Define the term cliché penn foster

Study Unit

Improving Your Writing

Writing a strong letter to apply for a job or putting together a convincing argument for a business report requires more than a collection of nouns, verbs, and punctuation. Good communication skills include the basics, of course, but proper planning, a pleasant style, and close attention to detail also count. This study unit is designed to help you make the best use of the writing tools you already have by making them work for you as you plan, develop, revise, and present your work.

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P r e v ie

w P r e v ie

w When you complete this study unit, you’ll be able to

• Identify your audience, medium, and purpose

• Focus your ideas

• Organize your material

• Plan both informal and formal writing projects

• Use words, punctuation, and sentences to achieve the effect you want

• Revise, edit, and proofread to make your final copy accurate, professional, and attractive

THE PLANNING PROCESS 1

Prewriting 2 Organizing Your Material 6 Patterns of Organization 6 Outline Options 9 Developing an Outline 11 The Formal Outline 16

WRITING YOUR DOCUMENT 21

Types of Writing 21 Key Considerations 25 Writing the First Draft 33

STRENGTHENING YOUR STYLE 36

How to Give Your Writing Punch 36 Choosing the Right Words 41 Informality and Formality 44 Using Words Properly 47

REVISING, EDITING, AND PROOFREADING 55

Revising Your Writing 55 Editing Your Work 58 Proofreading the Final Draft 61 Presenting Your Work 64

PRACTICE EXERCISE ANSWERS 67

SELF-CHECK ANSWERS 73

EXAMINATION 77

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C o n t e n t s

C o n t e n t s

1

THE PLANNING PROCESS

Just as there are many ways to write, there are many ways to describe the process of writing. In this study unit, we’ll break down the process into these stages:

• Prewriting

• Planning

• Writing the first draft

• Revising and editing

• Proofreading

• Presenting

The writing process isn’t always linear. That is, writers don’t always include every step or follow each step in order. They may begin writing a first draft without really knowing what they wish to say, for instance, and then go back and plan the revision using an outline. They may proofread as they go along and not make a special effort to do so as a separate step. Or, once they’ve gone through the entire process, they may decide to discard what they have and start again. This may happen in business, for instance, when a proposal is rejected but the company wishes to pursue the project from another angle.

Improving Your Writing

Improving Your Writing2

Prewriting The first stage in the writing process is actually prewriting. This is what you do before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Prewriting comes even before planning because you don’t even have anything specific to plan yet. During prewriting, the first thing to do is to determine your purpose, medium, and audience.

Why are you writing? What do you hope to achieve? The answer is your purpose.

What form will you use—a letter, a memo, a report, a proposal, an essay, a poem, a story, or something else? The answer is your medium.

Who will read the final piece of writing? What are their needs and expectations? That’s your audience.

It’s important to understand your purpose, medium, and audience from the very beginning. Doing so will help you to work through the writing process efficiently and effectively. Without understanding these three elements, you’ll have trouble focusing your ideas and writing with confidence. Or, you may write with ease, yet unintentionally focus on the wrong points and fail to achieve the results you intend.

Once you know your purpose, medium, and audience, it’s time to find out what your thoughts are about your topic so that you can decide how to approach your writing project. Suppose, for instance, you’re asked to write a paragraph about cars. What would you say? Maybe it’s not even a topic that interests you. However, you have to come up with something interesting to say.

Who asked you to write the paragraph, and why? Let’s say, since this course resembles a classroom, that a writing teacher has given you this assignment. Your purpose is to demonstrate that you’ve mastered the basics of written English expression. Your medium is given—a paragraph. Your audience is the teacher and (let’s pretend) the rest of the class. So, what will you say in this paragraph to demon- strate your English skills to your teacher and classmates?

There are many ways you could get ideas. All it really takes to get you started on a writing project is one good idea that excites you. Finding that idea is the goal of any prewriting exercise.

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You can take five steps as you prewrite: brainstorming, webbing, freewriting, researching, and journal keeping. We’ll examine each here, beginning with brainstorming.

