Business Writing Skills

 

Objectives for This Lesson

This lesson will introduce you to a methodology for business writing. Once you learn the in's and out's of the method, you will be able to apply it to all of your business writing tasks. In this first part of four lessons, you will learn,

1. Why openings and closings make writing clearer and how to use them.
2. How to use generalizations, thesis statements, specifics, and key words.

 

An Important Note:

In Lessons 5, 6, 7, and 8, you are going to learn a highly structured format for writing. It will teach you to be so clear you cannot be misunderstood. Business writing is not like creating a painting. It is like drawing blueprints. Drafted blueprints are so clear that any contractor can pick them up and build the structure described in the blueprints without becoming confused. You should be as confident that your writing will communicate exactly what you mean to any reader.

Because it is extremely clear, the writing you do using this structured format may look redundant and overly simple to you. However, you must know how to write this clearly to be able to create interesting writing that is also clear.

When you have demonstrated your ability to be so clear you cannot be misunderstood, you can change the style to be more appealing to your ear. In Lesson 9, you will edit the document. There, you can change the document to add interest if you wish, as long as you don't lose clarity.

 

Demonstration of Competence

This course is competency-based. That means that you are required to show that you have the skills taught in a lesson before you may go on to the next lesson. It also means that you must demonstrate the skills in writing samples as you will when you actually write business documents. You will do that in the writing competency examinations.

Complete the activities at the end of this lesson. They will be e-mailed automatically to your instructor. Then demonstrate your competence in the competency examination.

Click here to see the competencies for Lessons 3, 4, 5, and 6 or the competencies for the entire course.

 

Using Openings and Closings to
Help Readers Understand Concepts

To be meaningful to readers and listeners, your messages must have beginnings and endings. You begin an e-mail, present the message, and end it. You begin a sentence within the e-mail, present the words, and end it. More important, within the message you begin an explanation, explain, and end the explanation.

For readers to be able to follow you, they must know when you want them to open up an idea in their minds, pay attention to the explanation, and close the idea so you can go on to another idea. They store each idea in a compartment in their minds with other similar ideas. When you don't open the idea, they don't know where to store the idea. When you don't close the idea, they keep trying to put subsequent ideas into the same compartment with the previous, which may create confusion and frustration.

Openings and closings are critical to clear business writing. The clearest business writing tells the reader every time the writer is opening a new concept and when the writer is closing the concept.

 

How Openings and Closings Make Writing Clearer

Read the following memo. It has no openings and closings.

Employees will suffer because they do not have the income they had when they were employed. Even though the company laid them off due to faults within the company, some people may take it as a personal rejection. They may think that the boss was not satisfied with the work they were producing. Some friends of the laid-off employees who work at that same company may not have been part of the layoff. Sometimes, the people who are laid off have been at that job for several years. It is hard for them to try to enter the work force again. The process of looking for a job is new to them, putting them at a disadvantage. Companies would rather hire a younger person who has the potential of staying with the company into the future instead of an older individual who is closer to retirement age.

The writer begins without opening the message. The reader doesn't know what concepts in his or her mind to open. There is no statement of the subject.

The first concept is apparently "Employees will suffer because they do not have the income they had when they were employed." OK, let's assume that's the message of the memo. The writer hasn't opened the concept, but that sentence is the first of the memo.

When the reader finishes the next sentence, he or she will try to fit the content of that sentence with the first concept because the first concept was not closed. The reader will be trying to understand how suffering because of a lack of income fits with taking the layoff as a rejection. They don't fit together, so the reader may become confused and frustrated. Not opening the ideas is the first reason the paragraph is difficult to read.

Another reason the paragraph is confusing is that the writer doesn't use white space to signal openings and closings. We learned very early in school that when we see a blank line in text, the idea being presented is changing. The block of text between the blank lines is called a paragraph. This writer uses no blank space to signal openings and closings, making the writing even more difficult to understand.

Throughout every message you write, the reader is continually trying to understand three things:

1. What is the idea you are opening?

2. How does this new idea fit with previous ideas?

3. When have you closed the idea so the reader can move on to a new idea?

The confusing paragraph above would look very different if the writer opened each new idea with a little introduction and put in spaces to signal openings and closings:

The first problem with downsizing is that the employees who are laid off will suffer. Employees will suffer because they lose the income they had when they were employed. They may also suffer psychologically. Even though the company laid them off due to faults within the company, some employees may see their layoff as a personal rejection. They may think that the company was not satisfied with their work.

