Archive for April, 2009
Writing Case Studies: 4 Guidelines
Case studies, done well, can single-handedly turn the tide of opinion. It’s amazing how many major business and purchase decisions can be made based on a single, positive case study alone. If you’re doing a case study for your organization, it pays to keep these guidelines in mind. 1. Find a customer with a good [...]
Avoiding Long And Winding Sentences
Long sentences, done well, can be grammatically correct. Even the best English writing software won’t have a problem with it. Being mistake-free, however, is not the issue. The main problem is that it’s a pain to read. No matter what your writing abilities are, long sentences aren’t that difficult to avoid. So why aren’t you [...]
Making Your Points Positively
Using negatives to express an idea in a sentence, while perfectly valid, is seldom the best way when putting a thought to writing. Even when done with enough care, they can still lead to confusion with the wrong audience. Unless you’re confident of your readers’ sophistication in comprehending written English, stating your points positively is [...]
Business Documents: Reduce Cross-Referencing To A Minimum
When writing long business documents, especially ones filled with charts and tables, it’s very convenient to cross-reference information while you’re writing. Instead of detailing the facts of a situation again, many simply point the reader to a previous reference to it. Takes this paragraph, for example: The device comes with a built-in worldwide 3D map [...]
Nominalizations And Their Misuse
When your sentence sounds clumsy and you can’t figure out the reason why, always check your nominalizations. A lot of the time, it’s these hard-to-detect constructions that leave copies with that awkward finish that you can’t quite put your finger on. Nominalizations are nouns that have been derived from adjectives and verbs. Words such as [...]
Five Important Aspects Of Business Writing
Even if you’re an untrained writer, you’ll likely need to compose written reports at various times during the course of your business. As such, having the basics of business writing down pat can help you immensely in your daily life. According to the book Business Writing For The Uninitiated, all forms of good business writing [...]
The Mistake Of Being Verbose
Many unseasoned writers often fall prey to the trap of verbosity – using too many words to express too little of an idea. Unless your goal is to write a requisite number of words, instead of successfully communicating with your audience, verbose prose is bad for business and should be avoided at all costs. Here’s [...]
How To Write A Term Paper
Term papers are among the most common documents you’ll end up having to write all through high school and college. As such, developing the right skill set for doing them right can mean the difference between getting great marks or just barely making it through. Start Early. Once your subject matter is approved, start work [...]
The Power Of Simplicity
While it might tickle your fancy to write complex explanations using big words and highly erudite sentences, realize that most writing designed to feed your ego seldom works to express your ideas to your reader. There’s huge value in being simple. If you take a gander at the highest-paid writers in the world, you’ll realize [...]
Three Types Of Communication: Which Ones Are You Using When You Write?
Anytime you write, you’re communicating something. All communications have a purpose. Whether your writing is designed to instruct, argue or educate, you’re usually writing it with an underlying tone. Subcommunication Often called subcommunication, this refers to a deeper purpose behind your writing. While you may be writing an instructional piece, your attitude about what you [...]