Brainstorming

What does the topic of “cars” bring to mind? To find out, try brainstorming. Make a list of every idea that comes to mind. Don’t exclude anything. Don’t worry about put- ting these thoughts in order. Right now you’re just writing down everything you think might be a possible focus for your paragraph. You may end up not using most of these ideas.

You might even wish to brainstorm with one or more other people. Ask questions. What do you think of cars? What cars do you like? What would you like to read about cars? Other people may come up with ideas that will trigger even better ideas of your own.

A list on the subject of cars might look something like the list in Figure 1. These are just a few suggestions, of course—you could come up with many more ideas.

Webbing

A similar exercise, called webbing, is perhaps even more useful than brainstorming. It shows relationships between some of the ideas you have. To begin, write your topic (cars, for example) in the middle of a piece of paper (Figure 2). Circle it. Draw a line out from the circle and write another word—the first word that comes to mind about the topic, for example, wheels. Circle that word, too. Draw a line out from there and write another word that comes to mind about the second circled word, for example, hubcaps. Circle the new word and keep going, for example, flat tire, my first flat, learned to change tires in driver’s ed., and nobody stopped to help. Then you can go back and start a new chain from the key word, cars. You can start many chains. Often, you’ll come up with something interesting.

Cars

Big cars Henry Ford

Little cars Model T’s

Are RVs cars? TR7s

My first car Used car lots

Car accidents Drive-in movies

Speeding limits Driveways

Speeding tickets Garage door openers

Drunk driving Car seats

Leather seats Seat belts

FIGURE 1—A Brainstormed List

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Freewriting

To freewrite, you fill a piece of paper with any idea that comes to mind about your topic. Don’t stop to think. Don’t lift your pen. Just write! Don’t worry about grammar or sentence structure or anything else except your topic. Your goal is to come up with that one good idea, and the best way to do that is to set your creative mind free (Figure 3). Your mind can’t be creative if it’s worried about spelling and semicolons.

Here’s an example of freewriting on the topic of cars.

My car got so hot today. The sun was shining in the windows all afternoon and heated the steering wheel into a fiery circle. My car’s a Geo just a little thing saves me money on gas gets me where I want. My first car was a gigantic Plymouth Fury. We called her Megacar. Mega was used. Geo was new when I bought it but sure looks used now! Mega better in snow. Big cars are probably safer. But it cost a mint to fill Mega’s tank. And that was during the energy crisis. Cars and the energy crisis. Whatever happened to the energy crisis? Aren’t cars still using up resources? And pollut- ing? How come we don’t hear that any more? I need to look into this.

FIGURE 2—Webbing

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Researching

Many people like to look to outside sources for ideas for writing. For the assignment on cars, you might go to the library and look for information on cars. Or, if you’ve already decided you’re interested in one of the narrower topics you’ve come up with while brainstorming, clustering, or freewriting, you could look up more information on that idea. Read a biography on Henry Ford, for instance, or do some research on the energy crisis, the history of speed limits, or the pros and cons of small versus big cars.

Journal Keeping

Some people write their most interesting thoughts and expe- riences in a journal, which is a record of events, ideas, or reflections, kept for private use. If you write in your journal regularly, it can be a good source of ideas to write about for other purposes. For instance, perusing the journal entries near the time you bought your last car, you might recall issues that were important to you and come up with a topic like “What to Look for When Buying a Car.”

FIGURE 3—Freewriting on any topic, such as cars, can reveal the many ideas that constantly pass through your mind.

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Organizing Your Material

Any time you sit down to write something—an e-mail message, a letter, a report, a proposal—you must organize the material you’re going to present (Figure 4). Of course, short documents, such as e-mails and memos, don’t require the same degree of organization as long reports, but the quality of any written document improves when you think through what you want to say and, sometimes, write an outline.

Patterns of Organization

Sometimes the nature of the information you collect deter- mines how you should organize it. Other times, the decision may not be so clear. In this section you’re going to examine the following types of organization:

• Chronological order

• Spatial order

• Classification/division

• Comparison/contrast

• Cause and effect

FIGURE 4—No matter how short or how long your document will be, always take time to organize your material. Sometimes, just jotting down your thoughts and ideas is a good beginning for organizing your topics.