The layoff affects those who are not laid off as well as those let go. Friends of the laid-off employees working at that same company may not have been let go. The layoff may create hostility among them.

Another effect of a layoff is that some people will not be able to find other employment. Sometimes, the people who were laid off have been with the company for several years. It is difficult for them to enter the work force again. The process of looking for a job is new to them, putting them at a disadvantage. Companies would rather hire a younger person who has the potential of staying with the company into the future than an older person who is closer to retirement age.

Never start a new idea without opening it. Never go on to a new idea without either closing the previous or making the opening to the next idea so clear that the reader knows the previous idea has closed. Opening and closing your ideas helps keep them clear and distinct in the reader's mind. Think of a piece of business writing as a jigsaw puzzle: when your ideas are merely thrown together in a pile, putting them together can be time-consuming and difficult. However, when the edges of the pieces are well-defined and distinct, it is easier to put them all together to form a whole that is usually greater than the sum of its parts.

 

Generalizations, Thesis Statements, Specifics, and Key Words

The explanation that follows uses four terms to help you understand how to open and close concepts: generalizations, thesis statements, specifics, and key words.

Generalizations

Generalizations are general statements that summarize ideas but contain few or no specifics. They often sound like judgments because they state a conclusion. The details after the generalization explain it.

Examples: "We would be better off purchasing new equipment than upgrading the old." "Holding training sessions in several remote sites would be better than bringing people in from the field to the home office."

A generalization opens the concept the writer will be explaining in the next few sentences or paragraphs. It isn't intended to present new information as much as to clue the reader in on which ideas will be coming up next.

Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is a generalization for the entire document. It is your contract with the reader. When possible, it should contain a summary of the main points in the document. If necessary, the thesis can begin with a very explicit statement: "This memo contains . . ."

Examples: "We can solve the inventory problem through two actions: use just-in-time inventory and reduce the amount of waste."

"This memo explains three things: how to install the new software, when we will meet with the programmer candidates, and the time and location of our team meeting next week."

NOTE: If you do not have a list of main points in the document, don't try to force a list into the thesis statement. Some thesis statements are simply a statement of the main idea of the document.

Example: "We are going to be using a new process to monitor accounts." In the memo that follows, the author explains the process, why it is better than the old, and the impact on the readers. The memo has three explanations, but they would not fit as a list in the thesis.

Other thesis statements may be very straightforward statements of the parts of the document:

Example: "This memo explains our rationale for adopting the new procedures, the problems we anticipate, and how it will affect you."  

Write a clear thesis statement with a list of the main points in the document. This is your contract with the reader. You must then set about fulfilling the contract by providing exactly what you promised you would in the thesis statement.

Specifics

The writer explains the specific information for the concept opened in the generalization. The specifics include facts, concepts, procedures, and any other information that helps the reader understand the statement in the generalization.

Examples:

The generalization is "We would be better off purchasing new equipment than upgrading the old."

The specifics might be "New equipment carries warranties that will reduce repair costs. The equipment would also reflect the latest advances in technology that we would not have with the old."

Key Words

Words represent concepts. Once you open a concept using a word, you must not change the word because the reader may assume that a new word means a new concept. That will create confusion. For example, this is a generalization: "Holding training sessions in several remote sites would be better than bringing people in from the field to the home office." These are the key words: training sessions, several remote sites, bringing people in from the field, and home office.

You learned in high school English that, to make the writing sound good, you should avoid repeating words. That is true with words that carry no essential meaning. However, don't use alternative words for the key words. Use them over and over again without changing them. In business writing, your objective is to communicate clearly, not write the great American novel.

In the example sentence above, "remote sites" is a key word. See the confusion that results when you change the term in the next sentences:

Holding training sessions in several remote sites would be better than bringing people in from the field to the home office. A distance learning location would have facilities that could enhance the training. One way to ensure that our training is consistent is to have regional training locations with the same instructors going from region to region to do the training.

The reader is left wondering whether "remote sites," "distance learning location," and "regional training locations" are the same thing. Is the writer introducing two or three different options? Each seems to be opening a new concept. Once the writer settled on "remote sites," she should have locked in that term, as in this example:

Holding training sessions in several remote sites would be better than bringing people in from the field to the home office. These sites would have facilities that could enhance the training. One way to ensure that our training is consistent is to have a remote site in each region with the same instructors going from region to region to do the training.

