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Program Details
Write It Right—Advanced
Business Writing assumes
mastery of basic writing (as covered
in the Basics class), and refines
the writer’s repertory of
techniques for crafting excellent
documents.
Writers gain confidence
in making the tough decisions that
let them meet the needs of their
audience. This course develops
specific writing techniques in three
modules:
1.
Organization and Idea Development
- Learn ways to overcome fear of the blank
page (or screen).
- Use techniques that start the ideas multiplying
and then organize them to suit your purpose
for maximum impact.
- Recognize the needs of your audience and
adjust your writing to meet them.
2. Tightening and Clarifying Writing
- Internalize guidelines for using the proper
sentence length and structure for your
purpose and audience.
- Learn why sentence variety is
important and how to achieve
it.
- Make sentence elements and lists parallel for
coherence and fluency.
- Practice the four techniques for overcoming
wordiness.
- Understand the benefits of writing in active
voice and learn how to revise passive
voice to avoid sounding “institutional” or
pompous.
3. Techniques of Business Writing
- Apply strategies to adjust your document’s
formality or informality.
- Know when—and when not to—use jargon (i.e.
the specialized language of your field).
- Rid your writing of deadwood expressions that
linger from the days before the manual
typewriter.
- Learn five simple techniques for writing
better email.
Advanced Business Writing creates
goodwill from your clients and customers with
communication tailored to their needs. Your
top writers will have multiple strategies
to craft excellent correspondence—and
will know why a particular approach should
be used. More professional looking documents
will reflect positively on your organization,
and you and your staff will feel secure in
their use of up-to-date expressions and writing
style. (Placement in Advanced takes a score
of 85% or above on the Business Writing Basics
pretest, or completion of the Basics class.)
Four half-day sessions or twelve 1.5
hour sessions
Core Competencies
for Advanced Business Writing
- Using the four steps of the writing process
- Applying techniques to overcome writer’s
block
- Evaluating audience and purpose before
composing
- Organizing messages logically
- Practicing four techniques to tighten
and clarify messages:
- cut repetition and unnecessary
words
- combine sentences
- substitute strong verbs
- use gerunds and infinitives
for smoothness
- Revising for parallel structure
- Writing in active voice unless a particular
circumstance calls for passive voice
- Selecting the appropriate level of formality
- Avoiding technical and legal jargon
- Recognizing that email is formal business
correspondence
- Increasing readability and simplifying
language
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