9 Effective workplace writing
Section Information
Outcome/Competency: Identify principles of effective workplace writing
Time to complete this section: 5.5 hours
Rationale:
Why is it important for you to learn this skill?
Strong writing skills help you to communicate with others without having to schedule a meeting or phone call. They ensure readers understand the key points of what you’re trying to get across, come away with the ideas and impression you want them to, and, in many cases, take action to do whatever you’re hoping they’ll do.
Objectives
To be competent in this area, the individual must be able to:
Analyze and evaluate audience/purpose/situation as they apply to business writing contexts
Produce clear, concise, effective audience and purpose-specific business writing
Adapt tone and style for appropriate contexts
Learning Goals
Analyze and evaluate audience/purpose/situation as they apply to business writing contexts
Produce clear, concise, effective audience and purpose-specific business writing
Adapt tone and style for appropriate contexts.
Introduction:
This module addresses how to write effectively by considering audience, purpose, situation, tone. You will learn how to do a detailed task and audience analysis, develop an audience profile, identify purpose, identify the audience, and understand the demographics, education, prior knowledge and expectations of a given audience. You will also learn the difference between formal and informal writing styles and practice writing in both formats.
Objective One
Analyze and evaluate audience/purpose/situation as they apply to business writing contexts
Topic 1: Audience/Purpose/Situation (1h)
It is common knowledge in the workplace that no one really wants to read what you write, and even if they want to or have to read it, they will likely not read all of it. So how do you get your reader to understand what you need quickly and efficiently? Start by doing a detailed Task and Audience Analysis — make sure you understand the “rhetorical situation.” Before you begin drafting a document, determine the needs of your rhetorical situation (See Figure 1.3.1).Figure 1.3.1 The Rhetorical Situation.
The “rhetorical situation” is a term used to describe the components of any situation in which you may want to communicate, whether in written or oral form. To define a “rhetorical situation,” ask yourself this question: “Who is talking to whom about what, how, and why?”
There are five main components:
- Purpose
- Writer
- Audience
- Message
- Context/Culture
PURPOSE refers to why you are writing. Determining your purpose requires that you engage in Task Analysis — that is, determine what you hope to accomplish by writing this document. Ask yourself what you hope the reader(s) will do/think/decide/ or how they will behave as a result of reading the text. There are three general purposes for communication in the workplace: 1) to create a record, 2) to give or request information, and 3) to persuade.
Within those general purposes, you will find a myriad of specific purposes. For example, your purpose may be to propose an innovative solution to a specific problem. In this case, you want the reader to agree to explore the idea further, or approve funding for further research and development, which would fall under the general purpose of writing to persuade.
WRITER refers to you, the writer/creator/designer of the communication. It is important to examine your own motivation for writing and any biases, past experiences, and knowledge you bring to the writing situation. These elements will influence how you craft the message, whether positively or negatively. This examination should also include your role within the organization, as well as your position relative to your target audience.
AUDIENCE refers to your readers/listeners/viewers/users. Audience Analysis is possibly the most critical part of understanding the rhetorical situation. Consider Figure 1.3.2 below. Is your audience internal (within your company) or external (such as clients, suppliers, customers, other stakeholders)? Are they lateral to you (at the same position or level), upstream from you (management), or downstream from you (employees, subordinates)? Who is the primary audience? Who are the secondary audiences? These questions, and others, help you to create an understanding of your audience that will help you craft a message that is designed to effectively communicate specifically to them.
Figure 1.3.2 Understanding your relationship to your audience.
Keep in mind that your different audiences will also have a specific purpose in reading your document. Consider what their various purposes might be, and how you can best help them achieve their purpose. What do they already know? What do they need to know? Considering what they are expected to do with the information you provide will help you craft your message effectively. Consider also that technical writing often has a long “life-span” – a document you write today could be filed away and reviewed months or even years down the road. Consider the needs of that audience as well.
