Chapter 5: The Writing Process and the Main Forms of Business Messages
Teaching Suggestions

Probably this material is covered best by lecture and discussion. But some writing could be assigned—especially of short, informal email messages. The longer messages are more appropriately handled in the following chapters that review them. What is particularly important is that students understand that good business writing is the result of careful planning, drafting, and revising. Sometimes students may be tempted to see the brevity of many business documents as indicative of the amount of time and effort that is needed to produce the document. Showing students the importance of planning and revising, in particular, will serve them well throughout their careers.

In addition, this chapter discusses forms of communication such as instant message, text messaging, and social networking that students are likely familiar. However, students may realize how their use of these forms changes when they are in a professional setting. Providing contrasting examples, for instance, of a text sent to a business colleague and a text sent to a friend may be helpful. Students may also be encouraged to write the same message (e.g., a lunch invitation) to two different audiences, a friend and a client so that they better see how context affects a message.

Note: For an additional class activity on Internet use in the workplace, you can have your class view the Manager’s Hot Seat video Privacy: Behind the Firewall?,” which is about a workplace Internet policy.
Text Summary, Lecture Outline
Slides 5-1, 5-2
You can point out that this chapter will cover advice that applies to writing all kinds of documents, as well as specific advice on the shorter forms of business communication, or “messages”:  letters, memos, email, text messages, and instant messaging.
The Process of Writing
Slide 5-3
You might ask students, before discussing this section, to reflect on (write about) their usual process of writing. (If have trouble doing so, ask them to think about/describe how they tackled a recent writing task.)  This exercise can help them see that this chapter contains helpful advice for them—advice that will make their writing more effective and the process itself less stressful.

The writing process diagram helps students see that the process of writing falls roughly into three stages: 

• Planning,
• Drafting, and
• Revising.
 
But the arrows in the model also show that writers should allow themselves to revisit earlier stages as necessary (that is, allow the process to be recursive). To try to make the process rigidly linear is often counterproductive, especially for inexperienced writers.

As the text says, a good rule of thumb is to spend roughly a third of one’s writing time on planning, a third on drafting, and a third on revising.
Slide 5-4
You can point out that the planning stage corresponds to the first three questions in the problem-solving approach represented in Chapter 1, Figure 1–4: What is the situation?  What are some possible communication strategies?  Which is the best course of action?  To be able to answer these questions, the writer will perform these activities:

• Determining goals
• Analyzing the audience
• Gathering and collecting information
• Analyzing and organizing the information
• Choosing a form, channel, and format

Determining Goals: In determining goals, writers should ask themselves what a reader should think, feel, do, or believe as a result of reading a message. The writer’s communication goals are very much connected, then, to the writer’s business goals.

Audience Analysis: Analyzing the audience is key to any successful business message. Writers need to break down their audience by the audience’s characteristics and then tailor a message to meet that audience’s need. Writers will ask several questions: Who is my audience? Who will be affected by what I write? What organizational, professional, and personal issues or qualities will affect the audience’s response to my message? What organizational, professional, and personal issues or qualities do I have that affect how I will write my message? What is my relationship with my reader? Am I writing to my superior? My colleagues? My subordinates? Clients?

Gathering and collecting information: Solving a communication problem can be viewed as part of solving a larger business problem. In other words, figuring out what to say often involves, as well, figuring out what to do. For example, in addition to going over the sample scenario provided in the text, you can ask your students the following:  If, as a manager, you wanted to write an effective message to employees about leaving the parking spaces near the company’s front door available for the customers, what kind of things would you have to figure out before you could write this message?  Students should come up with such topics as why the employees should do this, when they should start doing it, where they should park, any special incentive (or implied threat?!) that might encourage them to comply, and so forth. The point is that communicators usually cannot simply go with the information at the tops of their heads. They need to plan what goals they want to accomplish and then gather the ideas and information they will need in order to write the messages that will help them accomplish their goals.

Some activities that can help writers gather information include the following:
 

• Formal research (e.g., surveys, experiments, library research—see Chapter 18)
• Informal research (such as consulting with others, looking at previous messages for similar circumstances, and so forth)
• Listing pertinent ideas/information
• Brainstorming
• “Clustering” (drawing a diagram of your ideas)

Analyzing and organizing information. Once writers have collected what looks like sufficient information (though they may find later in the process that they need more), they need to analyze it and organize it.

