Posted in: how to write effectively

The myth that writing is a skill that one is either "born with" or not is inherently false. Writing can be taught; more to the point, how to write effectively can be taught. One reason that many professionals don't write well is that they simply lack the necessary tools. For instance, many workplace professionals use one or two "strategies" (outlining is a common one) when writing, even if those...
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If you think that the purpose of professional writing is to useas many words as possible, think again! Rather, the goal is to document information concisely and “use the most effective words.” The article “ Conciseness ,” published by Purdue OWL , outlines many important steps for a writer to take to write clearly. Use specific words Many times writers use a long phrase...
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Most of us are very adept at problem-solving--we solve problems every day, from small problems such as figuring out the best route to take to work to larger issues, such as dealing with difficult people. In fact, most of us are so good at solving problems that we may not even realize when we're actively involved in that problem-solving mode! If we are so good at solving problems, why are there so many of us...
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In our classes, we always discuss reader-centered writing; that is, writing that fully considers readers and what they want and need and how they're going to use the document. Another element of this is "noise." "Noise" can be categorized as the distractions readers face when reading. Some of these, of course, are caused by the writer and some are the result of noisy offices,...
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When speaking to a group, some of the common errors that we make with grammar are not self evident. When composing an email or a communication to a customer, these errors can stand out to the point of distraction. If you make several of these errors within the same document, your intelligence, competency, and professionalism will be called into question. Here are three common grammatical errors to avoid. Company's...
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