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Audience |
Purpose for Reading |
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Executives |
Make decisions |
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Supervising Experts/Managers |
Advise decision makers; direct subordinates |
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Technical Experts/Co-workers |
Implement decisions; advise |
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Lay People/Public/Clients |
Become informed; choose options; make decisions |
Some companies develop audience profiles to help guide their communications. This is a good exercise whenever you have something to communicate, especially if the information is complex. Here are some questions to consider as part of the audience profile:
Developing an Audience Profile
- Who are your primary readers? (Specific names and titles, or general roles)
- Are they above you in the organizational hierarchy? Lateral? subordinate? Outside of your organization?
- Who else might read this document? (Secondary readers)
- Do you know what their attitude towards the topic is?
- How might cultural differences affect their expectations and interpretations?
- How much technical background do the readers have?
- How much do they already know about the topic?
- What situation gave rise to this document?
MESSAGE refers to the information you want to communicate. This is the content of your document. It should be aligned to your purpose and targeted to your audience. While it is important to carefully choose what content your audience needs, it is equally critical to cut out content that your audience does not need or want. “Time is money” may be a tired old cliché, but it is important to avoid wasting your audience’s time with information that is unnecessary or irrelevant to them. Your message should be professional, and expressed in an appropriate tone for the audience, purpose, and context.
CONTEXT refers to the situation that creates the need for the writing. In other words, what has happened or needs to happen that creates the need for communication? The context is influenced by timing, location, current events, and culture, which can be organizational or social. Ignoring the context for your communication could result in awkward situations, or possibly offensive ones. It will almost certainly impact your ability to clearly convey your message to your audience.
[Source: Suzan Last and Candice Neveu, https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/understandingrhetoricalsituation/)
Topic 2: Task and audience analysis (45m)
[Source: Suzan Last and Candice Neveu, https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/understandingrhetoricalsituation/)
Communication Worksheet 4: Task and Audience Analysis Exercise
Exercise 1: What to include? What to leave out?
Table 1 contains a collection of details about a research project you have just completed on thunderstorms. Imagine that you’re writing documents for each of the 5 following audiences:
A. Your boss
B. Scientists
C. The general public
D. Politician
E. Students
What information about thunderstorms might each ask you for? As you go down the list, write in the blank spaces in front of each detail the letter that correspond to the audiences that you think would find this detail most relevant. Consider what kind of document might contain that information for that audience.
Table 1. Details About Your Research Project On Thunderstorms
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The dollar damage caused by thunderstorms each year. |
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A literature review of previous research on thunderstorms. |
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Descriptions of calibration procedures for your instruments. |
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Some basic physics of how thunderstorms work. |
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How much your project costs. |
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A log of all your measurements during the whole project. |
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A list of everyone who worked on the project. |
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Specifications of a new instrument to measure hail size. |
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A new result showing a connection between lightning intensity and total rainfall. |
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A new result showing how to suppress hail. |
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New insights into the flow patterns around thunderstorms. |
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Procedures you used to avoid statistical biases in your data. |
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Your plans for further measurements. |
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Your recommendations for future research. |
Communication Worksheet 4: Task and Audience Analysis Exercise
Exercise 2: Compare audience needs
What differences in purpose, content, and format would you need to consider in the following examples:
1) A report on Internet Privacy Issues
| for a new internet user |
| for an e-commerce website developer |
2) Information on Lyme Diseasefor camping enthusiasts
| for a family practice physician |
| for public health department |
3) Food born diseases
| for a restaurant worker |
| for a health inspector training manual |
4) Proposal for a new bus shelter design
|
Mayor’s office |
|
Contractor |
| Newspaper reporter |
Use the schematic in Table 2 to determine what kind of document with what kind of content would be appropriate for the various audiences above.
Table 2. Audience Analysis Schematic
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4 categories of audiences |
Examples/roles |
Kind of information required: |
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Laypeople
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General public Non-Specialists General “users” |
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Executives
|
Decision Makers (manage resources and people) |
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Experts |
Advisors (use their expertise to help decision makers) |
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Technicians
|
Implementers |
|
Objective Two
Produce clear, concise, effective audience and purpose-specific business writing
Topic 1: Conventions and Characteristics (45m)
Part of refining your topic includes considering your purpose and audience and understanding how your purpose and audience relate.
