Chapter - 7
Business Writing: Planning and organizing
Business Writing: An Introduction
A best way to approach business writing
Almost all business activities are envisioned, planned, implemented and analyzed in some form of the written word. These forms include reports, and report email, letters and any document, in fact, that communicates something about business. Collectively, they are the hard-copy paper trails recording the proposals, activities and results of countless business transactions.
Public and private entities rely upon these documents to communicate vital information, both internally and externally, regarding the condition and conduct of their business. It is fundamentally important that they be written in a clear and concise manner. When they are, the risk of miscommunication is greatly reduced.
Poorly written business documents can produce unintended results and potentially disastrous consequences. Strong writing competencies can help reduce or avoid this all together. Well chosen words, well organized and well written, increase the likelihood of effective business communication. Writing is a process consisting of several interrelated steps:
➤ Preparation
➤ Research
➤ Organizing
➤ Drafting
➤ Review and Revision
These steps break the larger writing task into smaller ones. Proceeding through them one at a time will help you write successful business documents. Depending on the complexity of the writing task, they will be either more or less demanding. An annual report requires far more, for instance, than a memo.
Preparation:
Preparing to write is as important as the act itself. There are three preliminary considerations that are fundamental to the task. We must establish a document's objective, identify its readers and determine its scope. All other steps in the writing process follow and develop from these determinations.
Objective
Establish the purpose of the document. Establishing an objective will answer one critical question about our writing task. What do we want the reader to know or do, or be able to do after reading our document? The answer needs to be specific and detailed. If the objective is too general it will be difficult, if not impossible, to present a credible argument or a compelling reason to read the document.
Readers
Identifying our readers will answer another critical question about the writing task. How can we help them understand your objective? Knowing who our readers are and what they need from us is crucial to satisfying our objective. It will also determine the scope of our writing task. Successful business writers know that the answers to who and what will lead to how. So target our audience and get to know a few things about them.
Ask ourselves some key questions. Who is going to read our document? Will it be one person or many? Are we writing a letter to a new client or a quarterly summary for the Chief Financial Officer? Are we writing a departmental memo or the shareholders annual report? What information will they need?
Notice the hierarchical status of different readers. Understand that this status defines the reader's relationship to a subject or topic. It indicates something about what their perspective or personal interest might be and something about how much they might already know, or how much they might need to know about the material.
Once we have a clear understanding of our audience we are prepared to determine the scope of our document, write effectively, both of which will help our readers understand our objective.
Scope
Determining the scope of our writing task will answer a final question? What kind of information is needed, and how much of it will be enough for the reader to understand your objective? In light of both the objective and the audience, this will either be elementary, intermediate or advanced?
What and how much to include is a decision based on who the reader is, why they were targeted and what relationship they have to your document's topic. Successful business writers keep all of this in mind as they gather information in the research step of the writing process.
Research:
Research is an investigative process. The information and data necessary for the completion of a writing task is gathered in this step. The amount required will depend upon the document's primary objectives, the breadth of its scope and its intended audience, the more complex our topic, the more in depth the research.
A letter or memo may require no more than a list of related ideas and your research may consist only of finding the name of the contact person to whom you are writing. A report or summary, on the other hand, may require something more. Before writing a report projecting the earnings-to-expense ratio for the coming year, for instance, you might want to meet with the accounting staff for a review of quarterly financials from previous years.
Regardless of the amount of research, the information we gather will fall into one of two categories. Depending upon the source, our information will be either primary or secondary. Depending upon our objective, scope and audience we may rely more heavily on one than the other.
Information gathered from multiple sources will provide the facts that substantiate and clarify your objective. As we identify relevant sources of information, include ourselves. Personal experience counts. After all, among the credentials underscoring our involvement in the writing task are our background qualifications and our first-hand knowledge of the topic. Search our own personal resources. Check our own databases. Look in the file cabinet.
As our research progresses, compile notes, either on index cards or in a computer. Include what we already know about the subject and what remains to be discovered. Brainstorm with ourselves and others. Ask lots of questions. Who, what, and where? When, how and why? Note our sources and double-check your facts. Accuracy is mandatory.
