GuidelinesForWrittenBusinessCommunication

Unit5

Unit5
Structure
5.1 5.2 Introduction Objectives

GuidelinesForWrittenBusinessCommunication

GeneralPrinciplesofWriting 5.2.1 TipsonWritingStyle SelfAssessmentQuestions1 5.2.2 Activevs.PassiveVoice 5.2.3 SpellingandPunctuation 5.2.4 CommonErrorsinEnglish SelfAssessmentQuestions2

5.3

PrinciplesofBusinessWriting 5.3.1 Tone 5.3.2 EmphasisandSubordination 5.3.3 WritingattheAppropriateLevel SelfAssessmentQuestions3

5.4

Summary TerminalQuestions AnswerstoSAQsandTQs

5.1Introduction This unit will focus on how to improve your written communication ingeneral and will also provide someintroductoryguidelinesforeffectivebusinesswriting.Errorsingrammar,spelling,punctuation and typing can be harmful, since they can lead to misunderstanding of a message and make the receiverloseconfidenceinthesender.Thereforeitisimportanttostriveforperfectioninwriting,in ordertoensurethatyourmessageisreceivedaccurately.Atthesametime,youmustrememberthat general writing is very different from business writing in terms of tone, language and degree of formalityofthecommunication.Someofthedosanddontsofbusinesswritingwillbehighlighted, whichwilllaythefoundationformoredetailedunitsonwritingbusinesslettersandreports,laterin thisbook.
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LearningObjectives: Afterstudyingthisunit,youshouldbeableto.

1. Improveyourwritingstyleingeneral 2. AvoidcommonerrorsinEnglishusage 3. Understandtheappropriateuseofactiveandpassivevoice,grammarandpunctuation 4. Distinguishbetweengeneralandbusinesswriting 5. Writeapieceofbusinesscommunicationconfidently

5.2GeneralPrinciplesofWriting Writtenmessagesmustbemadeasreadableaspossible,bymakingthemuncomplicatedandeasy foreventheaveragepersontounderstand.Readabilityinturnislargelydeterminedbythelengthof words,sentencesandparagraphs.Acommonmistakemadebywriters,especiallyIndianwriters,is totryandimpressthereaderbyusingflowerylanguageandanoratorystyleofwriting.Twobroad principles of writing are Write to express, not to impress and Keep it short and sweet. A good writerisonewhofollowstheseprinciplesandaskshimself/herselfevenbeforeframingasentence WhatamItryingtosay?Whatwordswillexpressit? Letustrytounderstandtheseprinciplesbyfirstlookingatsometipsonwritingstyle,followedby somespecificrulesregardingEnglishlanguageusage,spellingandpunctuation. 5.2.1 TipsOnWritingStyle Writingstylecanbevastlyimprovedthroughthechoiceofwords.Someofthecommonproblemsof wordchoiceincludeuseofcomplicatedwords,useofjargon,slangandcolorfullanguageand mistakesinvariouspartofspeechcategories. 1.Simplevs.ComplexWords Asfaraspossible,thesendershouldselectwordsthatarewithinthereceiversvocabulary.Ifthe wordsusedareoutsidethevocabularyofthereceiver,thelattermayeithernotgetthemessageat all, get the wrong message by guessing the meaning incorrectly, or wonder whether the sender intentionallyselectedacomplicatedwordformakinganimpression.Therefore,itisbettertorelyon

