Writing for Business

Steps for Planning Your Writing Task

• Clarify your purpose for writing. 
• to inform 
• to request 
• to analyze 
• to recommend 
• to respond
• Analyze your audience. 
• Will my readers be receptive, indifferent, or resistant to my proposal? 
• What do my readers already know about the subject? 
• How much technical information do my readers understand? 
• What is my readers’ style, and how can I match it? 
• What’s in it for my readers?
• Isolate and refine your bottom line. 
• The bottom line is your one key message that you want your readers to remember. The sooner you can distill your key message into one or two sentences, the easier it will be to write your document. If you find that you have two unrelated key messages, write two documents. Stick to one topic per document to get the fastest response. 
• Plan your writing strategy
• Am I the right person to communicate this information?
• Do I need to include a separate cover letter with my document?
• Which method of transmission should I use? E-mail? Courier?
• Is the timing too early? Or is it too late to send the message at all?

Steps for Editing for Content

• Put your message in focus.
• The most common mistake writers make: they avoid analyzing their readers and defining their purpose. Without a clear picture of their readers, many writers focus their documents on their own agendas and neglect their readers’ needs. 
• Another problem: Writers are often unclear about what they want to say. When the writer is unclear, how can the reader understand? 
• Did you write what your reader needed to see? Did you state your key message? 
• Review for clarity. 
• Is my information accurate?
• Is my information complete?
• Did I label action requests and deadlines?
• Did I headline next steps?
• Sequence your key message strategically. 
• What is the one thing you want your reader to remember? This is your key message, or bottom line. In most cases, you want to position your key message at the top of your document. When the key message is buried, chances are your reader will skim right over it. 
• If you’ve determined that your reader will probably be unreceptive to your ideas, position your key message strategically—where it will have the best chance of being read and considered
• Be sure you answer, "So what?"
• If your key message is that you need more time to complete work on a project, don’t just stop once you’ve explained that. Answer the "So what?" question. 
• What will happen if you don’t get the time? 
• Who will your extension affect? 
• Will it affect other projects you’re working on? 
• How will it affect your reader?
• Instead of: Option A is better than Option B. Write: Option A is better than Option B because it will save us 30% of our annual overhead costs.

Steps for Editing for Style

• Design for visual impact. 
• Headlines to highlight your most important points 
• Sentences that are no more than 20 words long 
• Short paragraphs and groups of sentences: 5 to 6 lines maximum 
• Careful use of space 
• Bullets or numbers for lists within sentences 
• Bold and italic typeface to make important information stand out.
• Match your tone to your audience. 
• Many writers use stuffy or outdated language because they think it will make them sound smart. For the same reason, many writers choose the longer, more complicated word or phrase over the short, simple word. 
• Adopt the active voice.
•  What’s wrong with the line above? It’s written in the passive voice. A headline with more impact would read: "Too many writers use the passive voice." The key difference between active and passive sentences: an active sentence has an active participant doing something.
• Check for conciseness. 
• Did I limit my paragraphs to 6 lines?
• Did I focus my paragraphs on one thought only?
• Did I limit my sentences to 15 to 20 words?
• Did I eliminate as many unnecessary words as I could?
• Edit for accuracy.
• An accurate document uses correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.