Interpretation and logic help the writer determine what to say and in what order. Clearly, the message’s main points need to be based upon the gathered information, and they need to be arranged logically.

Adaptation is critical as well. Which comments in which order will be likely to have the best effect on the reader?  The reader’s likely reaction will determine whether the message is written in the direct or indirect order and will also affect the order of the rest of the contents.

Choosing a form, channel, and format: In many textbooks, discussions of form, channel, and format are separate from the discussion about the writing process. But in reality, it is virtually impossible to plan a message without giving at least some preliminary thought to these elements. The medium is not just a container for the message; whether one anticipates writing a letter, email, brochure, web page, or some combination of these, and how one anticipates they should look, will significantly affect the planning of the message.
Slide 5-5
The drafting stage corresponds roughly to the fourth question in the analytical process presented in Chapter 1, Figure 1–4. What is the best way to design the chosen message?  As they draft, writers work out the content, stylistic, organizational, and formatting details.

As the text says, writers should

• Avoid perfectionism when drafting
• Keep going (write things that suffice; come back later to improve them)
• Use any other helpful strategies (write during your most productive time; write in chunks, start with the part you most want to write, etc.)

If you have had students do the exercise described earlier, you can ask them to share any strategies they use to help them with the drafting stage.
Slide 5-6
It is probably safe to say that the most common flaw in students’ writing processes is that they do not revise enough. Impress upon them the importance of devoting time to this stage. Even very experienced writers take a good bit of time to review and polish important documents.
 
Taking a “levels of edit” approach can help students revise in a systematic way. With this approach, the writer divides the revision stage into three activities:

• Revising (making any necessary major changes in the document, such as adding more contents, improving the organization, or changing the format)
• Editing (perfecting the style and flow of the message)
• Proofreading (catching any spelling/typing/grammatical errors)
Slide 5-7
Readable formatting is hugely important in business writing. Business readers are almost always very busy and are therefore impatient. And modern media has trained us in general to expect and prefer quick access to information. Any documents that come close to looking like the bad example on page 93 will run a risk of being misunderstood or, more likely, ignored.

Use the good example on page 94 to help students see how white space, headings, typographical emphasis (boldface and italics), and bulleted lists can enhance readability.
 Letters
Slide 5-9
These are the oldest form dating from the earliest civilizations—Greek, Egyptian, Chinese.
The genre implies a certain formality, and certainly, letters are the most formal of the business writing forms we discuss. Therefore, letters are usually written to external audiences—but not always. Formal internal communication is also frequently written in letter format.

Students may already be familiar with some kind of letter format. If not, students should see Appendix B to see the possibilities available. Many times students will ask which format is the “right” one. It’s important for students to realize that any could be correct but that their companies may dictate format.
Early emphasis was on a stilted word choice (the “old language of business”). Now the emphasis is on selecting an effective structure and strategy and on using wording that will build rapport between the writer and the reader.
Memorandums
Slide 5-10
Memorandums are internal letters. Email has taken over much of their function; however, even though students may think that everyone in a workplace has access to an email, this may not necessarily be the case. For example, in one local hospital, housekeepers, custodial staff, nursing assistants, and some nurses do not have access to email other than in a lounge with a general access computer. In some manufacturing firms, line workers may not have the need for email. These employees are not likely to check their email as they work throughout the day or even regularly before or after work or on breaks. A memo posted in a highly visible location would be a better communication channel for these employees than email. In addition, as Chapter 11 mentions, some memos are actually reports.

Typically they are arranged in this form:
 

• “Memorandum” or “Interoffice Memo” at the top.
• Date, To, From, Subject headings
• (Sometimes) Department, Territory, Store Number, Copies to

They vary widely in terms of formality, but because they are internal messages, they are generally less formal than letters.
Email
Slide 5-11
Its growth has been phenomenal. It has several advantages:

• Eliminates telephone tag.
• Saves time.
• Speeds up decision making.
• Is cheap.
• Provides a written record.

But there are disadvantages. Email

• Is not confidential.
• Has no authentic signature.
• Doesn’t show emotions.
• May be ignored.
Slide 5-12
The prefatory elements and beginnings are somewhat standardized:

• To, Cc, Bcc, Subject, Attachments

• Subject lines. These are very important in emails. If a subject line is missing or if it is incomplete, a reader may disregard the message or delay a response.

• Name of recipient, perhaps a greeting, statement of purpose

• Identifying information. Identify yourself early when communicating with someone you don’t know well.
Slide 5-13
Content should be organized carefully.