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plain,simplewords,suchastheonesshownintheleftcolumn,ratherthanintherightcolumnbelow, eventhoughtheymeanthesamething About=Approximately Do=Accomplish Improve=Ameliorate Show=Demonstrate Change=Modify Ask=Interrogate Thisisbecauseshort,simplewordsconveyideasmoreeffectivelyandrequirelesstimeandspace. Theyalsoinvitethesendertoconcentrateonideas,ratherthancallingattentiontothewords themselves. 1. Jargon,SlangandMetaphors Jargon refers to technical terms that belong to a particular subject area or discipline. For example,medicaljargonwouldincludetermsthatonlymedicalpractitionersandnotthelayperson might understand. Such terms are to be avoided in general writing, since they would be out of context.Theonlyinstancewherejargoncanbeusedandmightbeessential,isinreportsofahighly technicalnature,wherethereaderisinapositiontounderstandtheseterms. Slang refers to casual words that are not accepted and recognized in a standard English dictionary.Whiletheycouldbeusedinalimitedwayingeneralorinformalwriting,theyaretobe avoidedinbusinesswriting,whichneedstobeformalinnature. Ametaphorisafigureofspeechandreferstocolorfulcomparisonswhichevokevisualimages. Examples 1.Heisrocksolidinhissupport. 2. Weprovideanumbrellaofinsuranceproductsforyoursecurity.

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Whilesuchcomparisonsmaybeusedininformalwritingorinthelanguageofadvertising,theyareto beavoidedinbusinesscommunicationwhichhastobeobjectiveandformal. 3.PartsofSpeech Inthesamewaythatuseofbig,complicatedwordsmayresultinreceiptofthewrongmessage,use ofsmallwordsinthewrongwaygrammaticallycouldhavethesameresult.Suchproblemsexistinall partofspeechcategories Nouns Justasthemainactorinafilmisthemostimportantcharacter,thesubjectinasentenceisthemost importantnoun.Therearetwocategoriesofnounsabstractnounsornounsthatcannotbe visualizedandconcretenounsornounsthatcanbevisualized.Amessagewillbeunderstood moreclearlyifconcretenounsareusedassubjectsinasentence,ratherthanabstractnouns. Example CancellationofthecontractwillbedoneinMarch.(useofabstractnounassubject) ThecontractwillbecancelledinMarch.(useofconcretenounassubject) In the above example, the second sentence, using contract as the subject, is likely to be understoodmoreclearlybythereceiver.Notonlyiscontractsomethingwhichcanbevisualized,it alsoemphasizesthemainideainthesentence. Consideranotherexample Thatdecisioncanbemadeonlybythesupervisor.(abstractnounassubject) Onlythesupervisorcanmakethatdecision.(concretenounassubject) Pronouns Sometimes, using the masculine form of a pronoun might be taken in an offensive way by the receiver,especiallyifthereceiverhappenstobeawoman.Evenifthereceiverisnotawoman,the use of a masculine pronoun may convey the impression of being sexist. Consider the following example

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You need to consult your professor on that subject, but he has to be a specialist in the area of Finance. In the above sentence, theuse of the masculine pronoun he conveys theunintentional message thatprofessorscanonlybemenandnotwomen,whichcouldbetakenasanoffense.Suchoffensive pronounscanbeavoidedinthefollowingways 1.Avoiduseofthepronouncompletely ExampleYouneedtoconsultyourprofessoronthatsubject,butaspecialistintheareaofFinance isrequired. 2.Repeatthenoun ExampleYouneedtoconsultyourprofessoronthatsubject,buttheprofessorhastobeaspecialist intheareaofFinance. 3.Useapluralnoun Example You need to consult some of your professors on that subject, but they have to be specialistsintheareaofFinance. (theuseoftheyavoidsimplyingthatprofessorscanbeonlymen). 4.Usepronounsfrombothgenders ExampleYouneedtoconsultyourprofessoronthatsubject,butheorshehastobeaspecialistin theareaofFinance. Anotherprincipleregardinguseofpronouns,istoavoidexcessiveuseofthefirstpersonpronounI, since this gives the impression that one is always talking about oneself. Never sound too pleased withyourselforboastofyourownachievements.Thisisespeciallytrueofbusinesswriting,whereit isimportanttobeobjective,ratherthansubjective. The second person pronoun you also needs to be used with care. A rule of thumb is to use the secondpersonpronounwhenemphasizingapositiveideaormessageandtoavoid thesecondpersonwhenpresentinganegativeidea.

