vi Contents Table of Contents Introduction: The Seven Traits of Effective Writing 1 The Seven Traits of Effective Writing 2 How the Traits Can Work for You 3 Using the Traits to Guide Writing 4 Using the Traits to Diagnose and Solve Problems 5 Using the Traits to Discuss Writing 6 Section 1: Trait Workshops 7 1 Trait 1: Ideas 9 Ideas: An Overview 10 Ideas: Problems and Solutions 12 Checklist: Ideas 16 2 Trait 2: Organization 17 Organization: An Overview 18 Organization: Problems and Solutions 20 Checklist: Organization 24 3 Trait 3: Voice 25 Voice: An Overview 26 Voice: Problems and Solutions 28 Checklist: Voice 32 4 Trait 4: Words 33 Words: An Overview 34 Words: Problems and Solutions 35 Checklist: Words 40 5 Trait 5: Sentences 41 Sentences: An Overview 42 Sentences: Problems and Solutions 44 Checklist: Sentences 50 6 Trait 6: Correctness 51 Correctness: An Overview 52 Correctness: Problems and Solutions 54 Checklist: Correctness 58 7 Trait 7: Design 59 Design: An Overview 60 Design: Problems and Solutions 62 Checklist: Design 70 8 Using the Writing Process 71 The Process of Writing: An Overview 72 Top 10 Tips for Business Writing 73 Guidelines: Prewriting 74 Guidelines: Drafting 78 Guidelines: Revising 82 Guidelines: Refining 88
Contents vii Section 2: Writing Three Message Types 91 9 Writing Good or Neutral News 93 Guidelines: Good-News and Neutral Messages 94 Announcement or Notice 95 Update 96 Cover Message 97 Credit Approval 98 Information Request 99 Invitation 100 Positive Adjustment 101 Positive Reply to an Inquiry 102 Request or Proposal Acceptance 103 Thank-You Message 104 Apology 105 Checklist: Good or Neutral News 106 10 Writing Bad News 107 Guidelines: Bad-News Messages 108 Bid Rejection 109 Claim Denial 110 Complaint (Basic) 111 Complaint (Serious) 112 Credit or Loan Application Denial 114 Crisis Management 115 Negative Change Announcement 116 Poor Results Explanation 117 Proposal Rejection 118 Donation-Request Denial 119 Funding-Request Denial 120 Suggestion Rejection 121 Checklist: Bad-News Messages 122 11 Writing to Persuade 123 Guidelines: Persuasive Messages 124 Request for Assistance 130 Collection Letter (First Notice) 125 Sales Letter (First Contact) 131 Collection Letter (Second Notice) 126 Sales Letter (Following a Contact) 132 Collection Letter (Final Notice) 127 Sales Letter (Following a Sale) 133 Credit Application 128 Checklist: Persuasive Messages 134 Fund-Raising Message 129 Section 3: Workplace Writing and Communicating 135 12 Communication Options 137 Analyzing the Situation 138 Understanding the Medium 139 Considering Pros and Cons 140 13 Forms 141 Guidelines: Completing Forms 142 Phone Memo 143 Job-Completion Form 143 Accident-Report Form 144 Order Form 145 Service Invoice 146 Fax Cover Sheet 147 Job Application 148 Electronic Form 150
viii Contents 14 Social Media 151 Understanding Social Media 152 Getting the Most Out of Social Media 154 15 E-Mail 155 Guidelines: E-Mail 156 Basic E-Mail 157 E-Mail Tips 158 E-Mail Etiquette and Shorthand 159 Checklist: E-Mail 160 16 Letters and Memos 161 Guidelines: Letters 162 Professional Appearance of Letters 163 Parts of a Basic Letter 164 Basic Letter 165 Parts of an Expanded Letter 166 Expanded Letter 167 Letter Formats 168 Letters and Envelopes 170 U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Envelope Guidelines 171 Standard Postal Abbreviations 172 Faxing Documents 173 Forms of Address 174 Guidelines: Memos 178 Basic Memo 179 Parts of an Expanded Memo 180 Expanded Memo 181 Checklist: Letters, Faxes, Memos 182 17 Reports 183 Guidelines: Reports 184 Organizing Reports 185 Incident Report 186 Periodic Report 188 Progress Report 190 Trip Report 192 Checklist: Reports 194 18 Proposals 195 Guidelines: Proposals 196 Organizing Proposals 197 Sales Proposal (Bid Form) 198 Sales Proposal (Letter) 199 Major Sales Proposal or Bid 200 Trouble-Shooting Proposal 201 Justification Proposal 204 Checklist: Proposals 206 shutterstock.com
