effectively.
We are offering you 9
points of advice on how to make clear writing easier – or at least less
difficult:
1 * Use the active voice with strong verbs. Rather than “The foregoing Fee Table is intended to assist investors in
understanding the costs and expenses that a shareholder in the Fund will bear
directly or indirectly,” write
“This table describes the fees and expenses that you
may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.”
3.
As any good English
handbook will tell you, however, “the passive voice may make sense when the
person or thing performing the actions is of secondary importance,” so – if you’ll forgive the comma splice –
“Don’t ban the passive voice, use it sparingly.”
Change the following sentences from the passive voice
to the active voice. For
example, change “The market’s advances are
often driven by large-capitalization stocks” to “Large-capitalization stocks often drive
the market’s
advances.”
1.
An
investment was made by me.
2.
A
decision was made by the board to
exclude the press and wear Hawaiian shirts when voting
on important matters.
3.
Holdings
among rate-sensitive stocks were reduced by the portfolio manager.
4.
In
preparation for next month’s meeting, a shirt with yellow flowers and a green
background
was purchased by Roger Chillingworth.
5. We are now
permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission to
combine mailings of
certain materials.
2 * Find hidden verbs. Rather than “We will make a distribution,” write “We
will distribute.” Rather than “We
will provide appropriate information to shareholders concerning …,” write
“We will inform shareholders about
….”
Many thoughts can be
expressed either with verbs (such as “recommend’) or with nouns linked to weak
verbs (such as “make a recommendation”). Choosing the verb rather than the noun
usually produces a more concise, emphatic
sentence.
A noun derived from a verb is called a nominalization.
In the sentences below, change the nominalizations to
verbs.
For example, change “The board came to the realization that it needed to spiff up its image” to
“The board realized
that it needed
to spiff up its image.”
1.
Walter made a search for the hidden profit.
2.
“So, now,
do you stand in agreement with me, then?” the governor asked the
legislature.
3.
I came to the realization that the Fund’s
performance is a reflection of the maximum
sales charge of 5%.
4.
We have the expectation that the global
economy will continue to make a
recovery.
5.
There is a possibility of board rejection of "colorful
casuals."
4.
3 * Try personal pronouns. Compare the following passages:
"This Summary
does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the more
detailed information contained in the Proxy Statement and the Appendices
hereto, all of which should be carefully reviewed."
" Because this is a summary, it does not contain all
the information that may be important to you. You should read the entire proxy
statement and its appendices carefully
before you decide how to vote."
Use personal pronouns (such as “I,” ”we,” and “you”) to avoid abstractions and to speak
directly to your reader.
For example, change “The
volatility of the market should be taken under consideration by short-term
selection and purchase of stocks”
to “If you are a short-term investor, you should consider the volatility
of the market when you select
which stock to purchase.”
Revise the following sentence:
It is our belief that, based on an assessment of the accounting
principles used and a review of the significant estimates made by management,
as well as an evaluation of the overall financial statement presentation, our
audits provide a reasonable basis on which recommendations are made. (Make up 2 sentences)
4 * Bring abstractions down to earth. Rather than “No consideration or surrender of Beco Stock will be required of
shareholders of Beco in return for the shares of Unis Common Stock issued
pursuant to the Distribution, write “You will not have to turn in your shares of
Beco stock or pay any money to receive your shares of Unis common stock from
the spin-off.”
Prefer simple
language and concrete terms to abstractions. For example, change “The
Boomer Fund has achieved capital
appreciation of your funds” to “The
value of your shares in the Boomer Funds has increased.”
Revise the following sentences:
1.
There is
a frequent nonconcurrence in perspectives between the committee chair and the
speaker.
2.
A
cacophonous manifestation of tempers erupted between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
3.
Your
financial adviser should not be held accountable in the event you experience a
decline in investment
income or a net loss in total assets.
5 * Omit superfluous words. Rather than in order to, in the event that, and owing
to the fact that, write to, if, because.