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Thefollowingexampleillustratesthis Youmadeagoodpresentation. Youmadeanumberofmistakesinthereport. Thefirstsentencecontainsapositiveidea.Therefore,thesecondpersonpronounshouldbeused, since it gives credit to the person who made the presentation. On the other hand, the second sentence contains a negative idea and emphasizes that you are responsible. This should be avoidedbyframingthesentencedifferently,suchasThereportcontainedanumberofmistakes. Verbs Sinceverbsareactionwordsandactionisanessentialpartofasentence,correctuseofverbsis important. Senders of messages must use verbs that agree in number with the subjects of the sentence. Thefollowingexamplesillustratethemisuseofverbsinsentences 1.Onlyoneofthestudentsarepresent.(wrongusage) Onlyoneofthestudentsispresent(rightusage) 2.Eachofthefollowingreportshavebeenmodified.(wrongusage) Eachofthefollowingreportshasbeenmodified.(rightusage)

Note that the singular form of the verb and not the plural should be used in both the above sentences,toagreewiththesubjectwhichisinsingularform(OnlyoneandEach). Verbs must also agree in person. The most common errors are made in agreement with the third personandthesecondperson

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1.Hedontliketoworklate(wrong) Hedoesntliketoworklate.(correct) 2.Youwasinformedthattheexamsbeginnextweek(wrong) Youwereinformedthattheexamsbeginnextweek.(correct)

Thirdly,sinceverbsindicatethetimeofactionpast,presentorfuture,theyshouldbeusedinthe correcttenses.Thetensesshouldalsobeusedconsistently.

Considerthefollowingexamples 1.Helistenstothepresentationandgavehisfeedback. 2.Themanagerspoketothecustomer,butdoesnotrespondtohiscomplaint.

Inboththeabovesentences,itisnotclearwhethertheeventispastorpresent,sincethetensesare notuseduniformly.Itisbettertousetwopresenttenseverbsortwopasttenseverbs,butnotoneof eachinthesamesentence 1.Helistenstothepresentationandgiveshisfeedback. 2.Themanagerspoketothecustomerbutdidnotrespondtohiscomplaint. Adjectives Adjectives give information about or describe nouns. Although they play a less important role in a sentencecomparedtoverbsandnouns,theymustbeusedwithcare.Acommontendencyistouse verystrongadjectives,toomanyadjectives,orsuperlatives.

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Examples 1.Salesthisyearhavebeenabsolutelyincredible. 2.Thatisthemostwonderful,powerfulandmovingspeechthatIhaveheardinalongtime. 3.Oursisthebestproductinthemarkettoday. Inthefirstsentence,ifasalesreportisbeingwrittenorpresented,itwouldbebettertogivedetails about sales figures, rather than describe sales as incredible. In the second sentence, a single adjectivecouldhavebeenusedinplaceofthreeadjectives,whicharetoomany.Thethirdexample isaclaimthatneedstobedefined(i.e.,bestinwhatway?),orsupportedwithadequateproof. Adverbs In the same way that adjectives describe nouns, adverbs describe or modify verbs, adjectives or otheradverbs.Therefore,thesameprinciplesapplywhenusingadverbsi.e.,avoiduseofadverbs thataretoostrong,oraresuperlatives Examples 1.Saleshavebeenfantasticallyhighthisyear.

Theadverbfantasticallydescribestheadjectivehighandistoostrongtobecredible. 2.Thissecretarytypesthefastest.

Here,theadverb fastest describes theverb typesand isa superlative, which is tobe avoided, unlessitcanbedefinedorsupportedwithproof. SelfAssessmentQuestion1 Arethefollowingstatementstrueorfalse? 1.Itisbettertousethewordcognizant,ratherthanaware. 2.TheexpressionHervoicewassilkysmoothisanexampleofametaphor. 3.Abstractnounsshouldbeusedasthesubjectinasentence. 4.ThesentenceEachofthefollowingemployeesarebeingpromotedisgrammaticallycorrect. 5.Positiveideasmaybeexpressedbyusingthesecondpersonpronoun.