Thorough research is the backbone of any successful business document. Once completed, we must organize our notes and prepare an outline that illustrates the manner in which our information will be presented in the written document.
Organizing:
Organizing is a sorting and categorizing procedure. It prepares the writer to present research materials in a methodical manner. It is also the design stage of a writing task, the step in which decisions are made on how a topic will be developed. A well-organized presentation maximizes the likelihood that our readers will easily comprehend the scope of our writing task, the more likely it is that these groups will develop into distinct sections of our finished document.
Once our notes are organized we are ready to construct an outline, the scaffolding upon which we hang the beginning, middle and ending of our writing project. It will provide the kind of infrastructure that, without, writing projects quickly fall apart. As we begin drafting the written elements of our document, a well-constructed outline will help shape and control your thinking.
Outlining:
An outline is a blueprint or set of plans for a written document. It should be constructed after you have decided upon the organizational method with which we are going to present our research material. Its purpose is to show us where everything is going to go in our finished document.
The complexity of our outline will depend upon the extent, or scope, of our writing task. Letters and memos require only a simple list such as that found in Sample 1. Summaries and reports, on the other hand, may require more complete sets of instruction such as those found in Sample 2 and Sample 3. The difference between them is in their levels of formality. Sample 2 falls midway between a low level and a high level of formality and might be used for a summary report.
Regardless of its complexity, an outline describes the decisions you have already thought out and places the content you intend to include in your document in a sequential order. A well-built one serves as a guideline when developing your rough draft, and a point of reference when reviewing and revising your writing. It will help keep you on track.
Sample 1: Simple List
A simple list is an informal ordering of the main points a writer intends to include in a written document. Like a grocery list, its purpose is largely as a reminder and can be made of words, phrases or complete sentences.
In the sample below Ms. Ida Mae Knott, the purchasing agent for Better Widget Makers, Inc., has outlined the main points she intends to include in an inquiry letter to the Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at the Golden Bread Company. She has made a simple list of phrases and notes to help guide her letter-writing task.
Ms. Ida Mae Knott's Inquiry Letter Outline
1) Contact Person - Mr. Russ Hamilton - VP Sales & Marketing - Get address.
2) New cafeteria almost complete - Need food vendors
3) Bakery goods to be outsourced - Need wholesale contract soon
4) Dangle carrot - buying locally is company policy
5) Building pro forma - Supply internal logistics - Ask for help
6) List of info needed - Price sheets - Cost breaks - Annual discounts - Other
7) Mention deadline
Not all lists are as simple as Ms. Ida Mae's. An outline for a short summary of an annual stockholder's report might include whole paragraphs, as in Sample 2, with more details regarding which important points from each section of the report should be included in the summary.
Drafting:
This step in the writing process is often considered the most difficult. Experienced writers avoid undo frustration with careful and systematic preparation. They establish their objectives,, identify their readers and determine the scope of their projects first. They conduct research and organize their ideas and information before beginning a draft.
Once these preparations are well in hand, it is time to start a rough draft of a writing project. This task is not without its difficulties, but neither is it as hard as we might think. Remember that we are already prepared, that we already have an outline. All we are going to do now is enlarge it, fill it in with details from our research notes.
Keep a few things in mind. A rough draft is not a finished document. No one but we ever has to see it. Don't worry about polishing what we write. Just write. Don't worry about beginnings, middles and endings. Just write. Start where we are most comfortable and most knowledgeable. Don't worry about spelling, grammar and punctuation. Don't worry about fragments, run-on sentences or transitions. A rough draft is supposed to be rough. If it is not, we have gotten ahead of ourselves in the writing process.
Focus on the ideas we want to present. Get them down on paper as straightforward as possible. Consult our outline as we work. You might consider sharing our work with others early on in the drafting process. Collaborative input from business associates can be very helpful in evaluating how well our objective is being met. Collaboration at this stage also acts as a safety net. Two sets of eyes will analyze content and spot mistakes quicker than one. This can be a real time saver and in business, time is money.
And finally, don't get discouraged if writing a rough draft turns out to be rough going. Even experienced business writers encounter obstacles at this stage of the process. It is often called writer's block and there are tactics with which it can be overcome. Keep in mind that whether our writing task is a letter or a memo a report or a summary the finished document will come when we review and revise the rough draft.
