Describe methods for emphasizing ideas, using active and passive voice, developing parallelism, and placing modifiers correctly. How can bad writing waste a businessperson's time? A researcher asked that question of workers who read business material an average of 25 hours per week (about half of which was e-mail). . What writing flaws do you think they named? Should new employees be trained in writing effectively on the job? . Based on what you learned, how can you improve your writing in the workplace? Remember that discussions are conversations, so the same rules of politeness apply. Address your classmates by name, respect differing viewpoints, ask open-ended questions, express gratitude, and engage honestly. Participate over multiple days, circling back around to reengage with the conversation.