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5.2.2 Activevs.PassiveVoice We discussed the correct use of verbs in the previous section. Verbs may also be classified as activeverbsandpassiveverbs.Usingtheactivevoicemeansthatthesubjectisthedoerof theactionandthattheverbisactive.Ontheotherhand,asentenceinpassivevoicemeansthat thesubjectisthereceiveroftheactionandthattheverbispassive.

Examples Johnwrotethereport.(Activevoice). ThereportwaswrittenbyJohn(Passivevoice).

Notethatinthefirstsentence,theuseoftheactivevoicedrawsattentiontothedoeroftheaction., namelyJohn.Thisgivesasharperpicturetothereceiverofthemessage.Inthesecondexample, thesubject,i.e.,thereport,isemphasizedmorethanthedoeroftheaction,givingalessclearpicture tothereceiver. In most cases, the active voice is preferable to the passive, since it conveys ideas more vividly. However,thereareinstanceswhenuseofthepassivevoiceismoreappropriate

When the Doer of the Action has to be Subordinated, rather than Highlighted For example,thisisthecasewhenwritingresearchreports.Itismoreimportanttoemphasizewhat has been done, rather than who has done something. Therefore, it would be better to say A questionnairewaspreparedandinterviewswereconductedamongasmallsample.,ratherthan saying I prepared a questionnaire and conducted interviews among a small sample. This makesthereportmoreobjective,ratherthansubjective.

WhenanUnpleasantorNegativeIdeahastobeSubordinatedGenerally,negativethoughts shouldbedeemphasizedandnothighlighted.Thepassivevoicecomesinusefulinsuchcases, asillustratedintheexamplebelow Thecorrectionsinthereporthavenotbeencarriedout.(passivevoice)

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Youhavenotcarriedoutthecorrectionsinthereport(activevoice) Thefirstsentencedownplaysanegativeideathefactthatthechangesinthereporthavenotbeen includedandisthereforelessannoyingtothereceiverthanthesecond.Expressingthesameideain active voice may seem like pointing fingers at the doer of the action and is likely to upset human relations. 5.2.3 SpellingAndPunctuation

TheimportantpointtorememberwithregardtospellingisthedifferencebetweenBritishEnglishand AmericanEnglish.CertainwordsarespeltdifferentlyinBritishandAmericanEnglish.Hereareafew examples BritishAmerican

HumourHumor ColourColor AnalyseAnalyze OrganisationOrganization ProgrammeProgram CentreCenter ChequeCheck

GenerallyBritishspellingsshouldbeused,unlessyouareaddressinganAmericanaudience.Inany case,eitherBritishorAmericanspellingsshouldbeuniformlyusedandnotmixedtogether,inorder toensuregreaterreadability. Another common mistake made with spellings is to confuse the noun form with the verb form. Considerthefollowingexamples

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Noun

Verb

LicenceLicense AdviceAdvise PracticePractise Somewordsmaysoundthesamebuthavedifferentmeaningswhenspeltdifferently.Somewords mayincludeasinglevowelthatmakesthemsounddifferentandhaveverydifferentmeanings.Itis importantnottogetconfusedwiththespellingsofthesewords Examples 1.Complimentmeanstopraisesomeone,whereascomplementmeanstogowith (e.gyourjewelrycomplementsyouroutfit). 2.Stationeryreferstopaper,pencils,etc.,whereasstationarymeansstillornotmoving. Punctuation Correct use ofpunctuation is important in bothgeneral writing,as well as in business writing. The maincategoriesofpunctuationandtheirusesarehighlightedbelow 1.Apostrophe Toformthepossessivesingulare.g.,theCompanysprofits. Toformthepossessivepluralofwordsendinginse.g.,thedealersmargins. Inexpressionsthatindicateownershipe.g.,lastyearsrecords.

2.ParenthesesorBrackets Toseparateaphrasefromthemainsectionofasentence,whenitisnotrelatedtoit grammaticallye.g.,TheIndianteamtriedtheirbest(Godknowsit)butlostinthefinals. 2. Colon To suggest thata list will followa statement in sentenceform e.g. ,For three reasons, we havedecidedtoexpandourmarket:1)2)3).

