Chapter 3 Improving Writing Techniques

Chapter 3 Improving Writing TechniquesBy: Kristin Kozlovsky

** Introduction **The writing process includes prewriting, writing, and revising. In chapter 2 we learned about the prewriting, now in chapter 3 we are going to learn the entire process, which includes: researching, organizing, and composing.1

ResearchingImportance

What your Research should Answer

Research is important for writing, because it shapes the writing, and helps organize thoughts. If you would like to avoid frustration and inaccurate messages you need to research and know what does the receiver need to know about this topic. You should also be able answer the following questions: ((***CLICK***))

What is the receiver to do?How is the receiver to do it?When must the receiver do it?What will happen if the receiver doesnt do it?

The two types of research would include formal research and informal research.2

Formal Research

One type of research would be formal research. Formal research is used for long reports and complex business problems. There are many different ways to conduct formal research. One way would be searching manually, which would include books, articles, magazines, and newspapers. However, most of these can be found electronically either on the web, or on CDs. Otherwise, formal research could be found by going to the source by interviewing someone, or conducting controlled scientific experiments.

3Informal Research

The second type of research would be informal research. Informal research is used for e-mail messages, memos, letters, informational reports, and oral presentations. The five main ways of finding informal research would be by looking in files, talking with your boss, interview the target audience, conduct an informal survey, and brainstorm with others for idea.

4

OrganizingGrouping Information

Outlining and Scratch Lists

Once you have collected the research, you must find some way to organize it. Well-organized messages group similar ideas, so the reader can understand the main points. Communication experts say the poor organization as the greatest failing of business writers. ((***CLICK***))

The best way to organize research would be to use an outline and a scratch list by grouping and patterning similar pieces of information. An outline would be used for complex projects into a hierarchy. A scratch list is a quick list, in which a person writes down the main topics that they wish to cover.

Once you have completed your outline or scratch list, then you must focus on where to place the main point. There are two ways you can do this, you can either use a direct pattern, or you could use an indirect pattern.5Direct Pattern vs. Indirect PatternPlacement of the Main IdeaWhen to use the Direct Pattern

When to use the Indirect Pattern

In the direct pattern the main point comes first followed by details, and explanation. In an indirect pattern the details and explanation are placed first followed by the main point.

Example to see the difference: Direct Pattern: This memo describes the benefits and procedures of a new paid time-off program to begin January, 1. The Indirect pattern: For the past several years, we have had a continuing problem scheduling paid vacation. Our Human Resources people struggle with unscheduled absences. After considerable investigation, the Management Council has decided to try a centralized paid time-off program starting January 1. This memo will describe its benefits and procedures. ((***CLICK***))

The direct pattern used is if the audience is pleased, mildly interested, or neutral, and is generally, used when delivering good news or ideas. This type of pattern helps save readers time, sets a proper frame of mind, and prevents frustration because it is direct to the point. This method is commonly used for requests, responses, orders, acknowledgments, non sensitive memos, e-mail messages, informational reports, and informational oral presentations. ((***CLICK***))

The indirect pattern on the other hand, is used on audiences that are unwilling, uninterested, displeased, disappointed, or hostile. This pattern generally, is a good way to respect the feelings of the audience, encourage a fair hearing, and minimize negative reactions, when delivering bad news. This method is commonly used letters and memos refusing requests.

6Reviewing Sentence StructureComplete SentencesShe likes to run.PhrasesAfter the bell through the woodsClausesWhen companies use a paid time-off plan, they have a stable workforce.

After we understand how to organize and research information we are ready to start composing sentences. We should start with the review of sentences.Each complete sentence is composed of a subject, verb, and makes sense.Examples: She likes to run.She is the subjectLikes is the verbAnd the sentence makes sense so it would be qualified as a complete sentence. ((***CLICK***))

However, sentences would be pretty boring without clauses and phrases.Phrases are constructed out of prepositions, and do not consist of a subject or verb. Examples: through woods, or after the bellThe prepositions in these two phrases are through, and after.However, since there are not any subjects or verbs it makes it a phrase. ((***CLICK***))

