BITS Pilani

Pilani | Dubai | Goa | Hyderabad

MBA C431 Managerial

Communication
Lecture 4
JAYASHREE MAHESH

BITS Pilani
Pilani | Dubai | Goa | Hyderabad

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE
WRITING

Excerpt from a Business Standard

Article
All of you must be in regular touch
with

Alpha

pitches,

pups,

adopt

make

blue-sky

elevator
thinking,

avoid boiling the ocean and learn to

cut out the need for brain dumping
by making HQ more task-oriented
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The Art of Writing

Writing communicates a message for a specific
purpose. It involves the ability to think clearly and
to use language effectively.
Written business communication consists of writing
business proposals, replies to clients, enquiries,
memos recording agreements, formal or informal
reports to initiate action, etc.
It is important to write down ones thoughts simply
and concisely so that readers understand exactly
what is intended to be communicated to them.
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Collaborative Writing
Jointly writing as members of team or group
Result of increased emphasis on team work
Planning, composing and revision of work
done collaboratively
A typical document cycles three to five
revisions before it reaches intended readers

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Purpose of Writing(1/2)
Writing to Inform
In informative writing, writers provide and
explain information rather than opinions.
The purpose of writing to inform is to
educate, and not to persuade.
The piece is written with maximum
objectivity.
This form of writing is also known as
expository writing.
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Purpose of Writing(2/2)
Writing to Persuade
In persuasive writing, writers try to convince
the reader and express opinions rather than
facts.
This is found in opinion essays, editorials,
letters to editors, business and research
proposals,
religious
books,
reviews,
or
literature belonging to a certain political party.
This form is also known as argumentative
writing.
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Style Vs. Mechanics

Style refers to the effectiveness of the words,
sentences, paragraphs and overall tone of your
voice
Your writing can be error free and still lack style
but it cannot have style unless it is error free

Mechanics are elements in communication that

show up only in written form
Refers to how an idea is expressed in writing
They include spelling, punctuation, abbreviations,
capitalizations, number expression and word
division
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Example
During the preceding year just past, Oxford
Industries operated at a financial deficit.

It

closed three plants. It laid of many employees.

The Companys President was recently named
Iowa Small Business Executive of the Year.
Oxford is now endeavoring to ascertain the
causes

of

the

financial

exigency.

The

company president said that

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Revised
Last year Oxford Industries lost money and, as
a result, closed three plants and laid of 200
employees. Now the company is trying to
determine the causes of its problems.
explanation

to

stockholders,

In an

Oxfords

president, who was recently named Iowa Small

Business Executive of the Year, said that .

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Features of Good Style

Clarity of Thought
Knowledge of Audience
Adaptability
Economy in using words
Correct Spelling/Pronunciation
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Tone
Refers to feelings created by words
used to communicate a message.
The tone in writing sets the level of
formality and reflects the attitude of the
writer toward the subject and audience.
The tone may be informal, semi-formal,
or strictly formal.
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Types of Tones
Informal tone - This tone is used in social or
personal communication. It is also used in
informal writing.
Semi-formal tone - This tone lies between
informal and academic writing. It follows standard
English, accepted rules of grammar, punctuation,
sentence construction, and spelling, with a few
contractions that add a sense of informality.
Strictly formal tone - This is more scholarly and
uses words that are long and not frequently
spoken in everyday conversation.
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16 Principles of Effective
Writing
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Write Clearly
Prefer short, simple words
Write with vigor
Write concisely
Prefer positive language
Use a variety of sentence
types
7. Use active and passive
voice appropriately

WORDS

SENTENC
ES
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8.

16 Principles of Effective
Writing
(contd.)
Keep paragraph unified and

coherent
9. Use parallel structure
10.Control paragraph length
11.Write confidently
12.Use courteous and sincere tone
13.Use appropriate emphasis and
subordination
14.Use non discriminatory language
15.Stress the You attitude
16.Design your documents for
readability

PARAGRAP
H

OVERALL
TONE
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Avoid Dangling Expressions.

Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg
Address while traveling to Gettysburg
on the back of an envelope.
I had been driving for about 40 years
when I fell asleep at the wheel and had
an accident.
Two cars were reported stolen by the
Groveton police yesterday.
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Prefer short, simple words.

Big men use little words, and
little men use big words.

Winston Churchill

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Prefer these:
Short, simple words:
Not: I have ascertained that our plant has
commenced fabricating the indispensable
circuits.
But: I have learned that our plant has
started making the needed circuits.

