Final Course Reflection

Katie Walsh

What did I learn?

This course has taught me the many facets of professional business writing.

The 5 C’s

The 5 C’s are essential to professional business writing. If you want your messages

to be respected and taken seriously, they must be:

1. Clear

2. Concise

3. Complete

4. Correct

5. Courteous

What did I learn?

• Letters, memos, and messages should typically inform, request, and persuade.

• Your purpose must be clear. Keep it simple and to the point.

• Watch your grammar, punctuation and format.

• Be polite!

What did I learn? The Functional Outline

The purpose of your memo or letter must be stated right away. Unless it is bad news, then you may want to soften it with a nice

statement first.

Close with a honey statement!

What did I learn?

• How to construct a memo

• How to research and find useful information.

• How to create proposals and reports.

• How to organize information using the 7 basic patterns: 1.Compare/Contrast 2. Problem-Solution 3. Elimination of alternatives 4. General to particular or particular to general 5. Geographic or spatial 6. Functional 7. Chronological

How did I learn it?

• Writing assignments 1 and 3 were very helpful tools in practicing the curriculum.

• WA1 helped me to learn how to write a professional memo. The case study that we worked from was useful and realistic.

• WA3 helped me practice persuasive messages through a recommendation report.

How did I learn it?

Analysis Assignment 1 had us analyzing

audience. This helped me to visualize

and predict who my audience will be to

better tailor my work. We must always

make sure that the materials provided

are useful to the audience and provide

current information.

Why does professional writing matter?

The business world requires these skills because the majority of

business is communicating with customers, clients, and other

professionals. We must take into account our audience and keep in

mind any biases. We do not want to appear prejudice or favorable.

A well written document or message can go a long way if you know

the proper way to construct it.

It is the difference between

This: And this:

How will I use this learning?

• I have already directly applied what I have learned in this course to my daily work-life.

• I recently applied the steps we learned in gaining social media attention to my role as Director of Outreach at Make-A-Wish® of Suffolk County.

• The post I created on Facebook garnered 75% more likes and attention than a regular post!

How will I use this learning?

Ultimately, this course has taught me:

• to better perform my job.

• how to pay attention to and gear my message toward my particular audience.

• how to decipher between a formal and informal document.

• the difference between formats for memos, letters, reports and correspondence.

I will continue to put these writing skills to use in the workplace and for it, I will become a

better professional writer.

Thank you.