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N I N T H E D I T I O N

Successful Writing at Work

Philip C. Kolin University of Southern Mississippi

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Successful Writing at Work, Ninth Edition Philip C. Kolin

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Preface xv

P A R T I : Backgrounds 1

Chapter 1: Getting Started: Writing and Your Career 3 Writing—An Essential Job Skill 3 Writing for the Global Marketplace 6

Competing for International Business 6 Communicating with Global Audiences: Seeing the World

Through Their Eyes 6 Cultural Diversity at Home 8 Using International English 8

Four Keys to Effective Writing 8 Identifying Your Audience 10 Establishing Your Purpose 15 Formulating Your Message 16 Selecting Your Style and Tone 18

Characteristics of Job-Related Writing 20 1. Providing Practical Information 20 2. Giving Facts, Not Impressions 21 3. Providing Visuals to Clarify and Condense Information 21 4. Giving Accurate Measurements 23 5. Stating Responsibilities Precisely 24 6. Persuading and Offering Recommendations 24

Ethical Writing in the Workplace 27 Ethical Requirements on the Job 29 International Readers and Ethics 29 Employers Insist On and Monitor Ethical Behavior 30 Some Guidelines to Help You Reach Ethical Decisions 31 Ethical Dilemmas 33 Writing Ethically on the Job 34

Successful Employees Are Successful Writers 36 Revision Checklist 37 Exercises 38

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Chapter 2: The Writing Process at Work 43 What Writing Is and Is Not 43

What Writing Is 43 What Writing Is Not 44

The Writing Process 44 Researching 44 Planning 45 Drafting 50 Revising 55 Editing 59

Revision Checklist 70 Exercises 70

Chapter 3: Collaborative Writing and Meetings at Work 76 Teamwork Is Crucial to Business Success 76 Advantages of Collaborative Writing 78 Collaborative Writing and the Writing Process 80

Case Study: Collaborative Editing 81 Guidelines for Setting Up a Successful Writing Group 83 Ten Proven Ways to Be a Valuable Team Player 84 Sources of Conflict in Collaborative Groups and How to Solve Them 85

Common Problems, Practical Solutions 85 Models for Collaboration 87

Cooperative Model 88 Sequential Model 88 Functional Model 88 Integrated Model 91

Case Study: Evolution of a Collaboratively Written Document 91 First Draft 93 Subsequent Drafts 95 Final Copy 97

Computer-Supported Collaboration 97 Advantages of Computer-Supported Collaboration 99 Types of Groupware 100 Models for Computer-Supported Collaboration 105 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Computer-Supported Collaboration 106

Meetings 107 Planning a Meeting 107 Creating an Agenda 108 Observing Courtesy at a Group Meeting 109 Writing the Minutes 110 Taking Notes 113

Revision Checklist 114 Exercises 115

iv Contents

P A R T I I : Correspondence 119

Chapter 4: Writing Routine Business Correspondence: Memos, Faxes, E-Mails, IMs, and Blogs 121 What Memos, Faxes, E-Mails, IMs, and Blog Posts Have in Common 121 Memos 122

Memo Protocol 122 E-Mail or Hard Copy? 124 Memo Audience, Style, and Tone 124 Memo Format 127 Strategies for Organizing a Memo 129 Routing Memos 129

Faxes 130 Guidelines for Sending Faxes 130

E-Mail 131 Business E-Mail Versus Personal E-Mail 131 E-Mails Are Legal Records 132 Guidelines for Using E-Mail 134 When Not to Use E-Mail 140

Instant Messages (IMs) for Business Use 140 When to Use IMs Versus E-Mails 140 Guidelines on Using IMs in the Workplace 142

Blogs 142 Guidelines for Writing Internal Blogs 143 Guidelines for Writing External Blogs 145

Revision Checklist 149 Exercises 150

Chapter 5: Writing Letters: Some Basics for Audiences Worldwide 153 Letters in the Age of the Internet 153 Letter Formats 154

Full Block Format 154 Modified Block Format 154 Continuing Pages 157

Parts of a Letter 157 Date Line 157 Inside Address 157 Salutation 159 Body of the Letter 159 Complimentary Close 159 Signature 160 Enclosure(s) Line 160 Copy Notation 160

Contents v

The Appearance of Your Letter 161 Organizing a Standard Business Letter 162 Making a Good Impression on Your Reader 164

Achieving the “You Attitude”: Four Guidelines 165 International Business Correspondence 170

Guidelines for Communicating with International Readers 173 Respecting Your Reader’s Nationality and Ethnic/Racial Heritage 181 Case Study: Writing to a Client from a Different Culture 183 Two Versions of a Sales Letter 183

Revision Checklist 187 Exercises 189

Chapter 6: Types of Business Letters 195 Formulating Your Message 195 The Four Most Common Types of Business Letters 196 Inquiry Letters 197 Special Request Letters 197 Sales Letters 201

Preliminary Guidelines 201 The Four A’s of Sales Letters 203

Customer Relations Letters 207 Diplomacy and Reader Psychology 207 The Customers Always Write 208 Planning Your Customer Relations Letters—Preliminary Guidelines 208 Follow-Up Letters 212 Complaint Letters 212 Adjustment Letters 218 Refusal-of-Credit Letters 226 Collection Letters 228

Sending Letter-Quality Messages: Final Advice to Seal Your Success 233 Revision Checklist 233 Exercises 234

Chapter 7: How to Get a Job: Searches, Dossiers, Portfolios, Résumés, Letters, and Interviews 241 Steps the Employer Takes to Hire 241 Steps to Follow to Get Hired 242 Analyzing Your Strengths and Restricting Your Job Search 243 Looking in the Right Places for a Job 243 Dossiers and Career Portfolios/Webfolios 246

Dossiers 247 Career Portfolios/Webfolios 248

vi Contents

Preparing a Résumé 251 What Employers Like to See in a Résumé 251 The Process of Writing Your Résumé 253 Parts of a Résumé 254 Organizing Your Résumé 261 The Online Résumé 266

Letters of Application 273 How Application Letters and Résumés Differ 273 Writing the Letter of Application 273

Going to an Interview 281 Preparing for the Interview 281 Questions to Expect at Your Interview 282 What Do I Say About Salary? 283 Questions You May Ask the Interviewer(s) 283 What Interviewer(s) Can’t Ask You 283 Ten Interview Dos and Don’ts 284 The Follow-Up Letter 286

Accepting or Declining a Job Offer 286 Searching for the Right Job Pays 286 Revision Checklist 289 Exercises 289

P A R T I I I : Gathering and Summarizing Information 295

Chapter 8: Doing Research and Documentation on the Job 297 Some Research Scenarios 298 The Differences Between School and Workplace Research 299 Characteristics of Effective Workplace Research 300 The Research Process 301 Two Types of Research: Primary and Secondary 303

Case Study: Primary and Secondary Research in the Real World 305 Primary Research 310

Direct Observation, Site Visits, and Tests 310 Interviews and Focus Groups 311 Surveys 318

Secondary Research 325 Libraries 325 Periodical Databases 330 Reference Materials 334 Internet Searches 340 Evaluating Websites 346

Contents vii

Note Taking 348 The Importance of Note Taking 348 How to Take Effective Notes 348 What to Record 349 To Quote or Not to Quote 350

Documenting Sources 353 The Ethics of Documentation: Determining What to Cite 353 Documentation Styles 354 What MLA and APA Have in Common 355 Following MLA Style 355 Following APA Style 365

A Business Research Report 374 Conclusion 389 Revision Checklist 389 Exercises 390

Chapter 9: Summarizing Information at Work 398 The Importance of Summaries in Business 398 Contents of a Summary 399

What to Include in a Summary 400 What to Omit from a Summary 400

Preparing a Summary 401 Case Study: Summarizing an Original Article 403 Executive Summaries 408

What Managers Want to See in an Executive Summary 408 Organization of an Executive Summary 412

Evaluative Summaries 412 Guidelines for Writing a Successful Evaluative Summary 413 Evaluating the Content 414 Evaluating the Style 414

Abstracts 417 Differences Between a Summary and an Abstract 417 Writing the Informative Abstract 419 Writing the Descriptive Abstract 420

Writing Successful News Releases 420 Subjects Appropriate for News Releases 420 News Releases About Bad News 422 Topics That Do Not Warrant a News Release 423 Organization of a News Release 423 Style and Tone of a News Release 427

Revision Checklist 427 Exercises 428

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P A R T I V : Preparing Documents and Visuals 435

Chapter 10: Designing Clear Visuals 437 Visual Thinking in the Workplace 437 The Purpose of Visuals 438 Types of Visuals and Their Functions 439 Choosing Effective Visuals 439

Ineffective Visuals: What Not to Do 443 Inserting and Writing About Visuals: Some Guidelines 444

