4 C’s of Writing

The primary goal of all communication is

receiver – reader understanding.

To achieve this goal, writers apply the

4 C’s of writing:
– clarity,
– conciseness,
– completeness, and
– correctness.
Clarity

Clarity is achieved when

– the reader understands a message
– as the writer intended.

Word choice and coherence affect clarity

Clarity – Word Choice

Choose short, familiar words your reader

will understand.

Clear words are often called “talk” words

– Used in day-to-day speaking.
Clarity - Coherence

Clear messages need to be coherent.

– Flow naturally
– Related to each other.

Transitional words and phrases help

make messages coherent.
– Use transitional words and phrases as bridges
to join ideas.
Conciseness

Concise messages
– Present the necessary information.
– Express in the fewest words possible.

The key to being brief, concise, effective

– Make every word count.
– Limit repetition
– Eliminate excess words
– Use active verbs.
Conciseness – Limit repetition

 You can reduce repetition by:

– Using a shortened form of a noun.
– Using a pronoun in place of a noun.

 The next slide shows these two

techniques.
Conciseness – Limit repetition
ORIGINAL:
Johan Erickson was office
manager for Ador and
Smith from June 11, 1995,
until February 27, 1998.
Johan Erickson was
efficient and effective.
Johan Erickson worked well
with the employees he
supervised and scheduled
the work of the employees
he supervised to assure
prompt, correct completion
of the tasks assigned to the
employees.
REVISION:
Johan Erickson was office
manager for Ador and
Smith from June 11,
1995, until February 27,
1998. Johan was
efficient and effective.
He worked well with the
employees he supervised
and scheduled their work
to assure prompt, correct
completion of the tasks
assigned to them.
Conciseness – Eliminate excess
words
A word is excess if it is not needed for
correct grammar or clear meaning.
Conciseness – Eliminate excess
words
WORDY: CONCISE:
 There are three people who can  Three people can
 at the time we were meeting  while we met
 move up to Canada  move to Canada
 combine together  combine
 in the vicinity of  near
 send back  return
 at the present time  now
 due to the fact that  because
 the meeting on May 10  the May 10 meeting
Conciseness – Use active verbs

 Active verbs create messages that are concise,

direct, and forceful.

 Active verbs perform an action (i.e., think,

choose, planted, indicated).
Eample: Active –Inactive Verbs

EXAMPLE
Active verb: The members elected Carlos
Esteban.

Passive verb: Carlos Esteban was elected

by the members.

Avoid passive or inactive verbs, such as is,

was, were, has, have, be, been.
Completeness

A message is complete
– when all information necessary for a reader to
understand it is included.
What information is “necessary”
– depends on the writing situation.
Be sure you have asked and answered–
– who? what? when? where? why? and how?
questions.
Correctness

 Writing is correct  Check grammar,

when content and spelling, and
mechanics are punctuation.
accurate.

 Grammar and  Seek someone’s help

punctuation errors can to make sure your
affect meaning and writing is correct.
create a poor
impression of writers.
Correctness

Three steps to do after you complete a draft

of your writing:
1. Revise the draft by checking the content
for completeness.
2. Edit the draft to correct grammar,
punctuation, or spelling problems.
3. Proofread the draft aloud to yourself to
catch errors such as missing words or
unclear sentences.
What you write says A LOT!

What you write and how you write are very

important.
Revise, edit, and proofread your writing.

You MUST take the time to revise, edit,

and proofread your writing at least three
times!