Make every word
count. Concise writing is clearer and more emphatic than wordy writing.
Change “In view of the fact that your reader is busy, I would suggest that
5.
you make every effort to be as brief as humanly
possible” to “Because your reader is busy, I suggest that
you try to be brief.”
In Plain English for Lawyers, Richard Wydick makes the point this way:
“Pity the reader.”
Eliminate the unnecessary words in the following
sentences:
1. In the eventuality that you encounter
unexpected and otherwise unforeseeable
problems, please apprise me of
the situation.
2. It is expected by the board that the governor
will assume the duties and responsibilities of a stockbroker subsequent
to his departure from office.
3. In order to make progress in
improving your writing skills, it is imperative
that you devote yourself to the study of the principles of good writing.
6 * Write in the “positive.” Rather
than “Persons
other than the primary beneficiary may not receive these dividends,
write “Only
the primary beneficiary may receive these dividends.”
One last technique to
help you write clearly: “Write with a
specific person in mind.”
As a rule, it takes
fewer words to say what something is than to say what it is not.
For example,
change “Advisers who do not take time to study financial statements do not
have more credibility than those who do,” to “Financial advisers who take time to study
financial statements have more credibility than those who don’t.”
Revise the following
sentences:
1.
My nose is not unlike a red, red rose.
2.
You may not receive these dividends unless you are the primary beneficiary.
3.
Whose
woods these are I do not think I do not know.
4.
Not often does the S&P 500 Index decline by more than
5% in one day.
5.
Not many
investors enjoy wildly
fluctuating markets.
7 * Use short sentences. The period provides a critical pause, a
moment of reflection, an opportunity for your hard-
working reader to
ponder your meaning, admire your insight, bask in your brilliance, and absorb
your wisdom.
The period is a
marvelous device. Use it often to punctuate your thoughts.
Break the following long sentences into shorter units:
1. According to Nancy Smith, Director, Office of
Investor Education and
Assistance, three people, Ann Wallace, from the Division of Corporation
Finance, Carolyn Miller, formerly of Siegel & Gale and now with the SEC, and
William Lutz, author and Professor of
English at Rutgers University, poured
their hearts and minds into the plain English handbook
that inspired me to create
these exercises, which you are enjoying as well as
finding useful, I hope, and so
all of the credit and none of the blame goes to them.
6.
2. It’s a simple process: After the portfolio
managers find companies with the dual
attraction of dependable earnings growth and attractive valuations by
focusing
on their long-term underlying worth, they ascertain the underlying worth of
those companies by carefully comparing the value of their corporate
assets with
their potential returns before determining if a company’s stock is
mispriced
relative to that underlying worth. Even people who are a few sandwiches
short
of a picnic should be able to understand it.
8 * Keep the subject, verb, and object close
together. Readers cannot make sense
of your sentence until they see how the
subject relates to the verb and the verb relates to its object, so keep those
critical parts within sight of each other.
For example,
change “Portfolio managers responding to the interest-rate rise reduced among
rate-sensitive stocks such as
banks and credit card companies holdings” to “In
response to the interest-rate rise,
portfolio managers reduced holdings among rate-sensitive stocks such as banks
and credit card companies.”
Rearrange the following sentences to keep their
subjects, verbs, and objects close together:
1. Tropical colors, you may not think, and gray
hair, which our board members
have, go well together, but they surprisingly
do .
2. Management, anticipating reform in health care, decreased
what people in the
business like to call “exposure” to
think like pharmaceuticals.
9 * Keep your sentence structure parallel. Once you establish a pattern, you must stay
with it. Your reader expects consistency. If Benjamin Franklin had sad, “Early
to bed, early to rise, makes a young man (or woman) healthy, wealthy,
and a stockbroker,” we wouldn’t be quoting him
today.
Change “If you
want to find out more about our offerings, visit
our Web site after calling our
toll free number with a request for a password,” to “If you
want to find out more about our offerings, call
our toll free number, request a
password, and visit our Web site.”