Short, simple messages usually are best in a top-down order (most important to least important). This way, if the reader is scanning for information, he or she does not need to scroll to find your most important information.
 

The longer, more complex messages use more strategic organization plans such as the direct or indirect order discussed in Chapters 6 and 7.
Slides 5-14
The formality of email language depends on the relationship between writer and reader.

Casual language is acceptable between friends. It uses contractions, slang, mechanical emphasis devices, and everyday conversational talk.

Informal language is right for most messages. It uses short sentences, some contractions and personal pronouns, and good conversational tone.
Slide 5-15
Formal language maintains a distance between writer and reader—no personal references.
Slide 5-16, 5-17
The writing of email messages involves following the instructions given in Chapters 2, 3, and 4.

These can be summarized under four considerations.

Conciseness

Make the messages short, leaving out unnecessary information and writing economically.

Clarity

Practice the techniques of readable writing—short and familiar words, concrete language, word precisions, short sentences, etc.

Courtesy

Practice courtesy, build goodwill (use the techniques in Chapter 4: you-viewpoint, positive language, conversational tone, etc.)

Especially avoid “flaming.”

Correctness

How one communicates is a part of the message. Even if the writer uses poor grammar and spelling and succeeds in communicating his/her message, the writer compromises his/her professional image when a message contains grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors.

Further, errors in grammar, mechanics, and spelling can make a message unclear, which means that the reader will have to contact the writer for clarification. This means that the writer will have to send the message again, which wastes both the writer’s and the reader’s time.
 
Slide 5-18
The formality of the closing depends on the formality of the message and the relationship between the reader and the writer. Including a signature block with a title, company name, phone number, fax number, or other helpful contact information can be beneficial to the reader.
Slide 5-19
Emphasis devices can be used to help make the information visually accessible. Avoid too much formatting, as excessive formatting makes a document visually confusing. Initialisms may be used to save time, but be certain that your reader understands the ones you use.
Slide 5-20
Many individuals use text and instant messaging in the work place as a quick and efficient means of communication. Because they are such short messages, writers must be especially careful to ensure messages are not only concise but clear. A helpful activity may be to have students write one message in two ways: once as an email and once as an instant message.

It is still used much more for non-business rather than business purposes.

But it is seeing growing use in business use—for quick “emails” to co-workers, promotions, brand awareness, customer relations, and such. Clearly, as the so-called “millenials” join the workforce, use of text messaging will increase.
Slide 5-21, 5-22
Social networking (which is, of course, popular for personal use) is also becoming more popular for business use. Companies use social networking for both internal and external purposes. Students must know that companies can monitor their social networking use in the workplace. Companies may seek out students’ pages even before employing them just to see what their (the students) pages reveal about their (the students’) personalities.
Answers for the Critical Thinking Questions

1. Identify and explain the steps in the writing process.

See pages 88–91.

2. Think about a writing project that you recently completed. Using the terminology in this chapter, describe the process that you used. How might using different strategies have made the project more pleasant and productive?  What helpful strategies did you use, if any, that were not mentioned in this chapter?

Evaluate each student’s answer in terms of its use of chapter terminology and its detail.

3. Think about a letter that you received or wrote recently, and explain why it was appropriate to use a letter in this situation.
 

Most students will think of a letter they received from or wrote to an external audience (insurance company, sales letter, etc.), but some may cite formal letters from internal parties (for example, a letter from the university president to the student body, or an official letter of promotion, congratulations, dismissal, or reprimand inside an organization).

4. Will hard-copy letters and memos diminish in importance as email continues to grow? Become obsolete? Vanish?

Of course, no one really knows the answer. Letters and memos may diminish in importance, but they won’t vanish, because they meet a need for formal internal and external correspondence that email seems too casual for. A trend some have noticed, though, is that the electronic delivery of letters as email attachments has increased.

5. Discuss the reasons for social networking’s phenomenal growth. Is this growth likely to continue?

Authorities project continued growth. We agree. This new technology has advantages over other forms of communication. It is fast, convenient, time saving, efficient, and effective. What will be interesting is to see how parameters are defined for use in professional settings. Also interesting will be the extent to which individuals’ personal and private lives intersect and the legal ramifications thereof.

6. Some authorities say that concerns about correctness inhibit a person’s communication. Does this stand have merit? Discuss.