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3. Comma To separate words in a series e.g., The main punctuation categories are the full stop, the comma,thecolon,thesemicolonandtheapostrophe. Toseparatetwoadjectivesthatmodifythesamenoune.g.,TheMBAexamisalong,difficult, objectivetypeexam. 4. Dash *Toseparatethewordsinasentencewhicharenotnecessaryforitsstructuree.g., Hisanswerthecorrectanswerwassupportedbyexamplesdrawnfromhisownexperience. 5. FullstoporPeriod Attheendofasentence Afterabbreviationse.g,Dr.,No.,Jr.

6. QuotationMarks To enclose what is stated by others, verbatim e.g., The manager said I will review your progresseverymonth. Toenclosetitlesofmagazineandnewspaperarticlese.g.,ProgressinStemCellResearch.

7. Semicolon Itisapausethatislongerthanthatexpressedbyacommaandisusedtoseparateclausesofa compoundsentencewhentheyhaveacomma. ExampleWewouldlikethematerialtobedeliveredinthemorninghours,butbefore5pmwill alsobeconvenient. Wewouldlikethematerialtobedeliveredinthemorninghoursbutifthisisnotpossibleforyou, before5pmwillalsobeconvenient. 5.2.4CommonErrorsInEnglish IndianEnglishtendstobepronetosomecommonmistakeswhichshouldbeavoided,inorderto make the communication clear and easily understood by the receiver. Some of these mistakes

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includeredundancies,clichsandfrequentlymisusedwords.Wewilldiscusseachofthese briefly. 1. Redundancies These refer to phrases which contain repetitive or unnecessary words to expressthesamemeaning.ThisisacommonIndiantendencyandmustbeavoided.

Considerthefollowingsentences 1.Inthefirstclass,theprofessortaughtthebasicfundamentalsofMarketing. 2.Ihavetoreturnbackhomebeforemidnight. Thehighlightedwordsareredundancies.Inthefirstsentence,basicisanunnecessaryword,since fundamentalsthemselvesarebasicinthesecondsentence,itissufficienttosayreturnhomeand backisanunnecessaryword. Hereareafewmoreexamples Truefacts Pasthistory Exactlyidentical Personalopinion Otheralternative Aredundancydoesnotserveanypurposeandisamistakesinceitwasteswords. 2.ClichesThesearephrasesthatareoverusedandshouldbeavoided,sincetheymakereading monotonous.Theyshouldbesubstitutedwithmoreoriginalexpressions. Somecommonlyusedclichsare 1.Lastbutnotleast,Iwouldliketothankallthestudentsforattendingthissession. 2.Thankingyouinadvance,Iremain. 3.Lookingforwardtomeetinganddiscussingthiswithyouatanearlydate. 4.Noproblem. Inthefirstsentence,lastbutnotleast,whichisawornexpression,couldbesubstitutedforfinally. The clich thanking you in advance is presumptuous, since it assumes that the reader will do whatever has been askedof him. It seems to say that instead of thanking him later, you will save

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timebyexpressingyourthanksnow.Therefore,itisbettertosayIshallappreciateyour(action)or Ifyouwill(action),Ishallbegrateful.Inthethirdexample,theexpressionatanearlydateistoo vague and should be substituted with soon or with a specific date. The fourth example No problem, is a clich used commonly by Indians. Although it denies that there is a problem, the problem exists. You might have said for example, that you did not have enough cash to pay for something, in response to which the shopkeeper may have said No problem. We accept credit cards.Thereforethisexpressionisavoidable. 3.FrequentlyMisusedWords

Certainwordswhichsoundsimilarorarespeltslightlydifferentlytendtobeusedin thewrongcontext.Someexamplesaregivenbelow 1.AlltogetherandaltogetherAlltogethermeansinonegroup,whereasaltogethermeans completely. ExampleTheanswerisaltogetherwrong. Thestudentswerealltogether. 2.AlreadyandallreadyAlreadymeansataprevioustime,whereasallreadymeans everythingisready. ExampleHehadalreadyleftwhenIcalled. Thecomputersareallreadytobeused. 3.EminentandImminentEminentmeanswellknown,imminentmeansabouttohappen. ExampleAneminentlawyerwillhandlethematter. Amidtermelectionisimminent.

