Business Writing Workshop Semester 1 2013

1. Business WritingWorkshopSemester 1 2013 Visa English Academy PresentationcreatedbyBrianaSonger Source: Davidson, Wilma.Business Writing: What Works, What Won’t. Ebook Edition, 2011.

2. Writing Warm-Up • Why are you here? What are some aspects of your writing that need improvement? Why do you want to improve your writing? • Write as much as you can on the topics above for the next 10 minutes.

3. PART 1: Getting Started

4. StrategiesthatWork • Assume a “can do” attitude • Focus on the “what”, not the “how” • Give yourself a time limit for writing the first draft. Aim for quantity, not quality.

5. First, Fast, Zero Draft Steps • Begin with a bogus sentence • Begin by talking what you write • Begin anywhere. Skip around if needed • Try a non-traditional outline/mind-mapping

6. Bubble Map

7. Circle Map

8. Tree Map

9. Brace Map/ Pro-Cons

10. Applying Map Techniques • Go back to the warm-up that you wrote earlier. Now, choose a map and outline what you wrote. • Add to the map if you’d like • If you would’ve started with the map, do you think you would’ve been able to write MORE?

11. More Strategies (p3-4) • Write a news article. Who, what, when, where, why • Doodle it. Use images to get inspired • Write a dialogue for conflicting emotions. • Tell stories/anecdotes. • Vary the writer. Pretend you are someone else writing the letter.

12. Part 2: Organization

13. GET TO THE BOTTOM LINE! • Most executives would agree that bottom-lining—summarizing your major point(s) at the outset—is the single most effective (and appreciated) form of organization (Davidson, Wilma) p 6. • Journalism’s Inverted Pyramid (see pg6)

14. Bottom-Line Purposes pg 6 • Summarize • Call Attention to Action • Announce Policy or Event • Seek Reader’s Approval

15. Bottom-Line vs Purpose • The test of a bottom line is: Gets the reader to say, “Oh!” vs “ Oh/so…..what” • A purpose statement onlyrephrases your subject line, but does not summarize. • A bottom-line summarizes all of your main points. • Complete Examples and Exercises….pg 9-16

16. Your turn! • Now, take a look at your mind map you wrote earlier. • Write a email memo to your teacher about the topic • Include: • Subject • Greeting • Bottom Line • Salutation

17. Formatting Ideas to Clarify Your Message Headlines -Turn the subject line into a headline. Think like you’re selling the idea Examples of headlines: pg 18 Strategies:pg 19 Now, look back at your subject line you created for your memo and change it to a headline (remember to use a verb)

18. Chunking to Organize Thoughts What is chunking? “Dividing information into chunks, each one labeled with a subhead positioned flush left, resume style that describes or summarizes the paragraph” (pg 19) Why chunk? So your audience can: • Read, Remember, Retrieve

19. Chunking Examples • Scan over Memos 1-3, pgs 20-22 What do you notice about the layout/structure? • Before/After Example Memos 4-7, pgs 23-30. Pair up and scan over your memo. Write comments about what has been improved. • Your turn! Memos 8-9 pgs30-34. Revise.

20. Apply to Your Writing • Go back to your rough draft memo. • Revise the memo so that it is chunked. • Check with teacher.

21. Transitions • Go to pg 40 and review the transitions. • Watch and complete the activity Transitions "From Pong to Today“ from http://www.flocabulary.com/transitions/ • Complete the written transition exercises • Apply: Revise your rough draft and add transitions.

22. Put it all together~Wrap Up • Review the finished draft concepts on pg 41 Assignment: Write a memo email style memo explaining on the of the following: • customer follow-up OR • thank you See the Appendix, pg 54 for examples.

23. Remember….. • Pre-Writing Strategy/ Write without stopping (Quantity over Quality) • Headline (subject line) • Greeting • Bottom-Line • Order/Sequence • Chunking • Transitions • Closing/Salutation

24. Conclusion of Writing Seminar, Session 1