Identify Your Visuals 444 Cite the Source for Visuals 445 Insert Your Visuals Appropriately 445 Introduce Your Visuals 447 Interpret Your Visuals 447

Two Categories of Visuals: Tables and Figures 448 Tables 448

Parts of a Table 448 Guidelines for Using Tables 449

Figures 451 Graphs 451 Charts 455 Maps 463 Photographs 464 Drawings 469 Clip Art 470

Using Visuals Ethically 472 Guidelines for Using Visuals Ethically 474

Using Appropriate Visuals for International Audiences 479 Visuals Do Not Always Translate from One Culture

to Another 479 Guidelines for Using Visuals for International Audiences 480

Conclusion 482 Revision Checklist 483 Exercises 483

Chapter 11: Designing Successful Documents and Websites 491 Organizing Information Visually 491 Characteristics of Effective Design 492 Desktop Publishing 493

Type 493 Templates 493 Graphics 494

Contents ix

Before Choosing a Design 495 The ABCs of Print Document Design 496

Page Layout 496 Typography 501 Graphics 505 Using Color 506

Poor Document Design: What Not to Do 507 Writing For and Designing Websites 508

The Organization of a Website—The Basics 508 Web Versus Paper Pages 509 Web Versus Print Readers 510 Case Study: Converting a Print Document

into a Website 510 Guidelines for Designing and Writing a Successful

Homepage 512 Creating Storyboards for Websites and Other Documents 518

Four Rules of Effective Page Design: A Wrap-Up 520 Revision Checklist 521 Exercises 522

Chapter 12: Writing Instructions and Procedures 526 Instructions and Your Job 526 Why Instructions Are Important 526

Safety 527 Efficiency 528 Convenience 528

The Variety of Instructions: A Brief Overview 528 Assessing and Meeting Your Audience’s Needs 528

Key Questions to Ask About Your Audience 529 Writing Instructions for International Audiences 530 Two Case Studies on Meeting Your Audience’s Needs 532

The Process of Writing Instructions 533 Plan Your Steps 533 Do a Trial Run 536 Write and Test Your Draft 536 Revise and Edit 536

Using the Right Style 537 Using Visuals Effectively 538

Guidelines for Using Visuals in Instructions 538 The Five Parts of Instructions 539

Introduction 539 List of Equipment and Materials 541 Steps for Your Instructions 542

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Warnings, Cautions, and Notes 544 Conclusion 546

Model of Full Set of Instructions 546 Writing Procedures for Policies and Regulations 554

Some Examples of Procedures 554 Meeting the Needs of Your Marketplace 554

Some Final Advice 555 Revision Checklist 558 Exercises 558

Chapter 13: Writing Winning Proposals 561 Writing Successful Proposals 561 Characteristics of Proposals 562

Proposals Vary in Size and Scope 562 Proposals Are Persuasive Plans 563 Proposals Frequently Are Collaborative Efforts 563

Types of Proposals 564 Solicited Proposals and Requests for Proposals 564 Unsolicited Proposals 565 Internal and External Proposals 569

Guidelines for Writing a Successful Proposal 570 Internal Proposals 573

Typical Topics for Internal Proposals 573 Following Corporate Policy 578 Ethically Resolving and Anticipating Readers’ Problems 578 Organization of an Internal Proposal 579

Sales Proposals 581 The Audience and Its Needs 581 Organizing a Sales Proposal 581

Proposals for Research Reports 587 Organization of a Proposal for a Research Report 587

A Final Reminder 592 Revision Checklist 592 Exercises 593

Chapter 14: Writing Effective Short Reports 599 Types of Short Reports 599 Guidelines for Writing Short Reports 601

Do the Necessary Research 601 Anticipate How an Audience Will Use Your Report 602 Be Objective and Ethical 603 Organize Carefully 604

Contents xi

Write Clearly and Concisely 604 Use an Appropriate Format and Visuals 605

Case Study: A Poor and an Effective Short Report 606 Periodic Reports 610 Sales Reports 610 Progress Reports 610

Audience and Length for a Progress Report 611 Frequency of Progress Reports 616 Parts of a Progress Report 616

Trip/Travel Reports 617 Questions Trip/Travel Reports Answer 617 Common Types of Trip/Travel Reports 618

Test Reports 625 Questions Your Report Needs to Answer 625 Case Study: Two Sample Test Reports 625

Incident Reports 629 When to Submit an Incident Report 630 Parts of an Incident Report 630

Protecting Yourself Legally 632 Short Reports: Some Final Thoughts 633 Revision Checklist 634 Exercises 634

Chapter 15: Writing Careful Long Reports 638 How a Long Report Differs from a Short Report 638

Scope 639 Research 639 Format 641 Timetable 641 Audience 641 Collaborative Effort 641

The Process of Writing a Long Report 642 Parts of a Long Report 643

Front Matter 643 Text of the Report 647 Back Matter 651

A Model Long Report 651 Final Words of Advice About Long Reports 668 Revision Checklist 668 Exercises 669

xii Contents

Chapter 16: Making Successful Presentations at Work 670 Types of Presentations 670 Informal Briefings 670

Guidelines for Preparing Informal Briefings 671 Using Telephones and Cell Phones Effectively 671 Telephone Etiquette 671

Formal Presentations 673 Analyzing Your Audience 673 The Parts of Formal Presentations 675 Presentation Software 680 Noncomputerized Presentations 683 Rehearsing Your Presentation 684 Delivering Your Presentation 685 Evaluating Presentations 688

Revision Checklist 691 Exercises 691

A Writer’s Brief Guide to Paragraphs, Sentences, and Words 693 Paragraphs 693

Writing a Well-Developed Paragraph 693 Supply a Topic Sentence 693 Three Characteristics of an Effective Paragraph 695

Sentences 697 Constructing and Punctuating Sentences 697 What Makes a Sentence 698 Avoiding Sentence Fragments 699 Avoiding Comma Splices 700 Avoiding Run-On Sentences 701 Making Subjects and Verbs Agree in Your Sentences 702 Writing Sentences That Say What You Mean 703 Correct Use of Pronoun References in Sentences 704

Words 705 Spelling Words Correctly 705 Using Apostrophes Correctly 705 Using Hyphens Properly 706 Using Ellipses 706 Using Numerals Versus Words 707 Matching the Right Word with the Right Meaning 707

Proofreading Marks 711 Index 712

Contents xiii

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P R E F A C E

Successful Writing at Work is a comprehensive introductory text for business, tech- nical, professional, and occupational writing courses. As readers of earlier editions of this text have learned, Successful Writing at Work can help students develop key communication skills essential for a successful career. Writing is a vital part of vir- tually every job today—and this real-world, practical textbook will guide students to become better writers while they also learn to develop and design effective work- place documents, visuals, and presentations.

Successful Writing at Work continues to take students step by step through each type of workplace writing by giving them detailed guidelines for preparing clear, well organized, and readable documents, websites, and presentations for a wide variety of readers. Moreover, because effective models are critical to learning new skills, students will—as in past editions—find a wide and up-to-date range of realistic and rhetorically diverse examples (all of them annotated and visually varied) demonstrating the function, scope, format, and organization of various types of documents. All of these models are focused directly on practical issues in the world of work and portray employees as successful writers.

This new ninth edition is as versatile as it is comprehensive. Full enough for a 16-week semester, it can also be easily adapted to a shorter 6-, 8-, or 10-week course. Furthermore, Successful Writing at Work is designed to go beyond classroom appli- cations: It is a ready reference that students can easily carry with them as they begin or advance in the workplace. As students will quickly find, this edition—like earlier ones—is rich in practical applications. It can be as useful to readers with little or no job experience as to those with years of experience in one or several fields. This edi- tion also takes into consideration the needs of students reentering the job market or changing careers.

Distinctive Features of Successful Writing at Work

The distinctive features that in the past have made Successful Writing at Work a user- friendly text in the contemporary workplace continue to be emphasized in the ninth edition. These features include those skills that are central to success in the world of work—analyzing audiences, approaching writing as a problem-solving activity, using the latest workplace technologies, being an ethical employee, and writing for the global marketplace.

■ Analyzing audiences. The ninth edition once again stresses the importance of audience analysis and the writer’s obligation to achieve the “you attitude” in every workplace document. Moreover, the concept of audience is extended

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xvi Preface

to include readers worldwide, as well as non-native speakers of English, whether as co-workers, employers, clients, or representatives of various agencies and organizations. Memos, e-mails, letters, résumés, application letters, summaries, visuals, websites, instructions, proposals, short reports, long reports, and presentations are introduced and illustrated with the intended audience(s) in mind.