Revise the following sentences to maintain parallel
structure:
1.
She was healthy, wealthy, and an athlete.
2.
For
additional information about this fund, you may call the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330,
or what you might want to do is access
other information about the fund on the Commission’s
Internet site at http://www.sec.gov.
3. Our
governor can beat up your
governor, eat more than your
governor, and
he talks louder than your governor.
7.
Part 2
Business writing skills
Grammar Quiz 1. Spot the errors in these sentences.
1.
Although
some of charges against ABC Corp., one of Wall Street’s most powerful firms,
had been anticipated for some time, the nature of other allegations were more serious than had
been expected.
2.
Even
though he knows we don’t like to work outside, Dad always asks my sister and me
to mow the lawn.
3.
I told
him there’s a lot of restaurants in San Francisco area, so its up to him to
choose one.
4.
After the
meeting, be sure to read this report carefully. Then Rosalie and myself will
review it with the entire committee.
5.
Did you
think the juror’s verdict was accurate?
Grammar Quiz 2. Answer the following questions to test your
understanding of 26
common
business writing problems.
The answers with circles O permit you to select only one answer.
The
answers with grids # permit
you to select more than one
answer
for the question. Give brief explanations.
Which sentence is written correctly?
1. O a) The
field name was “Employee”.
O
b) The field name was “Employee.”
O
c) Don’t know
2. O a) We
will meet with all Associates and their
Managers on Monday.
O
b) We will meet with all
associates and their managers on monday.
O c) We
will meet with all associates and their managers on Monday.
O d)
Don’t know
3. O a)
Their software turned out to be the best; by far.
O b)
Their software turned out to be the best; I recommend it.
O
c) Both are correct.
O
d) Don’t know
4. O a)
Give us the following data; employee addresses, employment history,
and current salaries.
O
b) Give us the following data:
employee addresses, employment history,
and
current salaries.
O
c) Give us the following data,
employee addresses, employment history,
and current salaries.
O
d) Don’t know
8.
5. O a)
Come to the meeting with your notes about the upcoming convention,
the marketing plans for next year and Tooldie journal
ad.
O b) Come to the meeting with your notes
about the upcoming convention,
the marketing plans for next year, and Tooldie journal
ad.
O c) Come to the
meeting with, your note about the upcoming convention,
the marketing plans for next year
and Tooldie journal ad.
O d) Don’t know
6. # a) The
company has four real issues which include: increasing market
share, locating a source for mor labor,
decreasing operating expenses,
and locating a suitable CEO.
# b) The company has
four real issues which include increasing market share,
locating
a source for more labor, decreasing operating expenses, and
locating a suitable CEO.
# c) The
company has four real issues: increasing market share, locating a
source for more labor, decreasing operating expenses, and locating a
suitable CEO.
# d) The
company has four real issues, increasing market share, locating a
source for more labor, decreasing operating
expenses, and locating a
suitable CEO.
7. O a)
The jury is at odds over the verdict.
O b) The jury are at
odds over the verdict.
O c) Don’t
know
8. # a)
Every manager in a business today is held responsible for his or her
employees’ activities.
# b)
Every manager in a business today is held responsible for their employees’
activities
# c) Every manager in a business today is held
responsible for his employees’
activities.
9. # a)
Layton Enterprises is able to provide complete tool services, and
provides
the services in a timely fashion.
# b) Layton Enterprises is able to provide
complete tool services, and the
company provides the services in a timely
fashion.
# c) Layton
Enterprises is able to provide complete tool services and provides
the services in a timely fashion.
#
d) Layton Enterprises is able to
provide complete tool services and it provides
the services in a timely fashion.
10. O
a) He asked, “Where is the
loading dock?”
O
b) This product would sell better
if it weren’t named ‘Flysoup.’
O
c) Both are correct. O d)
Don’t know
9.
11. # a) I would like to see us increase production –
without decreasing quality –
until we match demand.