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Replace with Short Simple

Words

Enumerate
Fluctuate
Indispensable
Initiate
Modification
Recapitulate
Substantial
Termination
utilization

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Short Simple Words

Enumerate
Fluctuate
Indispensable
Initiate
Modification
Recapitulate
Substantial
Termination
Utilization

List
Vary
Vital
Start
Change
Review
Large
End
Use
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Prefer these:
Specific language:
Not: You were very late several times last
year.
But: You arrived for work at least 20 minutes
late on the following dates last year . . .

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Avoid these:
Clichs:
Not: As per your request, every effort will
be
made to fix the problem.
But: As you requested, we will try to fix the
problem.

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Examples of Clichs and Buzz

Words

Can of worms
Pay thro the nose
Hotbed of politics
Out of the box

Bottom line
Paradigm
Scenario
No brainer

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Avoid these:
Redundancies:
Not: Hariram referred back to our
earlier decision not to repeat that
mistake again.
But: Hariram referred to our earlier
decision not to repeat that mistake.
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Avoid these:
Wordy expressions:
Not: Let me know as to whether or not we can
start drilling in view of the fact that the
problem has not been fixed at the present
time.
But: Let me know whether we can start drilling
since the problem has not yet been fixed.

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Wordy

Concise

Enclosed herewith
Please dont hesitate to
call upon us
Please feel free to write
Prior to
Under separate cover
A long period of time
Continuous and
uninterrupted
Endorse on the back of this
check

Enclosed
Please call us

Please write
Before
Separately
Long time
Continuous or
uninterrupted
Endorse this check
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Avoid these:
Hidden verbs:
Not: We held a meeting to make the
arrangements for her visit.
But: We met to arrange her visit.

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Hidden verbs

Concluded
Arrived at the conclusion
Came to an agreement Agreed
Requires
Has a requirement
Gave a demonstration ofDemonstrate
d
Made a payment
Performed an analysis Paid
Analyzed
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Avoid these:
Hidden subjects:
Not: There is nothing we can do about the
deadline.
But: We can do nothing about the deadline.

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Prefer these:

Positive language:
Not: We cannot replace your laser printer.
But: We will be happy to repair your laser
printer at no charge.

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Sentence Types
Simple: Tim was given a promotion and
assigned additional responsibilities.
Compound: Tim was given a promotion;
as a result, he was assigned additional
responsibilities.
Complex: Because Tim was assigned
additional responsibilities, he was given a
promotion.
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Active vs. passive voice

Active:
Jose interviewed the candidates.
Passive:
The candidates were
interviewed
by Jose.

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Active vs. passive voice

Use active voice for most

business writing.
Marie has evaluated the proposal and
will make her decision tomorrow.

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Active vs. passive voice

Use passive voice to soften
bad news or to indicate that
the doer of the action is
unimportant.
The tuition-reimbursement plan will
be discontinued on July 1.
Lunch will be served in the Adams

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Unity and Coherence

Topic sentences
Transitional words
Pronouns
Repetition

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Paragraph/Text
Components of a Paragraph
Topic sentence (Main Theme)
Unity (Structure)
Coherence (Cohesive Devices)
Adequate Development
Length
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Steps Involved In Developing A

Paragraph
Formulation of Controlling Idea
Explanation of Controlling Idea
Example
Explanation of example
Completion of paragraphs idea or
transition into next paragraph

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Paragraph structure

Dull and difficult Well organized effect

Approaches To Writing
Direct Approach
Indirect Approach

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Approaches To Writing
Direct approach
Used

Details

arranged

in

the

decreasing order of importance

Both positive and neutral messages
Also known as deductive approach
when writing to inform
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Approaches to writing
Indirect approach
Mostly to convey negative information
Also used to persuade
Reasons first and then action
Also known as inductive approach
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Direct approach
Your resume indicates that you do not
possess the necessary qualifications
and experience for the position of
management
trainee
with
our
company.
Hence, I regret to inform you that we
would not be able to consider your
candidature for the position.
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Indirect approach
Your resume shows very clearly why you are interested
in becoming a management trainee with our company.
Because these trainee positions are quite challenging,
our HR department has researched the qualifications
needed to succeed in them. The findings show that the
two most important qualifications are a bachelors
degree in administration and two years supervisory
experience
Many
companies
seek
other
qualifications
in
management trainees, so I urge you to continue your
job search. You will certainly find an opening in which
your skills and aspirations match the job requirements
exactly.
Best of luck.

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Five main stages in writing

Prewriting : purpose, readers, data,
organize, outline
Drafting : right balance, right words,
tailoring language to the audience
Revising: process of modifying, increase
effectiveness
Formatting:
appearance,
design
elements, professional look, appropriate
to specific message
Proofreading: read from printed copy,
allow time, read
aloud, double check
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