4.LoseandlooseLosemeanstofailtokeepcarefully,loosemeansnottight. ExampleDontlosethemoney. Theshirtistoolooseforhim.

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5.PrincipalandprinciplePrincipalmeansmainorprimary,principlemeansrule. ExampleTheprincipalreasonforleavingearlyisthepeakhourtraffic. OneofthesubjectsstudiedinthefirstsemesterofMBAisPrinciplesofManagement. SelfAssessmentQuestion2 Matchthefollowing

1.Passivevoicea)Labor

2.Americanspellingb)Fullcomplete 3.Quotationmarks c)Raiseandrise

4.Redundancyd)Enclosetitleofanarticle 5.Frequentlymisusedwordse)Negativeideas 5.3 PrinciplesOfBusinessWriting Havingdealtwithwritingingeneral,wewillnowgobrieflyintothespecificsofbusinesswriting.As pointed out earlier, the language, style and tone of business writing is very different from general writing.Therefore,wewillexaminetheseaspectsinsomedetail. 5.3.1Tone Wediscussedtoneofvoiceorparalanguage,inanearliersectiononnonverbalcommunication.It waspointedoutthatthespokenwords,howeverperfect,canconveyanegativemessage,ifthetone ofvoiceisnotconsistentwithwhatissaid.Toneisequallyimportantinconveyingwrittenmessages, particularlybusinessrelatedmessages. Inwrittencommunication,tonereferstothewayastatementsounds,whichinturn,dependsonthe choiceofwords.Asentenceorstatementmaybegrammaticallyperfect,butmayconveyanegative message,ifthechoiceofwordsiswrong.

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Example Youfailedtomeetthesalestarget. The above statement has a negative tone, since it emphasizes what could not be achieved. The sameideacouldbeexpressedinamorepositivetone,byemphasizingwhatcouldhavebeendone instead. Example Withalittleextraeffort,youcouldhaveachievedthetarget. The example showsthat even anegative idea can be expressed inpositive language through the useofappropriatewords. The tone of business communication should also be confident. You should avoid language that makesyousoundunsureofyourself. Considerthefollowingexample Ihopeyouwillagreethatmyqualificationsmatchyourjobprofile. BeginningthesentencewithIhopecreatestheimpressionthatyoulackconfidenceinyourself.It mightbebettertosayOnreviewingmybiodata,youwillfindthatmyqualificationsmatchyourjob needsinthefollowingrespects. Whileitisimportanttobeselfassured,avoidsoundingoverconfidentandpompous. Example IamsureyouwillagreethatourCompanyhasthebestreputationforqualityandservice. Instead, something like We shall try to liveup to our reputationfor qualityand service. would be moreappropriate. Another aspectof tone is to sound courteousand sincere. Thisbuilds goodwill andgood relations and increases the likelihood of a message achieving its objectives. Avoid statements such as the following You sent your complaint to the wrong department. You should have sent it to the shipping department.

Thissoundsverydiscourteousandrudewhenrespondingtoacustomercomplaint.Instead,itmight bebettertosayWehavesentyourcomplainttotheconcerneddepartment,whichwillbecontacting youshortly.

