Business English

1
Business English

• Writing for the workplace

2
Writing tips

• Clear, concise and polite writing is important
  for successful communications in the workplace.
  The fundamental writing tips covered are
• Short and simple sentences
• Clear concise language
• Avoiding unnecessary repetition
• Strong verbs
• Using bullet points

3
Writing tips(1) - Using short simple sentences

• The way to make your writing easier to read and
  understand is to use short and simple sentences.
  
• Why?
• They are easier to read and understand.
• Longer sentences can lead to misunderstandings
  and confusion if read quickly.
• Long sentences make ideas less clear.
• Rule
• One sentence one idea

4
Writing tips (1)- How to write a simple sentence

• A simple sentence has one main idea.
• A simple sentence has three important parts
• a subject - who or what the sentence is about
• a verb - the action in the sentence
• the complement - the remainder of the sentence,
  generally containing the object.
• Sentences are easier and clearer to understand
  when the subject of the sentence comes first.

5
Writing tips (1)-

• Drag a suitable subject or verb to each of the
  following sentences.

6
Writing tips (1)-
7
Writing tips (1)- Shortening long sentences

• Long sentences generally combine more than one
  idea. These ideas are joined together by
  conjunctions (joining words). The most common
  conjunctions are
• ?And - ?so -?but - ?or - ?nor -?because -
  ?yet - ?as - ?for
• To shorten a long sentence, do the following
• Circle any conjuctions
• Replace the conjunction with a full stop, and put
  in a capitial letter where needed.

8
Writing tips- Shortening long sentences - Activity

• Rewrite the following sentences as short, simple
  sentences. Type your answer into the box provided
  for each one. Correct spelling and punctuation
  are required. Press the Enter key at the end of
  each sentence to check your answer.

9
Writing tips- Shortening long sentences - Activity
10
Writing tips- Shortening long sentences
Activity solution
11
Writing tips(2) - Using clear concise language

• To improve your writing, you should do the
  following
• use simple, clear and direct language
• get rid of unnecessary words
• use verbs not nouns where possible.

12
Writing tips(2) - Using clear concise language
13
Writing tips - Using clear concise language-
Eliminate unnecessary words

• Being concise doesn't mean being simplistic. It's
  about saying something clearly and effectively
  without being 'wordy'. There are some simple ways
  to make your writing concise.

14
Writing tips - Using clear concise language-
Eliminate unnecessary words

• There is no need to say the same thing twice. If
  you use unnecessary words or redundancies, eg
  cooperate together, basic essentials, true facts,
  you will be making your sentences wordy because
  both words mean the same thing.
• Whenever possible reduce the number of words you
  use.

15
Writing tips(3)- Avoid unnecessary repetition of
words

• Though some words may be repeated deliberately
  for effect, repetitions will seem awkward if they
  are clearly unnecessary When a shorter, more
  concise form is possible, always choose it and
  use it.
• Remember Try to be economical with words
• never use a long word when a short word will do
• if it is possible to cut out a word, always cut
  it out.

16
Writing tips(3)- Avoid unnecessary repetition of
words

• Activity
• Replace these 'wordy' phrases with a more concise
  alternative. Drag the concise words to their
  equivalent, then press the 'Check' button to
  check your answers. If your choice is correct, a
  tick will appear. If it is not, the words will
  return to their original places. Continue until
  you have finished.

17
Writing tips(3)- Avoid unnecessary repetition of
words
18
Writing tips- Avoid unnecessary repetition of
words -Activity
19
Writing tips- Avoid unnecessary repetition of
words -Activity
20
Writing tips(4) - Strong Verbs

• One method of writing clearly and concisely is to
  use strong verbs (doing/action words) rather than
  noun phrases. Look at the opportunities to
  strengthen the verb and reduce clauses to phrases
  or phrases to single words.
• Compare the following sentences
• Both sentences have the same meaning. The first
  sentence has six words and the second has three.
• Using the verb compared in the second sentence
  rather than the noun phrase undertook a
  comparision in the first sentence makes your
  sentence clear and direct.

21
Writing tips - Strong Verbs -Activity

• Eliminate unnecessary words by replacing the
  following noun phrases with a verb. Type your
  answer into the box provided for each one.
  Correct spelling is required and do not put in
  any spaces. Press the Enter key at the end of
  each sentence to check your answer.

22
Writing tips - Strong Verbs -Activity
23
Writing tips - Strong Verbs -Activity cont
24
Writing tips(5) - Using bullet points

• Why?
• Clear and easy to read.
• Quick to write.
• Emphasises important information.
• Rules for using bullet points
• Write in complete sentences or part sentences as
  required, be consistent.
• Use a consistent type of bullet.

25
Writing tips(5) - Using bullet points

• Full stops or not?
• Bullet points are often incorporated into a
  sentence structure, generally proceeded by . If
  this is the case, there are no capital letters on
  each line and the full stop goes at the end.

26
Using bullet points-cont.

• If bullet points are used without a lead in, they
  have a capital letter at the start of each line
  and a full stop at the end as in the sections Why
  and Rules for using bullet points above.
• These rules apply to all uses of bullet points.
  They are a very useful way of listing important
  information.

27
Using bullet points-cont.

• Rewrite the original email by filling in the
  bullet points. Notice how the information is far
  more accessible in bullet form. You don't need to
  read the entire email to see the important parts.

28
Using bullet points -cont. Activity
29
Using bullet points -cont. Activity

• NB. Bullet points should be used in other
  business formats such as reports and memos.

30
End Writing tips

• I.Samar Tahar
• I.Taghreed Bagies