Reviewing and Revising:
Reviewing and revising a rough draft transforms our writing into a finished business document. This is a crucial step and should be done with a great deal of care. Approach it rested. As a matter of fact, when our rough draft is complete, set it aside for a day or two. Distancing ourselves like this will do us a world of good; it will clear our head. When we return to our draft we will be able to review and revise it with a sharper, more objective and critical eye, first as its reader and then as its writer.
Adopting the reader's point of view will allow us to assess whether or not the writer's objective was met. Being both reader and writer places us in a unique position to analyze what we have written. After all, we are the only reader who knows what the writer was thinking and what the intended scope of the document is and what message it is supposed to convey. This is a distinct advantage. Be painstakingly honest with yourself, and fussy, too. Remember, whether by a large or a small degree, once have reviewed and revised our draft we and our writing are going public.
Should we always follow the suggested steps?
According to Mike Sharples there are three main core activities in writing. They are planning, composition and revising. But the flow of activity is not one direction. His model shows that a flow of material in a clockwise direction i.e. from notes and plans to draft to final copy and the flow ideas in the opposite direction. For example, reading a draft may generate an idea which alters the plan. No writer write in same way. Some make notes and plan and draft to final copy but some plan and make notes and draft to final copy. There are different ways to plan. Writers need to find the combination of methods that suit their situation rather than depending on a single model approach.
Why is structuring information so important in business communication?
Our attention and understanding of message depends of how the information is presented. We cannot easily absorb or remember information which is not clearly structured. The method of structuring we choose for our document is just as important as its content. Without a clear organizational pattern, our reader could become confused and lose interest. The way we structure our document helps our readers draw connections between the body and the thesis, and the structure also keeps us focused as we plan and write the essay. Choosing our organizational pattern before we outline ensures that each body paragraph works to support and develop our thesis. A strong organizational pattern allows us to articulate, analyze, and clarify our thoughts.
Whenever we write a business document, we need to plan three factors which influence each other:
➤ how we are going to structure the document and organize the information;
➤ how we are going to design the document and lay out the sections and pages;
➤ what style of writing we should use to express our ideas to the intended audience.
Methods and principles for structuring information
There are basic methods and principles for structuring information. They are :-
Chunking, ordering and signposting
Chunking :- It is the way that information can be broken down into sections or chunk which makes the information easier to understand.
The chunking principle depends on three key points:
Information is easier to understand when it's broken into small, well-organized units.
The maximum number of information items in a unit should be seven.
Information is easier to understand when the level of detail is right for the audience and appropriate for the message you want to convey.
Ordering :- It is the arrangement of information in a way that makes a sense. We put the chunks or parts into order which will make them more or less useful meaningful.
Signposting :- It is the way we can offer clues or signals to explain or demonstrate the way the information is structured. Signposting means using words to tell our reader about the content of our document to help them understand as clearly as possible.
The pyramid principle
The pyramid is a visual representation of your ideas and is a framework for thinking about how information fits together. The pyramid principle was invented by Barbara Minto. She suggests that every written document should be deliberately structured to form a pyramid of ideas.
A top-down pyramid structure means that the document first introduces a summary statement and then the reasoning behind it. The above narrative would have been much easier to understand if structured in such a way: “That really was an awful football match: the seats were cold, I almost got into a fight and Italy did not play well.”
When constructing a pyramid, follow the bottom-up approach: First, list all the points you want to make, clustering together those that argue toward a similar conclusion. Then summarize each group with a single statement one level above the group. Each summary statement is like the tip of a miniature pyramid.
Repeat the process on the next level, and the next and so on. Eventually, you are left with one summary statement that crystallizes the key message of the entire document. Your pyramid is ready.
Consider this example: from points like “Our customer-base is growing,” “Each customer is buying more” and “We have increased our prices,” you might draw the summary statement, “Our sales are growing.”
You might then group this summary statement with others such as “Our fixed costs are going down” and “Our variable costs are going down,” and summarize this new group with an overall message of “Our profits are improving.”