■ Approaching writing as a problem-solving activity. The ninth edition con- tinues to emphasize workplace writing as a problem-solving activity in which employees meet the needs of their employers, co-workers, customers, clients, and vendors worldwide by getting to the bottom line. Successful Writing at Work presents multiple situations and problems that students will have to address, and it highlights the rhetorical and technical options avail- able for solving these problems. It teaches students how to develop the criti- cal skills necessary for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing a variety of documents from memos to reports. In addition, in-depth case studies throughout the book demonstrate how writers find resources and develop rhetorical strategies to solve problems in the business world.

■ Using the latest workplace technologies. This ninth edition offers the most current and extensive coverage of communication technologies for writing successfully in the rapidly changing world of work—from the Internet, e-mail, presentation software, and instant messaging to the newest workplace technologies, including blogs, wikis, document tracking systems, intranets, whiteboards, web and video conferencing tools, and smartphones. You’ll find coverage of these technologies not only integrated into each chapter, but also highlighted in the Tech Notes boxes in every chapter.

■ Being an ethical employee. Companies expect their employees to behave and write ethically. Often, though, writers are faced with ethical dilemmas in the workplace. As in earlier editions, the ninth edition of Successful Writing at Work reinforces the importance of ethical workplace writing. Not only are ethics stressed in Chapter 1, but all chapters offer guidelines and examples on the need to write and act ethically in the world of work. Special attention to ethics can be found in the sections on editing to avoid sexism and biased lan- guage; writing e-mails, instant messages, and blogs; drafting diplomatic and respectful letters; preparing honest and realistic résumés; conducting accu- rate, objective, and documented research; using and constructing unaltered and unbiased visuals; preparing safe and effective instructions; and writing truthful proposals and reports.

■ Writing for the global marketplace. In today’s global workplace, effective employees must be consistently aware of and know how to write for a wide variety of readers, both in the United States and across the globe. Conse- quently, almost every chapter in this new edition includes increased coverage of writing for international readers and non-native speakers of English. The needs and expectations of these international audiences receive special atten- tion starting with Chapter 1 and continuing throughout the chapters focus- ing on correspondence, visuals, instructions, short and long reports, and presentations.

Preface xvii

New and Updated Material in the Ninth Edition

To meet the needs of employees in today’s workplace, the ninth edition of Success- ful Writing at Work is one of the most extensively revised editions yet. It has been carefully streamlined and updated to make it the most contemporary tool possible for instructors and students alike. Throughout this edition you will find strength- ened coverage, new topics, updated guidelines, and a wealth of new annotated ex- amples of workplace documents, plus new Tech Notes, case studies, and exercises to make the presentation of workplace writing more relevant and current. Here is an overview of what has been added or updated to make Successful Writing at Work, Ninth Edition, a comprehensive and up-to-date text:

■ New chapter on research and documentation. The ninth edition includes a new Chapter 8, “Doing Research and Documentation on the Job,” focusing on the tools and strategies students need for workplace success. Beginning with a discussion of how research done in school differs from that in the workplace, the chapter gives students a thorough and realistic introduction to the types of problems they will need to research and solve in the world of work. Special attention is given to the methods and types of primary research most often used in the workplace (with new annotated examples), including observations, interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Secondary research is covered in even greater detail than in previous editions—again from a work- place perspective—with an emphasis on navigating different types of libraries (including Internet and corporate libraries); using general and business- specific periodical databases; consulting reference materials with demographic and government statistics; conducting business-oriented Internet searches; taking effective notes; and documenting sources properly according to the latest MLA and APA guidelines.

■ New real-world extended examples in the research chapter. The most in- novative features in Chapter 8 are its two new extended examples, both adapted from real-world sources: “The Ways Research Is Conducted at the B&L Stores,” written by a retail executive with years of practical experience, is a behind-the-scenes look at how and why research is necessary for both day-to-day and long-range decision making. “A Marketing Plan for Sawmill Ridge,” written by a collaborative real estate marketing team, is an actual business research report—fully annotated—that illustrates the range of re- search methods and materials covered earlier in the chapter and demonstrates how writers organize the results of their research for decision makers.

■ New and expanded coverage of workplace technologies. In addition to new and revised Tech Notes in every chapter, business communication technolo- gies are highlighted in many of the chapters: Chapter 3, “Collaborative Writ- ing and Meetings at Work,” now includes a new section on collaborative editing using e-mail, document tracking systems, and wikis. Chapter 4, “Writing Routine Business Correspondence,” provides updated coverage on

xviii Preface

writing and organizing e-mails, along with new sections on (and examples of) instant messages and internal and external business blogs. Chapter 7, “How to Get a Job,” features updated coverage of online résumés, along with new sections on developing and designing career portfolios. Chapter 8, “Doing Research and Documentation on the Job,” details the latest strategies for doing research with electronic and print sources and documenting a wide range of sources—print, electronic, personal, statistical—in the business world. Chapter 11, “Designing Successful Documents and Websites,” contains a new streamlined discussion of writing and designing texts for an online en- vironment. Finally, Chapter 16, “Making Successful Presentations at Work,” helps students understand how to be better, more persuasive speakers using PowerPoint technology and includes a revised sample slide show.

■ New and Updated Tech Notes. Thirteen new Tech Notes have been added to this edition, covering important technologies ranging from coordinating virtual meetings to finding gray literature and using RSS feeds, PDF files, and whiteboards. In addition, all other Tech Notes have been updated, making this edition a valuable introduction to the workplaces of the new millennium. See the inside back cover for a complete list of the Tech Notes, both new and revised, in this edition.

■ New and updated material on collaborative writing and meetings. In addition to streamlined and updated guidelines for setting up, conducting, and avoiding conflicts in group settings, Chapter 3, “Collaborative Writ- ing and Meetings at Work,” now includes a section on ten ways to be a team player, a discussion of collaborating electronically with new figures showing how documents are collaboratively edited using e-mail and docu- ment tracking systems, plus further guidelines on planning virtual and face-to-face meetings.

■ New and enhanced discussion of workplace correspondence. Each of the three chapters on workplace correspondence contains new and updated ma- terial to help students become diplomatic and proficient writers. Chapter 4, “Writing Routine Business Correspondence,” features updated coverage of memos, e-mails, and faxes, along with new sections (with annotated figures) on writing instant messages and internal and external blogs. Chapter 5, “Writing Letters,” supplies updated guidelines for writing standard business letters, as well as enhanced coverage of international business correspon- dence. And Chapter 6, “Types of Business Letters,” gives students practical, updated guidelines on writing various types of letters, with enhanced atten- tion to how a corporate culture promotes its identity.

■ New and expanded coverage of employment correspondence. Already praised for its helpful coverage of the job search, Chapter 7, “How to Get a Job,” offers the most current advice on searching for and applying for a job. It includes a new section on helping students prepare for their careers while they are still in college; updated advice on searching for a job; streamlined discussions and numerous annotated examples of résumés and letters of application; cutting-edge coverage of online résumés; and new sections on dossiers and career portfolios, with an annotated sample webfolio. Reflecting

Preface xix

changes in how companies interview and hire job candidates, the chapter closes with new, highly practical advice on interview strategies.

■ New model internal proposal. The new unsolicited internal proposal in Chapter 13, “Writing Winning Proposals,” underscores a theme in this new edition that technology and effective writing are inseparable in the world of work. It is written to persuade a company to purchase GPS tracking systems for its fleet of vehicles, a topic not only highly relevant in this era of escalat- ing energy costs, but one that effectively shows how proposal writers use research and audience analysis.

■ New and stronger emphasis on greening the workplace. This edition gives greater attention to the importance of protecting and preserving the environ- ment, both in the workplace and at off-site locations. Chapter 1 includes a major example of how a power company and its employees safeguard the nat- ural resources their customers need and then describes the ethical responsi- bilities companies and their employees have to respect the environment. Subsequent chapters include examples of how they can go about this. For instance, Chapter 3 offers drafts of a report on the importance of recycling, Chapter 8 includes a screen shot of the EPA website; and Chapter 14 shows a progress report from a contractor remodeling an office space to save energy as well as a test report on soil conservation.

Organization of Successful Writing at Work, Ninth Edition

The following overview of the organization of this new edition briefly outlines how this text can help both students and instructors.

Overview of Part I: Backgrounds Part I (Chapters 1–3) explains the foundational concepts of occupational writing, the basics of the writing process, and the importance of collaborative writing in the workplace.

Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” sets the stage for all occupational writing by in- troducing writing as an essential job skill vitally important in the global market- place, then defines and illustrates the basic concepts of audience analysis, purpose, message, persuasion, style, and tone. The chapter then turns to the characteristics of job-related writing and concludes with a strong emphasis on being an ethical writer and employee.

Chapter 2, “The Writing Process at Work,” introduces students to the process of researching, planning, drafting, revising, and editing their written work and then shows them how to troubleshoot some of the most common writing errors found in job-related writing. The information on effective writing in this chapter is threaded throughout the ninth edition.