An author’s purpose is simply his or her reason for writing.
Common purposes include:
- to inform (to give information)
- to instruct (to explain how to do something)
- to persuade (to convince readers to do or believe something)
- to entertain (to present humor or other enjoyable material)
As the writer you should consider the following:
- “What do I hope to accomplish?”
- “ What do I want my writing to do?”
- “ How does my purpose effect my writing?”
INTENDED AUDIENCE
Intended audience means the people the writer has in mind as the readers.
The intended audience will be
-
- a specific person (e.g., a newspaper editor)
- a group of people (e.g., college students, parents)
- the general public (e.g., the public at large; the “typical” Canadian adult)
As a writer you should consider the following:
-
- Does my audience know me personally?
- Would they identify me as a “type” of person (i.e., college student)?
- Can I identify my audience as a “type”?
- How large is my audience?
- Can I claim any shared experiences, characteristics, attitudes, values, or prejudices with my audience? (i.e., nationality, culture, gender)
- Do my audience and I have any differences that would present barriers to communication?
AUDIENCE
Connect your audience to your topic:
-
- What does my audience know about my topic?
- What does my audience need (or not need) to know about my topic?
- How “close” is my audience to my topic? (emotionally, geographically, culturally)
- What does my audience expect as far as the format of the final document?
- How will my audience use the final document?
What is the main purpose of this paragraph?
“The whale is the largest living mammal. The largest whales weigh over 150 tons, are 100 feet long, and consume 5 tons of food each day. The whale is the largest living mammal. The largest whales weigh over 150 tons, are 100 feet long, and consume 5 tons of food each day.”
The main purpose of this paragraph is to inform. It provides factual information and a neutral tone.
What is the main purpose of this paragraph?
“Without the efforts and support of people around globe, the blue whale will continue to be hunted and slaughtered and therefore become extinct. We need to preserve these beautiful creatures and it is time that the government became more involved. Without the efforts and support of people around globe, the blue whale will continue to be hunted and slaughtered and therefore become extinct. We need to preserve these beautiful creatures and it is time that the government became more involved.”
Although this paragraph is on the same topic of whales, its purpose is to persuade readers to save the whales. Look at the language and word choice and how these support the purpose.
Before you begin your next writing assignment consider the audience and purpose and how they relate to the particular genre you are writing in.
Topic 2: Identifying purpose (30m)
[Source: https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/6-1-purpose-audience-tone-and-content/ ]
Communication Worksheet 5: Identifying Purpose
Exercise 1:
Read the following paragraphs about four films and then identify the purpose of each paragraph.
This film could easily have been cut down to less than two hours. By the final scene, I noticed that most of my fellow moviegoers were snoozing in their seats and were barely paying attention to what was happening on screen. Although the director sticks diligently to the book, he tries too hard to cram in all the action, which is just too ambitious for such a detail-oriented story. If you want my advice, read the book and give the movie a miss.
During the opening scene, we learn that the character Laura is adopted and that she has spent the past three years desperately trying to track down her real parents. Having exhausted all the usual options—adoption agencies, online searches, family trees, and so on—she is on the verge of giving up when she meets a stranger on a bus. The chance encounter leads to a complicated chain of events that ultimately result in Laura getting her lifelong wish. But is it really what she wants? Throughout the rest of the film, Laura discovers that sometimes the past is best left where it belongs.
To create the feeling of being gripped in a vice, the director, May Lee, uses a variety of elements to gradually increase the tension. The creepy, haunting melody that subtly enhances the earlier scenes becomes ever more insistent, rising to a disturbing crescendo toward the end of the movie. The desperation of the actors, combined with the claustrophobic atmosphere and tight camera angles create a realistic firestorm, from which there is little hope of escape. Walking out of the theater at the end feels like staggering out of a Roman dungeon.
