Emmanuel J.

Songcuan
Communicator

Steps to Effective Writing

Prewriting Writing Revising

Stage 1: Prewriting
Planning Preparation Background Research

Planning/Preparation
Purpose

: Why am I writing it? Audience : Whom do I want to influence? Scope : What do I want to say? Result : What action do I want?

Purpose
In 1-2 sentences state the purpose of your message
Talk the subject over with others until

you have a clear idea of your objective

Audience
What should readers know or be able to do after

reading the message? What is their level of understanding or expertise regarding the subject? Do you want to persuade them to do or to accept something? What are their interests and motivations profit, comfort, health, convenience, savings?

Audience
Project Proposal president, director, agencies, students, politicians, locals

Each would want to know different types of information so tailor the message to the specific audience

Scope/Subject
Distinguish between the information the

reader needs to know and information that is merely nice to know

e.g. detailed data/figures about the activity

Result/Action
Letter, Memo, Report, Resolution
Tell readers clearly what you want to

happen or what you would like them to do investigation, a solution, an analysis? Mindreading is not part of the communication process

Background Research
Libraries
Other people: interview with experts,

questionnaires, surveys Industry and government Your own knowledge experience, training, education

Background Research
Copy or quote information correctly and have data to support statement Check your facts because errors cast doubt on the credibility of the document

Step 2: Writing
Organizing Outlining Writing the First Draft

Organizing
Subject and purpose influence the organization

Detailing events: Narrative Giving instruction: Process approach Choosing from alternatives: Comparison and Contrast Making a stand: Thesis-Support/Reasons pattern Making a proposal: Problem-Solution

Outlining
The outline is the blueprint of your

communiqu Break down topics in manageable bits Ensure that one part logically flows to another Spot gaps in data or logic quickly before writing

Writing the Draft

The first draft is a working draft
It should be written quickly without too

much thought to elegant expressions or final order and paragraphing

paper to flesh out the structure of the paragraph

The objective is to get the material on

Writing the Draft

Let the words flow
Start wherever you can in the middle or even near the end Keep writing until you have completed the first draft As you write, keep the audience in mind

Stage 3: Revising
Read the material from a readers point of

view If possible, give the draft to others and ask for their comments and suggestions Allow the material to cool off for few hours or days before you read the draft again; doing this enables you to spot errors easily

Revision Checklist
Read the draft several times Dont correct everything the first time Check facts and data in the draft; if you change

data in one place, be sure you change the same data when they appear again Make sure ideas are unified and transitions smooth from paragraph to paragraph

Revisions Checklist
Is the text clear?
Do you need to define terms or phrases? Are explanations complete?

Have you packed too many ideas into one

paragraph? Have you fully developed your argument or explained your proposal so the objectives are clear to the reader?

Revisions Checklist
Check for errors in style and grammar
Eliminate overused words and phrases Vary sentence structure

Read errors in spelling and punctuation

Revise for awkward phrases and lapses in

tone

Revision Checklist
We would like you, if you could, to look

into the problem and advise us of certain aspects of the situation which we have not been able, at this end, to ascertain.

Please investigate the problem and let us

know why it happened.

Tone
The relationship you want to establish to

your reader May be formal, informal, academic, casual, humorous depending on the subject Non-use of slang or jargon to formal letters

What to Avoid?
Avoid slang
The analysis submitted is a little far out

in this case

The analysis doesnt take into

consideration the long-term impact of the problem

What to Avoid?
Avoid overly technical terms, unfamiliar

abbreviations, and other jargons After analyzing your software program, we found an error that produced an infinites do-

loop in the run After analyzing your software program, an error was found that instructed the computer to repeat a step endlessly.

What to Avoid?
Avoid clichs
To reduce costs, weve got to keep our eye

on the ball To reduce costs, accurate records of all expenditures should be kept and ways to cut overheads be studied

Proofreading
Last opportunity to catch any errors that have

slipped through or that the word processor or typist has inadvertently overlooked

Proofreading saves you from embarrassment