This week we cover how to create easy to read, well-designed documents. While most of you have experience (more than you probably would like!) in writing papers, putting together a complete presentation of information in a business setting may be new to you. While writing is absolutely an essential part of this process, there are other things to take into consideration. Word choice, writing process, and visuals are all important things to take into consideration.
Word Choice
In my opinion, this topic is one of the most important because it focuses mainly on word choice. Writing in a natural voice and using easily understood words and phrases are fundamental to creating effective documents. Many students struggle with simplifying their writing, in part, because over the years they’ve come to believe that using big words, complex phrases, or business jargon is what is expected in formal communications. The truth is, all of these are actually barriers to understanding. They make it harder for our audience to take in what we’re trying to get across. In addition to understanding good word choice and simplicity, certain sentence structures work better than others, namely using the active voice rather than the passive voice when structuring verbs. The Purdue OWL does a great job of explaining the differences between these voices and when each is appropriate (April Toadvine, 2012).
Parallel structure, or “using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance” (Driscoll, 2013) is also an important part of creating a well-designed document. The Purdue OWL also offers guidance on this topic called Parallel Structure
Just in case you are not convinced of the importance of word choice take a look at this TED Talk by Terin Izil on The power of simple words
Writing Process
Now that we have covered word choice, we should move on to the actual process of writing and how to make it less stressful by breaking it down into steps; this should be really helpful for anyone who routinely dreads facing the blank page. Different people have different methods that work best. I spend a significant amount of time thinking about my paper before I sit down to write anything. Many people call this procrastination, and while I used to believe that … I have since learned that it is very helpful for me to spend this time thinking and it allows me to really jump into the paper with a clear direction. This is very similar to creating an outline, it is just kept in my head. A few of my co-workers here at APUS have been kind enough to share their writing process as well…take a listen!
Interview One:
INTERVIEW WITH THE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PROVOST
Q: What is your name and position here at APUS?
A: My name is Krista Boyd and I am the executive assistant to the Provost.
Q: What type of writing do you need to use in your position?
A: I will compose e-mails and correct/proofread documents.
Q: What types of processes do you find most effective for you?
A: Typically I will compose an e-mail at first and then re-read it and edit as necessary or if I have time I will compose it and then go back later and re-read it for any additional corrections.
Q: Do you find that you change your writing style based on your audience and can you give us a couple examples?
A: Yes. Writing style does change based on the audience. If I am composing an e-mail to a board member, I will be more formal in my writing. If I am composing an e-mail to a colleague, I will be less formal in my writing.
Q: In your opinion what is the most important thing to remember when writing anything?
A: Knowing your audience. You have to know who your audience is and what they are expecting of you in your writing and knowing that the meaning of your words and they can be subjective to that audience is very important. Ok, Thank you Krista.
Interview Two:
INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR OF CORE LEARNING
Q: What is your name and position here at APUS?
A: My name is Kimberly Jacobs and I am the Director of Core Learning. I oversee General Education and the First year experience.
Q: What type of writing do you need to use in your position?
A: I use all types of writing from casual to formal. It all depends upon the audience.
Q: What types of processes do you find most effective for you?
A: I stick to the standard format– the standard writing process that is traditionally taught at most institutions. It is an iterative process and it starts with drafting and then works its way through a final product.
Q: Do you find that you change your writing style based on your audience and can you give us a couple examples?
A: Absolutely I change my writing style based on the audience. Sometimes I need to write something very formal or policy based and that will take on an objective tone and that is for certain eyes at the institution with whom I am communicating. On the other hand I will write in a combination of styles when I am working inside of the classroom. Lesson content needs to be as objective and straightforward as possible but my communication with the students may tend to be a little more casual and we work back and forth in a conversational tone.
Q: What about subordinates?
A: That will also require a different type of style because anything that I communicate on behalf of the institution needs to be written in such a certain way that it can be interpreted or rather not misinterpreted. I am conveying information that needs to be adopted or absorbed and action taken upon that information when I share that with my colleagues or subordinates. Ok, Thank you Krista.
Q: In your opinion what is the most important thing to remember when writing anything?
A: (laughs) Writing is a process and a written piece of communication is never perfect.
One of the most important steps in the writing process is proofreading. The best writers in the world still need to be meticulous proofreaders of their own work. In the work you submit throughout the course, I’ll be looking for careful proofreading. I recommend that you try reading what you have written out loud; often the extra time this takes helps you to catch a mistake that your eye might otherwise skim over. It is also helpful to set your writing aside, let a little time pass, and then come back to it with fresh eyes. I can’t tell you how many times I have skipped this last step and turned in a paper with a ridiculously silly error. From a professor’s point of view…if I find an error in the first paragraph of your paper, you can bet that I am going to assume that there are more errors throughout the paper.
Putting grades aside, grammatical/spelling errors offer a poor impression to anyone that is receiving your writing. It shows that you didn’t find this piece of communication to be worthy of the time it takes to make it free of errors. If you want the person who is reading your work to give it careful consideration, you need to make sure that you take the time to make it right. Just in case, I haven’t made myself clear…PROOFREADING IS IMPORTANT!
Visuals
When putting together a report or a paper, a visual presentation of the information can assist in getting the point across. There are several types of visuals that are regularly used to present information. For consistency, we are going to refer to Target Corporation:
TABLE
Shows exact values and is useful when it is necessary for the exact numbers to be understood clearly. Target uses this table to show dividend and stock split history. In the example shown here, you can see, this table shows the exact dividend and the date associated.
PIE CHART
Shows the breakdown of a whole. This provides a great visual when the portion (not the exact number) is important. This works great for a budget! Referring again to Target Corporation, a pie chart is a great way to show breakdown of sales by category In the example shown here.
As you can see, the contrast in colors gives you and immediate impression of what portion of Target’s total sale is made up of household essentials or home furnishings.
BAR CHART
Compares items or shows a relationship between items. As you can see from this visual, Target shows their earnings for each of the last 5 years using a bar chart. Here is an example
LINE CHART
This can be used to show a pattern over time. Target uses a line chart to show the changes in stock prices over a period of time. Here is an example
When creating these visuals, it is important to make sure that the chosen visual presents the information in a way that is easily understandable to the target audience. There are some visuals that are amazing to view but don’t actually provide the relevant information. The examples provided above show how each visual is very useful in different situations.
On the off chance that you are still wondering why visual aids are important to communicating information, please watch this video. While it is almost 20 minutes long, it does an excellent job of showing just how important visualization is. It is also quite entertaining
Video: https://embed.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization#
Wrap Up
Writing in any form takes practice. We have discussed several great ideas to get you on the right track but don’t expect to be a master right away. Remember to be in the right frame of mind, keep your message simple and easy to understand by choosing words that will not stump your audience. Find the writing process that works best for you and allow yourself the time to work through that process.
Using the appropriate visual can help to make your message clear at a glance. This will not only help with understanding key information quickly but can also assist those readers that are visual learners. Now…get to work!
References
April Toadvine, A. B. (2012, October 12). Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from Purdue.edu: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/02/
Driscoll, D. L. (2013, March 22). Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from Purdue.edu: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/623/01/
Garbl’s Writing Center. (2015, August 31). Retrieved from http://home.wavecable.com/~garblswritingcenter/
Hynes, G. E. (2016). Managerial Communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.
Locker, K. (2010). Business and Administrative Communication. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Target Investors. (2015, August 31). Retrieved from Target.com: http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-dividends
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