Chapter 3, “Collaborative Writing and Meetings at Work,” emphasizes the im- portance of teamwork, giving students valuable and easy-to-apply guidelines for

xx Preface

being productive, cooperative collaborative writers. This chapter also explores some of the major problems writers face when working together and gives helpful, realis- tic advice on how they can use software to become effective editors during the col- laboration process. The final section of the chapter focuses on planning, attending, and recording meetings.

Overview of Part II: Correspondence Part II (Chapters 4–7) concentrates on how to write various types of business cor- respondence, from informal documents and electronic correspondence to formal letters and job application materials.

Chapter 4, “Writing Routine Business Correspondence,” offers abundant ex- amples of and guidelines for writing workplace e-correspondence, including e-mails, IMs, and internal and external blogs, as well as memos and faxes.

Chapter 5, “Writing Letters,” introduces students to the basics of letter writ- ing, concentrating on why letters remain important in the Internet age, how to se- lect appropriate letter formats, how to organize a letter, what constitutes a clear and concise style, and why the audience’s needs must always be at the forefront. The chapter also includes an in-depth section on writing for international readers.

Chapter 6, “Types of Business Letters,” examines the rhetorical strategies for producing a variety of business letters, including inquiry, special request, sales, and several types of customer relations letters. The chapter also gives students organiza- tional strategies for preparing good news or bad news letters, along with annotated examples of both appropriate and inappropriate letters.

Chapter 7, “How to Get a Job,” takes students step by step through the process of finding a job, from preparing for a career while they are still in college through looking in the right places for a job, creating both print and online résumés, writing application letters, preparing a dossier and webfolio, and interviewing. The chapter provides a wide variety of sample documents—particularly résumés and letters of application—from applicants with varying degrees of experience.

Overview of Part III: Gathering and Summarizing Information Part III (Chapters 8 and 9) occupies a key position in the ninth edition because it helps students identify and employ the strategies and tools to do careful research and write clear summaries and abstracts essential in the busy world of work.

Chapter 8, “Doing Research and Documentation on the Job,” focuses exclu- sively on the hows and whys of research in the workplace, from understanding the research process as a whole to preparing a fully documented business research report. The process of doing research is simplified by dividing it into three com- ponents: doing primary research in a business context, doing business-focused sec- ondary research, and avoiding plagiarism by properly documenting a wide range of sources using MLA and APA styles. An annotated real-world business research re- port illustrates how writers find, organize, and analyze information to help deci- sion makers solve workplace problems.

Preface xxi

Chapter 9, “Summarizing Information at Work,” shows students how to write clear and succinct summaries, including executive and evaluative summaries, ab- stracts, and news releases. Particularly helpful in this chapter is an extended, anno- tated example showing students how to summarize—from an original document with important points underscored to a working draft summary to a final, effec- tive summary.

Overview of Part IV: Preparing Documents and Visuals In Part IV (Chapters 10–16), students are given continued opportunities to apply the skills they learned in Parts II and III to ever more complex writing assignments. The section focuses first on visuals and document design, then on major business and technical writing documents (instructions, proposals, short reports, and long reports), and finally on presentations.

Chapter 10, “Designing Clear Visuals,” offers practical advice on designing, in- serting, and writing about the numerous types of visuals (tables, graphs, charts, maps, photographs, clip art) students will use in the world of work. An especially helpful feature of this chapter is its emphasis on using visuals ethically and appro- priately, especially for international audiences.

Chapter 11, “Designing Successful Documents and Websites,” stresses the sig- nificance of document design and gives students practical advice and pertinent ex- amples for making their work more reader-friendly and visually appealing. The chapter also contains detailed guidelines on writing for websites, emphasizing the differences between print and Web messages.

Chapter 12, “Writing Instructions and Procedures,” underscores the impor- tance of writing efficient, safe, convenient, and audience-appropriate instructions. Incorporated into the discussion are guidelines on planning, writing, and testing in- structions, illustrated with a complete set of annotated instructions. Procedures, a frequent business genre distinct from standard instructions, are discussed and illus- trated in depth at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 13, “Writing Winning Proposals,” describes the persuasive nature of proposals and explores how to write three common types of proposals: internal, sales, and research proposals. Annotated examples of each type of proposal give students positive, effective models to help strengthen their skills.

Chapter 14, “Writing Effective Short Reports,” outlines the principles common to all short reports and then discusses specific types of reports, including periodic, sales, progress, trip/travel, test, and incident reports. This chapter again cautions students about the ethical implications of what they write and shows them how to avoid typical pitfalls.

Chapter 15, “Writing Careful Long Reports,” encourages students to see the long report as the culmination of all of their work in the course. The chapter looks at individual parts of the long report illustrated in detail in the fully annotated model report that closes the chapter.

Chapter 16, “Making Successful Presentations at Work,” offers common sense advice on how to use the phone, conduct informal briefings, and prepare for, organize, deliver, and evaluate a formal presentation with appropriate software.

xxii Preface

Supplements The Successful Writing at Work, Ninth Edition, Online Study Center (www .cengage.com/english/kolin) includes the following resources for students:

■ Improve Your Grade: Online exercises for each chapter are designed to help students simultaneously practice chapter skills and become effective writers using the latest technologies—from word processing features such as report templates and document tracking, to presentation software, to Internet technologies like mind-mapping software and résumé-, survey-, and blog builders. In addition, annotated Web links accompanying every chapter enable students to explore chapter topics even further.

■ ACE the Test: Two gradable 10-question ACE self-tests per chapter are pro- vided to help students test their full understanding of chapter topics.

The Online Teaching Center (www.cengage.com/english/kolin) provides plenti- ful material for instructors looking for ideas and aids to teach the course:

■ Correlation Guide. For those instructors transitioning from either Success- ful Writing at Work, Eighth Edition, or the Concise Second Edition, this guide provides side-by-side content comparisons for easy updating of course syllabi.

■ Sample Syllabi. Two syllabi are provided, one for a 15-week course incorpo- rating research and long reports, and one for a shorter 10-week course. Both syllabi provide course goals and week-by-week strategies, but they can also be downloaded and adapted to the particular needs of various courses.

■ Some Suggestions on How to Teach Job-Related Writing. This helpful guide provides ideas for simulating real-world experience in the classroom, enhancing classes by bringing in outside speakers and examples, and high- lighting the crucial topics of ethics, global audience, technology, and collabo- ration.

■ PowerPoint Slides. Slide shows for each chapter thoroughly cover all chapter topics and allow for enhanced classroom presentation.

■ Suggested Approaches to Exercises. Since most of the exercises in Successful Writing at Work are designed to elicit a variety of responses from students, suggested approaches to evaluating and grading exercises are provided, rather than “right” or “wrong” answers.

The InSite online writing and research tool includes electronic peer review, an orig- inality checker, an assignment library, help with common grammar and writing er- rors, and access to InfoTrac® College Edition. Portfolio management gives you the ability to grade papers, run originality reports, and offer feedback in an easy-to-use online course management system. Using InSite’s peer review feature, students can easily review and respond to their classmates’ work. Other features include fully integrated discussion boards, streamlined assignment creation, and more. Visit www.academic.cengage.com/insite to view a demonstration.

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Preface xxiii

Acknowledgments In a very real sense, the ninth edition has profited from a collaboration of various reviewers with the author. I am, therefore, honored to thank the following review- ers who have helped me improve this edition significantly:

■ Lynette L. Emanuel, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College ■ Darrell Fike, Valdosta State University ■ Julie Freeman, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis ■ Patrick L. Green, Aiken Technical College ■ Elizabeth Heath, Florida Gulf Coast University ■ Michael Piotrowski, The University of Toledo ■ Sheila Squillante, The Pennsylvania State University ■ Kelly Wilkinson, Indiana State University

I am also deeply grateful to the following individuals at the University of South- ern Mississippi for their help as I prepared the ninth edition. From the Depart- ment of English, I thank my Chair, Michael Mays, as well as Lori Brister, Ben Geddes, Anna Gibson, Josh Grey, Erin Smith, Sherry Smith, and Danielle Sypher- Haley. I am especially grateful to Denise von Herrmann, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, for her continued appreciation of my work. My thanks also go to Cliff Burgess (Department of Computer Science), Mary Lux (Department of Medical Technology), Andreas Skalko (Office of Professional, Developmental and Educational Outreach), and Naofumi Tatsumi (Department of Foreign Lan- guages). I am grateful to Dean Carole Kiehl for her assistance. To the following librarians at Cook Library goes my gratitude for their help—Mary Beth Applin, Sherry Laughlin, Edward McCormack, Steven Turner, and especially Maria Englert for her cooperation.

