Gec 07

• Corporate culture


  The total sum of the values, customs, traditions, and meanings that make a company unique
• Professional communication


  Communication in the workplace setting
• People use language differently depending on the social situation they are in
• Social situations


  • Politician being interviewed by the press
  • Celebrity responding to the paparazzi
• Factors that guide people's use of language


  • Who they are talking to
  • Number of people they are addressing
  • General social context
  • Distance between speakers
  • Presence of a crowd
  • Time of day
  • Certain point in a week
  • Season of a year
• "No comment" is a typical response from both politicians and celebrities
• Purpose of academic writing


  To generate new knowledge in a particular academic branch
• Purpose of professional communication


  To get something done with or within an organization
• The writer's knowledge of the subject differs in academic writing and professional communication
• Types of professional documents


  • Memos
  • Letters
  • Emails
  • Resumes
  • Professional reports
• Criteria for evaluating academic papers


  • Depth
  • Logic
  • Clarity
  • Unity
  • Grammar
  • Critical thinking
• Criteria for evaluating professional writing


  Clear and simple organization of ideas in a format that meets the needs of busy readers
• Conversational style is used in speech and informal writing, featuring short, simple words, slang expressions, and contractions
• Traditional research paper style features many abstract academic or technical terms and few or no contractions, and uses "I", "we", and "you" minimally
• Professional writing is meant to sound conversational, like a real person talking
• Purposes of professional writing


  • Record important workplace information (e.g. minutes of a meeting, secretarial notes, official documentation of proceedings)
  • Give or ask for information outside the company via memos, business letters, professional reports
  • Persuade readers to take action
  • Build an individual or company's positive image and establish rapport
• Audience of professional writing


  Specific, sometimes a single reader, sometimes multiple readers, with consideration of their level of knowledge
• Discourse community


  A group of people who share assumptions about what channels, formats, and styles to use for communication, what topics to discuss and how to discuss them, and what constitutes evidence
• When writing for a specific discourse community of professionals, the writer may use technical terms familiar to the readers without having to explain them
• When the audience is not homogenous or has differing technical backgrounds, the writer should aim for diction or word choices that will be understood by everyone, and explain any technical terms used
• You-attitude


  A style of writing which looks at things from the reader's point of view, emphasizing what the reader wants to know, respecting the reader's intelligence, and protecting the reader's ego
• 1. attitude vs You-attitude


  • I-attitude: If I can answer any of your queries, I'm perfectly willing to do so. / We delivered the order to the provided address this morning. / I'm happy to tell you that...

  You-attitude: If you have any questions, please ask. / Your order was shipped to your address this morning. / You'll be happy to hear that...
• Positive wording


  Stating information positively, focusing on what the reader can do rather than what the writer will not or cannot let the reader do
• Negative vs Positive wording


  • Negative: We cannot process your reimbursement request because your documents are not complete. / We do not reply to emails on weekends. / We can't give you the list of books because we have not yet finished taking inventory.

  Positive: Your reimbursement request will be processed as soon as you submit all the required documents. / You may contact us via email at any time from Monday to Friday. / You will receive the completed book inventory by tomorrow morning.
• Bias-free language


  Language that does not discriminate against people on the basis of sex, physical condition, race, age or any other category
• Professional documents require language that is polite, rather than overly personal, and grammatically accurate
• Professional writing should avoid business jargon and old-fashioned expressions
• Local or culture-bound expressions, especially those related to religious beliefs, should be avoided in professional correspondence
• Emojis, emoticons, and text message shortcuts have no place in professional writing
• Business letter template


  Company letterhead, date, recipient's name and address, salutation, body paragraphs, complimentary close, sender's name and title
• Memo format


  Immediately gives the date, address, sender, and subject of the memo
• Question mark and exclamation(?!) and dramatic ellises(…) should be avoided because these undermine the professional writers' tone
• Emojis or digital icons that express emotions are also too playful and informal for the professional context
• Shortcuts


  • AFK (away from keyboard)
  • LOL (laugh out loud/ lots of love)
  • NRN (no reply necessary)
• Business letter template


  • Company letterhead
  • Date of letter
  • Name of recipients
  • Salutation
  • Paragraphs
  • Complimentary close
  • Sender's name and title
• Memo template


  • Memorandum or memo
  • To: readers name
  • From: writer's name and designation
  • Date
  • Subject
  • Content
• Design principles of professional writing


  • Paper size, type and quality matter
  • Use of negative space or white space is essential
  • Proper arrangement of content on the page
  • Typography choices like font size, font choice, and line breaks should highlight key information
  • Typeface should be designed for the purpose of the professional document
• Worksheet applying principles of professional communication
• Text A is a business letter that has been revised
• Text B is a letter to a student that has been revised