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Chronological Order

Chronological order has to do with time and sequence. A document written in chronological order presents the material in the order in which it happened or should happen. For example, suppose you must write a report on the steps necessary to perform a particular production task.

You would start with the first step and proceed in the order in which the steps should occur. Such information fits naturally into the chronological order pattern.

Material written in chronological order uses words like first, second, third, next, then, after, and finally. These terms help the reader establish the order in which things occur.

Spatial Order

Spatial order involves physical space. A document written in spatial order presents the material in the order in which it is physically arranged. For example, suppose you want to describe the arrangement of furniture in a room. You might begin with one corner and work your way around

the walls. Or maybe you’ve been given the responsibility to develop the layout of your production area or office space or the arrangement of products in a showroom. Such material would lend itself to organization in spatial order.

Material written in spatial order uses words and phrases like at the extreme left, next, above, over, under, beneath, to the right, and at the end.

Classification/Division

To use the classification/division pattern to develop a document, you begin with a collection of items of any kind and then group, or classify, them according to some similar property or properties. Or you may begin with one whole item and divide it into various parts.

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Suppose your boss wants a report on all the clients your department worked with last year and the types of jobs you did for each one. You start out with a list of all the jobs you completed last year. Then you could group them according to client or according to the type of job. This type of information lends itself well to the classification/division pattern of organization.

Comparison/Contrast

When you compare two or more items, you show how they’re similar; when you contrast two or more items, you show how they’re different. When preparing a document, you may use only comparison or only contrast, or you may encounter a subject that should show both.

Suppose the department you work in uses batteries that are produced by Company A. Your supervisor has discovered that Company B produces the same kind of battery but charges approximately 25 percent less. Your supervisor wants you to look into this issue and write up your findings.

This situation is a perfect one for the comparison/contrast pattern. Once you gather all the information on both types of batteries, you can show the similarities and differences between the two types.

In setting up the material for a comparison/contrast docu- ment, you can present all of the information on one item first followed by all of the information on the other item. Or you may decide to discuss the similarities and/or differences one by one, going back and forth from one item to the other.

Cause and Effect

Cause and effect organization involves examining certain elements (causes) to determine what will occur (effects). For example, you may work in a department that produces parts for automobile radios. You want to know how production would

Improving Your Writing 9

be affected if you added one more machine to your depart- ment. The adding of the machine is the cause, and the change in production is the effect.

Although most reports written in the cause-and-effect organization begin with the cause and proceed to the effect, you can also begin with the effect and work backward to the cause. For example, you may have noticed that the quality control employees in your department have recently been discovering a high percent of defective parts, and you want to know why. In this case, you begin with the effect (a high number of defective parts) and work toward the cause of this problem.

Outline Options

Preparing an outline is an important part of any writing. Don’t be tempted to skip over this task. First of all, with an outline you can see at a glance what you’re going to include in your document. An outline can also reveal to you that you’ve left something out. If so, you can easily add it to your outline. If you decide to revise or reorganize the information, you can do it much more easily with material in outline form than you can with written paragraphs.

The two types of outlines are sentence outlines and topic outlines.

Sentence Outline

A sentence outline consists of complete sentences for each item in the outline. This type of outline has one main advantage—it provides the topic sentences for your main paragraphs. Figure 5 presents part of a sentence outline developed for a market report.

Topic Outline

A topic outline consists of grammatically similar words or phrases, organized according to the way in which they’ll be covered in a written document. Topic outlines are more commonly used than sentence outlines and are often based on your brainstorming or initial note taking.

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There are three advantages of topic outlines:

1. They’re easier to prepare than sentence outlines.

2. They become the basis of a table of contents for the document.

3. They supply the internal headings for your document.

Figure 5 illustrates a sentence outline, while Figure 6 depicts a topic outline of the same information.

Sentence Outline

I. Our appraisal of the retail market for HomeGym in the Roanoke Valley area of Virginia has reached a satisfactory conclusion.