I am also grateful to Terri Smith Ruckel at Louisiana State University for assis- tance with Chapter 15, and Jianqing Zheng at Mississippi Valley State University and Fatih Uzuner for their help with the Chinese and Turkish translations used in Chapter 12.

Several individuals from the business world also gave me wise counsel, for which I am thankful. They include Sally Eddy at Georgia Pacific; Cathy and Hilary J. Englert at Rice’s Potato Chips; Richard E. Kramer, New York City; John Krumpos at Gulf Paper Company; Kirk Woodward at Visiting Nurse Services of New York; and Joycelyn Woolfolk at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta.

I am also especially grateful to Father Michael Tracey for his counsel and his contributions to Chapter 11 on document design, particularly on websites.

My thanks go to my editors at Cengage Learning for their assistance, encour- agement, and friendship—Margaret Bridges, Judith Fifer, Megan Garvey, Philip Lanza, Michael Rosenberg, Sarah Truax, and Helen Wood, and to freelance devel- opment editor and consultant Bruce Cantley, photo researcher Bruce Carson, and Alison Fields, who handled the book’s production.

I deeply thank my extended family—Margie and Al Parish, Sister Carmelita Stinn, and Mary and Ralph Torrelli—for their prayers and love.

xxiv Preface

Finally, I am deeply grateful to my son Eric and my daughter-in-law Theresa for their enthusiastic and invaluable assistance as I prepared Chapter 8; to my grandson Evan Philip and granddaughter Megan Elise for their love and encouragement. My daughter Kristin also merits loving praise for her help throughout this new edition by doing various searches and revisions and by offering practical advice on success- ful writing at work. And to Diane Dobson I say thank you for bringing so much peace, music, and love into my life.

P.C.K.

P A R T I

Backgrounds

1 Getting Started Writing and Your Career

2 The Writing Process at Work

3 Collaborative Writing and Meetings at Work

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What skills have you learned in school or on the job? Perhaps you have learned health care techniques to become a nurse, respiratory therapist, or dental hygienist. Maybe you have received training in law enforcement to work in crime detection or traffic control. Possibly you have studied or worked in software technology, agriculture, information science, hotel and restaurant management, or forestry. Or maybe you have improved skills that will make you a better marketing specialist, salesperson, office manager, programmer, paralegal, or accountant. Whatever your area of accomplishment, the practical know-how you have acquired is crucial for your career.

Writing—An Essential Job Skill Writing is also a part of every job, from your initial letter of application conveying first impressions to the memos, e-mails, blogs, business letters, proposals, and reports that will earn you raises and promotions.

The Associated Press reported in a recent survey that “most American busi- nesses say workers need to improve their writing . . . skills.” The same report cited a survey of 402 companies that identified writing as “the most valued skill of em- ployees.” Still, the employers polled in that survey indicated that 80 percent of their employees need to work on their writing skills. Clearly, then, writing is an essential skill for employers and employees alike. Figure 1.1 is an e-mail from a human re- sources director offering an incentive to employees to improve their writing skills by taking a college writing course.

As Rowe Pinkerton, the author of that e-mail, realizes, among the most cost- effective skills you can offer a prospective employer is your writing ability. Businesses pay a premium price for good writing. According to Don Bagin, a communications consultant, most people need an hour or more to write a typical business letter. If an employer is paying someone $30,000 a year, one letter costs $14 of that employee’s time; for someone who earns $50,000 a year, the cost of the average letter jumps to $24. Mistakes in letters are also costly. As David F. Noble cautions in his book

3

C H A P T E R 1

Getting Started Writing and Your Career

Visit www .cengage.com/ english/kolin for this chapter’s online exercises, ACE quizzes, and Web links.

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Gallery of Best Cover Letters, “the cost of a cover letter (in applying for a job) might be as much as a third of a million dollars—even more—if you figure the amount of income and benefits you don’t receive over, say, a 10-year period for a job you don’t get because of an error that got you screened out.”

4 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

DeleteReply Save Forward Print

To:

From:

Date:

Subject:

I am pleased to announce a new company benefit approved by the

Board at its meeting last week. In its continuing effort to improve writing

in the workplace, Greer, Inc., will offer tuition reimbursement to any

employee who takes a course in business, technical, or occupational

writing, starting this fall.

Three Requirements: To qualify, employees must do the following:

(1) Submit a two-page proposal on how such a course will improve the

employee’s job performance here at Greer.

(2) Take the class at one of the approved colleges or universities in the

Cleveland area listed on the attachment to this e-mail.

(3) Provide proof (through a transcript or final grade report) that he or

she has successfully completed the course.

To apply, please submit your proposal to Dawn Wagner-Lawlor in

Human Resources (dwlawlor@greer.com) at least one month before

you intend to enroll in the course.

Here’s to productive writing!

Rowe Pinkerton

Human Resources Director

781-555-3692

All Employees

5/10/2009

New company benefit to improve writing

Figure 1.1 An employer’s view of the importance of writing.

Stresses the importance of writing

Clearly explains how to take advantage of company offer

Closes on an upbeat note

One obvious indication of how essential writing is to any job is the technology found in the workplace—PCs and laptops process and display writing; hard drives and disks store writing; printers produce hardcopies of writing; and scanners, e-mails, faxes, IMs, and text messages transmit writing. Writing keeps business

Writing—An Essential Job Skill 5

Tech Note

Know Your Computer at Work

A major part of any job is knowing your computer thoroughly. You need to know not just how to use the applications installed on your computer, but also what to do if there is a computer emergency.

Given the kinds of security risks businesses face today, employees have to be especially careful. As Kim Becker cautions in a recent issue of Nevada Business, “With malware, spyware, adware, viruses, Trojans, worms, phishing, and server problems, it’s time for every business to review its IT strategy and security before a loss occurs.”*

Here are some guidelines on how to use your computer effectively on the job:

■ Understand how the software on your computer works. Your office will most likely require employees to use Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. But make sure you know how to use the entire software package, not just the word-processing feature, but also the filing, formatting, spreadsheet, presentation, and tables/graphics software.

■ Get training on how to use company-specific applications. You will be expected to know how to use company-created databases, templates, and other customized applications on the job. If your company offers classes on how to use these programs, take them. Otherwise, ask for the advice of a co-worker or someone in i-Tech who knows these procedures.

■ Learn how to back up your files. If your computer crashes, you will save yourself, your boss, your co-workers, and your clients time and stress by backing up your essential files regularly, so that you have them easily on hand rather than risk losing them.

■ Make sure that your computer is virus protected. Ask a co-worker or someone from your company’s i-Tech department to help you ensure that your computer is virus free and that current anti-virus software has been in- stalled. Also, find out how to avoid computer viruses and what to do if your computer becomes infected.

■ Set up an alternate e-mail address. If you cannot access your e-mail on the job because of a server that is down, sign up for a free e-mail account with a provider such as Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, or G-mail that you can use until the server is up.

*Kim Becker, “Security in the Workplace: Technology Issues Threaten Business Prosperity,” Nevada Business (July 2008).

Visit www .cengage.com/ english/kolin for an online exer- cise, “Getting to Know Your Computer.”

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moving. It allows employees to communicate with one another, with management, and with the customers and clients that the company must serve to stay in business. In your job, you can expect to write e-mails, letters, memos, summaries, instruc- tions, procedures, questionnaires, proposals, reports, and much more. This book will show you, step by step, how to write those and other job-related communica- tions easily and competently.

Chapter 1 gives you some basic information about writing in the global mar- ketplace and offers major questions you can ask yourself to make the writing process easier and the results more effective. It also describes the basic functions of on-the-job writing and introduces you to one of the most important requirements in the business world—writing ethically.

Writing for the Global Marketplace The Internet, e-mail, express delivery, teleconferencing, and e-commerce have shrunk the world into a global village. Accordingly, it is no longer feasible to think of business in exclusively regional or even national terms. Many companies are multinational corporations with offices throughout the world. In fact, many U.S. businesses are branches of international firms. A large, multinational corporation may have its equipment designed in Japan; built in Bangladesh; and sold in Detroit, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Its stockholders may be in Mexico City as well as Saudi Arabia—in fact, anywhere. In this global economy, every country is affected by every other one, and all of them are connected by the Internet.

Competing for International Business Companies must compete for international sales to stay in business. Every business, whether large or small, has to appeal to diverse international markets to be compet- itive. Each year a larger share of the U.S. gross national product (GNP) depends on global markets. Some U.S. firms estimate that 40 to 50 percent of their business is conducted outside of the United States. Wal-Mart, for example, has opened hun- dreds of stores in mainland China, and General Electric has plants in over fifty countries. In fact, Jupiter Research estimates that 75 percent of the global Internet population lives outside the United States. If your company, however small, has a website, then it is an international business.

