1. McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2. Chapter 7 Planning, Composing, and Revising   Ten Ways to Make Writing Easier to Read   Revise, Edit, and Proofread   Good Writers   Composing Activities   Half-Truths

3. Ways Good Writers Write  Revise first drafts  Write regularly  Break big jobs into small chunks  Focus on purpose, audience  Choose from several different strategies  Use rules flexibly  Finish a draft before editing text 7-3

4. Basic Composing Activities: Planning  Analyze problem, define purposes, analyze audiences  Brainstorm information to include  Gather information  Select the points you want to make  Choose organization pattern 7-4

5. Basic Composing Activities: Writing  Put ideas into words on paper or screen  Make a list  Develop headings  Jot notes  Do stream-of- consciousness writing  Create drafts 7-5

6. Basic Composing Activities: Revising  Evaluate in terms of audience, goals, and situation  Will audience understand it?  Is it complete?  Is it convincing? Friendly?  Get feedback from someone else  Add, delete, substitute, or rearrange single words or large sections 7-6

7. Basic Composing Activities: Editing  Focus on surface of message:  Standard English  Grammar and spelling  Capitalization and punctuation  Business principles  Build goodwill  Use conventional format  Proofread; correct typographical errors 7-7

8. More About Composing Activities  Don’t have to do in 1-2-3 order  Don’t have to finish one to start another  Don’t have to use all activities for every message 7-8

9. Half-Truths about Style 1.Write as you talk 2.Never use I 3.Never use You 4.Never begin sentence with And or But 5.Never end sentence with preposition 6.Big words impress people 1/2 7-9

10. Write as You Talk: Yes... But  Yes  Do it for first draft  Read draft aloud to test  But  Expect awkward, repetitive, badly organized prose  Plan to revise and edit 7-10

11. Never Use I: Yes... But  Yes  I can make writing seem self-centered  I can make ideas seem tentative  But  Use I to tell what you did, said, saw—it’s smoother 7-11

12. Never Use You: Yes... But  Yes  Writing to familiar audiences  Describing audience benefits  Writing sales text  But  Avoid in formal reports or other situations where formality is required 7-12

13. Never Begin Sentence with And or But  And may make idea seem like afterthought  And gives effect of natural speech  But serves as a signpost, signals a shift  But can make writing smoother 7-13

14. Never End a Sentence with a Preposition: Yes... But  Yes  A preposition may not be worth emphasizing this way  Readers expect something to follow a preposition  Avoid in job application letters, reports, formal presentations  But  OK now and then 7-14

15. Big Words Impress People: Yes... But  Yes  You may want to show formality or technical expertise  But  Big words distance you from readers  Big words may be misunderstood  Misused words make you look foolish 7-15

16. Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read As you choose words— 1.Use accurate, appropriate, and familiar words 2.Avoid technical jargon; eliminate business jargon 7-16

17. Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read, continued… As you write and revise sentences— 3.Use active voice most of the time 4.Use verbs—not nouns—to carry weight of sentence 5.Eliminate wordiness 6.Vary sentence length and structure 7.Use parallel structure 8.Put readers in your sentences 7-17

18. Ten Ways to Make Your Writing Easy to Read, continued… As you write and revise paragraphs— 9.Begin most with topic sentence 10.Use transitions to link ideas 7-18

19. 1. Use Accurate, Appropriate Words  Denotation—literal meanings; dictionary definitions  Bypassing—two people using same word to mean different things; causes mix-ups  Connotation—emotional association; attitude - / +  nosy / curious  fearful / cautious  obstinate / firm  tax / user fee 7-19

20. 2. Use Familiar Words  Words most people know  Words that best convey your meaning  Shorter, more common words  Specific, concrete words 7-20

21. 2. Use Short, Simple Alternatives StuffySimple reside live commence begin enumerate list finalize finish, complete utilize use 7-21

22. 2. Avoid Jargon—Mostly  Jargon—special terms of technical field  Use in job application letters  Use when essential and known to reader  Replace with plain English, when possible 7-22

23. 2. Omit Business Jargon  Businessese—needless, old-fashioned wording ExampleAlternative Enclosed please find Here is As per your requestAs you asked I acknowledge receipt of(begin reply) The undersigned Me 7-23

