Unit 2: The Writing Process in The Digital Era

Unit 2
The Writing Process in the Digital Era
1
Chapter 5
Organizing and Drafting Business Messages
Student PowerPoint Library, 9e
Guffey/Loewy, Business Communication: Process and Product, 9 th Edition. © 2018 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
2
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Informal Research Methods
1. Search company digital or other files.
2. Talk with the boss.
3. Interview the target audience.
4. Receiver decodes message
5. Conduct an informal survey.
Guffey/Loewy, Business Communication: Process and Product, 9 th Edition. © 2018 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not 3
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Formal Research Methods
1. Access data electronically.
2. Search manually.
3. Investigate primary sources.
4. Conduct scientific experiments.
Social Media Brainstorming
Crowdsourcing: Requests that online crowd supply ideas or services.
Begin underline End underline
E.g., Waze, an app allowing users to report traffic jams
Begin underline Crowdstorming: Requires crowd to evaluate and filter the ideas into a viable product or plan.
End underline
E.g., Lego challenged viewers to create a model illustrating the Wizard of Oz
Crowdfunding: Solicits contributions from strangers or friends to finance a project, cause, or

Begin underline End underline
business venture.
E.g., the Veronica Mars or Lazer Team movie projects
Grouping Ideas to Show Relationships
• Group similar ideas.
• Organize into lists or outlines.
Tips for Efficient Outlining
• Define the main topic (purpose of message) in the title.
• Divide the main topic into 3 to 5 major components.
• Break major component into exclusive subpoints (no overlapping).
• Use details, illustrations, and evidence subpoints.
Achieve Variety With Four Sentence Types (1 of 2)
1. Simple Sentence (one independent clause)
Jade just graduated.
2. Compound Sentence (two independent clauses)
Jade just graduated, and she applied for a job.
Achieve Variety With Four Sentence Types (2 of 2)
3. Complex (one independent and one dependent clause)
Before she applied for a job,
Jade prepared a résumé.
4. Compound-complex (two independent clauses and one dependent
clause)
Before she applied for a job, Jade prepared a résumé; in addition, she
posted a LinkedIn profile.
Three Common Sentence Faults (1 of 3)
1. Avoid fragments (broken-off parts of sentence).
Fragment:
E-mail seems boring. When compared with Twitter.
Revision:
E-mail seems boring when compared with Twitter.
2. Avoid run-ons (two independent clauses without coordinating
conjunction or semicolon)
Run-on:
He’s addicted to social media he posts updates constantly.
Revision:
He’s addicted to social media, and he posts updates constantly.
Revision:
He’s addicted to social media; he posts updates constantly.
3. Avoid comma splices (two clauses joined without proper punctuation)
Comma splice:
He prefers a tablet, she prefers her laptop.
Revision:
He prefers a tablet; she prefers her laptop.
Alternate revision:
He prefers a tablet; however, she prefers her laptop.
Alternate revision:
He prefers a tablet; however, she prefers her laptop.
Prefer Short Sentences
Sentence Length Comprehension Rate

8 words 100%
15 words 90%
19 words 80%
28 words 50%
Achieving Emphasis (1 of 3)
Emphasize important ideas by using vivid and specific words.
General Vivid, Specific
She has a new device. Lisa loves her new iPad.
That skyscraper is tall. The Burj Khalia in Dubai is 2,723 feet
tall.
Label the main idea.
Unlabeled Labeled
Explore the possibility of Explore the possibility of leasing a
leasing a site, but also hire a site, but, most importantly, hire a
consultant. consultant.
Emphasize the most important idea by placing it first or last in a simple
sentence and by making it the sentence subject.
Unemphatic Emphatic
Labor lawyers say that Most internship programs are illegal if
companies should review their interns are not paid.
internship programs because
most often they are illegal if
interns are not being paid for
their work.
Using Active and Passive Voice Effectively (1 of 2)
Use active-voice verbs for clear expression.
We lost money.
Use passive-voice verbs to de-emphasize the performer or to be tactful.
Money was lost (by us).
Using Active and Passive Voice Effectively (2 of 2)
Indirect and Less Clear in Direct and More Clear in Active
Passive Voice Voice
A customer service blog was Rosario started a customer service

started last year. blog last year.
The economy is expected to The government expects the
improve. economy to improve.
Performance reviews were The manager completed
completed. performance reviews.
Use Passive Voice to Emphasize the Action, Not
the Doer
Less Tactful in Active More Tactful in Passive Voice
Voice
We cannot grant you credit. Credit cannot be granted.

The hospital cannot admit Patients without insurance cannot
patients without insurance. be admitted.
Our CEO badly missed his Estimates on this quarter’s profits
estimate on this quarter’s profits. were badly missed.
Use Parallelism to Achieve Balance
Lacks Parallelism Illustrates Parallelism
We focus on money– earning it, We focus on money– earning it,

investing it, and how to spend it. investing it, and spending it.
Applicants are interested in work Applicants are interested in work
environment and how they can environment and career
advance their careers. advancement.
Our peanut butter spread (a) is all Our peanut butter spread (a) is all
natural, (b) contains no natural, (b) contains no
hydrogenated oil, and (c) there’s no hydrogenated oil, and (c) requires
need to stir. no stirring.
Avoid Dangling Modifiers
Not This But This

Walking down the street, our sign is Walking down the street, people can
easy to see. easily see our sign.
To enroll, an application must be sent To enroll, you must send an
by April 1. application by April 1.
Drafting Effective Paragraphs (1 of 4)
Arrange paragraphs in one of these plans:
Direct Plan Pivoting Plan Indirect Plan

Main sentence Limiting sentences, Supporting
followed by supporting main sentence, sentences, main
sentences (best for supporting sentences (for
defining, classifying, sentences (for describing causes
illustrating, and comparing and followed by
describing ideas) contrasting) effects)
To build paragraph coherence, link ideas with one of these techniques:
Sustain the key idea by repeating a key expression or a similar word
throughout a paragraph.
Dovetail sentences by connecting the beginning of each new sentence with a
word from the end of the previous sentence.
Use a pronoun in one sentence to refer to a noun in the previous sentence.
End

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Unit 2

The Writing Process in the Digital Era

Student PowerPoint Library, 9e

E.g., Waze, an app allowing users to report traffic jams

E.g., Lego challenged viewers to create a model illustrating the Wizard of Oz

Crowdfunding: Solicits contributions from strangers or friends to finance a project, cause, or

2. Compound Sentence (two independent clauses)

Jade just graduated, and she applied for a job.

Sentence Length Comprehension Rate

Use passive-voice verbs to de-emphasize the performer or to be tactful.

Money was lost (by us).

A customer service blog was Rosario started a customer service

We cannot grant you credit. Credit cannot be granted.

Lacks Parallelism Illustrates Parallelism

We focus on money– earning it, We focus on money– earning it,

Not This But This

Direct Plan Pivoting Plan Indirect Plan

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