Clauses on the other hand have subjects and verbs and they can be categorized into two types of clauses. They are independent and dependent clauses. Independent clauses could be said, just by themselves they do not need any other information along with it, by itself it would be a complete thought. However, dependent clauses on the other hand depend on the information from the previous clause. Lets take a sentence: When companies use a paid time-off plan, they have a stable workforceThe independent clause is they have a stable workforce because it could be said and would still make sense on the other hand the When companies use a paid time-off plan it would not make sense just by itself, you would need the independent clause to back it up.7

Composing TipsAvoid Sentence FragmentsThe author requested publication. Even though there were grammar mistakes.Avoid Run-on SentencesMost people present using PowerPoint some are also using voice thread.Avoid Coma-Splice SentencesSome people like to play basketball, others like to watch it.Control Sentence Length

Once we know the sentence structure we can learn how to write effective sentences. The three most common mistakes when composing would be sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and coma-spliced sentences.

First a sentence fragment is a sentence that is cut off two short sentences, when it should be one complete sentence. These fragments could be identified by the words like although, as, because, even, except, for example, if, instead of, since, such as, that, which, and when.EXAMPLE: The author requested publication. (period) Even though, there were grammar mistakes. These two sentences should be combined into once complete sentence instead. The author requested publication, (COMA) even though there were grammar mistakes. ((***CLICK***))

The second thing to avoid would be run-on sentences. A run-on sentence is when then independent clauses of a sentence are not connected by a coordination conjunction (like and, or, nor, but), semi-colon, or separating the sentence into two separate sentences.Example: Most people present using power point some are also using voice thread. When then needs to be a coordinating conjunction in there to make it: Most people present using power point, and some are also using voice thread. ((***CLICK***))

The third thing to avoid would be coma-splicing sentences. This is when you take two independent clauses and put a coma between them without coordinating conjunction, or conjunctive adverb (like however, consequently, therefore, and others.) You can only put a coma between independent clauses when you have one of these connectors. EXAMPLE: Some people like basketball, other like to watch it. When you really should add an coordinating conjunction, so it is Some people like basketball, and others like to watch it. ((***CLICK***))

The final thing you should consider when you are composing would be the length of the sentences. The more words you have in a sentence makes it less likely for your audience to comprehend. Your goal is to strive for 20 words or less, because when your sentences get too long the audience can become bored, and confused. So, it is essential to write clearly, and concisely.8Sentence Length vs. Audience Comprehension

Ways to Improve WritingDevelop Emphasis

Use Active and Passive Voice

Using Parallelism

Develop Unity

There are four main ways to improve your writing techniques. They would include developing emphasis, using an active and passive voice, using parallelism, and developing unity.10

Developing EmphasisMECHANICS

Stylistically

Know when to De-Emphasize

It is easy to show emphasis, when you are talking. What kind of things do you do when you want to emphasize main points? You speak loudly, could bang on tables, or even raise your eyebrows. However, you cannot do this when you are writing! There are only two ways to show emphasis in your writing, that is to either mechanically or stylistically add emphasis.

To mechanically emphasis things in your writing you can underline, italicize, bold, use different fonts, dashes, put in all caps, or number things into lists or bullet points. This can help draw the attention to the main points in your writing. ((***CLICK***))

To stylistically add emphasis your writing, you must be empathic to the writer. Vivid words are an excellent example to portray main ideas, because the reader can visualize it, making them connected what you are writing about. Other ways to add emphasis would be to label the main idea, put the main idea at the beginning or end of the sentence, or put the main idea in a simple sentence or independent clause. ((***CLICK***))

The final way to develop emphasis in your writing would be to know when to back off on the unimportant details, so that way your main points just stand out more. De-emphasis is generally, more common when you deliver bad news. By doing it this way it does not come off so harsh. The two main ways to de-emphasize would be to use general words, and to place the bad news in a dependent clause and connect it with a positive independent clause.

11

Active and Passive VoiceActive means Subject = DoerMary draws a picture.

Passive means Subject = Acted UponThe pictures were drawn by Mary.