There are three sets of key words that you will use in your business writing:

Thesis Key Words

Thesis key words are the words that you use in the thesis statement to describe the subject of the entire document.

Example:

Thesis statement: "A focus on telemarketing would provide four benefits to our company: . . . ."

Key words: "telemarketing, benefits."

Do not change those words. Use them consistently throughout your correspondence. Don't change them to "phone services," "marketing by phone," "advantages," "features," or any other synonym.

Main Point Key Words

The main points have their own sets of key words. In the example that follows, the main points are listed in the thesis statement after the colon. In this example, the key words for the first main point are in red, the second main point in green, the third main point in blue, and the last main point are in magenta.

Example:

Thesis statement: "A focus on telemarketing would provide four benefits to our company: a decrease in direct mail costs, more openings to cross-sell to customers, opportunities to gather market research data, and promotion of the image of the personal touch we say we provide."

Question or Guideline Key Words

If you are answering questions contained in the request for proposal, audit guidelines, or other instructions for your responses, the words used in the questions or guidelines should become key words. Usually, begin your response by repeating the question or guideline. If you do not repeat the entire question or guideline, repeat as much of the question or guideline as necessary. In any event, always use the requester's words in your responses. They become the key words.

Example:

The question in the request was, "How many hours were spent completing the project design?" In the following response, the writer included the question, verbatim, and used the key words in the response:

"Question 4: How many hours were spent completing the project design?

"Answer: We spent 74 hours completing the project design."

Choose key words that are meaningful to the reader. Always use the reader's words. Never change them to a set of synonyms.

 

Openings and Closings that Don't Work as well

Many business writers have learned strategies for openings and closings that do not help to make the breaks as clear. Avoid these.

1. Opening with a general statement the reader can't easily interpret.

   Some business people don't want to be too obvious about their intentions. It doesn't feel "literary" or "right" to them. These are ineffective openings:

   "Of critical importance to the process are the procedures involved." Meaning: "The steps in the procedure follow."

   "Other means of obtaining the data will be easier to implement." Meaning: "These four methods of obtaining the data will be easier to implement."

   The problem with these openings isn't the statements themselves; it is that the writer assumes the reader will make the connection that the information described in the statements will follow. The reader has to read several sentences of the explanation to realize that the writer is presenting the information alluded to in the opening sentence.

   Don't make the reader do that work. It contributes to confusion and frustrates readers. Instead, write the clear, direct statements:

   Instead of "Of critical importance to the process are the procedures involved," write "Four steps of critical importance to the process follow."

   Instead of "Other means of obtaining the data will be easier to implement," write "The following four methods of obtaining the data will be easier to implement."

   Make your openings direct and clear.

2. The second strategy many business writers use as they attempt to make the breaks clear is to end one section with a lead-in to the next section, as in this example:
   [a paragraph precedes this sentence] However, these sales campaigns are not as effective as the sales campaign that uses several media in tandem.

   Using several media together has an impact on the target audience because they receive the message in several ways. [continues here]

   The last sentence of the previous paragraph is out of place because it introduces a new topic. The reader can easily become confused about whether the next paragraph is explaining that point or going on to another point. You do not need to introduce the next topic at the end of the previous. Instead, break with the paragraph break and introduce the new topic at the beginning of the new paragraph.

 

Procedure for Using
Openings and Closings

1. Begin by developing the outline of facts, concepts, and procedures using the process you learned in the previous step.

2. Write a thesis statement that lists all of the main ideas, if possible. The thesis statement opens the subject of the entire message.

   Be precise. If there are three products, use the word, "three," in the thesis. Do not use vague words such as "many," "some," or "a few." Make sure the beginning words in the list of main ideas are parallel in construction. For example, use "increase, hire, and have" or "increasing, hiring, and having," but do not mix the two constructions.

   Example thesis statement: "Our company can use three methods to reduce employee theft: increase the use of surveillance cameras, hire more security personnel, and have more than one employee participate in each activity involving money." There are three main points in this thesis:

   1. Increase the use of surveillance cameras.
   2. Hire more security personnel.
   3. Have more than one employee participate in each activity involving money.
   
   
3. Identify the thesis key words in the thesis. Use those words throughout the writing. In the example, the key words are "methods to reduce employee theft."

4. Identify the main point key words in each of the main point statements. You will use those in each section explaining a main point. In the example, the key words for the three main points are,
   main point 1 - "increase the use of surveillance cameras"
   main point 2 - "hire more security personnel"
   main point 3 - "have more than one employee participate in each activity involving money."
   

