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Business Communication: Building Critical Skills
Kitty O. Locker, Ohio State University
Steven Kyo Kaczmarek, Columbus State Community College
Kathryn Braun, Sheridan College
Planning, Writing, and Revising

E-Learning Session

  1. Eight Activities of Writing
    1. Planning
    2. Gathering
    3. Writing
    4. Evaluating
    5. Getting Feedback
    6. Revising
    7. Editing
    8. Proofreading
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Depending on your writing tasks, you can complete these activities in a variety of orders.CONCEPT CHECK
  2. Does it matter what process I use? Using expert processes will improve your writing.
    1. Expert writers are more likely to TRANSPARENCY MASTER
      • Realize that the first draft can be revised.
      • Write regularly.
      • Break big jobs into smaller ones.
      • Have clear goals focusing on purpose and audience.
      • Have several different strategies to choose from.
      • Use rules flexibly.
      • Wait to edit until after the draft is complete.
          1. CONCEPT CHECK True or False: People are born with good writing skills; the so-called experts have an advantage because they don't have to learn anything-they just do what comes naturally. CONCEPT CHECK
  3. I don't have much time. How should I use it? Save two-thirds of your time for planning and revising.
    1. Divide the time you spend working into thirds. POWERPOINT SLIDE
    2. When you get an assignment, consider all the steps you'll need so you can best plan your time.
  4. What planning should I do before I begin writing or speaking? As much as you can!
    1. Brainstorm
    2. Freewrite
    3. Cluster
    4. Talk to your audiences.
    5. For an oral presentation or meeting, use a storyboard.
  5. What is revision? How do I do it? Revision means "re-seeing" the document.
    1. Revising TRANSPARENCY MASTER
      • Making changes that will better satisfy your purposes and your audience.
    2. Editing
      • Making surface-level changes that make the document grammatically correct.
    3. Proofreading
      • Checking to be sure the document is free from typographical errors.
          1. CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Proofreading should come before you edit your document. CONCEPT CHECK
  6. Can a grammar checker do my editing for me? No. You have to decide whether to make each change.
    1. Grammar checkers have limitations; you still need to make the final decision about whether to make a suggested change.
    2. Check for
      • Sentence structure.
      • Subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement.
      • Punctuation.
      • Word usage.
      • Spelling-including names.
      • Numbers.
  7. I spell check. Do I still need to proofread? Yes.
    1. Proofread every document both with a spell checker and by eye to catch the errors a spell checker can't find.
    2. To proofread,
      • Read once quickly for meaning to see that nothing has been left out.
      • Read a second time, slowly.
      • To proofread a document you know well, read the lines backward or the pages out of order.
          1. CONCEPT CHECK Proofread only the most important documents you're writing-you can afford to make mistakes in the others. CONCEPT CHECK
  8. How can I get better feedback? Ask for the kind of feedback you need.
    1. To improve the quality of feedback you get, tell people which aspects you'd especially like comments about.
    2. Don't be defensive with feedback.
  9. Can I use form letters? Yes. But make sure they're good.
    1. A form letter is a pre-written fill-in-the-blank letter designed for routine situations.
    2. Boilerplate is language from a previous document that a writer includes in a new document.
      • Reusing old text creates two problems:
        1. Using unrevised boilerplate can create a document with incompatible styles and tones.
        2. Form letters and boilerplate can encourage writers to see situations and audiences as identical when in fact they differ.
      • Before you incorporate old language in a new document,
        1. Check to see that the old section is well written.
        2. Consciously look for differences between the two situations, audiences, or purposes that may require different content, organization, or wording.
        3. Read through the whole document at a single sitting to be sure that style, tone, and level of detail are consistent in the old and new sections.
  10. How can I overcome writer's block? Talk, participate, and practice.
    1. Participate actively in the organization and the community.
    2. Practice writing regularly and in moderation.
    3. Learn as many strategies as you can.
    4. Talk positively to yourself.
    5. Talk about writing to other people.
  11. Go to the Self-Quizzes section if you would like to test your understanding of this module.




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