Any statement you make within your pyramid structure must raise a question in the reader’s mind, which you then answer on the level below. One way this answer can be formulated is through deductive reasoning.
Deduction is a classic logical process where you draw conclusions from premises. For example, from the premises “All men are mortal” and “Goliath is a man,” you can draw the conclusion, “Goliath is mortal.” You could then summarize the entire deduction process on the level above with the statement, “Since Goliath is a man, he is mortal.”
When recommending action to your reader, consider flipping the order of your deduction so that you lead with your conclusion. After all, the recommendation is what the reader really cares about.
In short
1. Ideas at any level of a pyramid must be summaries of the ideas grouped below them
2. Ideas in a grouping must be the same kind of idea
3. Ideas in a group must be in a logical order .
Spider diagrams and mind maps
Spider Diagrams
Spider diagram is another way of developing of ideas. In this method we write our central idea in the middle of the page and then build a spider's web of associated ideas which link from it. This gives us a structure which we can amend and revise until it covers what we want. We can use this very simple method of summarizing ideas in various ways, such as to takes of lectures, to plan lectures, to give as handouts, to plan reports and papers, and so on.
The spider diagram has a number of potential advantages over linear or full transcription.
➤ It is quick and easy to do.
➤ It gives a visual map of the topic which can make it easy to remember.
➤ It can summarize complicated ideas.
Mind Maps
Mind Maps are an invention of Tony Buzan who is also known as the Master of Memory. He describes mind maps as a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlock the potential of the brain. It is a simple system of learning which aids understanding of the subject matter through concepts and connections.
It is a system of taking down notes graphically in such a way that it activates both left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Here are a few basic principles to follow while making a mind map:
1. Always start with a central theme.
This can be the title or it can be an image that represents the title.
2. Try to use as many images as possible since they stimulate creative thought, draw the attention of the eye and aid in enhancing memory.
3. Use only one or two keywords per line.
Each word or image should be on a line which connects other lines.
This is something like a flowchart except that the labels or images will be on the connecting lines and radiating in different directions.
This provides the basic structure of the mind map.
4. Use different colours for different themes. Colours are used to highlight and accentuate important information.
5. Let your mind run free.
Try not to fetter it with unwanted or unnecessary information.
Use all the pillars of memory.
How to make a mind map:
1. Start with a blank sheet of paper, preferably A4 or A3 in size and unruled. Turn it sideways (landscape).
2. Write down the main topic or the keyword at the centre of the page. This can also be a diagram or image of the central topic that you are studying.
3. From the central figure or keyword, draw branches radiating in different directions to signify subheadings.
4. Add sub-branches radiating from these branches to show subheadings of each branch.
Again, these are drawn or labeled in different colors.
5. Use curved lines rather than straight lines.
Curved lines encourage creative thinking while linear lines encourage thinking only in one direction.
6. Every time you add another word or image, draw a branch from the key words to connect with it.
No matter how many branches you create, it should be possible to journey back along those branches to reach the centre.
7. Label the branches and sub-branches clearly and make sure that the images represent the subject matter clearly.
8. Branches may interconnect, depending on the strength of associations between them. Use arrows to connect linking ideas.
9. Make your map as colourful and beautiful as possible.
You can use colours as themes as well, to differentiate one topic or subtopic from another.
Colour helps with clarity. It also helps us recognize chunks of information by colour coding different bits of information and highlighting important points.
Outlining
An outline, also called a hierarchical outline, is a list arranged to show hierarchical relationships and is a type of tree structure. An outline is used[1] to present the main points (in sentences) or topics (terms) of a given subject. Each item in an outline may be divided into additional sub-items. If an organizational level in an outline is to be sub-divided, it shall have at least two subcategories,
It is simply a tool to help us organize our writing task and think about how we want to put your autobiography together.
It is simply an organizational tool, or a plan to follow as we do your writing. The outline is a means for structuring information and seeing relationships among ideas. Think of it as a map that shows where we have been and where we are going. Generally, we do not need many details for our outline; the details come later when you actually begin to write.
Outlines develop from thought. Once we have done some brainstorming and have a few rudimentary ideas, we create the outline to give those ideas form and shape.