As stated in the book, we strongly disagree. There is no excuse for sloppiness. It is just as easy to get it right the first time if one knows what is correct. Such positions are merely defenses for those who don’t know correctness. It is merely a means of excusing ignorance.

7. Some authorities say that shortcuts in text messaging will lead to users’ inability to spell properly in more formal contexts. Discuss.

While there are credible arguments for both sides of this issue, most likely users will learn to use shortcuts where appropriate. However, it is clear that some will need to be taught to take the context of their messages into careful account before deciding to use shortcuts.

8. Memorandums and email messages differ more than letters in their physical makeup. Explain and discuss.

As letters are the oldest message form, their formats have developed over centuries of use. Thus they have become standardized. Memorandums also have a somewhat standardized format, but it is often changed to fit the needs of the individual business (department designations, store or plant locations, copies to, etc.). Email format is sort of a hybrid between letter and memo format.

9. Explain the logic of using negative words in email and memorandums to fellow employees that you would not use in letters carrying similar messages.

When you communicate with fellow employees about work matters, you can talk directly—sometimes even bluntly. You are both concerned about the work-related subject of the communication. Neither of you expects beating around the bush. Thus you do not have take as much care to soften negatives as you would in an external communication. But in no way does this mean that courtesy and respect for the other person is not a concern.

10. Discuss and justify the wide range of formality used in memorandums and email messages.

Both email messages and memorandums serve the communication needs of business, and these needs exist at all levels of the organization. Internal messages are sent to the highest levels of management and the lowest levels of employees. And these messages range from the most formal documents to the informal notes exchanged between workers.

11. What factors might determine whether or not instant messaging would be an appropriate medium to use in a given situation?

Your students might cite its appropriateness to the organization’s culture, the availability of the technology, the likelihood of the intended IM-ing partners being online when you are, the formality of the situation.
Answers to the Critical Thinking Exercises

1. Interview a working professional about his or her writing process. In addition to asking about general strategies for different kinds of writing, ask how he or she tackled a particularly difficult writing situation. Write up the results of your findings in a brief memo report to your instructor.

Individual answers will vary.

2. Find a sample of business writing and evaluate its use of formatting elements. If they are effective, say why; if not, explain what you would do differently.

Individual answers will vary.

3. Using various formatting devices, turn the following contents into a readable, attractive flyer or email announcing a health club’s new rates for employees of a nearby hospital. (You may want to consult Appendix B’s advice on formatting.)

Though individuals’ answers will vary, students may be encouraged to think of the journalist’s 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why) and 1 H (how) process for determining relevant information. In addition students should think about visual appeal and logical order of the information. For a more extensive exercise, students may want to expand their skills and create a flyer in a design program such as Publisher.

4. Instructions: Write a text message shorter than 160 characters for each of the cases below. Be sure your message is both clear and complete.

Answers will vary. Some examples are as follows.

a. Coffee House’s daily poll: 1) fat-free bran, 2) fat-free blueberry, 3) fresh strawberries and pineapple. (108 characters with spaces) Students may be tempted to include a lot of information, but they only need to compose the poll question.

b. Please check my email outbox. Confirm the report.doc file was sent to Robert Smith this a.m. If not sent, send the file to him today. (136 characters with spaces)

c. I can meet at 6. Go to the library at 5 and work on review problems until I arrive. (86 characters with spaces)

5. Assume the role of the hotel manager we discussed in the “Planning the Message” section of this chapter. The air conditioning has stopped functioning on one of the busiest and hottest weekends of the year. You need to explain the situation and what you are going to do (or have done) about it to three audiences: your guests, your co-workers who will be helping you solve the problem, and your boss, who will not be at the hotel until Monday. Develop a plan for the message you will send to each of these audiences in which you follow the five steps discussed in this chapter for planning a message. (You may find Figure 1–4 useful as well.) Be sure you consider your goal in communicating with each audience, the format/channel your communication will take, the content each audience will need, and the tone and style that will be appropriate for each audience.

Answers will vary but should reflect all stages of the planning process.

Related Research/Exercises:
The Managers Hot Seat video “Privacy: Behind the Firewall?” offers a discussion of how private one’s email/ Internet/phone usage really is in the workplace. The video also enables the class to discuss whether an employee’s email/Internet/phone usage is an issue if the employee’s work performance is not affected. This video is likely to raise issues with students that they may not have thought about. In addition, students could extend the discussion to incorporate the appropriateness of employees’ use of social networking sites.

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