Lectures Flashcards
What is professional writing
Writing forms common in professional and workplace environments
Examples of professional writing
- Memos
- Emails
- Letters
- Proposals and submissions
- Writing for digital media
- Reports and press releases
Professionalism
- That you belong to a discourse community
- That you know what is expected
Blank page syndrome
“I’ll just sit here, until I think of how to start”
For a writing task to be effective, it must need
- Purpose - e.g Instruct
- Audience - Know the audience, needs and expectations
- Genre: conventions
The 7 C’s
- Clear
- Coherent
- Concise
- Concrete
- Correct
- Complete
- Courteous
Clear refers to
Plan ahead! Know your purpose and convey your ideas in a unified manner
Coherent refers to
Organize your thoughts in a logical, structured progression
Concise refers to
Budget your words wisely; ensure your writing contains only whats necessary
Concrete refers to
Use specific and precise language, use measurable descriptors and avoid vague language
Correct refers to
Adhere to proper grammer, punctuation, and document structure
Complete refers to
Give all the important information and answer all the relevant questions
Courteous refers to
Format so that the document is easy to read. Use appropriate and tactful language
Types of research
Primary research,
Secondary research
Primary research involves
Surveys and interviews
Secondary research involves
- Peer - reviewed journal articles
- Theses and dissertations
- Newspapers
- Websites: Government, city, regional, district council, university documents (reports, statistics, policies, plans, maps), govt.nz / ac.nz
- Websites: New Zealand organisations, org.nz
A signal phrase is
A phrase that leads into a quote or paraphrase
Signal phrases require
- Speaker/authors name and title of the piece
- Indication as to why they are considered reliable
- Power verb
- Context of the quote/paraphrase
Signal phrase example
The book …. by …. argues that ….
Signal phrases are useful for
Paraphrasing + summarising
Chicago citation style
Author last name, Author first name,
Year,
Title of article,
Publisher,
Date of publication,
URL link
What is a memo
- A brief document commonly used in professional communication settings to convey information quickly
- An internal document
Memo writing style
Clear, direct, concise
Memo tone
Professional, polite (unless negative message)
Common uses for memos
Memos involve some form of notification
1. Confirm oral communication
2. Inform of stage in project
3. Carry a formal request, reminder, or suggestions
4. Used to inform employees of changes in workforce, upcoming events, changes in workflow
5. Used to accompany + introduce documents
Tone is
Attitude of a writer toward a subject or audience as displayed by word choice, writing style
How is appropriate tone determined by
- Audience + purpose + type of document
- The receiver
Advantages of posting letters rather than using email
- Official status
- Tangibility
- Slowness
Disadvantages of posting letters rather than using email
- Time cost
- Financial cost
- Slow delivery
Essentials to a letter or email
- Senders address
- Date
- Recipient’s name and address
- Salutation
- Subject line
- Body of letter
Optionals to a letter or email
- Attention line
- Security heading
- Document initials
- Enclosure details
- Copy details
How to express good news in direct communication
- Positive language
- Give good news right away
- Explanantion of facts or details
- Close positively
How to express bad news in indirect communication
- Be courteous / empathetic
- Opening: Context of message
- Explanation or details
- Bad news or negative message - concise / tactful
- Explain good news if any
- Goodwill closing
5 main sections for writing a report
- Introduction
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- References
Persuasion is deemed successful when converted
33% of the audience
What is a report
A written documnet that is used to explain and analyse a situation
Analytical report
- A written document used to explain and analyse a situation
- Presents factual information, and it must also persuade the reader
Who reads a report
- Typically read in a workplace environment, by those directly affected by its contents
The people who read a report may be responsible for carrying out its
Recommendations
How is a report read
Reports are almost never read from start to finish, and will only read parts that are relevant to them (read quickly)
Structure of an analytical report
Front matter, Body, End matter
Report: Front matter components
- Cover
- Press release
- Title page
- Summary
- Table of contents
- List of figures/tables (optional)
Report: Body components
- Introduction
- Discussions
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- Methodology (optional)
Report: End matter components
- References
- Appendices (optional)
Structure of an essay
- Introduction
- Main body
- Conclusions
- References
The front matters purpose
To help persuade the reader that the report is credible
The cover and title page will contain
The authors name, and perhaps their qualification
What is contained within the front matter to help persuade the reader that the report is worth reading
- The cover and title page
- Details of the date when the report was commissioned
- A press release might be included if the topic is of public interest
The body’s purpose
- Contains the bulk of the information in a report
- To present an argument using facts and data
What is contained within the body to present the argument
- The introduction to present the problem (terms of reference included)
- The discussion to present the evidence of the problem (such as stats, photos and survey results)
- The conclusions to summarise the evidence
- The recommendations to suggest what should be done next, and by whom
The end matters purpose
To provide detailed data that proves the reports credibility
What is contained within the end matter to prove the reports credibility
- References of written material are included
- Raw data from surveys
- Photographic evidence
- Maps
Paragraphs need to avoid
- Containing too much information
- Being too abrupt
- Lacking unity
Paragraph structure
- Topic sentance
- Examples/evidence
- Explanation
- Synthesis
Bullet points
Group of three or more related points used to emphasise important ppints (contrast with surrounding text)
Two types of bullet point usage
- Sentance fragments
- Full sentances
Cumbersome writing
- Too many nominalisations
- Poorly balanced lists
- Poorly constructed bullet points
- Starting sentances with vague references to “this”
- Sentance fragments
- Overly long sentances with too many clauses
How to use and present research
- Logos, ethos, pathos
- Star
- Signal phrases - particularly necessary when drawing on authority
- Uses in-text references (bibliography)
- Range of sources
- APPEAL + CRAAP frameworks
Areas of concern for report readers
- Quality of content - neccesary information / research (handling of)
- Structure
- Expression: appropriate style, clarity + concision
- Visual elements
- Accuracy of bibliography
