“Put It in Writing”
Adding Value to
Company
Knowledge
The Knowledge Chain
message creation
data
information
knowledge
message revision
and coordination
message use
Professional Writing
87% of all business writing is done
in a group or team.
 The average business document is
reviewed by 3-5 people by the time
the final draft is complete.
 100% of all business documents are
created within an organizational
culture.
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Writing Procedure

“Prewrite”
determine audience and purpose
perform research and analysis

Draft
format to meet internal, external needs

Edit
revise for effectiveness, clarity,
readability
Writing Procedure

“Prewrite”
determine audience and purpose
perform research and analysis

Draft
format to meet internal, external needs

Edit
revise for effectiveness, clarity,
readability
Collect the Data

Context
Who is the audience?
 What is my purpose?
 What does the audience know?
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Facts
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What do I know? Need to know?
Action

What will this data be used for?
Writing Procedure

Prewrite
determine audience and purpose
perform research and analysis

Draft
format to meet internal, external needs

Edit
revise for effectiveness, clarity,
readability
Data into Information

Organization
How will this data be used?
 Do a Task: Instructions
Step one, step two, step three….
 Understand a Concept: Description
Big picture; details
 Make a Decision: Issues
Problem, Cause, Solution, Cost
Writing Procedure

“Prewrite”
determine audience and purpose
perform research and analysis

Draft
format to meet internal, external needs

Edit
revise for effectiveness, clarity,
readability
Editing Step One
evaluate content of document

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document responsive to context, situation?
message clear to a “new” reader?
beginning section provide accurate summary?
Has
the data
body data valid and
complete?
supported by
examples or data?
been turned into
all the steps in the logic provided?
required
headers accuratelythe
represent
section content?
information?
Editing Step Two
evaluate message format

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does it conform to requests and expectations?
is it clean, crisp and professional looking?
are address/signature details correct?
political?
are layout elements lined up and consistent?
do graphics support the message?
are ideas presented in a reasonable, clear
order?
Does it look
like a
memo?
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Editing Step Three
evaluate writing style

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focus on an action or decision; active voice
reader’s needs recognized; sales attitude
tone assertive and straightforward; direct
prose clear, concise and direct; no redundant
words or sentences
the
not too informal, nor Does
too bureaucratic
and
document sound
wordy
no inappropriate “businesslike”?
gender-specific language
Editing Step Four
proofread language use
 read sentences for complete logic
 check that all words are used correctly
 read words for spelling pairs
80-90% of errors are
 scan for correct
“stupidpunctuation
mistakes”
 check key grammar areas
 insure that mood, tense, person are
consistent and logical