A. Basic research supplied by the Association of Sporting Goods Manufacturers (ASGM) has provided the following information:

1. The Roanoke Valley area of Virginia is an appropriate market for HomeGym.

2. Competing products should not impinge on a satisfactory market share.

B. In light of the unserved market for HomeGym in the Roanoke Valley, our purpose in this report is to suggest preferred retail outlets in Roanoke and surrounding communities.

1. A research summary provided by the ASGM provides factual summaries on 14 qualified retail outlets in the Roanoke Valley.

2. The report from ASGM also includes a recommended schedule for product insertions into the qualified outlets.

II. Research provided by the ASGM explores our target market region through demographic profiles of three market segments.

FIGURE 5—Partial Sentence Outline for a Market Report

When you’re preparing a topic outline, make sure to write your words or phrases in parallel structure.

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Developing an Outline

Brainstorming is an excellent way to help you develop an outline for a report—or for anything you write, for that matter. Suppose you have the responsibility to put together a report on how to evaluate the quality of a used automobile. To get an idea of what you want to include in your report, you con- duct a brainstorming session. After the session, you have a pile of index cards. Each card contains an item that a person should inspect before purchasing a used car.

Next, you study the items on the cards and eliminate those that you feel are unnecessary or irrelevant. After you’ve done this, you’re left with a stack of cards that contain topics you want to cover in your report. Suppose the topics you have are those listed in Figure 7.

Once you have the topics you want to cover, you can begin to categorize them. To do this, you must arrange the items in some logical sequence or order. As you study the list of topics in Figure 7, you notice that the items fall into three main categories: exterior inspection items, interior inspection items, and engine inspection items. You arrange the cards into three separate piles, grouping them according to these three categories. Once you’ve done that, you have the start of a good outline.

Topic Outline

I. Results of appraisal

A. Research from Association of Sporting Goods Manufacturers (ASGM)

1. Appropriateness of Roanoke Valley as market for HomeGym

2. Competing products

B. Preferred retail outlets in Roanoke and surrounding communities

1. Research summary from ASGM

2. Schedule for product insertions

II. Demographic profiles of three market segments

FIGURE 6—Partial Topic Outline for a Market Report

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Here’s what you have now:

I. Exterior inspection items Body Headlights Dents Turn signals Scratches Brake lights Rust Lights

II. Interior inspection items Air conditioner Radio Speedometer Gas gauge Passenger safety devices Door locks Seat belts Instrumentation Accessories

FIGURE 7—Here are the ideas you generated during your brainstorming session.

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III. Engine inspection items Fan belt Cooling system Air filter Oil filter Water pump Filters Radiator Fuel filter

Now that you have this initial outline, examine the items in each of the three major topics again. Try to determine if you can divide these main sections even further.

As you examine your beginning outline, you discover that each of the sections can be divided into two or three sub- divisions. Once you make adjustments for these subdivisions, you’re outline looks like this:

I. Exterior inspection items A. Body

1. Dents 2. Scratches 3. Rust

B. Lights 1. Turn signals 2. Headlights 3. Brake lights

II. Interior inspection items A. Instrumentation

1. Gas gauge 2. Speedometer

B. Accessories 1 Radio 2. Air conditioner

C. Passenger safety devices 1. Door locks 2. Seat belts

III. Engine inspection items A. Filters

1. Air filter 2. Oil filter 3. Fuel filter

Including headings in a report helps your readers understand the order of your material. Headings also help readers find the infor- mation they need.

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B. Cooling system 1. Radiator 2. Fan belt 3. Water pump

Now you have something you can work with as you begin your writing. The outline gives you direction. Notice, too, that you can use this outline as your table of contents. Then, as you prepare your report, you can also use these topics as headings for the body of the document. Including them gives your readers some direction and focus as they read your information.

Practice Exercise 1 To practice sorting ideas, rearrange the following groups of ideas as instructed. Write your arrangements on a separate piece of paper.

Example A: Listen to bird-call records; Preparing for bird watching; Study bird guide; Clean and focus binoculars

Example format:

Preparing for bird watching

A. Study bird guide

B. Listen to bird-call records

C. Clean and focus binoculars

1–6: Each of the following groups contains one main idea and several other ideas that are merely examples, illustrations, or explanations of the main idea. Write the main idea and then list under it the ideas that explain or develop it more fully. Use the format in Example A for your answers.

