SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY
Clarity and Conciseness in Professional Writing
Presented by:
Katie Shaw, Director of Enrollment Services
Adventist University of Health Sciences
Presentation Overview
Define professional writing
¨  Importance of good grammar
¨  Audience recognition
¨  Email writing and etiquette
¨  Punctuation
¨  Write with active voice
¨  Resume tips
¨ 
About Me
Been at Adventist University of Health Sciences
(ADU) for almost 9 years
¨  BA in English from Andrews University (AU)
¨  Was the News Writer at AU for 2 years
¨  Have taught Technical Writing at ADU for 7 years
¨  Edit most marketing documents for ADU
¨  Grammar nerd!
¨ 
Professional Writing Defined
¨ 
Composed primarily in the work environment for
supervisors, colleagues, subordinates, vendors, and
customers.
¤  Students
¤  Parents
¤  Constituents
Grammar
Grammar Counts
We work in higher education
¨  Direct correlation between English I grades and high
graduation GPAs (recent ADU study)
¨ 
Be sure to revise!
Writing can be personal
¨  Importance of revision
¨ 
¤  Your
first draft is never your best
¤  Read it over
¤  Examples of good writing have always gone through
several revisions
¤  Don’t be self-conscious about your writing –
perfection comes out of revision!
Audience
Audience Importance
¨ 
It’s very important to identify your audience
¤  High
tech
n  People
who are in your same field or same department and know
your lingo. You are writing to professional peers.
¤  Low
tech
n  Coworkers
in other departments who know some of what you do
but are not as familiar with terms and procedures as you are.
¤  Lay
n  People
who neither work for your company nor have a lot of
knowledge of your field
¤  Multiple
n  You
have to write for a variety of audiences - could be all three
Email
Email
Where did you learn how to write effective emails?
¨  No extensive instruction at the college level
¨ 
Email Grammar
¨ 
Why worry about grammar – it’s just email!
n  Email
is the primary form of professional writing now.
n  Email can be used as a legal document.
n  Never send an email that you wouldn't be comfortable
seeing on the front page of a newspaper.
Email Cautions
¨ 
“Reply all”
¤  Do
¨ 
you really need to respond to everyone?
Blind copies (bcc)
¤  Person
n  May
¤  Better
blind copied can respond to all
not realize they were blind copied
to copy (cc) so everyone knows what’s going on
Clarity and Conciseness in Email
Provide specific detail
¨  Avoid using vague words like "recently" or "some"
¨  Answer the reporter's questions
¨ 
¤  Who,
what, where, when, why, and how
Important Email Components
Identify yourself (your signature should do this
effectively)
¨  Provide an effective subject line
¨ 
¤  Avoid
uninformative subject lines like "Hi," "What's new," or
"Important message."
¤  Instead, use something like "Your ADU application file is
almost complete!"
¨ 
Keep your email brief
¤  Average
¨ 
attention span is 9 seconds or less
Use bulleted lists if possible
¤  Readers
tend to skim or scan for important info
Proofreading
Let someone else read it
¨  Print it
¨  Let it sit
¨  Use technology (spell check, grammar check)
¨  Read it out loud
¨ 
Netiquette
¨ 
Be courteous
¤  Avoid
¨ 
angry email messages
Be professional
¤  You
represent your employer with every email sent
from your work address
Punctuation
¨ 
Commas, apostrophes, and colons are small but can
make a big impact!
Resources
Make writing inclusive
¨ 
Acronyms/abbreviations
¤  Is
this an acronym everyone would know? (MRI, CIA,
SCUBA, etc.)
¤  Example: At ADU, you can become part of the HBS
department for Pre-Med or study nursing and set
your sights on the NAP!
¨ 
Use parenthetical definitions or just spell it out
Multicultural Audiences
Avoid idioms and jargon (crunch time, guesstimate,
through the roof)
¨  Spell out dates
¨ 
¤  7-1-13
n  In
some countries this would be interpreted not as July 1,
2013, but as January 7, 2013
Paint a Picture
¨ 
Use active voice when writing
¤  Students
can participate in a variety of ministries.
¤  When you’re a student at ADU, you can participate in
ministries such as SALT (Service and Love Together),
Ecclesia (Friday vespers), Circle Up (daily prayer), and
many others!
Resumes
Resume Design
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
¨ 
Look at other resumes before you begin
Use Word templates
Good white space
Try to keep to one page but can go over
Choose appropriate fonts (no more than two in your
document)
Avoid sentences
Reader-friendly access (use bulleted lists)
Begin lists with verbs (Accomplished, led, performed, etc.)
Quantify your achievements
Resumes
Begin by clearly identifying yourself and giving
contact information
¨  List career objectives
¨  Summary of qualifications
¨ 
¤  Tailor
your resume to speak to the job you are
applying for
¤  Overview of skills, abilities, accomplishments, and
attributes
¤  Strengths relative to the job you're seeking
Resumes
¨ 
Education
¤  Omit
high school, any colleges attended from which
you did not graduate
¨ 
Employment
¤  Start
with most recent employment (reverse
chronological)
¤  Omit jobs that have no relation to the position you're
seeking unless that's all you've done (leave out
McDonald's and Taco Bell)
Resumes
¨ 
Professional Skills/Accomplishments
¤  Certifications
¤  Awards
received
¤  Recognition
¨ 
Memberships
¤  Professional
affiliations
Summary
Important to say what you mean and mean what
you say in professional writing
¨  Good writing skills can open doors to new
opportunities
¨ 
References
Einsohn, Amy (2011). The copyeditor’s handbook: A guide for book publishing
and corporate communication. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Gerson, Sharon J. & Gerson, Steven M. (2013). Technical communication:
Process and product. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Schuman, Nancy (2008). The everything resume book. Avon, Mass.: Adams
Media.
Contact Info
Katie Shaw
Director of Enrollment Services
Adventist University of Health Sciences
[email protected]