The scene in which Campbell and his fellow prisoners assist the guards in shutting down the riot immediately strikes the viewer as unrealistic. Based on the recent reports on prison riots in both Detroit and California, it seems highly unlikely that a posse of hardened criminals will intentionally help their captors at the risk of inciting future revenge from other inmates. Instead, both news reports and psychological studies indicate that prisoners who do not actively participate in a riot will go back to their cells and avoid conflict altogether. Examples of this lack of attention to detail occur throughout the film, making it almost unbearable to watch.
Topic 3: Identifying the Audience (30m)
Imagine you must give a presentation to a group of executives in an office. Weeks before the big day, you spend time creating and rehearsing the presentation. You must make important, careful decisions not only about the content but also about your delivery. Will the presentation require technology to project figures and charts? Should the presentation define important words, or will the executives already know the terms? Should you wear your suit and dress shirt? The answers to these questions will help you develop an appropriate relationship with your audience, making them more receptive to your message.
Now imagine you must explain the same business concepts from your presentation to a group of high school students. Those important questions you previously answered may now require different answers. The figures and charts may be too sophisticated, and the terms will certainly require definitions. You may even reconsider your outfit and sport a more casual look. Because the audience has shifted, your presentation and delivery will shift as well to create a new relationship with the new audience.
In these two situations, the audience—the individuals who will watch and listen to the presentation—plays a role in the development of presentation. As you prepare the presentation, you visualize the audience to anticipate their expectations and reactions. What you imagine affects the information you choose to present and how you will present it. Then, during the presentation, you meet the audience in person and discover immediately how well you perform.
Although the audience for writing assignments—your readers—may not appear in person, they play an equally vital role. Even in everyday writing activities, you identify your readers’ characteristics, interests, and expectations before making decisions about what you write. In fact, thinking about audience has become so common that you may not even detect the audience-driven decisions.
For example, you update your status on a social networking site with the awareness of who will digitally follow the post. If you want to brag about a good grade, you may write the post to please family members. If you want to describe a funny moment, you may write with your friends’ senses of humor in mind. Even at work, you send e-mails with an awareness of an unintended receiver who could intercept the message.
In other words, being aware of “invisible” readers is a skill you most likely already possess and one you rely on every day. Consider the following paragraphs. Which one would the author send to her parents? Which one would she send to her best friend?
Example A
Last Saturday, I volunteered at a local hospital. The visit was fun and rewarding. I even learned how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. Unfortunately, I think caught a cold from one of the patients. This week, I will rest in bed and drink plenty of clear fluids. I hope I am well by next Saturday to volunteer again.
Example B
OMG! You won’t believe this! My advisor forced me to do my community service hours at this hospital all weekend! We learned CPR but we did it on dummies, not even real peeps. And some kid sneezed on me and got me sick! I was so bored and sniffling all weekend; I hope I don’t have to go back next week. I def do NOT want to miss the basketball tournament!
Most likely, you matched each paragraph to its intended audience with little hesitation. Because each paragraph reveals the author’s relationship with her intended readers, you can identify the audience fairly quickly. When writing your own paragraphs, you must engage with your audience to build an appropriate relationship given your subject. Imagining your readers during each stage of the writing process will help you make decisions about your writing. Ultimately, the people you visualize will affect what and how you write.
Tip
While giving a speech, you may articulate an inspiring or critical message, but if you left your hair a mess and laced up mismatched shoes, your audience would not take you seriously. They may be too distracted by your appearance to listen to your words.
Similarly, grammar and sentence structure serve as the appearance of a piece of writing. Polishing your work using correct grammar will impress your readers and allow them to focus on what you have to say.
Because focusing on audience will enhance your writing, your process, and your finished product, you must consider the specific traits of your audience members. Use your imagination to anticipate the readers’ demographics, education, prior knowledge, and expectations.
Demographics. These measure important data about a group of people, such as their age range, their ethnicity, their religious beliefs, or their gender. Certain topics and assignments will require these kinds of considerations about your audience. For other topics and assignments, these measurements may not influence your writing in the end. Regardless, it is important to consider demographics when you begin to think about your purpose for writing.
Education. Education considers the audience’s level of schooling. If audience members have earned a doctorate degree, for example, you may need to elevate your style and use more formal language. Or, if audience members are still in college, you could write in a more relaxed style. An audience member’s major or emphasis may also dictate your writing.
