WRITTEN COMMUNICATION:
E-MAIL, TEXTING, AND OTHER
WRITING TIPS
By
Doris England, CAP-OM
Presented to:
Roanoke Chapter APW Event
April 15, 2014
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE
• Be informal, but not sloppy.
• Keep messages brief and to the point
• Use sentence case.
• Use the blind copy and courtesy copy
appropriately.
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE
• Don’t use e-mail to avoid personal contact.
• Remember that e-mail isn’t private.
• Be sparing with group e-mail.
• Use the subject field to indicate content and
purpose.
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE
• Don’t send chain letters or junk mail.
• Your tone cannot be heard in an e-mail.
• Use a signature that includes contact
information.
• Summarize long discussions (replies).
TEXTING ETIQUETTE
• Be careful with abbreviations.
• Be aware of your perceived tone.
• Never send bad news via text.
TEXTING ETIQUETTE
• Don’t change meeting times or venues in a
text.
• Always double check when using the voice-totext feature.
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
1. KNOW WHY YOU’RE WRITING:
• Be clear about objectives.
• Address your audience appropriately.
• State the goals you want to achieve.
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR READERS:
• Get to the point quickly.
• Focus on what’s relevant.
• Use a tone that fits your audience.
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
3. WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT IN 4 PARTS:
•
•
•
•
Madman – Research
Architect – Organizes the material
Carpenter – Writes first draft
Judge – Edits and tightens
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
4. REVISE AND EDIT:
• Do I have a clear, concise opening?
• Have I said all I need to say?
• Have I proved my point with specifics?
• Have I avoided repetitions?
• Have I closed smoothly?
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
5. BE RELENTLESSLY CLEAR:
• Illustrate your points with specifics –
SHOW – DON’T TELL
6. DON’T WASTE WORDS:
• Trim wordy passages
• Get rid of “filler words”
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
7. NEVER USE BUSINESS-SPEAK:
• Stay away from trite expressions, such as
“mission-critical” or words like “enormity.”
• Avoid jargon that others might not
understand.
• Watch the use of abbreviations such as APW,
PDS, SOP, CEU, etc.
8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING
8. RELAX AND FIND THE RIGHT TONE:
• Avoid stuffiness by using contractions.
• Vary the length and structure of your
sentences.
• Use courtesies like “thank you” and “we
appreciate.”
• Use personal pronouns instead of formal
language.
OTHER WRITING TIPS
• Paragraph structure - The topic of a paragraph
is stated in one sentence. This is called the
topic sentence. The rest of the paragraph
consists of sentences that develop or explain
the main idea. Every sentence in a paragraph
should support the main idea expressed in
the topic sentence.
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.
He said, "Treat her as you would your own
daughter."
"Look out!" she screamed. "You almost ran
into my child.“
• Capitalize a proper noun.
Golden Gate Bridge
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the
name. Do not capitalize when the title is
acting as a description following the name.
Chairperson Smith
Ms. Smith, the chairperson of the company,
will address us at noon.
• Capitalize the person's title when it follows
the name on the address or signature line.
Sincerely,
Ms. Haines, Chairperson
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize the titles of high-ranking
government officials when used before their
names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is
used instead of the name.
The president will address Congress.
The speaker is Governor Terry McAuliffe.
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize any title when used as a direct
address.
Will you take my temperature, Doctor?
• Capitalize points of the compass only when
they refer to specific regions.
We have had three relatives visit from the
South.
Go south three blocks and then turn left.
CAPITALIZATION
• Always capitalize the first and last words of
titles of publications regardless of their parts
of speech. Capitalize other words within titles,
including the short verb forms Is, Are, and Be.
Exception: Do not capitalize little words
within titles such as a, an, the, but, as, if, and,
or, nor, or prepositions, regardless of their
length.
The Day of the Jackal
What Color Is Your Parachute?
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize federal or state when used as part
of an official agency name or in government
documents where these terms represent an
official name. If they are being used as general
terms, you may use lowercase letters.
The state has evidence to the contrary.
That is a federal offense.
The State Board of Equalization collects sales taxes.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been subject
to much scrutiny.
CAPITALIZATION
• You may capitalize words such as department,
bureau, and office if you have prepared your
text in the following way:
Example:
The Bureau of Land Management (Bureau)
has some jurisdiction over Indian lands. The
Bureau is finding its administrative role to be
challenging.
CAPITALIZATION
• Do not capitalize names of seasons.
Example:
I love autumn colors and spring flowers.
• Capitalize the first word of a salutation and
the first word of a complimentary close.
Examples:
Dear Ms. Mohamed:
My dear Mr. Sanchez:
Very truly yours,
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize words derived from proper nouns.
Example:
I must take English and math.
English is capitalized because it comes from
the proper noun England, but math does not
come from Mathland.
• Capitalize the names of specific course titles.
Example:
I must take history and Algebra 2.
CAPITALIZATION
• After a sentence ending with a colon, do not
capitalize the first word if it begins a list.
Example:
These are my favorite foods: chocolate cake,
lobster, and artichokes. Do not capitalize when
only one sentence follows a sentence ending
with a colon.
Example:
I love Jane Smiley's writing: her book, A
Thousand Acres, was beautiful.
CAPITALIZATION
• Capitalize when two or more sentences follow
a sentence ending with a colon.
Example:
I love James Patterson’s writing: His book,
Along Came a Spider, was a thriller. Also, NYPD
Red kept me on the edge of my seat.
WHO / WHOM
• Use the he/him method to decide which word
is correct.
he = who
him = whom
Who/Whom wrote the letter?
He wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct.
For who/whom should I vote?
Should I vote for him? Therefore, whom is
correct.
WHO / WHOM
• We all know who/whom pulled that prank.
This sentence contains two clauses: We all
know and who/whom pulled that prank. We
are interested in the second clause because it
contains the who/whom. He pulled that prank.
Therefore, who is correct. (Are you starting to
sound like a hooting owl yet?)
WHO / WHOM
• We want to know on who/whom the prank
was pulled.
This sentence contains two clauses: We want
to know and the prank was pulled on
who/whom. Again, we are interested in the
second clause because it contains the
who/whom. The prank was pulled on him.
Therefore, whom is correct.
SOURCES
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/20
13/01/18/8-keys-to-better-business-writing/
• https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Proofread
ing.html
• http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlet-help
• http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
QUESTIONS???