Business Writing
Classes:
We understand
that being able to write in a clear and professional style
is important to your business. That is why we have developed
the Business Writing Institute
and the Effective
Business Writing class. This practice-driven
business writing
class
will significantly improve your ability to write in English,
so that your readers will receive a clear, concise, effective
message. Most professionals spend at least 15-20% of their
time writing for business; emails, memos, business
letters, reports
and other business correspondence. Our customized
approach guarantees an improvement in
business communication skills
that will increase your productivity, success and job satisfaction.
Learn more about our
business writing classes
here, or contact us for more
information.
Benefits of business writing
training classes:
- learn how to write a business letter
- discover the skills of writing a
business letter
- learn to create clear business
correspondence
- understand the difference of writing
for business
- improve overall business
communication
Business Writing Training Class Tips - The Importance of the First Draft
Most people know what good writing looks like. What they don't see, is how much work actually gets done before something is considered for publishing.
Great work happens from what goes on behind the scenes. In the words of William Zinsser: "Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next...It's a question of using the English language in a way that will achieve the greatest strength and the least clutter."
If the secret of good writing is to "strip every sentence to its cleanest components," the draft is where you'll be laying bare your work.
Beware the perfectionist trap
Do you find yourself procrastinating and giving yourself excuses not to work?
Declaring yourself a "perfectionist" and never getting around to writing. Promising yourself to do something but not doing anything.
If you believe that your writing is etched in stone, in a vain attempt for perfection. You should know that perfection is never attainable.
You can get close to it, but it's not going to be on your first attempt. The sooner you get over this illusion, the sooner your writing will likely improve.
Writing is hard work. The only way you get good at it, is by writing. It's a process of one draft after the other, until it's time for publishing.
Why everything you write should be a draft
When you realize that by writing drafts you can fix things later, you get that much closer to the end result you have in your mind's eye.
Of course you could always write something decent on your first run, but it's highly unlikely. Good writing is much more a process of hitting and missing over and over again until you finally zero in on your mark.
Why editing your work is an important part of your job
Have you ever stepped away from something you're writing and upon coming back to it and re-reading it, found that it just doesn't sound right? That perhaps this word would go much better here and that paragraph over there?
Consider yourself lucky, you may have just stumbled upon one of the great secrets to successful writing. If you take your craft seriously, and want to avoid being embarrassed for letting mistakes slip by, reviewing and editing your work should become a standard part of your agenda.
You know how it goes...you may have left out a word, thought you were making sense but upon second reading find that you didn't. or may have just used your instead of you're (an easy mistake to make).
The point is, you won't catch these things if you don't review and edit and you certainly won't see mistakes unless you write a first, second or even third draft.
Does what you've written:
- Make sense and says what it means to say?
- Make its point in a clear and concise way?
- Flow with the entire article?
- Would other people also understand the meaning of it?
If things don't make sense for you, they won't make sense to your reader. It's your responsibility to make sure your reader keeps on reading.
So read while you're writing, after you've written a section and when you've finished the draft.
Editing also allows you to check your facts, making sure that what you say is accurate and that your sources are credible and verifiable. There's nothing worse that loosing your credibility because you didn't take the time to ensure things were correct.
After you've finished writing your first draft, make sure to put it away for a few hours. If you have the luxury of time, maybe consider making this a few days.
Why? Most of us are too close to our writing to notice the flaws; we don't notice the forest for the trees sort of speak. Some time away from what we've written can solve this problem and you'll be thankful later on when you notice the quality of your writing improve.
In summary, think of writing as a process of revising drafts. Writing is about communication, if you want to improve and be a better writer remember the words of George Bernard Shaw: "The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished."
Source: Jean-Paul Cortes
link
Related Terms:
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