# b) I
would like to see us increase production -- without decreasing quality –-
until we match demand.
#
c) I would like to see us
increase production, without decreasing quality, until
we match demand.
# d) I would like to see us increase
production—without decreasing quality—
until we match demand.
12. # a)
Printing will have to move its label to the top of the box.
#
b) Printing will have to move
it’s label to the top of the box.
#
c) The softwares manuals weren’t
included with the product.
13. # a) The
shipment included 13 fewer cartons than we had ordered and was
four days late.
#
b) The shipment included 13 fewer
cartons than we had ordered and was 4
days late.
#
c) The shipment included thirteen
fewer cartons than we had ordered and was
four days late.
14. # a)
After two months, we chose the shrink wrap method over using cardboard
boxes.
# b)
After two months, we chose the shrink-wrap method over using cardboard
boxes.
#
c) The problem was that the long,
fat end of the attachment didn’t match the
short, narrow hole.
#
d) The problem was that the long
fat end of the attachment didn’t match the
short narrow hole.
#
e) The problem was that the
long-fat end of the attachment didn’t match the
short-narrow hole.
15. # a) We try to keep the software with the boxes
they came in.
# b) The
trucker decided to cautiously move the boxes to the other side to
redistribute the load.
#
c) The text matched the document
for which we were searching.
16. O a) We can not allocate resources to this project
and you can not require us to
do so.
O b) We
cannot allocate resources to this project and you cannot require us to
do
so.
O
c) We cannot allocate resources
to this project and you shouldn’t ask us to
do so.
O
d) Don’t know.
10.
17. # a) I feel badly about missing the meeting.
#
b) You performed very good in the
presentation.
#
c) I did not do well on the
examination because I was up all night studying
for it.
#
d)
I also performed badly because I was drinking
martinis while I was
studying.
18. #
a) Freda located the data,
however it was useless.
#
b) We concluded, therefore, that
we would have to start over.
#
c) However, all wasn’t lost
because we did have the original records.
#
d) All are correct.
19. #
a) The company went public on
January 6, 1999, and was out of business in
July 1999.
#
b) The company went public in
January, 1999, and was out of business in
July, 1999.
#
c) The company went public on
January 6, 1999 and was out of business in
July, 1999.
20. #
a) After a long absence he
returned to the company.
#
b) Against the back wall, was the
panel we had been searching for.
# c) When
the project is finished, we will talk about another.
21. O a) We
will complete the project on time if we receive the software
upgrade we need, the patches we requested, and we have
a streak of luck.
O
b) The last experience we had
taught us that we have to screen vendors
more carefully, evaluate performance at milestone dates, and act as soon
as we sense something is wrong.
O c) Whatever can be said for the process, it
still takes too long, requires too
much money, and I’m not sur it will work anyway.
O
d) Don’t know
22. #
a) The most damaging result was
him leaving.
#
b) We appreciated her finishing
the task, but it wasn’t necessary.
#
c) John’s griping was not
tolerable.
#
d) Whatever the problem was, me
working at it didn’t seem to help.
23. O a) The cost was $49.00 but the company gave us a
bulk discount.
O
b) We found about 4,000 of the
staples in a box.
O
c) This shipment will contain 3
million rings.
O
d) The salary increase came to
only $.75 for most employees.
O
e) Don’t know
11.
24. To finish this project on time, we will have
to
# a)
hire a qualified technician,
#
b) purchase the equipment,
#
c) John has to be assigned to it,
#
d) money.
25. # a) Our requirements are, “Do not include resumes
and the proposal should be
no more than 25 pages long.”
#
b) We were worried that if we
allowed one proposal that was longer, others
would follow.
#
c) We appreciate the vendor’s
situation, but the vendor (you) agreed to the
conditions and you agreed you would deliver.
26. #
a) This is the company which
recommended the software that we can
examine when you are ready.
#
b) This is the company that
recommended the software, which we can
examine when you are ready.
#
c) This is the company that
recommended the software that we can examine
when you are ready.