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• Writing Fitness: Principles of Effective Style

  • When you finish a draft or a memo or letter, reread it carefully and trim unnecessary words
  • Simplify your language. Don't try to impress a reader with your vocabulary
  • Scan your writing for passive sentences and standard business phrases. Make passive sentences active by changing the positions of subject and verb, and remove all cliches
  • Proofread your memo or letter carefully and correct any errors in spelling, typing, etc. Aim for final draft that looks good as well as clearly communicates your message
• Passive


  The meeting was called to order by Ted
• Active


  Ted called the meeting to order
• Practice Exercise


  1. Plans for the conference will be made by the staff assistant

  2. An error has been discovered in the document

  3. The report will be reviewed by the executive committee
• Familiar Words


  • assemblage - crowd
  • metropolis - city
  • visage -
  • utilize -
  • commence -
• Too many words is a common fault of bad writing
• Intertext


  Meaning is shaped by referencing/making connection with other text
• Hypertext


  External links embedded in a text
• Literature Review


  • Academic writing providing overview to a topic
  • Surveys scholarly works
  • Critically analyzes relationship among different scholarly works and current work
• Purpose of Literature Review


  • To find existing knowledge on the topic
  • Provides an overview of your discoveries
  • To look for a gap in existing literature
• Predatory Journals


  Fraudulent, deceptive or pseudo journals that misrepresent publishing practices
• Predatory Journals


  • Falsely claiming to provide peer review
  • Hiding article processing charges
  • Misrepresenting journal's editorial board
• Predatory Journals focus on violations of Copyright or scholarly ethics
• Steps on Writing Literature Review

  1. Search for relevant literature

  2. Evaluate and select sources

  3. Identify themes, debates, and gaps

  4. Outline literature review structure
• Sources for relevant literature


  • Google Scholar
  • PubMed
  • Science Direct
  • Ebsco
• Criteria for evaluating and selecting sources


  • Is it relevant?
  • How recent is the work?
• Things to look for in literature


  • Trends, patterns, methods, results
  • Themes
  • Debates or contradictions
  • Influential studies
  • Gaps
• Possible structures for literature review


  • Chronological
  • Thematic
  • Methodological
  • Theoretical
• Book Review/Article Critique


  Specialized form of academic writing that evaluates the contribution to knowledge of a work
• Book Reviews/Article Critiques are a critical assessment, analysis or evaluation of a work, and do not just share opinion</b>
• Book Reviews/Article Critiques use proof and logical reasoning to back up their opinion, unlike movie reviews
• Writing Fitness


  1. Reread drafts and trim unnecessary words

  2. Simplify your language/vocabulary

  3. Change passive sentences to active voice and remove all cliché

  4. Correct and mechanical errors
• Verbal Deadwood


  Unnecessary wordy ways of expressing simple ideas
• Active Sentences


  The subject does the action
• Passive Sentences


  The subject receives the action
• Business Letter


  A professional, formal letter that is sent by one party to another
• Purposes of Business Letters


  • Sales
  • Complaints
  • Information Dissemination
  • Relationship Building
  • Problem Solving
• Parts of a Business Letter

  • Letterhead (optional)
  • Dateline
  • Inside Address
  • Heading
  • Salutation
  • Body
  • Complimentary close
  • Signature
  • Signature block
  • Enclosure notation
  • Copy notation
• Electronic Mails (E-mails)


  Become a pivotal part of everyday communication
• CC (Carbon Copy)


  A copy of the email will also be sent to that address
• BCC (Blind Carbon Copy)


  A copy will be sent to them, but no one will be able to see their address
• Advantages of E-mails


  • Reaches target faster
  • Confirmation of acceptance is easy
  • Original messages can be expanded into a thread
  • Cheap and easy to use
  • Environmentally friendly
• Disadvantages of E-mails


  • May carry viruses
  • Not all official documents can be sent through mail
  • Sometimes used for scamming
  • Prone to technical glitches
  • Dependent on internet connection
• Memorandum or Memo


  • From Latin term "memorare" (to remember)
  • Meant to inform as well as persuade people
  • Follows inverted pyramid structure
  • Important information comes first
• Advantages of Memos


  • Uses large number of readers
  • Written record that can be easily accessed
  • Allows detailed and accurate delivery of message
• Types of Memos


  • Instruction: Provides information needed by reader to accurately perform directions
  • Request: Ask reader to provide certain information about or take certain actions
  • Announcement: Provides information about event, person, or thing
  • Transmittal: Cover note for more formal or lengthy document
  • Authorization: Gives permission