4. Developing Business Writing Techniques

You can improve your message by using mechanical emphasis, parallelism, voice, and well-placed descriptions.

One way to achieve emphasis is through mechanical devices.

Complete the following sentence.

You can draw the readers eye to a word by _____ . a. tabulating b. underlining

You can also improve your messages through stylistic emphasis in sentence structure and word choice. Which of the following stylistic devices can be used to achieve emphasis? Check all that apply.

Position important ideas in the middle of the sentence.

Avoid general words.

Give important information the spotlight.

Label the main idea.

Use passive voice.

In some cases it is necessary to de-emphasize an idea, such as bad news. Does the following selection emphasize or de-emphasize the bad news?

Congratulations! We would like to offer you the summer internship position.

Emphasize

De-emphasize

When you compose messages, you may use the active or passive voice to convey meaning. Most business messages use the active voice. Which of the following are instances when you would use the passive voice in a business message? Check all that apply.

To emphasize an action instead of the recipient of an action

To create confusion for your reader

To avoid beginning the sentence with it

To conceal the doer of an action

Does the following sentence use the active or passive voice?

Dr. Rudolfo presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Christina Balian.

Passive

Active

Parallel sentences are balanced and easy for readers to understand. Choose which sentence has the better parallel structure.

Although the presentation was extremely long, it outlined the research, analyzed the data, and provided clear recommendations that will be useful in the future.

Although the presentation is extremely long, it outlines the research, analyzes the data, and provides clear recommendations that are useful in the future.

Choose the best revision to the following sentence.

While listening to the WebEx presentation, my computer speakers malfunctioned.

My computer speakers malfunctioned while listening to the WebEx presentation.

While I was listening to the WebEx presentation, my computer speakers malfunctioned.

Effective business writers use various techniques to improve their messages. How could the following selection be improved?

The delivery person wrecked the office supply van.

The problem in this ineffective selection is:

Sentence length/comprehension rate

A dangling/misplaced modifier

Passive voice

Writers should use words carefully and construct sentences skillfully to emphasize main ideas and de-emphasize minor ideas.

Choose the best response

Which of the following emphasizes the main idea?

Congratulations! We would like to offer you the position of senior analyst.

We have now successfully concluded our interview process and you have passed.