5. Write headings for the main points using the key words. Headings are your fulfillment of the contract with the reader. In the thesis, you agreed to explain certain information. The generalizations state, one topic at a time, the part of the thesis statement contract you are fulfilling.

6. The headings must be exactly the same as the words you used in the main point statements, in the same order. The headings should be explicit statements of the generalizations so the readers cannot misunderstand. Headings must be understandable by the reader before the reader reads the text. The levels of headings must also be distinct so they look like an outline of the text. The reader should be able to see at a glance the outline levels of the text, as in this example:

   DETERMINE AN ASSET ALLOCATION

   Decide on Your Investment Objectives

   Long-term Objectives

   Short-term Objectives

    
   

Example Headings

For the main points listed earlier, you might use these headings (in red):

key words: increase the use of surveillance cameras


heading:
INCREASE THE USE OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
key words: hire more security personnel
heading:
HIRE MORE SECURITY PERSONNEL
key words: have more than one employee participate in activities involving money heading:
HAVE SEVERAL EMPLOYEES INVOLVED WITH MONEY.
Notice that the wording of the last heading is changed to make it shorter. When necessary, drop unnecessary words without losing the essential key words.

Also notice that this is still a fairly long heading. Don't be afraid to write longer headings. If the reader has to read the text below the heading to understand the heading, then the heading has failed in its primary function of preparing the reader for what follows.

Format for Headings

Use the Microsoft Word styles to set your headings. That will give you a consistent format. If you don't know how to use the styles, look up the procedure in the online help available in Word.

The first-level headings should signal the I, II, and III levels of an outline. They are the main points of your message. The reader should be able to see an outline of your document in the headings.

The first-level heading should be the strongest. In longer documents, center it, use all caps, bold it, and skip 24 points (two lines) before the first-level heading. You may choose to use a 14-point font and a block font such as Arial or Helvetica. Do not use bolding and underlining together. That is too much. In shorter documents, use the description below for second-level headings for the first level.

The second-level headings should signal the A, B, and C levels under the first-level I, II, and II levels. The second-level headings should be 12-point font, flush left, bolded, upper case for first letters except for prepositions, articles, or conjunctions, with 12 points skipped below (one line), and 12 points skipped above. You may choose to use a block font such as Arial or Helvetica, but should use the same font as you used for the other headings. In shorter documents, use this for the first-level headings.

The third-level headings should be 12-point font, flush left, no bolding, underlined, with 12 points skipped below and 12 points skipped above. You may choose to use a block font such as Arial or Helvetica if you used it for the other headings.

7. Write a generalization statement for each of the main points. These statements will be the first sentences in new paragraphs. They will open the new ideas so the readers can follow your message. The generalization is also a statement to the reader indicating the document's progress in relation to the thesis statement. In this form of writing, you should have a generalization at the beginning of each section describing how you are fulfilling the contract with the reader by presenting the information coming up next.
   
   

8. The generalization sentences must use the key words, exactly as they are presented in the thesis and headings. In other words, the reader will see the key words in four places:

   1. Thesis

   2. Headings

   3. Generalization sentences

   4. Specifics

   These must be explicit because they are the contract you have with the reader. Just as you would not change a contract with a company by using different words for key concepts, you must use the same words throughout this fulfillment of the contract you have made with the reader. Here are the resulting thesis, headings, and generalization sentences (without the specifics).

        Our company can use three methods to reduce employee theft: increase the use of surveillance cameras, hire more security personnel, and have more than one employee participate in each activity involving money.

   INCREASE THE USE OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

        The first method our company can use to reduce employee theft is to increase the use of surveillance cameras. Detail here . . .

   HIRE MORE SECURITY PERSONNEL

        The second method our company can use to reduce employee theft is to hire more security personnel. Detail here . . .

   HAVE SEVERAL EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATE
   IN ACTIVITIES INVOLVING MONEY

        The final method our company can use to reduce employee theft is to have more than one employee participate in each activity involving money. Detail here . . .

   
   The key words in the list of generalizations the writer had in the thesis statement become the headings. The same key words appear in the first sentences after the headings. Those first sentences are the generalizations.

    

Activities: Mastering the Skills When you are ready, click on the button below to proceed to the activities. Your objectives for these activities are to be able to:

1. Write a thesis statement.

2. Write headings using the key words.

3. Write generalization statements to open the ideas you are explaining.

4. Use key words to make the writing clearer.

Click here to begin the activities.