1. Remember the Maine; Make the world safe for democracy; War slogans; Remember Pearl Harbor

2. Open Door Policy; Truman Doctrine; American foreign policy; Monroe Doctrine

3. Dirty living conditions; Causes of poor health; Absence of medical care; Poor diet

4. Overemphasis on athletics; Too much emphasis on winning; Evils of college sports; Failure to provide for the poor or average athlete

5. The actual writing; Gathering ideas; Steps in writing; Making a plan

6. The interview; Studying the help-wanted ads; How I got the job; Sending a letter of application

(Continued)

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Practice Exercise 1 Example B: Assembling the required utensils; Following the recipe; Decorating techniques; Baking a cake; Making the frosting; Icing the cake; Assembling the ingredients; Decorating the cake

Example format:

I. Baking a cake

A. Assembling the ingredients

B. Assembling the required utensils

C. Following the recipe

II. Decorating the cake

A. Making the frosting

B. Icing the cake

C. Decorating techniques

7–10: Each of the following groups of words and statements contains two main ideas and several other ideas that are merely examples, illustrations, or explanations of the main ideas. Find the two main ideas, and then, under each, list the ideas that explain or develop the main ones more fully as shown in Example B.

7. Eagles; Ducks; Quail; Game birds; Owls; Birds of prey; Pheasants; Hawks

8. Ice skating; Swimming; Baseball; Winter sports; Tennis; Skiing; Summer sports

9. Foul shooting; Batting; Fielding; Floor play; Set shooting; Pitching; Basketball; Guarding; Baseball

10. Sarcastic talk; Attractive appearance; Skill in conversation; Reasons for unpopularity; Pleasing personality; Selfishness; Consideration for others; Sense of humor; Reasons for popularity

Check your answers with those on page 67.

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The Formal Outline While a formal outline may vary in structure according to the nature of a report, most outlines have three sections, which correspond to the three main sections of any written document:

1. Introduction (A, or abstract)

2. Body (B)

3 Summary (C, or conclusion)

The following paragraphs briefly review these three sections.

Introduction (Abstract)

The introduction establishes the purpose of your report. To make that purpose clear or to put it in context, you may also include background information that explains the history of the problem and the reasons it demands attention. Perhaps the most important part of the introduction is a list of the major topics discussed in the body of the report. Needless to say, the topics should be listed in the order in which they’ll be covered in the body of the report.

Body

The body of your report should contain the information needed to fulfill the purpose of your report. It will elaborate on each of the major topics given in the introduction. Your outline of the body of your report should be logically ordered in terms of major headings, secondary headings, and possibly detailed headings under the secondary headings.

Summary (Conclusion)

The summary of most reports briefly repeats the main topics and draws conclusions that lead to recommendations. A purely technical report, however, may simply come to a conclusion that’s the basis of the report. For example, a discussion of the utility of a particular kind of circuit board may simply end with a concluding statement that declares the thing useful in a certain context.

A formal outline generally follows a particular pattern, as shown in Figure 8.

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The Structure of a Formal Outline

I. Introduction

A. Background

B. Statement of purpose

C. Sources of researched information

D. Explanation of why some data is unavailable

E. Definitions of terms or concepts

F. Sequence of major topics discussed in report:

1. Major topic #1

2. Major topic #2

3. Major topic #3

II. Major topic #1

A. First subtopic

1. Detail of first subtopic

2. Detail of first subtopic

B. Second subtopic

1. Detail of second subtopic

2. Detail of second subtopic

a. Subdetail of second subtopic

b. Subdetail of second subtopic

III. Major topic #2

(This topic follows the same developmental structure as major topic #1.)

IV. Major topic #3

(This topic follows the same developmental structure as major topic #1.)

V. Summary

A. Restatement of main theme or concept

B. Conclusion(s)

C. Recommendation(s)

FIGURE 8—A formal out- line generally follows the structure shown here.