When to use them

Another way to improve writing is to know when to use an active or a passive voice. An active voice, means that the subject in the sentence is the one doing the action. Example: Mary draws a picture In this sentence Mary is the subject and she is the one drawing, which makes it an active voice. ((***CLICK***))

A passive voice, on the other hand, is where the subject in the sentence is being acted upon. These can sentences can usually be identified by the helping verbs like, such as, is, are, was, were, be, being, or been. An Example: The pictures were drawn by Mary. The subject in this sentence are the pictures, and Mary is drawing them so they are being acted upon, making this a passive voice. ((***CLICK***))

An active voice is more direct and blunt, usually a good thing with business writing. That is why most things written in a business use the active voice. However, there are a few occasions when a passive voice may be used. A passive voice is more indirect and does not point the finger at who directly did it. That is why when you want to emphasize an action or recipient of the action, de-emphasize negative news, or conceal the doer of an action, it would be best to use a passive voice.12

ParallelismBalanced Writing

Match things together

Improves reader comprehension

What does parallel mean? In math it means to lines going in the same direction that do not cross. That is similar to what parallelism means in the writing world. You want everything to balance. To achieve a balance in your writing, you must match nouns, verbs, clauses, and the same voice. ((***CLICK***)) For example if you would like to list something, that includes computing, coding, and recording, it would be parallel because the list includes everything with an ing ending. So they are the same throughout. So verbs must be in the same tenses, and the voice must be the same throughout. ((***CLICK***))By using parallelism in your writing your audience is better able to anticipate and comprehend the meaning.13

UnityAvoid Zigzag WritingI appreciate the time you spent with me in our interview, and I have enrolled into your class. Avoid Confusing Mixed ConstructionsThe reason she was hired is because she is qualified.Avoid Dangling and Misplaced ModifiersTo win the lottery, a ticket must be purchased.

Another way to improve writing would be to use unity throughout your writing. Unity only uses thoughts that are related to one main idea. ((***CLICK***))One way to improve unity would be to avoid zigzag writing. Zigzag writing is when sentences turn in an unexpected away from the main idea. This type of writing usually occurs when too many thoughts are in one sentence, or when one thought does not belong in the sentence. This example: I appreciate the time you spent with me in our interview, and I have enrolled into your class. Just has too many thoughts going on in one sentence. Instead try to revise it into two sentences, like I appreciate the time you spent with me in our interview. As a result of your advice, I have enrolled into your class. This has two separate sentences for the two separate thoughts.

The next way to improve unity would be to avoid confusing mixed constructions. ((***CLICK***))Mixed constructions happen when the writer fuse two different grammatical constructions that destroy the unity and meaning of the sentence. An example would be The reason she was hired is because she is qualified. Instead, the because should be changed to that! So it reads The reason she was hired is that she is qualified. This has to do with the way the sentence was constructed. The beginning is introduced by a noun clause that should begin with that, instead of and adverbial clause beginning with because.

The final way to improve unity would be to avoid dangling and misplaced modifiers. ((***CLICK***)) Modifiers describe things more to a limit and they should be placed really close to the words that they are suppose to modify. A dangling modifier occurs when the modifier is missing completely, when it is needed for clarity. A misplaced modifier is when the modifier is put in the wrong place, usually it is too far away from what it describes. A trick to identify if you need a modifier, or if the modifier is in the wrong spot you must ask Who? Or What? After the introductory phrase. The modifier should be answering this question. An example of a dangling modifier would be To win the lottery, a ticket must be purchased. Who should win the lottery? Not the ticket! So it should be changed into To win the lottery, you must purchase a ticket. 14

ParagraphCoherenceRepeat Key Ideas or Key WordsUse PronounsUse Transitional ExpressionsControl Paragraph Length

Now that we have learned how to write sentences, we need to learn how to write paragraphs, in a logical sequence so it makes sense. That is coherence, the ability so that things flow. A lot of organization has to happen so that coherence can occur. ((***CLICK***))The best ways to improve coherence is to repeat key ideas or key words from the previous sentences. This helps readers connect the ideas from sentence to sentence. This may sound redundant for the writers, but for the readers it is necessary. ((***CLICK***))

Another way to achieve coherence is to use and repeat pronouns. The pronouns like this, that, they, these, and those can connect things from the previous sentence to the next sentence. However, to do not over use them to the point that you cannot understand what they are talking about. An overuse of these pronouns can confuse the reader and compromise the clarity of the sentence. ((***CLICK***))