Prior knowledge. This refers to what the audience already knows about your topic. If your readers have studied certain topics, they may already know some terms and concepts related to the topic. You may decide whether to define terms and explain concepts based on your audience’s prior knowledge. Although you cannot peer inside the brains of your readers to discover their knowledge, you can make reasonable assumptions. For instance, a nursing major would presumably know more about health-related topics than a business major would.
Expectations. These indicate what readers will look for while reading your assignment. Readers may expect consistencies in the assignment’s appearance, such as correct grammar and traditional formatting like double-spaced lines and legible font. Readers may also have content-based expectations given the assignment’s purpose and organization. In an essay titled “The Economics of Enlightenment: The Effects of Rising Tuition,” for example, audience members may expect to read about the economic repercussions of college tuition costs.
[Source: https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/6-1-purpose-audience-tone-and-content/ ]
Topic 4 : Understanding Your Audience (30)
[Source: https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/6-1-purpose-audience-tone-and-content/ ]
Communication Worksheet 6: Understanding your Audience
On your own sheet of paper, generate a list of characteristics under each category for each audience. This list will help you later when you read about tone and content.
1. Your classmates
Demographics ____________________________________________
Education ________________________________________________
Prior knowledge ___________________________________________
Expectations ______________________________________________
2. Your instructor
Demographics ____________________________________________
Education ________________________________________________
Prior knowledge ___________________________________________
Expectations ______________________________________________
3. The head of your academic department
Demographics ____________________________________________
Education ________________________________________________
Prior knowledge ___________________________________________
Expectations ______________________________________________
Objective Three
Adapt tone and style for appropriate contexts.
Topic 1: Formal and Informal Writing Styles (45m)
Informal Writing Style
Colloquial – Informal writing is similar to a spoken conversation. Informal writing may include slang, figures of speech, broken syntax, asides and so on. Informal writing takes a personal tone as if you were speaking directly to your audience (the reader). You can use the first- or third-person point of view (I and we), and you are likely to address the reader using second person (you and your).
Simple – Short sentences are acceptable and sometimes essential to making a point in informal writing. There may be incomplete sentences or ellipsis (…) to make points.
Contractions and Abbreviations – Words are likely to be simplified using contractions (for example, I’m, doesn’t, couldn’t, it’s) and abbreviations (e.g. TV, photos) whenever possible.
Empathy and Emotion – The author can show empathy towards the reader regarding the complexity of a thought and help them through that complexity. See our page:
Formal Writing Style
Complex – Longer sentences are likely to be more prevalent in formal writing. You need to be as thorough as possible with your approach to each topic when you are using a formal style. Each main point needs to be introduced, elaborated and concluded.
Objective – State main points confidently and offer full support arguments. A formal writing style shows a limited range of emotions and avoids emotive punctuation such as exclamation points, ellipsis, etc., unless they are being cited from another source.
Full Words – No contractions should be used to simplify words (in other words use “It is” rather than “It’s”). Abbreviations must be spelt out in full when first used, the only exceptions being when the acronym is better known than the full name (BBC, ITV or NATO for example).
Third Person – Formal writing is not a personal writing style. The formal writer is disconnected from the topic and does not use the first person point of view (I or we) or second person (you).
When to Use Formal and Informal Writing
A formal writing style is not necessarily “better” than an informal style, rather each style serves a different purpose and care should be taken in choosing which style to use in each case.
Writing for professional purposes is likely to require the formal style, although individual communications can use the informal style once you are familiar with the recipient.
Note that emails tend to lend themselves to a less formal style than paper-based communications, but you should still avoid the use of “text talk”.
If in doubt as to how formal your writing should be, it is usually better to err on the side of caution and be formal rather than informal.
Topic 2: Practicing Formal and Informal Writing Skills (45m)
[Source: https://www.skillsworkshop.org/sites/skillsworkshop.org/files/resources/l1l2formalinformal.pdf ]
Communication Worksheet 7: Formal and Informal Writing
Communication Worksheet 7: Formal and Informal Writing