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In a formal outline, you may have only two major topics, or you may have many more. Some major topics will have subtopics and details of those subtopics; other major topics may have no subtopics at all.

Finally, if you divide a topic into subtopics, you must include at least two subtopics. Never list only one item under a topic.

Incorrect: Correct:

I. Introduction I. Introduction A. Topic 1 A. Topic 1

1. Subtopic 1. Subtopic 1 B. Topic 2 2. Subtopic 2

B. Topic 2

In the incorrect example, “Topic 1” has only one subtopic. This is an incorrect construction. The correct outline lists two subtopics under “Topic 1.” Think of it this way: You can’t divide something and end up with only one part. When you divide a topic, you must list at least two subtopics.

Remember that your outline, whether informal or formal, is a working document that can be changed if necessary. If you discover that a topic requires further breakdown or that one of your subtopics is worthy of more attention, by all means, revise your plan. After all, the outline is meant to help you organize your work, not discourage curiosity or hinder inspiration.

Now take some time to practice what you’ve learned. Complete Practice Exercise 2, then go on to Self-Check 1.

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Practice Exercise 2 Now that you’ve learned the basics of outlining, try developing your own formal outline. You may have to research your subject if you need general information or details to complete your outline. Choose a topic that interests you and decide on the pattern of organization you’ll use, because we’ll be building on this outline for future writing assignments.

Prepare a formal topic outline for a composition on one of the following subjects. Use words or phrases for your outline.

How to Work with a Business Partner

Florence Nightingale: A Woman with a Vision

Getting Ahead through Education

My Plan for Professional Advancement

The Advantages of Online Education

Professional Journals: Something for Everyone

The Best Boss I Ever Had

Three Things I Learned on My First Job

Check your outline against the suggestions on page 69. This exercise is for your own benefit. Do not send your outline to the school.

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Self-Check 1

At the end of each section of Improving Your Writing, you’ll be asked to pause and check your understanding of what you’ve just read by completing a “self-check” exercise. Answering these questions will help you review what you’ve studied so far. Please complete Self-Check 1 now.

1. a. Five types of prewriting are

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

b. During prewriting, the three things you must determine are

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

c. The goal of prewriting exercises is to find

__________________________________________________________

2. Looking to outside sources for ideas or information is called _______.

3. What pattern of organization would be most appropriate for the following subjects?

a. Why production is down in Department A b. Whether you should purchase your supplies from Company A or Company B c. The steps in the process of producing your product d. The physical rearrangement of a manufacturing plant e. The reason for poor morale f. Items to be included on a routine safety inspection

4. Explain the advantages of sentence and topic outlines.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Check your answers with those on page 73.

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WRITING YOUR DOCUMENT

Types of Writing

No matter what type of writing assignment you’re planning to do, each one requires the same basic approach. Whether you’re jotting an informal note to a friend or composing an important business report, you can rely on the same process you’ve been practicing. Generally, in the prewriting and planning stages, you’ll be making decisions about your topic, your audience, and your purpose. You’ll organize your ideas and determine whether you have the information you need to complete the assignment. You may even have to do some research to fill in the details of your outline.

For very informal writing, some of these steps may take place inside your head—after all, if you’re only writing a thank-you note to Aunt Ethel, you already know the audience, the purpose, and the topic. But you still might scribble a quick list before you begin, so you don’t forget anything you wanted to say.

Once you’ve organized your material, the next stage is writing the first draft. Using your outline or map diagram, you should try to write straight through without doing any revising along the way. Then you’ll get all your ideas down, and if there’s missing information or facts you need to check, you can take care of them during the first revision. As you revise and rewrite, follow along on your outline to make sure all your facts and details are in the right places and you’ve developed your topic logically. Also check for run-on sentences and fragments.

Once you’ve completed and edited the assignment to your satisfaction, it’s best to set it aside for a few hours, or even a day or two, if you have the time, so you can look at it with fresh eyes when you proofread. That way you’re less likely to overlook simple mistakes, such as missing or misspelled words, awkward phrases, or punctuation errors.