24. 3. Use Active Voice  Active—subject of sentence does action the verb describes  Passive—subject is acted upon  Usually includes form of “to be”  Change to active if you can  Direct object becomes subject 7-24

25. 3. Passive vs. Active Voice  P:The program will be implemented by the agencies. A:The agencies will implement the program.  P:These benefits are received by you. A:You receive these benefits.  P:A video was ordered. A:The customer ordered a video. 7-25

26. 3. Passive vs. Active Voice, continued…  Active voice is better because—  Shorter  Clearer  More interesting  Passive voice is better to—  Emphasize object receiving action  Give coherence by repeating word in previous sentence  Avoid placing blame 7-26

27. 4. Use Verbs to Carry Weight Replace this phrase with a verb  make an adjustment  make a decision  perform an examination  take into consideration = = adjust = = decide = = examine = = consider 7-27

28. 5. Eliminate Wordiness  Wordy—idea can be said in fewer words  Concise; a mark of good writing  Omit words that say nothing  Combine sentences to save words  Put the meaning in subject and verb 7-28

29. 5. Omit Words that Say Nothing  Cut words if idea is clear without them ... period of three months ... at the present time  Replace wordy phrase with one word  Ideally, it would be best to put the…  If possible, put the…  There are three reasons for our success…  Three reasons explain the… 7-29

30. 5. Combine Sentences to Save Words: Example  Infante projected sales of $43 million in the first quarter. Our actual sales have fallen short of that figure by $1.9 million.  Although Infante projected first-quarter sales of $43 million, actual sales are $1.9 million less than that. wordy tight 7-30

31. 5. Put Meaning of Sentence in Subject & Verb: Example  The reason we are recommending the computerization of this process is because it will reduce the time required to obtain data and will give us more accurate data.  Computerizing the process will give us more accurate data more quickly. wordy tight 7-31

32. 6. Vary Sentence Length and Structure  Edit sentences for tightness  Use short sentences when subject matter is complicated  Use longer sentences to  Show how ideas link to each other  Avoid choppy sentences  Reduce repetition  Group words into chunks  Keep verb close to subject 7-32

33. 7. Use Parallel Structure: Example  During the interview, job candidates will  Take a skills test.  The supervisor will interview the prospective employee.  A meeting with recently hired workers will be held.  During the interview, job candidates will  Take a skills test.  Interview with the supervisor.  Meet with recently hired workers. fa u lty parallel 7-33

34. 8. Put Readers in Your Sentences: Example  An election to name a beneficiary other than the participant’s spouse must be made with spousal consent, for any participant who is married.  If you are married, you need your spouse’s consent to name a beneficiary other than your spouse. “You” gives the second example more impact 7-34

35. 9. Begin Most Paragraphs with Topic Sentence  Unity—¶ discusses one idea; a mark of good writing  Topic sentence—states main idea  Tells what paragraph is about  Forecasts paragraph’s structure  Helps readers remember points 7-35

36. 10. Use Transitions to Link Ideas  Transition—signals the connections between ideas to the reader  Tells if next sentence continues or starts new idea  Tells if next sentence is more or less important than previous  Examples: in addition, similarly, for example, however, on the other hand 7-36

37. Revise, Edit, and Proofread  Revise – change content, organization, and tone to satisfy purposes and audiences  Edit – change mechanical flaws, grammar errors  Proofread – correct typing errors 7-37

38. When You Revise  Revise draft three times or more 1.Content and clarity 2.Organization and layout 3.Tone and style  Read the document from start to finish  Do light revision when time is short 7-38

39. When You Edit  Revise first; then edit  Edit hard copy, not screen  Check errors you often make:  Sentence structure  Agreement: subj./verb, noun/pro.  Punctuation, numbers  Word usage, spelling 7-39

40. When You Proofread  Check with spell checker and by eye  Swap copy with proofing buddy  Read once quickly for meaning  Read again slowly  Correct any error; reread that line  When you know text well—  Read backward (short)  Read pages out of order (long) Triple-Check Numbers Headings First ¶ Last ¶ Reader’s name 7-40