Communicating with Global Audiences: Seeing the World Through Their Eyes To be a successful employee in this highly competitive, global market, you have to communicate clearly and diplomatically with a host of readers from different cul- tural backgrounds. Adopting a global perspective on business will help you com- municate and build goodwill with the customers you write to, no matter where they live—across town, in another state, or on other continents, miles and time zones away. As a result, don’t presume that you will be writing only to native speakers of American English. As a part of your job, you may communicate with readers in

6 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

Visit www .cengage.com/ english/kolin for an online exer- cise, “Exploring the Online Global Market- place.”

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Singapore, Jamaica, and South Africa, for example, who speak varieties of English quite different from American English, as illustrated in the first pie chart in Figure 1.2. You will also very likely be writing to readers for whom English is not their first (or native) language, as shown in the second pie chart in Figure 1.2. These international readers will have varying degrees of proficiency in English, from a fairly good com- mand (as with many readers in India and the Philippines, where English is widely spoken), to little comprehension without the use of a foreign language dictionary and a grammar book to decode your message (as in countries where English is widely taught in schools and recommended for success in the business world but not spoken on a regular basis). These individuals, who may reside either in the United States or in a foreign country, will constitute a large and important audience for your work.

Writing to these international readers with proper business etiquette means first learning about their cultural values and assumptions—what they value and also what they regard as communication taboos. They may not conduct business exactly the way it is done in the United States, and to think they should is wrong. Your in- ternational audience is likely to have different expectations of how they want a let- ter addressed or written to them, how they prefer a proposal to be submitted, how they wish a business meeting to be conducted, or how they think questions should be asked and agreements reached. Their concepts of time, family, money, the world, the environment, managers, and communication itself may be nothing like those in the United States. Visuals, including icons, which are easily understood in the United States, may be baffling elsewhere in the world. If you misunderstand your audience’s culture by inadvertently writing, creating, or saying something inappro- priate, it can cost your company a contract and you your job.

Writing for the Global Marketplace 7

Native and non-native speakers of English across the world. Figure 1.2

Source: New Scientist magazine.

Cultural Diversity at Home Cultural diversity exists inside as well as outside the company you work for. Don’t conclude that your boss or co-workers are all native speakers of English, either, or that they come from the same cultural background that you do. In the next decade, as much as 40 to 50 percent of the U.S. skilled work force may be composed of re- cent immigrants who bring their own traditions and languages with them. These are highly educated, multicultural, and multinational individuals who have acquired English as a second language.

For the common good of your company, you need to be respectful of these in- ternational colleagues. In fact, multinational employees can be tremendously impor- tant for your company in making contacts in their native country and in helping your firm understand and appreciate ethical/cultural differences among customers. The long report in Chapter 15 (pages 652–666) describes some ways in which a com- pany can both acknowledge and respect the different cultural traditions of its inter- national employees. Businesses want to emphasize their international commitments. A large corporation such as Citibank, for instance, is eager to promote its image of helping customers worldwide, as Figure 1.3 shows.

Using International English Whether international readers are your customers or co-workers, you will have to adapt your writing to respect their language needs and communication protocols. To communicate with non-native speakers, you should use “international English,” a way of writing that is easily understood, culturally tactful, and diplomatic. To write international English means you reexamine your own writing. The words, id- ioms, phrases, and sentences you choose instinctively for U.S. readers may not be appropriate for an audience for whom English is a second, or even third, language. If you find a set of directions accompanying your computer or software package confusing, imagine how much more intimidating such a document would be for non-native speakers of English. But with international English your message is clear, straightforward, and appropriate for readers who are not native speakers of English. International English is user-friendly in terms of the words, formats, and visuals you choose. It is free from complex, hard-to-process sentences as well as from cultural bias.

International English is discussed in detail on pages 170–187. Later chapters of this book also give you practical guidelines on writing or creating e-mails, corre- spondence, instructions, reports, websites, and other work-related documents suit- able for a global audience.

Four Keys to Effective Writing Effective writing on the job is carefully planned, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented. Its purpose is always to accomplish a specific goal and to be as persua- sive as possible. Whether you send a routine e-mail to a co-worker in Cincinnati or

8 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

Four Keys to Effective Writing 9

A company’s dedication to globalization. Figure 1.3

How Citigroup Meets Banking Needs Around the World WITH A BANKING EMPIRE that spans more than 100 countries, Citigroup is experienced at meeting the diverse financial services needs of businesses,

individuals, customers, and governments. The bank is headquartered in New York

City but has offices in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle

East, as well as throughout North America. Live or work in Japan? You can open a

checking account at Citigroup’s Citibank branch in downtown Tokyo. How about

Mexico? Visit a Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival branch, owned by Citigroup.

Citigroup owns European American Bank and has even bought a stake in a

Shanghai-based bank with an eye toward attracting more of China’s $1 trillion in

bank deposits. Between acquisitions and long-established branches, Citigroup

covers the globe from the Atlantic to the Pacific and the Indian Oceans.

Individuals can use Citigroup for all the usual banking services . . . . Personalized

service is the hallmark of . . . the bank, which can help prepare customized financial

plans for . . . customers, manage their securities trading activities, provide trust

services, and much more. What’s more, Citigroup is active in communities around

the world through philanthropic contributions and grants, financial literacy

seminars, volunteerism, and supplier diversity programs. This financial services

giant strives for the best of both worlds, wielding its global presence and resources

to meet banking needs locally, one customer at a time.

Source: From Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor, Business, 8th ed., p. 587. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Used by permission.

in Shanghai or a special report to the president of the company, your writing will be more effective if you ask yourself four questions:

1. Who will read what I write? (Identify your audience.) 2. Why should they read what I write? (Establish your purpose.) 3. What do I have to say to them? (Formulate your message.) 4. How can I best communicate? (Select your style and tone.)

The questions who? why? what? and how? do not function independently; they are all related. You write (1) for a specific audience (2) with a clearly defined purpose in mind (3) about a topic your readers need to understand (4) in language appropriate for the occasion. Once you answer the first question, you are off to a good start toward an- swering the other three. Now let us examine each of the four questions in detail.

Identifying Your Audience Knowing who makes up your audience is one of your most important responsibili- ties as a writer. Expect to analyze your audience throughout the composing process.

Look at the posters in Figures 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6. The main purpose of all three posters is the same: to discourage people from smoking. The essential message in

10 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

Figure 1.4 No-smoking poster aimed at fathers who smoke.

Children whose parents smoke are 50% more likely to start

smoking than children whose parents don’t smoke.

Photo by Peter Poulides/Getty Images.

each poster—smoking is dangerous to your health—is also the same. But note how the different details—words, photographs, situations—have been selected to appeal to three different audiences.

The poster in Figure 1.4 is aimed at fathers who smoke. As you can see, it is an image of a father smoking next to his son, who is reaching for his pack of cigarettes. Note how the caption “Will your child follow in your footsteps?” plays on the fact that the father and son are literally sitting on steps, but at the same time the word footsteps implies “following another’s lead.” The statistic at the bottom of the poster reinforces both the photo caption and the image, hitting home the point that parental behavior strongly influences children’s behavior. Already the child in the photo- graph is following his father by showing a clear interest in smoking.

The poster in Figure 1.5 is aimed at an audience of pregnant women and appro- priately shows a pregnant woman with a lit cigarette. The words on the poster ap- peal to a mother’s sense of responsibility as the reason to stop smoking, a reason to which this audience would be most likely to respond.

Figure 1.6 is directed toward young athletes. The word smoke is aimed directly at their game and their goal. In fact, the poster writers appropriately made the goal the same for the game as for the players’ lives. Note, too, how this image is suitable for an international audience.

Four Keys to Effective Writing 11

No-smoking poster directed at pregnant women. Figure 1.5

Smoking Puts Both Mother

and Child at Risk

Photo by Bill Crump/Brand X Pictures/Fotosearch/Royalty-Free Image.

The copywriters who created these posters have chosen appropriate details— words, pictures, captions, and so on—to convince each audience not to smoke. With their careful choices, they successfully answered the question “How can we best communicate with each audience?” Note that details relevant for one audience (athletes, for example) could not be used as effectively for another audience (such as fathers).

The three messages illustrate some fundamental points to keep in mind when identifying your audience.

■ Members of each audience differ in backgrounds, experiences, needs, and opinions.

■ How you picture your audience will determine what you say to them. ■ Viewing something from the audience’s perspective will help you to select the

most relevant details for that audience.

Some Questions to Ask About Your Audience You can form a fairly accurate picture of your audience by asking yourself some questions before you write. For each audience you need to reach, consider the fol- lowing questions.

12 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

Figure 1.6 No-smoking poster appealing to young athletes.

1. Who is my audience? What individual(s) will most likely be reading my work?

If you are writing for individuals at work:

■ What is my reader’s job title? Co-worker? Immediate supervisor? Vice president?

■ What kind of job experience, education, and interests does my reader have?