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Sincerity also means avoiding exaggeration and flattery, especially when communicating with customers.Considerthefollowingexamples 1.Wearemoreinterestedinyoursatisfaction,thaninmakingprofits. 2.Youaresuchavaluedcustomerthatweshallgotoanylengthstoearnyoursatisfaction. Thefirstsentencesoundsinsincere,sincethemainobjectiveofanyorganizationistomakeprofits. Thesecondsentenceisexaggeratedandundulyflattersthecustomer.Itshouldbetoneddownby saying something such as We value your goodwill and will make quick efforts to ensure your satisfaction. Finally,thetoneofbusinesswritingshouldbenondiscriminatory.Thismeansthatthelanguagethat isusedshouldnotbeoffensive,irrespectiveofgender,religionorrace. Onewayofensuringthisistoavoidsexistlanguagebyusingneutraljobtitles,ortitlesthatdonot implythatajobisheldonlybyaman. Forexample,thefollowingtitlesshouldbeused Chairperson,insteadofChairman. Salesperson,insteadofSalesman Ifthereadersgenderisnotknown,useanonsexistsalutationsuchasDearCustomer,Investor,or Advertiser,insteadofDearSirorMadam. PersonaltitlesandsalutationssuchasDr.,Professor,etc.shouldbealsobeused whereverappropriate. 5.3.2 EmphasisAndSubordination Abusinesswritercanbecomparedtoanartistoramusician.Justlikeanartistoramusiciantriesto makecertainelementsstandoutandotherstogetlittleattention,sotoowiththebusinesswriter.An importantprincipleofbusinesswritingistoemphasizeimportantideasandtodownplayunimportant ideas,soastomakethereaderunderstandwhatyouconsidertobesignificant.Generally,pleasant and important thoughts are emphasized, while unpleasant and insignificant thoughts are subordinatedordeemphasized.

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Severaltechniquesforemphasismaybeusedbythebusinesswriter

Placetheideainthefirstparagraphorinthelastparagraph,inordertogetattention. Putthewordthatyouwishtoemphasizefirstorlastinthesentence. ExampleSuccesscomesthroughsincereefforts.Failurewillresultwithoutthem. Or,Theeventwasasuccess. Withoutyourefforts,itwouldhavebeenafailure.

Usetheactivevoicetoemphasizethedoeroftheactionandthepassivevoicetoemphasizethe receiveroftheaction. ExampleJohnmadethepresentation.(active) ThepresentationwasmadebyJohn.(passive).

Usewordssuchasprimary,majorandsignificanttolayemphasis. ExampleCostisasignificantfactortobetakenintoconsideration.

Userepetition. ExampleTheTataNanoisaninexpensivecar.Inexpensivetopurchaseand inexpensivetomaintain.

Numbertheideas,soastorankthemintheorderofimportance ExampleThemainreasonsforhispoorperformanceare1)Lackoftraining2)Lackofteam skillsand3)Lackofmotivation.

Usevisualelementssuchasboldtype,capitalletters,biggerfontsizeandunderlinedwordsto emphasizekeyideas. ExampleTheRevaelectriccaris25%LESSPOLLUTINGthanothercars.

Anotherpointtoberememberedregardingemphasisinbusinesswritingistostresswhatisknown astheyouattitude,ratherthanthemeattitude.Thismeansexplainingthebenefitstothereader, understandinghissituationandansweringhisunspokenquestionHowisitrelevanttome? ExampleInsteadofsaying,Ourbankwillbeopen24hours,sayYouwillbeabletoavailof roundtheclockbankingservice. 5.3.3 WriteAtAnAppropriateLevelOfReadability Athirdveryimportantruleofbusinesswritingistotailoryourwritingtoyouraudienceandtomakeit simpleenoughforevenalaypersontoreadandunderstand.

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Aspointedoutinanearliersection,readabilityisdeterminedbythelengthofwordsandsentences. RobertGunningdevelopedwhatisknownastheFogIndexorareadabilityformulatomeasure the readability of a piece of writing. According to this formula, the appropriate reading level in businesswritingshouldbebetween8and11. CalculationoftheFogIndexinvolvesthefollowingsteps 1. Selectawrittenpassageofapproximately100words. 2. Calculatetheaveragelengthofasentencebydividingthetotalnumberofwordsinthepassage bythenumberofsentences. 3. Findthenumberofdifficultwords.Awordmaybedefinedasdifficultifitcontainsthreeormore syllables(e.g.communication).Determinethenumberofdifficultwordsperhundred,bydividing thetotalnumberofwordsinthepassageintothenumberofdifficultwords,thenbymultiplying thisfigureby100. 4. Addthenumberofdifficultwordsperhundredandtheaveragesentencelength. 5. Multiply the figureobtained in step 4 by 0.4, to calculate the reading grade level for which the passagewaswritten,ortheFogIndex. Ideally, the Fog Index shouldbebetween 8and 11for most business writing, indicating thata readerbetweentheeighthgradeandtheeleventhgradeshouldbeabletounderstanditwithout difficulty. SelfAssessmentQuestion3

