Advance Proofreading

1
Advanced
Proofreading
Compiled by
“Human Connection”
Sources
Based on SAQA
Effective Business and Report Writing
Contributions from:
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business Review
Lindsay Olsen
Elizabeth Scott
Glen Parker
Proudly presented by:
This material belongs to “Human Connection” Workshop Developers and may not be copied or used
in any way without the written consent of the Developers.
2
Introduction
What Makes Writing So Important?

Writing is Communication
• Writing is the primary basis upon which your work, your learning, and
your intellect will be judged—in college, in the workplace, and in the
community.
• Writing expresses who you are as a person.
• Writing is portable and permanent. It makes your thinking visible.
• Writing helps you move easily among facts, inferences, and opinions
without getting confused—and without confusing your reader.
• Writing promotes your ability to pose worthwhile questions.
• Writing fosters your ability to explain a complex position to readers,
and to yourself.
• Writing helps others give you feedback.
• Writing helps you refine your ideas when you give others feedback.
• Writing requires that you anticipate your readers’ needs. Your ability to
do so demonstrates your intellectual flexibility and maturity.
• Writing ideas down preserves them so that you can reflect upon them
later.
• Writing out your ideas permits you to evaluate the adequacy of your
argument.
3
• Writing stimulates you to extend a line of thought beyond your first

impressions or gut responses.
• Writing helps you understand how truth is established in a given
discipline.
• Writing equips you with the communication and thinking skills you
need to participate effectively in democracy.
• Writing is an essential job skill.
Reasons Why Writing Remains a Critical Skill for Success
• With few exceptions, everything you’ve ever read in your entire life was
written by somebody. It’s an obvious observation but becomes an
impressive fact the more you think about it. Writers are far more
prevalent than most people think, in that many key responsibilities and
duties in life require good writing from people who are not “writers” in the
archetypal sense of the word.
• Be it lawyers, salespeople, teachers, or even zookeepers - strong writing

skills are critical for success throughout the many branches of society.
• In fact, the importance of writing has perhaps increased in the last decade
or so, thanks to trends in technology.
• Most people communicate via email, text, or social media, and hence
many millions of pieces of information are flowing between us through the
written word every day.
• In matters of business, when every second counts, strong writing makes

the difference between smooth operations and or crises management.
Efficient communication
• As mentioned earlier, good writing skills will prevent operations from
being clogged up by miscommunication. These operations could be
anything from planning a family reunion to devising a six-month corporate
strategy.
4
• Simply put, a strong writer will sum up the

most important aspects at hand and touch on
them individually, as well as proportionally.
• In many ways, efficient communication is a

matter of math. Generally speaking, the most
important part of a blog, email, or memo
ought to have the lion’s share of sentences.
• If sections are equally important, they ought to have an equal number of

words. Again, this is generally speaking - exceptions exist - but exceptions
make the rule.
• Look over a piece of writing before publishing and/or sending, and if the
body seems uneven or otherwise imbalanced, it’s a good idea to give it a
once over at the very least to check for redundancies, run-on sentences or
overused cliché’s.
Effective communication
• Keeping your writing short and to the point is important - but there is no
point if it’s not effective writing.
• As such, being able to express yourself in both an easy to understand and

interesting way is the key to achieving success through writing. This is an
experience which likely falls on many professionals across many fields.
• If there is one “golden rule” of effective writing it is this: write for the
reader. When someone gets into the habit of writing, it’s often their first
instinct to go for the flowery prose and drawn-out metaphors.
• However, if you turn around and read your own writing in this fashion,
you’ll likely soon realize you’re better off keeping things simple.
• With that, always read your writing before clicking send or submit. Opt for
getting to the point rather than going on a tangent - readers will be
forever grateful.
5
Credible communication
• Good writing is not explicitly indicative of credibility; what we mean by
that is that you don’t mask facts in a torrent of unnecessary words or
expressions.
• However, strong writing skills are certainly the first step towards
establishing credibility in either an authoritative or instructional setting.
• Failure to write well will result in people not taking what you have to say
seriously, even if you have the best intentions at heart and best insights
in your field.
• Again, you don’t have to be a poet to write well. When it comes to

credibility, the key issue is grammar and spelling, honestly. Make sure
you’re using the right words and your sentences make sense.
• Do this, and writing well is simply a matter of having something

interesting to write about.
6
Self-improvement
• Ultimately, writing helps us think better, and perhaps even are smarter.
• Similar to dreams, writing allows us a way to collect our otherwise

scattered thoughts and ideas, and channel them into a single beam of
information.
• It opens up a new dimension for the mind to move into and,

consequently, creates a space for unparalleled expression and
imagination.
• It sounds like the rambling, inflated poetry previously warned about, but
there’s some science to the idea that writing makes us smarter.
• The caveat is that studies show old fashioned pen to paper writing is what
leads to improved cognitive ability, whereas typing didn’t have the same
results.
• However, it’d be hard to argue against the idea that writing of any kind is
sure to enhance the way you perceive the world around you.
• The ability to write well is not reserved for authors, poets, journalists, and
screenwriters alone. In fact, strong writing skills are crucial for countless
careers and callings. They’re also important even for an email to a friend
or a text message to a family member. Perhaps most critical of all -
writing can help us become better people.
Study: 73% of Employers Want Candidates with This Skill
When torn between potential new hires, it might be wise to choose the candidate
with strong writing skills.
We know that businesses are spending billions each year on remedial writing
training, and in a modern workplace that requires employees to spend hours
each day sending emails, writing reports, and interacting with clients, weak
writing skills can be a major hindrance to business growth (not to mention the
damage poor writing skills can do to public perception of a business's brand.)
7
Employers Want Strong Writers
Recent research proves that written communication skills are at the top of
employers' wish lists.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 73.4% of

employers want a candidate with strong written communication skills. Written
communication was the number three most desired quality overall, behind
leadership skills and ability to work as a team member.
"If you are trying to decide among a few people to fill a position, hire the best
writer. [His/her] writing skills will pay off.
That's because being a good writer is about more than writing clear writing.
Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate.
They make things easy to understand. They can put themselves in someone
else's shoes.
They know what to omit. And those are qualities you want in any candidate.
Writing is making a comeback all over our society...
Writing is today's currency for good ideas
The Rise of the English/Communications Major

While much of the modern educational system puts a focus on STEM education
(that's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), it seems that now,
more than ever, it's writing that is becoming the sought-after skill in the hiring
market.
At the college level, The Association of South African Colleges and Universities
echoed this sentiment. Their survey found that in 2017, 93% of
8
employers said, "A demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate

clearly, and solve complex problems is important."
Additionally, 75% of employers noted that they wanted a stronger focus on

written communication skills at the college level.
In hiring situations, candidates who have college majors like English and
Communications may be on the rise as favoured candidates.
The bottom line:

