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 blind copied can respond to all

n May not realize they were blind copied

¤ Better 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

katie.shaw@adu.edu