1. Thetoneofbusinesswritingshouldnotbe_________________and
________________.

2. Usingthepassivevoiceisatechniqueof_________________________. 3. SayingOurproductsaresynonymouswithqualityandaffordabilityisan
exampleof________________________________.

4. Readabilityisdeterminedby______________________________. 5. SayingManpowerinsteadofHumanResourcesisanexampleof ______________________

______________________.

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5.4 Summary
Thisunitexplainedsomeimportantguidelinesforwrittencommunicationingeneralandforbusiness writinginparticular. Regarding general writing, some tips on how to improve writing style through the choice of appropriatewordswereoffered,suchas Choosingshort,uncomplicatedwords Usingpartsofspeechcorrectly Avoidingjargon,slangandcolorfullanguage

Theappropriatenessoftheactiveandpassivevoicefordifferentsituationswasalsohighlighted.The activevoicedrawsattentiontothedoeroftheaction,whilethepassivevoicedrawsmoreattentionto thereceiveroftheactionandisusedinsometypesofbusinesswriting,suchasreports. Regardingspelling,somecommonerrorstendtobemadeinthefollowingareas ConfusionbetweenBritishandAmericanspellings Confusionbetweenthespellingofthenounandverbformofcertainwords Mistakesinspellingofsimilarsoundingwordsthathavedifferentmeanings

Themaincategoriesofpunctuationandtheiruseswerealsoexplainedinsomedetail. SomecommonmistakesmadewithregardtoEnglishlanguageusagewerepointed out,suchas Redundancies,oruseofunnecessarywords Cliches,orwornoutandoverusedphrases Frequentmisuseofsimilarsoundingwords

Business writing differs from general writing in terms of being more formal in tone. Some rules of goodbusinesswritinginclude Making the tone positive, courteous, confident, sincere and nondiscriminatory, through the properchoiceofwords. Knowingwhichideastoemphasizeandwhichonestodownplay.Sometechniquesfordoingthis include placing ideas at the beginning or at the end, using active and passive voice, using emphaticwords,repetitionofwords,useofvisualelementsandnumberingofideas. Stressingtheyouattitude,orbenefitstothereader

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Writingatanappropriatelevelofreadability.Aformulaforcalculatingthereadabilityofapieceof writing,theFogIndex,wasalsoexplained.

TerminalQuestions 1. Selectanypieceofgeneralwritingfromanewspaperormagazine,ofapproximately250wordsin length. Evaluate it by determining the number of simple and complicated words, the correct usageofpartsofspeechandtheuseofjargon,slangandmetaphors.Isitwellorbadlywritten,in youropinion? 2. What are some of the consequences of spelling and punctuation errors, redundancies, clichs andmisuseofwords? 3. Selectanybusinessarticlefromabusinesspublication,ofabout100wordsinlength.Calculate theFogIndex,orthereadabilitylevel.Isitwrittenatanappropriatelevelofreadability? AnswerstoSelfAssessmentQuestions SelfAssessmentQuestions1

1. False 2. True 3. False 4. False 5. True

SelfAssessmentQuestions2

1. e 2. a 3. d 4. b 5. c

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SelfAssessmentQuestions3

1. Negative/insincere/discourteous/exaggerated/discriminatory 2. Subordination/deemphasis 3. meattitude 4. Sentencelength/wordlength 5. Sexistlanguage/discriminatorytone

AnswertoTerminalQuestions 1. Refer5.2.1 2. Refer5.2.3and5.2.4 3. Refer5.3.3

SikkimManipalUniversity

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