As business continues to move into increasingly tech-based communication (like
email, texting, etc.), hiring a team with strong writing skills is essential.
Reasons why Business Writing is a Valuable Skill
The global workplace forces us to improve our communication skills. Irrespective

of the field, job, and expertise, you need to be an effective communicator in
order to move up the career ladder.
Article
Seven types of bad writing
Everyone can write. But not everyone can write well. We all learn to write at
school but then society makes a distinction between ‘writers’ and ‘the rest of
us.’ A writer sits in a garret and writes the great African novel. The rest of us
write memos. It’s a false division.
Because everyone can write, people underestimate its importance and

overestimate their own ability. Because they think that writers are creative
they rarely think about hiring a specialist when they have something important
to say.
9
I’m talking about brochures, websites, case studies, press releases, reports,
letters and the humdrum daily word torrent.
What comes out of most companies is bad. In my experience there are seven
types of bad writing:
• Thinks too much of itself.
The UK satirical magazine, Private Eye runs a regular column lampooning the
abuse of the word ‘solution.’ For example, Dow Corning’s “Innovative solutions
for wound management,” which means “bandages.” This kind of word
inflation devalues meaning and arouses the scepticism of readers.
• Is too clever by half.
For some reason, people are afraid to write how they speak. They want to
sound big, grown-up and clever. So they use big words and long sentences.
For example, I was presented with this beauty at a school board meeting
once: “the Governing Body are agreeing this budget as the financial
mechanism to support the education priorities of the school as identified in the
School Development Plan and will adhere to the best value principles in
spending its school funding allocation.” It meant, “We approve the budget.
• Gets hyped up.
Press releases often include franken quotes. These are made-up quotations
that bear no resemblance to normal speech. For example: “Nortel has
established a legacy in innovation and will continue to push the envelope…”
Try saying that to your friends. See if they still listen to you afterwards. Or
trust you.
• Tells lies.
In the SA, journalists score low in public trust. Somewhere near politicians and
spin doctors. However, good journalists are obsessive about research,
accuracy, good reporting, details and, yes, truth. What works for newspaper
stories also works for business communication.
10
• Ignores the reader.
As a writer, the greatest skill is to think about what the reader needs to hear,
not what you need to say. It takes an imaginative leap.
o For example, Google says “Please read this carefully.

o Microsoft says “This software is licensed under the agreement below.”
Which one is more likely to be read?
• Needs to go on a diet.
Most writing can be improved by liposuction. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it

best: “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing
left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” This is especially true
when writing for the web, when you need to cut the word count by about 50
percent.
• Has no direction.
Good writing has a strong purpose. Bad writing has either no direction or has
too many
Communication
There are three main ways of communication in business:
• verbal,
• non-verbal
• written.
11
All of them are essential. Yet, the latter leads the list as the basic one for most
jobs.
The list of written business communication is quite long. It includes emails,

letters, reports, company brochures, presentation slides, case studies, sales
materials, visual aids, social media updates, and other business documents.
Whether you are connecting internally with colleagues and executives or

externally to clients, the way you write can either give your career a boost or
hamper your progression within the organization.
Improving your Writing Skills
Bad writing impacts on Productivity

There are misspellings and incomplete sentences, and the paragraphs are so
long and confusing that it takes you three times longer than it should to find the
information you want.
As a result, you're under-prepared for the meeting, and it doesn't go as well as

you want it to.
Have you ever faced a situation similar to this? In today's information overload
world, it's vital to communicate clearly, concisely and effectively. People don't
have time to read book-length emails, and they don't have the patience to scour
badly-constructed emails for "buried" points.
The better your writing skills are, the better the impression you'll make on the
people around you – including your boss, your colleagues, and your clients. You
never know how far these good impressions will take you!
Audience and Format

The first step to writing clearly is choosing the appropriate format. Do you need
to send an informal email ? Write a detailed report ? Create advertising copy?
Or write a formal letter?
12
The format, as well as your audience, will define your "writing voice" – that is,
how formal or relaxed the tone should be. For instance, if you write an email to
a prospective client, should it have the same tone as an email to a friend?
Definitely not.
Start by identifying who will read your message. Is it targeted at senior

managers, the entire human resources team, or a small group of engineers?
With everything you write, your readers, or recipients, should define your tone
as well as aspects of the content.
Composition and Style

Once you know what you're writing, and for who you're writing, you actually
have to start writing.
A blank, white computer screen is often intimidating. And it's easy to get stuck
because you don't know how to start. Try these tips for composing and styling
your document:
Start with your audience

Remember, your readers may know nothing about what you're telling them.
What do they need to know first?
Create an outline
This is especially helpful if you're writing a longer document such as a report,
presentation, or speech. Outlines help you identify which steps to take in which
order, and they help you break the task up into manageable pieces of
information.
Use AIDA
If you're writing something that must inspire action in the reader, follow the
Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) formula. These four steps can help
guide you through the writing process.
13
Try some empathy

For instance, if you're writing a sales letter for prospective clients, why should
they care about your product or sales pitch? What's the benefit for them?
Remember your audience's needs at all times.
Use the Rhetorical Triangle

If you're trying to persuade someone to do something, make sure that you
communicate why people should listen to you, pitch your message in a way that
engages your audience, and present information rationally and coherently. Our
article on the Rhetorical Triangle can help you make your case in the most
effective way.
Identify your main theme

If you're having trouble defining the main theme of your message, pretend that
you have 15 seconds to explain your position. What do you say? This is likely to
be your main theme.
Use simple language

Unless you're writing a scholarly article, it's usually best to use simple , direct
language. Don't use long words just to impress people.
Writing skills ensure effective business communication
14
Everything you write must be tailored in a proficient, comprehensive, and

informative way. Thus, the receivers will clearly understand your message.
If a text is poorly written and structured, the subordinates will have troubles
with deciphering it. The message may be misinterpreted.
2. Writing skills make the difference between "good" and "bad"

employees
This is a real challenge. A document filled with grammatical errors will never
make a favourable impression.
Professionals are good at composing clear messages. Employers value such

workers. That’s why hiring managers recruit these individuals.
If you already have a job, practice writing skills in order to stand out among
your co-workers.
Senior management is generally more favourably disposed towards an employee

who can create excellent documentation.
3. You demonstrate your intelligence
Even if your job doesn’t require a lot of writing, how you come across is crucial.
A few grammatical or punctual errors may seem minor. But people do notice.
And they tend to think that those who don't write well are less intelligent than
those who do.
Don't let anyone dismiss you because of your poor writing skills. A few minutes
of proofreading can improve the way you are perceived. Flawless documents will
present you a smarter person than a colleague whose work is full of typos.
4. Good writers are credible
15
People with advanced writing skills are perceived as more reliable and
trustworthy. It is easy to prove. Imagine that you receive an email where you
notice odd abbreviations and misspelled words. What will be the first impression
of the sender?
Two options are possible. And none is satisfactory for the sender. Either the
person is not competent and neglects proofreading or is simply unintelligent.
Aim to be perceived as credible in the workplace. It makes you dependable,

assigned with more responsibility, and a right candidate for promotion.
5. You can be more influential
Good persuasion skills help you to influence others to achieve your goals.
Professors assign their students to write persuasive essays in order to prepare
them for the job market by developing these significant skills.
If you are creating taglines and calls-to-action for your organization, you need to
know how to develop a copy that will encourage the reader to take action. If you
are describing an innovative idea that can improve a process to your manager,
you should sound convincing. Every paper must communicate your ideas
effectively.
6. Business writing conveys courtesy
The content of formal business correspondence mirrors the same level of

politeness and considerate attention to detail that is shown in face-to-face
interaction.
A courteous business letter expresses the writer’s personal respect for the
receiver and the company they work for.
16
Professionals take into consideration formatting and etiquette. They also pay
attention to their personal tone, clarity, and logic. They avoid poor word choice
and grammar. These things can come across as lazy or even rude.
7. Writing skills help to keep good records
Information that is communicated orally isn’t kept for long. That’s why students
take notes of lectures. As scholars use their notes to write essays, you can apply
your records in your work.
Saving information on paper is the best way of preserving it for years. In fact,
the most accurate knowledge that has reached us from many centuries back was
from books.
8. You boost your professional confidence
Every business document has its purpose. You write a business proposal to
attract investors or find partners. You send emails to reach potential customers.
You craft a report to impress your boss.
When written communication leads a business to another successfully completed

project, you become more confident and inspired. And writing itself gets easier.
9. You promote yourself and your career
If you are the best business communicator in your office, co-workers will ask you
to for help in editing their writing pieces before they go to their supervisors.
Word will get around. If the company needs someone to draft effective emails,
they will ask someone who writes with clarity and accuracy. Guess who they will
turn to?
The better your writing skills are, the more responsibility you will be given.
That’s great for you and your future career success!
17
10. Business writing builds a solid web presence
Business is all about presentation. Owners aim to set up an effective online

presence. It helps potential customers discover the company and its products.
To attain this goal, they create websites, blogs and social media accounts.
Quality content is a decisive factor here. A person who can present business in
the best light and convince people to buy products or services is an irreplaceable
employee.
Now you know why writing skills are significant to your career success. It is time
to improve your business communication skills and reap the benefits it may
bring. Otherwise, your co-workers or competitors will leave you behind.
Four Types of Writing
A writer’s style is a reflection of his or her personality, unique voice, and way of
approaching the audience and readers.
However, every piece writers write is for a specific purpose—for example, writers
may want to explain how something works or persuade people to agree with
their point of view.
While there are as many writers’ styles as there are writers, there are only four
general purposes that lead someone to write a piece, and these are known as
18
the four styles, or types, of writing. Knowing all four different types and their
usages is important for any writer.
1. Expository
Expository writing explains or informs. It talks about a subject without

giving opinions.
Expository writing's main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-oriented writing

style, in which authors focus on telling you about a given topic or subject
without voicing their personal opinions.
These types of essays or articles furnish you with relevant facts and figures but
do not include their opinions. This is one of the most common types of writing.
You always see it in textbooks and how-to articles.
The author just tells you about a given subject, such as how to do something.
Key Points:
• Usually explains something in a process.
• Is often equipped with facts and figures.
• Is usually in a logical order and sequence.
When You Would Use Expository Writing:

• Textbook writing.
• How-to articles.
• Recipes.
• News stories (not including opinion or editorial pieces).
• Business, technical, or scientific writing.
2. Descriptive
19
Descriptive writing focuses on communicating the details of a character,

event, or place.
Descriptive writing's main purpose is to describe. It is a style of writing that

focuses on describing a character, an event, or a place in great detail. It can be
poetic when the author takes the time to be very specific in his or her
descriptions.
Example:
In good descriptive writing, the author will not just say: “The vampire killed his
lover.”
He or she will change the sentence, focusing on more details and descriptions,
like: “The bloody, red-eyed vampire sunk his rust-collared teeth into the soft
skin of his lover and ended her life."
Key Points:
• It is often poetic in nature
• It describes places, people, events, situations, or locations in a highly-
detailed manner.
• The author visualizes what he or she sees, hears, tastes, smells, and
feels.
When You Would Use Descriptive Writing:

• Poetry
• Journal or diary writing
• Nature writing
• Descriptive passages in fiction
3. Persuasive
Persuasive writing tries to bring other people around to your point of

view.
20
Persuasive writing's main purpose is to convince. Unlike expository writing,

persuasive writing contains the opinions and biases of the author.
To convince others to agree with the author's point of view, persuasive writing
contains justifications and reasons.
It is often used in letters of complaint, advertisements or commercials, affiliate

marketing pitches, cover letters, and newspaper opinion and editorial pieces.
Key Points:
• Persuasive writing is equipped with reasons, arguments, and justifications.
• In persuasive writing, the author takes a stand and asks you to agree with
his or her point of view.
• It often asks for readers to do something about the situation (this is called
a call-to-action).
•
When You Would Use Persuasive Writing:

• Opinion and editorial newspaper pieces.
• Advertisements.
• Reviews (of books, music, movie, restaurants, etc.).
• Letter of recommendation.
• Letter of complaint.
• Cover letters
4. Narrative
A narrative tells a story. There will usually be characters and dialogue.
Narrative writing's main purpose is to tell a story. The author will create different
characters and tell you what happens to them (sometimes the author writes
from the point of view of one of the characters—this is known as first person
narration).
21
Novels, short stories, novellas, poetry, and biographies can all fall in the
narrative writing style. Simply, narrative writing answers the question: “What
happened then?”
Key Points:
• A person tells a story or event.
• Has characters and dialogue.
• Have definite and logical beginnings, intervals, and endings.
• Often have situations like actions, motivational events, and disputes or
conflicts with their eventual solutions.
Examples of When You Would Use Persuasive Writing:

• Novels
• Short stories
• Novellas
• Poetry
• Autobiographies or biographies
• Anecdotes
• Oral histories
Conclusion
These are the four different types of writing that are generally used. There are
many sub-types of writing that may fall in any of those categories. A writer must
know all these styles in order to identify the purpose of his or her own writing
and make sure it's something the audience wants to read.
Class Activity
Responding to Requirements
22
You need to produce texts specific to your particular function in a business

environment in response to defined requirements. Look at the examples below
and indicate which business document you would use to convey your message:
Example Document that I would create

1. You want to communicate an
unexpected price increase on a specific
product to all staff
2. You want to communicate the annual
price increases to your customers
3. You want to let you immediate team
know that the time for the weekly sales
meeting has been moved
4. You have investigated a serious
customer complaint
and want to provide both your direct
manager and the customer with feedback
5. You want provide a customer with a
solution and pricing to solve a business
problem
6. You want to let a customer know that a
project meeting has been postponed
7. You want to confirm a new secretary’s
appointment as a permanent staff
member
Standard Modern Business Writing Conventions
The following is a summary of the accepted business writing conventions that

are used nowadays:
Mail able copy
• A mailable copy is correctly set out and correctly worded. There are no
spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. It has been carefully proof-read.
23
• Once you have written your text, it’s time to go back over and edit it.
Look for correctness and maximum effectiveness. All good writers write
and re-write.
• You have the responsibility to make sure that every letter, fax, memo,
email, etc. which you send out is a “mailable copy”.
How to write in plain English
So what's plain English?’
First let's say what plain English isn't and destroy some of the myths
about it.
• It's not 'cat sat on the mat’ or 'Janet and John' writing. Almost anything −
from leaflets and letters to legal documents − can be written in plain English
without being patronising or oversimplified.
• It doesn't mean reducing the length of your message or changing its meaning.
• It's not about banning new words, killing off long words or promoting
completely perfect grammar. Nor is it about letting grammar slip.
• It is not an amateur's method of communication. Most forward-looking senior
managers always write in plain English.
• And finally, it is not as easy as we would like to think
The first rule of successful communication is in the understanding. Of

the message. Communication is not successful when the receiver of the
message doesn’t understand.
How can we then make sure we are understood? By

writing in plain English
Below some ways in which you can make sure you
are understood
1. Keep your sentences short

2. Prefer active verbs
24
3. Use 'you' and 'we'

4. Use words that are appropriate for the reader
5. Don't be afraid to give instructions
6. Avoid nominalisations
7. Use lists where appropriate
The main advantages of plain English are:

• it is faster to write;
• it is faster to read; and you get your message across more often, more easily
and in a friendlier way
If you spend more than an hour a day writing, you are to an extent a
professional writer.
So it's vital that you get it right.

So what is plain English? It is a message, written with the reader/audience in
mind and with the right tone of voice, that is clear and concise.
Keep your sentences short

• Most experts would agree that clear writing should have an average
sentence length of 15 to 20 words.
• This does not mean making every sentence the same length. Be punchy.
Vary your writing by mixing short sentences (like the last one) with longer
ones (like this one).
• Follow the basic principle of sticking to one main idea in a sentence, plus
perhaps one other related point.
• You should soon be able to keep to the average sentence length − used
by top journalists and authors − quite easily.
• However, at first you may still find yourself writing the odd long sentence,
especially when trying to explain a complicated point. But most long
sentences can be broken up in some way
25
Prefer active verbs

Do you want your letters to sound active or passive − crisp and professional or
stuffy and bureaucratic?
To explain the difference between active and passive verbs, we need to look
briefly at how a sentence fits together.
There are three main parts to almost every sentence:

• a subject (the person, group or thing doing the action);
• a verb (the action itself); and
• an object (the person, group or thing that the action is done to).
To give an example, in the sentence 'Peter watched the television':
• the subject is Peter (he is doing the

watching);
• the verb is watched; and
• the object is the television (it is being
watched).
Of course, there will usually be lots of other

words as well. For example: 'Peter, the boy
from number 13, watched the television every Friday night'. But the subject,
verb and object are still there.
With an active verb, the three parts appear in a particular order − subject then
verb then object.
For example:
• Peter (subject) watched (verb) the television (object).
• 'Watched' is an active verb here. The sentence says who is doing the
watching before it says what is being watched.
• With a passive verb, the order is reversed – object then verb then subject.
• The television (object) was watched (verb) by Peter (subject).
• 'Watched' is a passive verb here. The sentence says what is being
watched before it says who is doing the watching.
26
• You can see that by making the sentence passive, we have had to
introduce the words 'was' and 'by', and the sentence becomes more
clumsy.
Remember that the subject is not always a person and the object is not
always a thing!
'The tree crushed Peter' is active but 'Peter was crushed by the tree' is passive.
Here are some more examples of how to turn a passive verb into an active verb.
This matter will be considered by us shortly. (Passive)
• We will consider this matter shortly. (Active)
The riot was stopped by the police. (Passive)
• The police stopped the riot. (Active)
The mine had to be closed by the authority. (Passive)
• The authority had to close the mine. (Active)
Passive verbs cause several problems.
• They can be confusing.

• They often make writing more long-winded.
• They make writing less lively.
Good uses of passives

There are times of course when it might be appropriate to use a passive.
• To make something less hostile − 'this bill has not been paid' (passive) is
softer than 'you have not paid this bill' (active)
27
• To avoid taking the blame − 'a mistake was made' (passive) rather than 'we
made a mistake' (active).When you don't know who or what the doer is − 'the
England team has been picked'.
• If it simply sounds better.
But aim to make about 80 to 90% of your verbs active.
This difference between active and passive verbs is not easy to grasp. Some
people never really get it. So if you are confused, read this section again.
Use 'you' and 'we'
Try to call the reader 'you', even if the reader is only one of many people you
are talking about generally. If this feels wrong at first, remember that you
wouldn't use words like 'the applicant' and 'the supplier' if you were speaking to
somebody sitting across a desk from you.

Here are some examples of this.
Applicants must send us...

• You must send us...
We always tell customers before we...
• We will tell you before we...
Advice is available from...
• You can get advice from
Similarly, always call your organisation 'we'. And there is nothing wrong with
using 'we' and 'I' in the same letter.
28
Use words that are appropriate for the reader

• When you are talking to your reader, say exactly what you mean, using
the simplest words that fit. This does not necessarily mean only using
simple words − just words that the reader will understand.
• At the end of this guide there is a list of a few of the words that we
suggest you avoid.
• But for most words you will have to decide yourself whether they are
suitable.
• Jargon is a type of language that is only understood by a particular group
of people.
• You can use jargon when writing to people who will understand the terms
and phrases.
• It can be a useful form of shorthand. But try to avoid using specialist
jargon on the general public.
• So in general, keep to everyday English whenever possible. And again,
imagine talking to your reader across a table.
Don't be afraid to give instructions

• Sit!
• Brush your teeth.
• Please send it to me.
These are all commands − officially called imperatives. They are the fastest and
most direct way of giving someone instructions.
However, if we asked a hardened bureaucrat to write these expressions, we
would end up with something like the following.
• Dogs are advised that they should sit down.

• Your teeth should be brushed.
• I should be grateful if you would send it to me.
There always seems to be a fear of commands.
29
• The most common fault is putting 'customers should do this' or 'you

should do this' instead of just 'do this'. Perhaps people worry that
commands sound too harsh.
• But you can often solve this by putting the word 'please' in front.
• However, if something must be done, it is best not to say ‘please’ as it
gives the reader the option to refuse the request.
Here are some examples of long-winded phrases and shorter versions

that use commands.
You should just think of it as a complete statement.
• Just think of it as a complete statement.
Writers should aim to be punchy.
• Be punchy.
They should be split where suitable.
• Split them where suitable.
The last example is probably the worst because it uses a passive verb − 'should
be split'.
Unfortunately this is very common in instructions. For example:
The packet should be removed from the box. The contents should then be placed
in the oven.
• Remove the packet from the box. Then place the contents in the oven.
Use the active voice instead of the passive voice and use your
Readability Index to help you improve your writing
Readability
An English business document is only acceptable if it can be read quickly and

easily by a reader, who is not a first-language English speaker.
In Microsoft Word there’s a little-known feature about the

application Readability Statistics that allows a user to display readability
statistics as a part of the spelling and grammar check. Specifically, the feature
displays information about the reading level of the document, including
readability scores based on the following tests:
30
Flesch Reading Ease
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
The above-mentioned readability tests are sort of a procedure for testing the
level of difficulty to understand a content in the English language. Each
readability test has its rating calculated on the average number of syllables per
word and words present in each sentence.
A short description of the test will help avoid confusion and clear some
air.
Flesch Reading Ease: Statistically calculates the readability of your content on

a scale that ranges between 0-100. A lower score indicates that the content is
more difficult to apprehend. If the score for your content is 100%, then your
content is 100% readable, and it can be easily understood by everyone.
Flesch –Kincaid Grade Level: Helps a person know how many years of
education does one need to understand your level of writing. To try this, simply
add 5 to the grade number, and you will get to know the average age of a
person who can read your content.
You need to strike a balance between the above two tests to have the better
readability of your content
Proofreading
31
What is Proofreading?
Proofreading is a very important element of producing a great written document,

and it takes a great deal of knowledge and patience to proofread a document
effectively.
• Proofreading is a critical part of the writing process that involves English

experts scrutinizing a written document in order to identify and rectify
grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary errors.
• Good writing always involves modification and revision, and proofreading
is a fundamental part of this process.
• People need proofreaders in order to be sure that their work does not
contain any mistakes.
• Proofreaders generally have one main objective: to ensure that a written
document is absolutely perfect in terms of grammar and vocabulary.
• In order to do this, they verify accuracy in the following areas:
Sentence structure
Grammar
Punctuation
Spelling
Capitalization
Consistency
Numbers
Formatting
Proofreading is the very last step in the writing process. However, just because
it comes last, does not mean that it is the least important.
32
Proofreading ensures that the document is completely free of errors and polished
to a high standard.
Professional proofreaders take their roles very seriously and many of them will
complete several “passes” through a paper in order to ensure that they have
found and corrected all typographical errors, incorrect punctuation, spelling
mistakes and inaccurate words.
The Importance of Proofreading
Before submitting or printing an academic research paper, essay, email, memo,

or any other written document, it is very important to carefully proofread it.
Proofreading of written material is the final step that must be taken before a
document can be considered complete.
When proofreading a document, you should first read it slowly and carefully to
determine whether or not it communicates its message.
If the title or the introductory paragraph do not clearly signal the intent of the
paper or if the paragraphs that follow do not naturally flow from that
introduction, you might want to rewrite those parts of your paper.
If the research does not seem to verify what you are attempting to
communicate, you may wish to rethink your thesis or you may need to conduct
further research.
Once that part of the proofreading process, the overview editing, has been
completed, it is time to perform a more exacting analysis of the paper.
During this part of the proofreading procedure, you should search for errors in
spelling, word usage, grammar, and punctuation.
After all, a poorly written paper cannot possibly communicate its message
properly to the reader.
33
Rules of Style Guide
Before you can consider the proofreading process complete, you should verify
your sources and make sure the document adheres to the rules of the style
guide you are using, whether it is MLA, APA, ASA, AMA, Chicago, CSE, Turabian,
AP, or another style.
A style guide (or manual of style) is a set of standards for the writing and
design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication,
organization, or field. (It is often called a style sheet, though that term has
other meanings.)
A style guide establishes and enforces style to improve communication. To do

that, it ensures consistency within a document and across multiple documents
and enforces best practice in usage and in language composition, visual
composition, orthography and typography.
For academic and technical documents, a guide may also enforce the best
practice in ethics (such as authorship, research ethics,
and disclosure), pedagogy (such as exposition and clarity), and compliance
(technical and regulatory).
Style guides are common for general and specialized use, for the general
reading and writing audience, and for students and scholars of
various academic disciplines, medicine, journalism, the law, government,
business, and specific industries. House style refers to the internal style manual
of a particular publisher or organization
Professional editors can proofread your document so the final product is well
written, precise, and easy to read. It is important to carefully proofread all
written material.
Where Do I Begin?
Proofreading can be a difficult process, especially when you’re not sure where to
start or what this process entails. Think of proofreading as a process of looking
34
for any inconsistencies and grammatical errors as well as style and spelling
issues. Below are a few general strategies that can help you get started.
General Strategies While You Proofread
• Don’t rush. Many mistakes in writing occur because we rush. Read slowly
and carefully to give your eyes enough time to spot errors.
• Read aloud. Reading aloud helps you to notice run-on sentences,

awkward transitions, and other grammatical and organization issues that
you may not notice when reading silently.
There are three ways you can read aloud:
1. Read aloud to yourself. Reading a paper aloud encourages you to

read each word and can help you notice small mistakes.
2. Read aloud to a friend and have the friend give you oral feedback.
3. Have a friend read your paper aloud while you don’t read along.
• Use the search in document function of the computer to look for

common errors from your list.
• Read from the end. Read individual sentences one at a time starting
from the end of the paper rather than the beginning. This forces you to
pay attention to the sentence itself rather than to the ideas of the paper
as a whole.
• Role-play. While reading, put yourself in your audience's shoes. Playing

the role of the reader encourages you to see the paper as your audience
might.
• Make sure that you leave plenty of time after you have finished your
paper to walk away for a day or two, a week, or even 20 minutes. This
will allow you to approach proofreading with fresh eyes.
• Print out a hard copy. Reading from a computer screen is not the most
effective way to proofread. Having a hardcopy of your paper and a pen
will help you.
35
• Have a list of what to look for. This will help you manage your time
and not feel overwhelmed by proofreading. You can get this list from
previous assignments where your instructor(s) noted common errors you
make.
So what exactly does a proofreader do?
A proofreader ensures content is free of the following errors
• typographical,
• grammatical,
• spelling,
• punctuation,
• syntax,
• formatting
This is the person who notices the extra space after a period, the “their” when it
should be “they’re” and the compound adjective missing a hyphen.
The job is all about tweaking the syntax and diction in a piece to ensure the
most fluid, original projection of the content possible.
Syntax versus Diction
Syntax and diction are different concepts in grammar and in literature.
• What is syntax? Syntax is the arrangement of words that make a

sentence.
• What is diction? Diction is word choice
The following examples have similar diction but different syntax.
• The boy jumped happily.

• The boy happily
• Happily, the boy jumped.
36
Each of these sentences has the same diction. Each sentence uses the same four
words. However, each sentence has different word order to create different
syntax.
In other words, diction and syntax focus on different things. Diction focuses on
word choice, while syntax focuses on the order and structure of those words.
What skills does a proofreader need?
• Patience for the tediousness that comes with fine-tuning every single
aspect of every single word and line,
• Precision for the fine-tuning required in revising word-to-word, sentence-
to-sentence, and paragraph-to-paragraph; and originality for the
creativity each client deserves during every phase of revision.
Can I Proofread My Own Work?
It is generally advisable that you do not rely solely on your own proofreading.
This is due to the fact that you were heavily involved in the process of creating
the document and no matter how many times you check it, there will invariably
be some errors that you miss: your eyes see what’s on the page but your brain
interprets what it wants–or expects–to read, not always what is actually there.
As a result of this, it often takes a ‘fresh set of eyes’ to identify all mistakes in a
document.
Furthermore, a qualified proofreader will be an English expert and will have an

advanced knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
They will, therefore, be ideally placed to add value to your written document and
make it shine in a manner that you couldn’t achieve yourself.
Proofreading means examining your text carefully to find and correct

typographical errors and mistakes in grammar, style, and spelling.
37
Be sure you've revised the larger aspects of your text. Don't make
corrections at the sentence and word level if you still need to work on the focus,
organization, and development of the whole paper, of sections, or of paragraphs.
Set your text aside for a while (15 minutes, a day, a week) between
writing and proofing.Some distance from the text will help you see mistakes
more easily.
Eliminate unnecessary words before looking for mistakes.
Know what to look for. From the comments of your professors or a writing center
instructor on past papers, make a list of mistakes you need to watch for.
When You Proofread
• Work from a printout, not the computer screen.

• Read out loud.
• Use a blank sheet of paper to cover up the lines below the one you're
reading.
• Use the search function of the computer to find mistakes you're likely
to make. Search for "it," for instance, if you confuse "its" and "it's;" for "-
ing" if dangling modifiers are a problem; for opening parentheses or quote
marks if you tend to leave out the closing ones.
• If you tend to make many mistakes, check separately for each kind of
error, moving from the most to the least important, and following
whatever technique works best for you to identify that kind of
mistake.
For instance, read through once (backwards, sentence by sentence) to check
for fragments; read through again (forward) to be sure subjects and verbs
agree, and again (perhaps using a computer search for "this," "it," and
"they") to trace pronouns to antecedents.
• End with a spelling check, using a computer spelling checker or
reading backwards word by word.
But remember that a spelling checker won't catch mistakes with homonyms
(e.g., "they're," "their," "there") or certain typos (like "he" for "the")
38
Proofreading marks
Editing vs. Proofreading: What’s the difference?
39
Editing. Proof reading and copyediting
The differences between these three skills.
Editing
When hiring a freelance editor, you’re hiring someone to review and change your
text with the intent to improve the flow and overall quality of your writing. An
editor has the freedom to remove entire sentences or rewrite entire paragraphs.
A good editor will correct any obvious errors they come across, but their main
goal is to use their expertise and intuition to ensure the document makes sense,
cut down on wordiness, and clarify any ambiguity.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the process of examining the final draft of a document or text —

after it has been edited — to ensure there are absolutely no errors.
A proofreader will review for spelling errors, punctuation errors, typos or

incorrect use of regional English (i.e. ensuring that you’re using American
English or British English when necessary).
For important proofreading, you will want to hire an experienced freelancer with
the the ability to find even the smallest grammatical errors that others might
normally dismiss.
Hiring a proofreader is particularly helpful if you’re not confident in your writing,

or if English is not your first language.
While proofreading can be done electronically — for example, using track

changes in Microsoft Word — it is just as often done on a printed version (also
referred to as a “hard copy”) or PDF.
In this case, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with proofreaders’ marks, a

collection of symbols and shorthand to indicate corrections. (Rest assured:
professional graphic designers will also understand these marks!)
40
Copyediting
To “copyedit” a document is to proofread it — with the added expectation of

ensuring style consistency with other content from the company or publication.
Copyediting is also known as “sub-editing” in the UK, Australia and elsewhere.
When looking for a freelance copyeditor, ensure they have the talented eye of a
proofreader as well as additional expertise in matters of different styles of
writing.
Some measures of consistency include making sure names, locations and dates
are always treated the same way. A copyeditor will also have expert knowledge
of different style guides and may also perform fact-checking or have specialized
knowledge in a particular field. As such, a great copyeditor may cost a bit more
than a proofreader.
In summary:
An editor
• Rewrites sentences and paragraphs for flow
• Makes the text clearer and more understandable
• Uses their specialized knowledge to clarify and improve text
A proofreader
• Goes beyond “spellcheck” to catch errors a computer might miss
• Ensures zero grammatical errors, usually after a document has already

been edited
A copyeditor (or “sub-editor”)
• Proofreads, with an added expertise in ensuring style consistency

appropriate to a publication or organization
41
Job Description:
Proof reader.
A proof reader performs a 'quality check' on publications, usually just before

they are due to go to print.
Proofreaders get involved after others, such as the author, editor and typesetter,
have done their jobs.
It is the proofreader's role to act as a fresh pair of eyes, spotting any mistakes
others might have missed.
A proof reader performs a 'quality check' on publications, usually just before

they are due to go to print.
They may work on books, magazines and newspapers, websites, as well as

publications aimed at a specialist audience, such as academic or business
reports.
Proof readers check that:
• the text matches the original
• spelling and style are correct and consistent
• photos and illustrations are correctly captioned.
When they identify a change that needs to be made, proofreaders mark it, using
a recognised set of symbols.
They usually mark the printed proofs, but sometimes this task may be done on
screen, using specialised software.
42
Most proofreaders are self-employed and work from home. Many work part time,
and the hours may be irregular.
Proofreaders need to be:
• scrupulous about detailed work
• skilled in written English
• self-motivated
• good at concentrating for long spells
• good communicators
• comfortable working with IT
• interested in the publishing industry.
Publishers, graphic design houses and printers employ proofreaders on a full-

time and freelance basis.
Other potential employers or clients include any organisations that produce a lot
of published materials, from retail chains to government bodies.
There are no set formal qualifications. Proofreading experience is important.

However, many employers also expect A levels/H grades in English and other
subjects. Some proofreaders have a degree in English or another subject.
What is the work like?
They may be asked to check material for:
• books of all kinds
• magazines and newspapers
• business publications
• website pages
• specialist publications, eg academic journals or technical manuals.
43
Proofreaders usually check a 'page proof' - a printer's image of the designed

pages. They may also check draft web pages or pdf (portable document format)
files.
Sometimes they compare the page proofs closely with the edited text.
Alternatively, they may proofread 'blind', without reading against the original.
The proof reader generally checks to ensure that:
• page numbers and headings are correct
• spelling and other aspects, such as use of capital letters, are

consistent
• chapter headings match the contents table
• photos and illustrations are correctly captioned
• the pages as a whole are logically arranged and look pleasing.
When they identify a change that needs to be made, proofreaders mark it, using
a recognised set of symbols.
They usually mark the printed proofs, but sometimes this task may be done on
screen, using specialised software.
Proof changes can be costly, so proofreaders must use their judgement to decide
which changes are essential.
They may liaise with the author, copy editor or printer to resolve queries. Having
proofread the document, they supply a set of marked-up proofs to the publisher.
This incorporates all the changes from the authors or other contributors.
Many proofreaders combine the work with other roles, such as copy-editing or
project management.
Skills and personal qualities
Proofreaders must have:
44
• a scrupulous approach to detailed work
• a high level of skill in written English, including spelling, grammar

and punctuation
• the motivation to work on their own, and to meet deadlines
• an ability to stay focused throughout an entire document, which

may be long and technical
• good judgement, to gauge which changes are necessary
• familiarity with the production process for books and documents
• tact
• an ability to work within the style of the author and publisher,

rather than impose their own ideas
• good interpersonal skills, to build working relationships and

contacts with potential clients
• confidence with computers.
Revising, Editing and Proofreading
Many people don’t differentiate between Revising, Editing, and Proofreading.

What’s the difference?
Revision involves analyzing the global level and paragraph level organization of
the document, and making changes to your draft on a global, paragraph, and
sentence level to ensure that:
• The document addresses its purpose
• The document supports any claims its makes (main claims and secondary
claims)
• The structure of the document is logical and supports the purpose and
main claims
45
Editing involves looking at each sentence carefully, and making sure that it’s
well designed and serves its purpose.
Proofreading involves checking for grammatical and punctuation errors,

spelling mistakes, etc. Proofing is the final stage of the writing process.
Revision
• Although sometimes revising and proofreading seem interchangeable,

they are, in fact, different. Revision means to see (vision) again (re).
• Revision is more than proofreading. It is looking back at whole ideas to
make sure that everything fits the purpose of the document.
• It may be looking back at the type of or amount of evidence provided to
support the ideas or it may be looking back at the organization of
paragraphs and their relation to one another.
• Writing is also often very personal. Once something is placed on the page,
it can be difficult to decide to delete it.
• True revision, however, may require deletion. It may be necessary to
delete entire paragraphs (or entire pages). It might also be necessary to
move ideas from one part of the text to another. Do not be afraid of the
bigger changes—this is part of the process.
• Writers may tend to be more linear or more recursive. A linear writer may
have clearly defined steps in the writing process.
• This type of writer might begin with brainstorming, then produce an
outline, then write the draft, then revise the draft, and then proofread the
draft.
• A recursive writer often has a less clearly defined approach. The outline of
the document may not be clear until after the first draft is written.
• The writing and the revision may happen throughout the production of the
document.
• There is no one correct approach to writing, but understanding what type
of writer you tend to be may help you to understand the process of
writing and where revision occurs in your process
46
Revision deals with...
• Reading for the big picture and trying to see your writing
as readers see it.
• Recognizing your paper’s organization (or lack of it): is your
information presented logically? Do you jump from one idea to
the next or does it seem to flow naturally? Do you use
subheadings?
• Sharpening your introduction and thesis statement: is it clear
from your introduction what your paper will cover and/or argue?
• Adding details and examples: did you fully explain your main
points? Are your reasons and examples adequate to support
your thesis?
• Eliminating unnecessary details: did you include anything that
might throw the reader off or lead to confusion? Did you repeat
yourself? Keep in mind that re-stating a key point is effective.
Proofreading deals with...
• Reading s-l-o-w-l-y. Donotrushthroughit.

• Rewriting awkward or unclear sentences
• Correcting punctuation, grammatical, and mechanical errors
• Correcting spelling mistakes
• Formatting citations, cover sheets, footnotes, and references
correctly
Remember...
• Revision usually occurs after you finish a rough draft of your

writing. You may go through several rounds of revision before
you’re ready to proofread.
• Revision should be done prior to proofreading. Revision tackles the

biggest issues first. If you proofread first, you may spend time
polishing text that won’t make it into the final paper.
• Writers are sometimes tempted to fix grammar or spelling problems

without considering issues like order, transitions, and
47
introductions/conclusions. Remember: proofreading is just one

part of the overall revision process.
• It’s not a good idea to rely on spell-check or grammar-check. They

make miss takes two.
Proofreading Strategies
• Read each sentence aloud as you visually inspect the spelling and
sentence structure; sometimes, reading the sentence aloud will allow you
to spot mistakes that your eye can’t always see
• Allow enough time for several close readings of the text, with some break
time in between to give you a fresh perspective on your document
• Ask friends to read over your work to check for errors as an additional
strategy; sometimes, outside readers can spot errors that the writer can
miss. However, don’t rely on this as a primary proofing strategy: your
proofreader doesn’t have anything invested in your report. You do, and
are the one ultimately responsible for errors
• Don’t rely on your computer’s spell check to correct all the spelling errors
for you. Why?
1. Because Canadian and British/SA spelling standards are different

from American ones (standard on most spell checkers)
2. Because when you intend to sue ‘through,’ but forget the letter ‘r,’
your spell check will not register an error. (Can you see another
small mistake in the above sentence that wouldn’t register? ‘Use,’
misspelled as ‘sue’)
3. Because the spell checker cannot ensure that the correct ending
(agreement) has been used. ‘We ends the paper by . . .’ doesn’t
register a spelling error, but ‘ends’ should be ‘end.’
4. Because spell checkers often do not account for many of the

specialized terms that are commonplace in engineering contexts –
48
the spell check will identify many technical terms as errors simply
because they are not in its dictionary
Don’t rely on your grammar checker to correct all of the grammatical

errors for you. Why?
5. Because the rules implemented in the grammar checkers are

rudimentary and simple, and don’t always allow for complex
sentence structures. They may identify errors where there are none
6. They often don’t catch simple and straightforward errors, such as

the ‘We ends’ example above (no error was reported by Microsoft
Word)
7. Their suggestions will often substantially change the meaning of the

sentences
Editing
You can begin the process of editing after you’re satisfied with the structure,
content, and coherence of your document (as a whole and in specific parts).
Editing and proofing both focus on the sentence level. Editing is different from
proofreading because it involves questioning and analyzing sentences, whereas
proofreading only involves checking them for error. When editing:
• Read each sentence carefully and identify its function in the paragraph;
ask yourself how you might redesign the sentence to more effectively
accomplish that goal
• Analyze the sentences that precede and follow the sentence you’re
focusing on.
• Are the connections between these sentences clear, or do you need to

insert transitions between them?
• Evaluate the design of each individual sentence; in doing so, employ the
following principles:
49
1. Manage Sentence Length:
Short sentences clearly communicate individual ideas, but often leave

connections between them unmade. Long sentences make connections between
ideas, but can obscure individual ideas. Vary sentence lengths according to
needs of section.
2. Strengthen the Grammatical Core of the sentence (Subject-Verb-

Object):
The subject (actor), the verb (action), and the object (what the actor performs
the action on) constitute the grammatical core of the sentence, but the real
subject, verb and object is often buried by complex or elaborate sentence
structures. Whenever possible:
• Elevate the verb, so that the

real action of the verb occupies
the role of verb in the sentence
(especially in passive voice).
• Find the real subject (the thing

actually performing the verb),
and allow it to occupy this role
in the sentence
Evaluation of the material was

performed on the basis of strength, flexibility, and cost.
3. The ASAP Principle:
Avoid elaborate sentence structure, unless necessary. Good technical writing is

always ‘As Short as Possible,’ while containing the necessary amount of detail.
Cut away unnecessary phrasing whenever possible.
It is evident that this thesis provides a foundation from which engineers may
astutely intervene for the betterment of the circuit board manufacturing process
This thesis provides a foundation for improving the circuit board manufacturing
process.
50
Editing and proofreading problems
Editing and proofreading are essential aspects of effective writing. However,

they are the later steps in the ongoing process of brainstorming, planning,
drafting, and revising.
Writers who rush or ignore any of these earlier steps can end up with a paper
that is unclear, underdeveloped, and very difficult to correct in the later stages
of the writing process.
When you are ready to proofread and edit your draft, you should do so carefully
and thoroughly. While it is important to review your work and seek feedback, the
following strategies may also prove useful.
Proofreading is the most important stage in the process of writing. It

allows you to:
• Read what you have written

• Check for errors
• Prompt you to add information that you may have forgotten
• Check the flow of the piece
• Remove areas of repetition or irrelevant bits of information
• Check formatting
• Set your mind at rest that it is the best version of what you can write
Develop the skills you need to become a credible proof reader who
knows how important credible, trustworthy factual writing is to her/his
organisation’s image and reputation.
51

Advance Proofreading

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Advance Proofreading

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Effective Business and Report Writing

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business Review

Proudly presented by:

What Makes Writing So Important?

• Writing stimulates you to extend a line of thought beyond your first

Reasons Why Writing Remains a Critical Skill for Success

• Be it lawyers, salespeople, teachers, or even zookeepers - strong writing

• In matters of business, when every second counts, strong writing makes

• Simply put, a strong writer will sum up the

• In many ways, efficient communication is a

• If sections are equally important, they ought to have an equal number of

• As such, being able to express yourself in both an easy to understand and

• Again, you don’t have to be a poet to write well. When it comes to

• Do this, and writing well is simply a matter of having something

• Similar to dreams, writing allows us a way to collect our otherwise

• It opens up a new dimension for the mind to move into and,

Study: 73% of Employers Want Candidates with This Skill

Employers Want Strong Writers

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 73.4% of

Writing is today's currency for good ideas

The Rise of the English/Communications Major

employers said, "A demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate

Additionally, 75% of employers noted that they wanted a stronger focus on

The bottom line:

Reasons why Business Writing is a Valuable Skill

The global workplace forces us to improve our communication skills. Irrespective

Because everyone can write, people underestimate its importance and

• Thinks too much of itself.

• Is too clever by half.

• Gets hyped up.

• Ignores the reader.

o For example, Google says “Please read this carefully.

Most writing can be improved by liposuction. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it

The list of written business communication is quite long. It includes emails,

Whether you are connecting internally with colleagues and executives or

Improving your Writing Skills

Bad writing impacts on Productivity

As a result, you're under-prepared for the meeting, and it doesn't go as well as

Audience and Format

Start by identifying who will read your message. Is it targeted at senior

Composition and Style

Start with your audience

Try some empathy

Use the Rhetorical Triangle

Identify your main theme

Use simple language

Writing skills ensure effective business communication

Everything you write must be tailored in a proficient, comprehensive, and

2. Writing skills make the difference between "good" and "bad"

Professionals are good at composing clear messages. Employers value such

Senior management is generally more favourably disposed towards an employee

3. You demonstrate your intelligence

4. Good writers are credible

Aim to be perceived as credible in the workplace. It makes you dependable,

5. You can be more influential

6. Business writing conveys courtesy

The content of formal business correspondence mirrors the same level of

7. Writing skills help to keep good records

8. You boost your professional confidence

When written communication leads a business to another successfully completed

9. You promote yourself and your career

10. Business writing builds a solid web presence