Contents ix 19 Instructions 207 Guidelines: Instructions 208 Instructions with a List of Materials 209 Instructions for a Procedure 210 Instructions for a Policy Procedure 211 Instructions Containing Photographs 212 Instructions with Drawings 213 Checklist: Instructions 214 20 Presentations 215 Giving Presentations 216 Planning Your Presentation 217 Organizing Your Presentation 218 Writing Your Presentation 221 Presentation in Outline Form 222 Presentation in Manuscript Form 224 Developing Computer Presentations 226 Practicing Your Delivery 227 Checklist: Overcoming Stage Fright 228 21 Job-Search Documents 229 Guidelines: Application Letters 230 Application Letter 231 Post-Interview Thank-You Letter 232 Job-Acceptance Letter 233 Job-Declining Letter 233 Guidelines: Résumés 234 Chronological Résumé 235 Functional Résumé 236 Choosing a Résumé Format 237 Preparing an E-Résumé 238 Electronic Résumé 239 Checklist: Résumés 240 22 Management Writing 241 Guidelines: Policy Statements 242 Policy Statement on Quality Control 243 Guidelines: Procedures 244 Procedure 245 Guidelines: Employee Evaluations 246 Employee Evaluation (Short Form) 247 Employee Evaluation (Long Form) 248 Guidelines: Application Follow-Up Messages 250 Application Follow-Up (Strong Candidate) 251 Application Follow-Up (Weak Candidate) 252 Employer s Job-Offer Letter 253 Checklist: Management Forms 254
x Contents Section 4: Proofreader s Guide 255 23 Punctuation 257 Period 257 Ellipsis 257 Comma 258 Semicolon 262 Colon 262 Hyphen 263 Dash 264 Question Mark 265 Exclamation Point 265 Quotation Marks 266 Italics 268 Parentheses 269 Brackets 269 Apostrophe 270 24 Mechanics 273 Capitalization 273 Forming Plurals 277 Numbers 279 Abbreviations 280 Spelling Rules 284 25 Usage 285 a... aid 285 allot... among 286 amount... augment 287 average... capital 288 censor... compare with 289 complement... continual 290 controller... device 291 different from... except 292 explicit... former 293 good... insight 294 insure... lay 295 lead... man 296 medal... percent 297 personal... principal 298 quiet... seam 299 set... threw 300 to... ware 301 waver... your 302 26 Grammar 303 Noun 303 Pronoun 305 Verb 308 Adjective 312 Adverb 313 Preposition 314 Conjunction 315 Interjection 315 27 Sentences 317 The Sentence 317 The Subject 317 The Predicate 318 Using Phrases 318 Using Clauses 320 Using Sentence Variety 320
Contents xi 28 Sentence Errors 323 Agreement of Subject and Verb 323 Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent 325 Shifts in Sentence Construction 326 Ambiguous Wording 327 Nonstandard Language 328 29 ELL Parts of Speech 329 Nouns 329 Articles 330 Other Noun Markers 330 Present-Tense Singular Verbs 331 Past-Tense Verbs 332 Progressive Verb Tenses 332 Adding ing to Verbs 333 Modal Auxiliary Verbs 334 Phrasal Verbs 335 Objects Infinitives and Gerunds 336 Adjective Placement 337 Participles as Adjectives 337 Nouns as Adjectives 338 Adverb Placement 338 Prepositions 339 30 ELL Sentences 340 Basic Sentence Structure 340 Conditional Sentences 341 Idioms I 343 Idioms II 344 Idioms III 345 Idioms IV 346 31 ELL/Dialect Index 347 European Languages 347 Latin Languages 348 East Asian Languages 349 32 Index 353 Middle Eastern Languages 350 African and Caribbean Languages 351 English Dialects 352 shutterstock.com