The final what to get coherence in your paragraphs is to use transitional expressions. These expressions are basically signs for the readers to anticipate where the message is going. The examples of the transitional phrases are on page 69. They also tell you what situations to use them in. ((***CLICK***))

The final thing about a paragraph is to control its length. A paragraph that is too long is uninviting for the reader to read. I mean how many of you would like to read a long paragraph, or would you like to switch to a smaller one? The general rule of thumb for a length of a paragraph would be only 8 lines long. 15

Rough Draft TipsOvercoming Writers Block

Be in a Quiet Place

Sprint/Polished Writer

Go Straight to the Keyboard

Once you can write paragraphs you can write a rough draft. For most people who have not done their research or organized their information they suffer from writers block. ((***CLICK***)) You can overcome writers block if you organize your information and do your research.((***CLICK***))

Another way to get the most out of your writing, is to try to eliminate all distractions and interruptions by being in a quiet place. Most people set aside time where no visitors or phone calls that can distract them from getting their rough drafts done. ((***CLICK***))

Know if you are a sprint type of writer or a polisher. A sprint writer would try to get all of their thoughts down and come back to it later to make the proper revisions. These rough drafts are usually quite rough compared to the polisher. The polisher writer takes a lot more time to complete, polish their sentences as they go. In turn, this usually does not contain as many grammar mistakes, and usually does not need quite as much revision. ((***CLICK***))

However, if you are a sprinter, or a polisher, you should compose your rough draft on the computer. If you write them out on piece of paper first, you waste time by transferring it to the computer rather than actually starting straight from the computer.16

ConclusionResearchingInformal/FormalOrganizingOutline/Scratch ListsIndirectly/DirectlyComposingSentencesEmphasisActive/Passive VoiceParallelismUnityCoherent Paragraphs

In this chapter we have focused on step two of writing, which is researching, organizing, and composing. ((**CLICK***)) When researching know that there are two types of research informal and formal. ((**CLICK***)) Then you take the research and you need to organize it into an outline or scratch list. ((**CLICK***)) 2 Times The organization of this information usually depends on how the receiver will react to the message. ((**CLICK***)) Use the direct method for positive reactions, or the indirect method for negative reactions. Once you finally have it organized, you can begin composing. ((**CLICK***)) When you begin composing use proper grammar, and complete sentences. ((**CLICK***)) If you would like to improve your writing skills work on developing emphasis, know when to use an active or passive voice, parallelism, and unity. ((**CLICK***)) Finally use well-planned paragraphs that are connected from sentence to sentence using various techniques.

All of this information is just for the writing process there still, is a third step. The third step is revision and proofreading of the writing process, which will be covered in chapter 4. 17Sourceshttp://www.randolph.k12.nc.us/Departments/K-5/PublishingImages/school_clipart_boy_writting.gifhttp://www.washingtoncountyks.net/newspaper_3.gifhttp://www.artsjournal.com/bookdaddy/Home_Photo_books.jpghttp://blog.loaz.com/media/blogs/timwang/mini-laptop-fujitsu-P7230.jpghttp://www.kidscorner.org/imgs/science-fair-projects.gifhttp://www.imagineeringezine.com/graphics/bstorm.jpghttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/images/teacherfile4c.gifhttp://www.sacmidtown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/unity-pic.jpghttp://www.busygourmand.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/man-with-megaphone.gifhttp://yourinvitedparties.co.uk/ESW/Images/Paint-Pallet.jpghttp://mohebban.burjalsaheb.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/11954348431437107035gerald_g_balance_scalesvghi.pnghttp://www.thesnuffy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/unity.jpghttp://www.nvcc.edu/home/nmctaggart/dogwood/images/pe01718_.gifhttp://www.workexcel.info/reasonable-suspicion-checklist/images/checklist-icon.jpghttp://www.naturallyintense.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/tapemeasure.jpghttp://www.gracecc.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/connecting-people.jpghttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WVqutWS2x4w/TYAYPKdPjyI/AAAAAAAAAqs/IwlGEp2J9XA/shh%2521+smiley+face.jpeghttp://www.tannerelectric.coop/images/under_construction.gifhttp://sportsgirlsplay.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/megaphone.jpghttp://www.kidprintables.com/coloring/school/schoolsupplies.gif