If you are writing for clients or consumers (a very large, sometimes fragmented audience):

■ How can I find out about their interest in my product or service? ■ How much will this audience know about my company? About me?

2. How many people will make up my audience?

■ Will just one individual read what I write (the nurse on the next shift, the production manager) or will many people read it (all the consumers of a product or service)?

■ Will my boss want to see my work (say, a letter to a consumer in response to a complaint) to approve it?

■ Will I be sending my message to a large group of people sharing a similar in- terest in my topic, such as a listserv?

3. How well does my audience understand English?

■ Are all my readers native speakers of English? ■ Will I be communicating with people all around the globe? ■ Will some of my readers speak English as a second or even third language,

and so require extra sensitivity on my part to their needs as non-native speak- ers of English?

■ Are my English-speaking readers all located within the United States, or are some from other English-speaking countries, such as England, Australia, Singapore, Jamaica, Ireland, or New Zealand?

■ Will some of my readers speak no English, but instead use an English gram- mar book and foreign language dictionary to understand what I’ve written?

4. How much does my audience already know about my writing topic?

■ Will my audience know as much as I do about the particular problem or is- sue, or will they need to be briefed or updated?

■ Are my readers familiar with, and do they expect me to use, technical terms and descriptions, or will I have to provide easy-to-understand and nontech- nical wording?

■ Will I need to include detailed tables and visuals, or will a map, photograph, or simple drawing be enough?

5. What is my audience’s reason for reading my work?

■ Is my communication part of their routine duties, or are they looking for information to solve a problem or make a decision?

■ Am I writing to describe benefits that another writer or company cannot offer?

Four Keys to Effective Writing 13

■ Will my readers expect complete details, or will a short summary be enough? ■ Are they reading my work to make an important decision affecting a co-

worker, a client, or a community? ■ Are they reading something I write because they must (a legal notification,

for instance)?

6. What are my audience’s expectations about my written work?

■ Do they want an e-mail or will they expect a formal letter? ■ Will they expect me to follow a company format and style? ■ Are they looking for a one-page memo or for a comprehensive report? ■ Should I use a formal tone or a more relaxed and conversational style?

7. What is my audience’s attitude toward me and my work?

■ Will I be writing to a group of disgruntled and angry customers or vendors about a sensitive issue (a product recall, a refusal of credit, or a shipment delay)?

■ Will I have to be sympathetic while at the same time give firm reasons for my company’s (or my) decision?

■ Will my readers be skeptical, indifferent, or friendly about what I write? ■ Will my readers feel guilty that they have not answered an earlier message of

mine, not paid a bill now overdue, or not kept a promise or commitment?

8. What do I want my audience to do after reading my work?

■ Do I want my readers to purchase something from me, approve my plan, or send me additional documentation?

■ Do I simply want my readers to get my message and not respond at all? ■ Do I expect my readers to get my message, acknowledge it, save it for future

reference, or review it and e-mail it to another individual or office? ■ Do my readers have to take immediate action, or do they have several days or

weeks to respond?

As your answers to these questions will show, you may have to communicate with many different audiences on your job. Each group of readers will have different expectations and requirements; you need to understand those audience differences if you want to supply relevant information.

Let’s say you work for a manufacturer of heavy-duty equipment and that you have to write for many individuals in that organization. Here are the priorities of five differ- ent audiences with appropriate information to give each one.

Audience Information to Communicate Owner or The writer stresses financial benefits, principal executive indicating that the machine is a

“money-maker” and is compatible with other existing equipment.

Production engineer The writer emphasizes “state-of the-art” transmissions, productivity, availability of parts.

14 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

Operator The writer focuses on information about how easy and safe it is to run.

Maintenance worker The writer provides key details about routine maintenance as well as troubleshooting advice on problems.

Production supervisor The writer emphasizes the speed and efficiency the machine offers.

As these examples show, to succeed in the world of work, give each reader the de- tails he or she needs to accomplish a given job.

Establishing Your Purpose By knowing why you are writing, you will communicate better and find writing itself to be an easier process. The reader’s needs and your goal in communicating will help you to formulate your purpose. It will guide you in determining exactly what you can and must say. With your purpose clearly identified, you are on the right track.

Make sure you follow the most important rule in occupational writing: Get to the point right away. At the start of your message, state your goal clearly. Don’t feel as if you have to entertain or impress your reader.

I want new employees to know how to log on to the computer.

Think over what you have written. Rewrite your purpose statement until it states pre- cisely why you are writing and what you want your readers to do or to know.

I want to teach new employees the security code for logging on to the company computer.

Since your purpose controls the amount and order of information you include, state it clearly at the beginning of every e-mail, memo, letter, and report.

This memo will acquaint new employees with the security measures they must take when logging on to the company computer.

In the opening purpose statement that follows, note how the author clearly in- forms the reader what the report will and will not cover.

As you requested at last month’s organizational meeting, I have conducted a survey of how well our websites advertise our products. This survey describes users’ responses but does not prioritize them.

The following preface to a publication on architectural casework details con- tains a model statement of purpose suited to a particular audience.

This publication has been prepared by the Architectural Woodwork Institute to provide a source book of conventional details and uniform detail terminology. For this purpose a series of casework detail drawings, . . . representative of the best industry-wide prac- tice, has been prepared and is presented here. By supplying both architect and wood- work manufacturer with a common authoritative reference, this work will enable

Four Keys to Effective Writing 15

architects and woodworkers to communicate in a common technical language. . . . Besides serving as a basic reference for architects and architectural drafters, this guide will be an effective educational tool for the beginning drafter-architect-in-training. It should also be a valuable aid to the project manager in coordinating the work of many drafters on large projects.1

After seeing that preface, readers have a clear sense of why they should use this re- source and what to do with the material they find in it.

Formulating Your Message Your message is the sum of what facts, responses, and recommendations you put into writing. A message includes the details and scope of your communication.

■ The details are those key points you think readers need to know. ■ Scope refers to how much information you give readers about those key details.

Some messages will consist of one or two phrases or sentences: “Do not touch; wet paint.” “Order #756 was sent this afternoon by FedEx. It should arrive at your office on March 22.” At the other extreme, messages may extend over many pages. Messages may carry good news or bad news. They may deal with routine matters, or they may handle changes in policy, special situations, or problems.

Keep in mind that you will need to adapt your message to fit your audience. For some audiences, such as engineers or technicians, you may have to supply a complete report with every detail noted or contained in an appendix. For other readers—busy executives, for example—include only a short discussion or sum- mary of financial or managerial significance.

Consider the message of the excerpt in Figure 1.7 from a section called “Tech- nology in the Grocery Store” included in a consumer handbook. The message pro- vides factual information and a brief explanation of how a clerk scans an item, informing consumers about how and why they may have to wait longer in line. It also tells readers that the process is not as simple as it looks.

This bar code message is appropriate for consumers who do not need or desire more information. Individuals responsible for entering data into the computer or doing inventory control, however, would need more detailed instructions on how to program the supermarket’s computer so it automatically tells the point-of-sale (POS) terminal what price and product match each bar code.

But technicians responsible for affixing the bar codes at the manufacturer’s plant would require much more detailed information than would consumers or store cashiers. These technicians must be familiar with the Universal Product Code (UPC), which specifies bar codes worldwide. They would also have to know about the UPC binary code formulas and how they work—that is, the number of lines,

16 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

1Reprinted by permission of Architectural Woodwork Institute.

Four Keys to Effective Writing 17

An appropriately formulated message for a consumer. Figure 1.7

Bar Code Readers Every time you check out at the grocery store, many of your purchases are scanned to record the price. The scanner uses a laser beam to read the bar codes, those zebra-striped lines imprinted on packages or canned goods. These codes are fed into the store’s computer, which provides the price that matches the product code. The product and its price are then recorded on your receipt.

Scanning an item requires more skill than you might think. To make sure that the scanner accurately reads the bar codes, the clerk has to take into account the following four conditions:

Speed: The clerk has to pass the item across the scanner at a particular speed. If the item moves too slowly, the bars will look too long or too wide and the computer will reject the item. If the item is moved too fast, the scanner cannot identify the code.

Angle: The clerk needs to gauge the exact angle at which to pass the item across the scanner. If the angle is wrong there will be insufficient reflection of the laser beam back to the scanner and so it will not be able to read the code. Since it is best for the item to reflect as much of the laser as possible, the clerk should try to hold the code at right angles to the laser.

Distance: Moving the item too close to the scanner is as unproductive as holding it too far away. Either way the code can be out of focus for the scanner reader. Holding the item about 3–4 inches away is best; holding it out more than 8–9 inches ensures that the scanner will not read the code.

Rotation: The code needs to be facing the scanner so that the lines can be read properly.