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The final step in the writing process is presenting your writing—that is, allowing your audience to read it. Whether you’re e-mailing a memo to coworkers or sending your com- pany’s advertising flier to the printer, your finished document is a reflection of your professionalism and the care you put into your work.

Now let’s take a closer look at two kinds of writing: informal and formal.

Informal Writing

Planning what you want to write can often be done in your mind, but you might also make a list. For example, if you want to leave instructions for your babysitter, you might quickly write the following list:

• Snack at 8:30

• Bedtime at 9:00

• Read story

• Turn on nightlight

• Number to reach me

From this list, you can write your note (Figure 9).

Notice that the note in Figure 9 includes one bit of information that wasn’t on the list—the time the couple will return home. People often think of things to add when they work from a writing plan.

Judy,

If you need me, call the Grady residence at 555-2343. Please give Jason a snack of two cookies and milk at 8:30. His bedtime is 9:00. Get him started to bed by 8:45. When he’s in bed, read him a story. He likes Goodnight Moon. Be sure to turn on his bedroom nightlight before turning off his bedstand light.

We should be back by 12:00 at the latest. FIGURE 9—Here’s one possible note you might write from the list.

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This is a short, simple note, so what you’ve written may be your final draft. However, you should always reread what you’ve written. Correct spelling errors, and make sure you’ve given complete instructions.

Suppose you want to write a personal letter to an old friend (Figure 10). You haven’t written to her in a while, but you’ve just learned that she has a new job. You’re curious about how that’s going. You would also like to get back in touch with your friend.

In writing a personal letter, you’ll almost surely want to plan what you have to say. You may do that in your mind or by making a note or two on scratch paper.

Next, you write a first draft and then edit that draft. As you edit, you may decide to add a sentence or two. You may decide to cross out a sentence or two. You may want to reword something. And, of course, you’ll correct any errors you find.

After writing your final draft, you would be wise to go over it again.

Formal Writing

Formal and impersonal writing generally refers to business letters and reports that are not of a personal nature.

Letters. Suppose you decide to apply for a sales position at the local Mazda dealership. You would write and then send a formal application letter with your resume. You definitely want to plan and research the information for this letter. You’ll make sure you know how to spell the name of the deal- ership manager. You’ll make sure you understand what the job requires. Talking to someone who already has a job at the dealership may be a good idea. Finally, you should refer to your strongest qualifications, including appropriate job experience, education, and references, as listed in your resume.

FIGURE 10—Personal letters, once a common means of communication, have gone out of style with the advent of e-mail. However, most people appreciate a handwritten personal note or letter.

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How do you write the first draft of your application letter? Very carefully. An application letter is a sales letter. You’re selling yourself. You want to make a positive impression, because first impressions really do matter.

As you edit your first draft, ask yourself these questions: If you were getting this letter from someone you didn’t know, how would you like it? Would you be impressed? Would you want to hire this person?

The final draft of your letter should be stronger than your first draft. Even so, you’ll be wise to let it rest overnight before you reread it. If more editing is necessary, edit away.

Reports and records. Reports and business or medical records are other kinds of formal writing you may need to do. While memos and business e-mails are somewhat less formal, they’re still in the realm of professional writing that requires proper organization, accuracy, and a businesslike tone. While each office generally has its own style and requirements, in which you’ll be trained, your knowledge of the basics of stan- dard writing should apply to all of them.

Using a Style Guide

The company you work for may use a standard style guide, such as The Chicago Manual of Style, to standardize language use in its documents. Your company may have a style sheet to standardize formatting, as well. By using established styles, company documents—from business letters to client files to reports to major publications—remain consistent. Consistency makes documents look professional and helps ensure accuracy, as well as readability, as they pass from employee to employee, department to department, or out into the business world. A standard style also saves time, since once you’re familiar with it, you won’t have to make decisions for each project, rely on reference books, or ask questions about format or other details.

A company style sheet may include a variety of formatting guidelines, including which paper to use and when and how you may abbreviate the company name. In some cases, these items won’t be written into a formal handbook, but will be

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used as standards throughout the company. If that’s the case, you may find it useful to make your own reference list as you learn your company’s style.

Style sheets often include standards such as the following: