Effective

Writing Basics
John P. Tigno
Facilitator
Objectives of Communication

Beunderstood
Understand others
Get agreement
Get something done
Communication Process
Noises in Communication
Semantic Noises
• Incorrect word choice
• Weak sentence and paragraph structure
• Grammatical errors
• Poor organization of ideas

Mechanical Noises
• Typographical errors
• Cluttered layout
• Unfriendly format
• Poor quality of paper

Psychological Noises
• Offensive or discourteous tone
Peculiar Preposition

Fill ______ this application form by filling ______ all

the blanks.

When did we run ______ of ink?

Lyn insists ______ traveling by plane when she goes

home ______ Cebu.

He was born ______ December 1, 1960 and he got

married ______ 1990.
Peculiar Preposition
Has Mr. Smith agreed ______ our proposal that we deal
______ locally procured feed ingredients than deal ______
the foreign suppliers?

Cris is residing ______ 135 Maginoo St., U.P. Village,

______ Quezon City, but she stays ______ the university most
of the time.

Being very energetic, our managers are always up and

_______; they never seem to run _____ of steam and are
capable of coping ______ pressures _______ clients by simply
putting ____ with them.
Peculiar Preposition

I accept this award ____ behalf of Al Pacino.

The fundraiser is ____ behalf of the foundation.

More Examples
arrive in a city/country
arrive at a specific location or
a conclusion
accountable to a person
accountable for actions
expect from things
expect of people
opposite of qualities
opposite to position
More Examples
part from person
part with thing
reward for an action
reward with a gift
surrounded by people
surrounded with things
talk to a group
talk with a person
 Peculiar Preposition
absolve from (responsibility)
absolve from (crimes)
abstain from
accountable to (a person)
accountable for (actions)
acquaint with
acquit of
adapt for (a purpose)
adapt to (a situation)
adept in
adhere to
adverse to
affinity between, with
averse to
A
agree on
agree to
agree with (a person or something)
angry at (a thing)
angry with (a person)
approve of
apply for (a position)
apply to (contact)
argue for, against (policy)
argue with (a person)
arrive in (a city/country)
arrive at (a specific location or
conclusion)
Peculiar Preposition
B
based on, upon
blame for (an action)
blame on (a person)

capable of
compare to (things that are
similar but not the same kind)
compare with (things of the
same kind to determine
similarities and differences)
concern in
concern with
C
comply with
concur in (consensus)
concur with (a person)
conform to
consist of
convenient for (a purpose)
correspond to, with ( a thing)
correspond with (a person)
Peculiar Preposition
D
deal with different from
depend on disagree on (an issue/plan)
deprive of disagree with (a person)
desire for disapprove of
decisions of disdain for
devoid of dispose of
disappointed in divide between, among
differ about, over (an issue) divide into (parts)
differ from ( a thing) differ on (amounts, terms)
differ with ( a person)

E
engage in exclude from
envious of expect from (things)
empty of expect of (people)
expert in
Peculiar Preposition
F M, N, O
foreign to mediate between, among
far from) necessary for (an action)
oblivious of
occupied with
opposite of (qualities)
I
opposite to (position)
identical to
imply that
impose on
improve on
inconsistent with
independent of
infer from
inferior to
inseparable from
Peculiar Preposition
P Q
part from (a person) qualify as (a person)
part with (a thing) qualify by (experience)
prerequisite to qualify for (a position or an award)
prior to
proceed with (a project)
proceed to (begin) R
proficient in reason with
profit by regret for
profit from rely on
prohibit from repugnant to
protect against responsibility for, of
reward for (an action)
reward with (a gift)
Peculiar Preposition
S T, U, W
sensitive to talk to (a group)
separate from talk with (a person)
similar to tamper with
substitute for unmindful of
superior to wait at (a place)
surrounded by (people) wait for (a person, event)
surrounded with (things)
sympathize with
Tricky Preposition
Correct Usage
Consecutive vs. Successive
Consecutive indicates an uninterrupted sequence while
Successive indicates a series of separate events.

Oral vs. Verbal

Use oral to mean “spoken or related to the mouth.”
Use verbal to mean “involving or consisting of words.”

Speak or Talk?
Speak is used to mean “to discuss something important”
while talk is used to mean “to have a conversation, to chat.”
Correct Usage
Take or Eat?
Take is used to refer to very light refreshments.
Eat is preferred when referring to food.

Amicable or Amiable?
Both words mean friendly, but use amicable when referring to
things, and use amiable when referring to people.

Assumption vs. Presumption

An assumption is an idea not based on evidence while a
presumption is an idea based on evidence.
Correct Usage
Continual or Continuous?

Continual means “repeated but with breaks in between”, and

continuous means “without interruption in an unbroken
stream of time and space.
Writing Process
Reader Frustrations
• Information overload!

• What’s the point?

• Is this an insult?

• It’s so long!

• It’s so confusing!

• Is the writer in a hurry?

Writer Frustrations

• Writer’s block!

• How do I organize?

• Time is short!

• How do I say it?

STEP 1:
PLAN
Plan Sheet
STEP 2:
DRAFT
LET YOUR IDEAS FLOW
STEP 3:
REVISE
BE CLEAR AND CONCISE
Why don’t People Write Clearly?

• Honestly misguided

• Trying to impress

• Lazy thinking

• Concealing weak material

Principles of Clarity
1. Prefer clear and familiar words.

2. Keep it short and simple.

3. Prefer active voice.

4. Get people into your writing.

5. Use a conversational style.

6. Gather all your information before you start

writing.
Clarity
Principle 1.
Prefer clear and familiar words.

 Easy to understand
 More precise Conflagration

Domicile
Discombobulat
e
What do you mean?

Please kill the weeds

around the house.
Management has become
cognizant of the necessity of
eliminating undesirable vegetation
surrounding the periphery of our
facility.
Familiar?
Precision in the use of words
• Know what words mean.

• Avoid vague words.

• Leave out unnecessary words.

• Use simple, familiar and concrete words.

• Avoid overworked words and phrases.

• Avoid technical jargon.

Clarity
Principle 2.
Keep it short and simple.
 Easy to write and read
 One more idea in a sentence
 “Meat clever” technique
Conciseness

• Be brief but complete.

• Avoid redundant expressions

• Don’t use roundabout and inflated

expressions.
Spot Redundancies
The staff meeting will start at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.

First and foremost, the primary goal of the meeting will be

to reach a consensus of opinion about the best way to
utilize the high degree of expertise of the consultant we
brought in. The consultant advised us about the future
plans for implementing new state-of-the-art developments
in database administration.

At this point in time, we must prioritize in order of

importance those basic and fundamental changes we
believe are most important to modify in our current
system.
Reduce Wordiness, Use simpler word
Reduce Wordiness, Use simpler word
Reduce Wordiness, Use simpler word
Reduce Wordiness, Use simpler word
Reduce Wordiness, Use simpler word
Sentence Length

Keep Sentences Short

Average length of sentences in letters should
fall somewhere between 15 and 20 words.
Sentence Length
I should greatly appreciate your letting me know what
your decision is regarding Ticket # 123456 so that I can
send the report to John in our Hong Kong office with a
request for more information which we will need to come
up with a solution and to encourage him to make any
suggestions he may want to incorporate.

(One sentence, 58 words)

Sentence Length
I will appreciate knowing your decision on Ticket # 123456.

I can then send the report to John in our Hong Kong office
requesting for more information. We will need his
suggestions to develop the solution.

(Three sentences, 35 words)

Sentence Structure

• Natural word order

• Simple sentence structure

• Short sentences

• Variety to avoid monotony

Paragraph Structure
• Building Block > Use headings

• Eye muscle relief > White space

• Short paragraph > Not more than 10 lines

Bullets or Numbers
Tips in Listing

• List only similar items.

• Be parallel and consistent.

Improve the Parallelism

1. Click “Change Password.”

2. Your old password

3. Enter your new password.

4. Click “Submit.”
Tips in Listing
 List only similar items.

 Be parallel and consistent.

 Use words, phrases or short sentences.

 Provide transition.

 Don’t overuse lists.

 Indent long lists.

Rules of Brevity
 Get rid of wasted words but do not
sacrifice ideas.

 Courtesy is important; much brevity may

cause the tone to sound blunt and
overbearing.
Rules of Brevity
Clarity
Principle 3.
Prefer active voice
 Specific
 Direct
 Concise
 Emphatic
But use passive voice to
 Soften bad news
 Put yourself in the background
 Create an impersonal tone
 Be objective in reporting
Clarity
Principle 4.
Get people into writing
 Refer to people and companies by their names

Undersigned?
Your good office
Clarity
Principle 5.
Use a conversational style.

Upon procurement of the

additional supplies, I will I will fill your order when I
initiate fulfilment of your receive more supplies.
order
Informal? Conversational!
Informal? Conversational!
Clarity
Principle 6.
Gather all your information before you start
writing.
 Think out your ideas clearly
 Have all the information needed at hand
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
Trite and Outworn Expressions to Avoid:
STEP 4:
EDIT
“ Editing your work is like removing
your own tonsils – possible but
painful.”

--- Anonymous
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Agreement of Proverbs
Agreement of Proverbs
Agreement of Proverbs
Agreement of Proverbs
Agreement of Proverbs
Agreement of Proverbs
The English Tense System
The English Tense System
The English Tense System
The English Tense System
Use of Euphemisms
Gender Neutrality
Gender Neutrality

 Reword the sentence.

 Avoid gender judgement
in the job title.
 Use gender-neutral term.
 Think plural.
Hurting or Irritating Expressions
STEP 5:
PROOF
READ
What to Proofread

 Spelling
 Punctuation
 Alignment of
Sentences/Paragraphs
 Line spacing
 Margins
“ Dew knot trussed yore spell chequer
two fined awl yore miss takes.”
What to Proofread
Electronic Tools
Computers & Writers