Look at the outline example which is given below.
I. Topic
A. Subordinate topic
1. Item
2. Item
3. Item
B. Subordinate topic
1. Item
2. Item
Structuring Devices in Written Document
There are wide ranges of devices we can use in documents to make the structure clear to readers. We shall concentrate on features of the paragraph: structure, length, unity,
coherence, and linking devices.
Structure of paragraph
A paragraph is a unit of writing in a larger body of work. A paragraph expresses a particular topic or theme. The purpose of a paragraph is to express a speaker’s thoughts on a particular point in a clear way that is unique and specific to that paragraph. In other words, paragraphs shouldn’t be mixing of thoughts or ideas. When a new idea is introduced, generally, a writer will introduce a new paragraph. paragraph usually deals with one subject or topic, that starts to a new line, and that is made up of one or more sentences. It should deal with a single line of thought. It considers to the problem present to the readers and how this can be solved.
It has three main parts; an introduction, a body of the paragraph and a conclusion. In other words, it has a topic sentence, a few supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
What is a Topic Sentence? A topic sentence is the first sentence of the body paragraph. Simply put, the topic sentence introduces the topic of the paragraph. A good topic sentence will be broad enough to allow for explication but narrow enough that it does not require a paragraph that is too long. A topic sentence summarizes the main idea or the purpose of a paragraph. In business writing, the topic sentence usually comes at the beginning of the paragraph. Then, the rest of the paragraph provides the supporting details. Sometimes, a writer will choose to put the topic sentence at the end of the paragraph in order to break bad news or build the reader up to a point.
A topic sentence functions in several important ways:
➤ It informs the reader of the paragraph’s direction The topic sentence announces the direction of the paragraph’s conversation. With the help of an effective topic sentence, readers will better understand what the paragraph will be about.
➤ It guides the reader through the major points that support the writer’s purpose Clearly worded topic sentences may help readers find the author’s position or argument more convincing.
➤ It places boundaries on the paragraph’s content The body of the paragraph provides support for the topic sentence. The paragraph should only include evidence and details that relate directly to the boundary established by the topic sentence.
The ideas are organized logically. The author starts out with the topic sentence, then organizes the rest of the information from most general to most specific.
Length of Paragraph
A paragraph can consist of a single sentence. Short one-sentence paragraph are often used to emphasize a point. There is no upper limit to the number of words in paragraph. Good business writing tends to have shorter paragraphs than does literary writing various educators teach rules governing the length of paragraphs. They may say that a paragraph should be 100 to 200 words long, or be no more than five or six sentences. For shorter documents such as letters and memos, about 60 words is suitable, but we must not destroy the unity of paragraph in the effort to reduce its length. But a good paragraph should not be measured in characters, words, or sentences. The true measure of your paragraphs should be ideas. To maintain the reader's interest, we should use paragraphs of varying lengths.
Unity of paragraph
Unity in a paragraph means that the entire paragraph should focus on one single idea or topic. It should not contain irrelevant material. Any sentence that does not refer to the topic should be excluded and moved to a new paragraph. The supporting details should explain the main idea. The concluding sentence should end the paragraph with the same idea. Thus, a unified paragraph presents a thought, supports it with adequate details and completes it with a conclusion.
Coherence
Coherence means establishing a relationship between the ideas presented in a paragraph. It brings about a rationale in the arrangement of the ideas which are introduced either in the chronological order or in the order of importance. Besides, transitions that compare, contrast, illustrate, add or show cause and effect build logical bridges. The ideas, thus expressed in the paragraph, flow smoothly from one to the other in a logical sequence. This helps the reader to understand the paragraph.
Linking devices
Linking words help link sentences to other sentences and paragraphs to other paragraphs. These linking words help to increase cohesion in our writing by connecting your ideas and add clarity to our writing so we say exactly what we want to say. We can use linking to help the reader follow or train of thought. Linking can apply to the sentences within a paragraph and to the paragraph within a text. Various ways of linking are:
➤ Linking punctuation (, !)
➤ Linking words (Thus, Therefore, also, but)
➤ Linking phrases (we conclude therefore, to sum up)
➤ Linking sentences
0 Comments