Business Writing 101 & Beyond
Presenter
■ Lorie Lawson
Program Manager
Sacramento County DCSS
Moderator
■ Sherry Thurn
Supervising Child Support Officer
Sacramento County DCSS
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Writing, Why Should I Care?
BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED BY THE WRITTEN WORD.
WRITING QUALITY IS A REFLECTION ON THE WRITER.
A GOOD WRITER IS HARD TO FIND.
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What is good writing?
■ IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, GOOD WRITING
IS THAT WHICH CLEARLY AND SUCCINCTLY
CONVEYS THE WRITER’S MAIN IDEA AND
ANY SUPPORTING POINTS.
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Workshop Objectives
■ Preparation & Organization
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7 Steps to Better Business Writing
■ Basic Grammar
■ Punctuation
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Punctuation Rules
■ Proofreading
■ Changes in rules
■ Resources
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Preparation & Organization
The 7 Steps to Better Business Writing
1. Consider your audience.
2. Know your purpose.
3. Organize your thoughts.
4. Write like you talk.
5. Re-read and revise.
6. Get feedback.
7. Proofread.
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7 Steps to Better Business Writing
1. Consider your audience.
- Who will read what you’re writing?
- Your workforce – consider their education and/or
knowledge level.
- Your industry partners vs. the public – your writing
should speak to the reader.
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7 Steps to Better Business Writing
2. Know your audience.
- What do you want to say?
- What result do you want to obtain?
3. Organize your thoughts.
- Identify your key points in an outline prior to
drafting your document.
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7 Steps to Better Business Writing
4. Write like you talk.
- Your first goal should be clarity. Write plainly
and to the point.
5. Re-read and revise.
- What to look for when editing.
- Structure, wordiness, punctuation.
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7 Steps to Better Business Writing
6. Get Feedback.
- Develop a writing ally to provide you
constructive feedback.
7. Proofread.
- Check your work, re-check your work, have
someone else check your work.
- Do proofreading the next day if you can.
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ Word Choice.
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Use natural expression.
Don’t try to be someone you’re not.
Less is more.
Use short, succinct sentences as opposed to
long, winding sentences.
Remember the goal is clear, succinct
communication.
Do not fall in love with your words.
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ Examples of Word Choice Alternatives.
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Instead of: It has become apparent that…
Write: Apparently…
Instead of: It is inefficient, wasteful and a poor
use of available resources.
Write: It is inefficient.
Instead of: Utilize
Write: Use
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ Sentence Structure
 Incomplete sentence - contains a subject and verb
but doesn’t express a complete thought.
 Run-on sentence – two or more complete ideas that
are joined without punctuation.
■ Key Notes
 Count the number of words and shorten longer
sentences.
 Errors tend to lurk in the middle of long sentencesdon’t lose your train of thought.
 In compound sentences, read each of the complete
sentences separately to ensure proper punctuation is
used.
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ Frequently Misused Words
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Refer to handout.
 Frequently Misspelled Words
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Refer to handout.
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Look for a “hook” to help remember spellings.
Use a dictionary or thesaurus.
Use spell-check but don’t depend on it.
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ Punctuation
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Punctuation marks are road signs for the reader.
Run-on sentences occur due to a lack of
punctuation. Short and choppy is not good but it
is better than long and rambling.
Commas vs. semi-colons vs. periods.
• Commas = a pause.
• Semi-colons = a little longer pause.
• Periods = a full stop.
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ The Run-on and on and on…in need of
punctuation.
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The obligor on this case who was on aid but is no
longer and is on contempt probation and has a
seek work order called yesterday to say he is
self-employed and the mom wants to waive her
arrears, get his driver’s license back and clear
his bench warrant what do you think?
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ The obligor on this case, who was on aid but is
no longer, is on contempt probation and has a
see work order. He called yesterday to say he
is self-employed. He also said the mom wants
to waive her arrears. He is asking to get his
driver’s license back and clear his bench
warrant. What do you think?
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Grammar & Punctuation
■ Comma vs. colon vs. period.
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There is a wage assignment in place, and the
obligor is in compliance.
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There is a wage assignment in place; the obligor
is in compliance.
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There is a wage assignment in place. The
obligor is in compliance.
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Punctuation Rules
■ Punctuation Rules
 Use a period after each number in a list printed vertically.
 Use a question mark at the end of a declarative statement that
you want to emphasize believing the statement.
 Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives that equally
modify the same noun.
 Use a comma before the conjunction in a compound sentence.
However, if the two independent clauses are very short, you do
not need the comma.
 Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when those items
contain punctuation such as a comma.
 Use a colon to introduce a list that appears after an
independent clause.
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Punctuation Rules
■ Punctuation Rules cont’d…
 For a one syllable, singular noun that ends in possessive, add ’s.
 If a singular noun has more than one syllable and ends in –s it is
acceptable to use ’s OR to use only an apostrophe after the –s. (It is
important to remain consistent.)
 Place quotation marks around words, letters, or symbols that are
slang or being discussed or used in a special way.
 If the ellipsis comes at the end of your sentence, you still need end
to use punctuation, even if it is a period.
 Use a hyphen to form some compound words, especially compound
adjectives that appear for the nouns they modify.
 Use a dash to attach an afterthought to an already complete
sentence.
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Proofreading
■ Create Positive Environment
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Know the project timeline & deadlines..
Proofread during your “prime time.”
Limit distractions.
Clear your work space.
Have necessary reference material within reach.
Create a comfortable work environment.
Stand up to get more energy.
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Proofreading
■ Proofreading Methods
 Proofread several times – step away & come back
later.
 Read aloud: The “see and say” method will highlight
punctuation errors as well as missing words.
 Partner proofreading: One reads from one copy while
the other follows along with another copy.
 Read the document backward, word by word.
 Give it to someone else to proofread.
 Use a pacer – a brightly colored piece of paper as a
rule guide – line by line, from top to bottom, bottom to
top and backward.
 Print out copy – double space, change font style.
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Business Writing Quiz
■ For each item in the quiz, you choose the
sentence(s) you believe is written correctly.
■ A hard copy of the answers with an explanation
will be provided today.
■ Business Writing quiz available at no cost online
at www.businesswriting.com.
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Rules Evolve
■ Grammar and punctuation rules evolve over time. The changes
occur through a transition of use. At some point, the “use of”
causes the change to become permanent/acceptable.
■ Currently in transition is the writing of a.m. & p.m.
 It’s changing to AM & PM.
■ A couple of changes that have occurred over the past few years
that have become acceptable are:
 The spacing between sentences – one or two is acceptable.
 Prepositions at the end of a sentence – it’s acceptable now.
 Comma before “and” in a series – comma or no comma?
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Comma or no comma?
■ Practice had been to leave the comma out
before the “and”.
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The deceased’s inheritance is to be split equally
between John, Kelly and Michelle.
■ A court decision has motivated writers to now
put it in because it makes the list clearer.
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The deceased’s inheritance is to be split equally
between John, Kelly, and Michelle.
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Reference Resources
■ The Gregg Reference Manual, Tenth Edition.
William A. Sabin.
■ How to Create High-Impact Letters, Memos and
Email. Pat Cramer and Debra Smith
■ www.businesswriting.com
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