writing for executives sba honors fall 2009. “writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a...
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Writing for Executives
SBA HonorsFall 2009
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“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”
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Today, we’ll…
Examine some common grammar and punctuation problems
Gain some tips to help construct better sentences and paragraphs
Review organizational structure and the Executive Summary
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Grammar and punctuation
Punctuation It’s and its Commas vs. semicolons
Commas separate an independent from a dependent clause
She flew home to Chicago, leaving her dog behind.
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Semicolons are used to separate two independent clauses
I flew home to Chicago; it will be good to be home.
(don’t capitalize the first word in the second clause)
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All punctuation sits inside the quotation marks.
According to Dean Dawson, all students are expected to “be as honest as George Washington.”
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Capitalization
Proper nouns are capitalized Portland State University John Smith President Wim Wiewel
The position people hold is not capitalized unless the name succeeds it. He was a vice president in the finance
department.
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Capitalization
Departments, fields of study, topics are NOT capitalized unless they appear at the start of a sentence.
Advertising is an exciting field He studied advertising in school.
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Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain
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Common grammar mistakes
Run on sentences When you incorrectly connect two
independent clauses
The decrease in new college graduates entering education can be attributed to more difficult job conditions rather than low pay, in fact, education graduates have decreases 20 percent in the last decade.
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Sentence fragments
The opposite problem – your sentence is missing a verb or noun.
The committee, discovering the size limitations of the conference center, deciding to look for an alternative.
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Poor Parallelism
The process of constructing a series of things in a similar fashion.
The committee will study the problem, a recommendation for correcting it and oversee the correction procedures
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Why we like parallel structure
Friends, Romans and you people from the countryside, lend me your ears.
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Lack of conciseness
Too many words clogs your writing, making it hard for your reader to find your meaning.
With a red pen, Martha made a circle around the dress she wanted in the catalog, so she would know where and be able to find it when she called to mail order it later that day.
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With a red pen, Martha circled the dress she wanted in the catalog so she could find it when she called to mail order it.
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Faulty subordination
Placing your sentence emphasis in the wrong place
I gazed out of the bus window while seeing a person getting mugged
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While gazing out the window, I saw a person getting mugged.
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Modifiers in the wrong place
Modifiers are words that describe (modify) your subject or verb.
My dog chased a kid down the street on a bicycle.
My dog chased a kid on a bicycle down the street
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Or, no modifiers at all…
Sailing into the harbor, the Statue of Liberty was seen.
As we sailed into the harbor, we saw the Statue of Liberty.
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Passive voice
Making your writing dull by using is, was, has been and other “to be” forms.
So many mistakes were made by the student when he took the test that he received a failing grade
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The student made so many mistakes on the test that he received a failing grade.
The student is the subject…put him first!
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Subject verb agreement
Singular noun = singular verb
Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the pizza
Correct?
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Verb tense agreement
Keep the tense within your sentence appropriate for the time
Sarah attended the Crockett School of Business, which was in San Antonio, Texas.
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Idioms and word choice
Frowned upon Accompanied by a
person Accompanied with
a thing Angry with
someone Angry about
something
Argue about an issue
Argue with a person
Concerned with a problem
Concerned for a person
Good/well
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Idioms and word choice
Accept/except Affect/effect Among/between (3 vs
2) Amount of/Number of
(can’t be counted, can be counted)
Fewer/less (can be counted/can’t be counted)
More than/over
Passed/past (the former is a verb, the latter never is)
Because/that (“the reason is because” is redundant; “the reason that” is correct
Regardless/irregardless (no such word in English)
Who’s/whose
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Sentence corrections
Handout
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Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. ~Sholem Asch
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Organizing sentences into paragraphs
Begin with the topic sentence The topic sentence defines the
entire paragraph Supporting sentences offer logical
support in logical order to the topic sentence
3-4 compound sentences in a paragraph should be adequate
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Paragraphs should contain
A controlling idea, defined by the topic sentence
The body of supporting information. The conclusion of the controlling
idea. Paragraphs will also often contain a
transitional sentence
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Transitions To show addition:
again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too
To give examples: for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate
To compare: also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly
To contrast: although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in
contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet
To summarize or conclude: all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole,
that is, therefore, to sum up To show time:
after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally, formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, when, while
To show place or direction: above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite,
to the left (north, etc.) To indicate logical relationship:
accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if, otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus
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Writing is thinking on paper – William Zinsner
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The Executive Summary
Purpose: to briefly deliver the main points of the
plan or article. State critical information (i.e. who did the work, who is the author, what is the title of this project, etc.)
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Executive Summary
Structure: begin with the main outcome,
recommendation or decision
Provide the supporting evidence that led to the outcome or recommendation, in descending order of importance
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Executive Summary
Conclude
Restate the original point, recommendation or decision
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Tragedy of the Commons
Read the article and prepare an Executive Summary for me by the start of winter term. Deliver it to my box
No more than 2 pages 12 point type
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