Introduction - Opening exercise: analysis of bad writing.  Understanding why people don't write well.  The importance of clear and consistent written communication within a business organization.  Reader-focused writing: considering needs, knowledge, expectations, attitudes and perceptions.  

The Basic Principles of Good Business Writing - How to write better immediately by eliminating clutter and vagueness from letters, memos and reports.  15 practical ways to bring clarity, focus and vitality to business writing. 

Strategy and Communication -  The Overview Paragraph - Thinking about communication in strategic terms.  Characteristics of a good overview paragraph.  Exercise: analysis of opening paragraphs from actual memos.  

 

Paragraphs - Units of composition.  The characteristics of effective paragraphs: unity, order and coherence.  The role of topic sentences in paragraph construction.

The Process of Thinking and Writing - Learning to develop a flexible and creative plan of attack.  Understanding the process of writing from objective to final edit.  The need to separate thinking from writing.  How to avoid writer’s block.

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