Direction in which clerk moves product

If your clerk makes a mistake in any one of these calibrations, your wait in line is sure to be longer.

width of spacing, and the framework to indicate to the scanner when to start read- ing the code and when to stop. Such formulas, technical details, and functions of photoelectric scanners are appropriate for this audience.

Selecting Your Style and Tone Style Style refers to how something is written rather than what is written. Style helps to determine how well you communicate with an audience and how well your readers understand and receive your message. It involves the choices you make about

■ the construction of your paragraphs ■ the length and patterns of your sentences ■ your choice of words

You will have to adapt your style to take into account different messages, dif- ferent purposes, and different audiences. Your words, for example, will certainly vary with your audience. If all your readers are specialists in your field, you may safely use the technical language and symbols of your profession. Nonspecialists, however, will be confused and annoyed if you write to them in the same way. The average consumer, for example, will not know what a potentiometer is, but by writ- ing “volume control on a radio” instead, you will be using words that the general public can understand. And, as we saw, when you write for an international audi- ence you have to take into account their proficiency in English and choose your words and sentences with their needs in mind (see pp. 170–187).

Tone Tone in writing, like tone of voice, expresses your attitude toward a topic and to- ward your audience. Your tone can range from formal and impersonal (a scientific report) to informal and personal (e-mail to a friend or a how-to article for con- sumers). It can be unprofessionally sarcastic or diplomatically agreeable.

Tone, like style, is indicated in part by the words you choose. For example, saying that someone is “interested in details” conveys a more positive tone than saying the person is a “nitpicker.” The word economical is more positive than stingy or cheap.

The tone of your writing is especially important in occupational writing, be- cause it reflects the image you project to your readers and thus determines how they will respond to you, your work, and your company. Depending on your tone, you can appear sincere and intelligent or angry and uninformed. Of course, in all your written work, you need to sound professional and knowledgeable. The wrong tone in a letter or a proposal might cost you a customer. Sarcastic or hostile lan- guage will at once alienate you from your readers, as the letters in Figures 5.5 (p. 166) and 5.6 (p. 167) demonstrate.

Case Study: A Description of Heparin for Two Different Audiences To better understand the effects of style and tone on writing, read the following two excerpts. In both the message is basically the same, but because the audiences differ, so do the style and the tone. The two pieces both describe heparin, a drug used to prevent blood clots.

The first description of heparin appears in a reference work for physicians and other health care providers and is written in a highly technical style with an imper- sonal tone.

18 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

HEPARIN SODIUM INJECTION, USP STERILE SOLUTION

Description: Heparin Sodium Injection, USP is a sterile solution of heparin sodium derived from bovine lung tissue, standardized for anticoagulant activity.

Each ml of the 1,000 and 5,000 USP units per ml preparations contains: heparin sodium 1,000 or 5,000 USP units; 9 mg sodium chloride; 9.45 mg benzyl alcohol added as preservative. Each ml of the 10,000 USP units per ml preparations contains: heparin sodium 10,000 units; 9.45 mg benzyl al- cohol added as preservative.

When necessary, the pH of Heparin Sodium Injection, USP was ad- justed with hydrochloric acid and/or sodium hydroxide. The pH range is 5.0–7.5. Clinical pharmacology: Heparin inhibits reactions that lead to the clotting of blood and the formation of fibrin clots both in vitro and in vivo. Heparin acts at multiple sites in the normal coagulation system. Small amounts of heparin in combination with antithrombin III (heparin cofactor) can inhibit thrombosis by inactivating activated Factor X and inhibiting the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin. Dosage and administration: Heparin sodium is not effective by oral admin- istration and should be given by intermittent intravenous injection, intra- venous infusion, or deep subcutaneous (intrafrat, i.e., above the iliac crest or abdominal fat layer) injection. The intramuscular route of administra- tion should be avoided because of the frequent occurrence of hematoma at the injection site.2

The writer has made the appropriate stylistic choices for the audience, the pur- pose, and the message. Physicians and other health care providers understand and expect the technical vocabulary and the scientific and lengthy explanations to pre- scribe and/or administer heparin correctly. The author’s authoritative, impersonal tone is coldly clinical, which, of course, is also correct because the purpose is to convey the accurate, complete scientific facts about this drug, not the writer’s or reader’s opinions or beliefs. The author sounds both knowledgeable and appropri- ately objective.

The description of heparin on the next page, however, is written in a nontech- nical style and with an informal, caring tone. This description is similar to those found on information cards given to patients about the drugs they are receiving in a hospital.

Four Keys to Effective Writing 19

2Copyright © Physicians’ Desk Reference® 45th edition, 1991, published by Medical Economics, Mont- vale, New Jersey 07645. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Your doctor has prescribed a drug called heparin for you. This drug will prevent any new blood clots from forming in your body. Since heparin cannot be absorbed from your stomach or intestines, you will not receive it in a capsule or tablet. Instead, it will be given into a vein or the fatty tis- sue of your abdomen. After several days, when the danger of clotting is past, your dosage of heparin will be gradually reduced. Then another med- ication you can take by mouth will be started.

The writer of this description has also made appropriate choices for nonspecialists such as patients who do not need elaborate descriptions of the origin and composi- tion of the drug. Using familiar words and adopting a personal tone help to win the patients’ confidence and enable them to understand why they should take the drug.

Characteristics of Job-Related Writing Job-related writing characteristically serves six basic functions: (1) to provide prac- tical information, (2) to give facts rather than impressions, (3) to provide visuals to clarify and condense information, (4) to give accurate measurements, (5) to state re- sponsibilities precisely, and (6) to persuade and offer recommendations. These six functions tell you what kind of writing you will produce after you successfully an- swer the who? why? what? and how?

1. Providing Practical Information On-the-job writing requires a practical “here’s what you need to do or to know” approach. One such practical approach is action oriented. You instruct the reader to do something—assemble a ceiling fan, test for bacteria, perform an audit, or create a website. Another practical approach of job-related writing is knowledge oriented. You explain what you want the reader to understand—why a procedure was changed, what caused a problem or solved it, how much progress was made on a job site, or why a new piece of equipment should be purchased.

The following description of Energy Efficiency Ratio combines both the action-oriented and knowledge-oriented approaches of practical writing.

Whether you are buying window air-conditioning units or a central air-conditioning system, consider the performance factors and efficiency of the various units on the mar- ket. Before you buy, determine the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of the units under consideration. The EER is found by dividing the BTUs (units of heat) that the unit re- moves from the area to be cooled by the watts (amount of electricity) the unit consumes. The result is usually a number between 5 and 12. The higher the number, the more effi- ciently the unit will use electricity.

You’ll note that EER will vary considerably from unit to unit of a given manufac- turer, and from brand to brand. As efficiency is increased, you may find the purchase price is higher; however, your operating costs will be lower. Remember, a good rule to follow is to choose the equipment with the highest EER. That way you’ll get efficient equipment and enjoy greater operating economy.3

20 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Writing and Your Career

3Reprinted by permission of New Orleans Public Services, Inc.

2. Giving Facts, Not Impressions Occupational writing is concerned with what can be seen, heard, felt, tasted, or smelled. The writer uses concrete language and specific details. The emphasis is on facts rather than on the writer’s feelings or guesses.

The discussion below addressed to a group of scientists about the sources of oil spills and their impact on the environment is an example of writing with objectiv- ity. It describes events and causes without anger or tears. Imagine how much emo- tion could have been packed into this paragraph by the residents of the coastal states who have watched such spills come ashore.

The most critical impact results from the escapement of oil into the ecosystem, both crude oil and refined fuel oils, the latter coming from sources such as marine traffic. Major oil spills occur as a result of accidents such as blowout, pipeline breakage, etc. Technological advances coupled with stringent regulations have helped to reduce the chances of such major spills; however, there is a chronic low-level discharge of oil associated with normal drilling and production operations. Waste oils discharged through the river systems and practices associated with tanker transports dump more significant quantities of oils into the ocean, compared to what is introduced by the offshore oil industry. All of this con- tributes to the chronic low-level discharge of oil into world oceans. The long-range cumu- lative effect of these discharges is possibly the most significant threat to the ecosystem.4

3. Providing Visuals to Clarify and Condense Information Visuals are indispensable partners of words in conveying information to your read- ers. On-the-job writing makes frequent use of visuals such as tables, charts, photo- graphs, flow charts, diagrams, and drawings to clarify and condense information. Thanks to various software packages, you can easily create and insert visuals into your writing. The use of visuals is discussed in detail in Chapters 10 and 11, as well as in PowerPoint presentations in Chapter 16.

Visuals play an important role in the workplace. Note how the photograph in Figure 1.8 can help computer users better understand and follow the accompanying written ergonomics guidelines. A visual like this, reproduced in an employee hand- book or displayed as a poster, can significantly reduce stress and increase productivity.