Course Outcomes

This online, instructor-led, three-part writing course will:

  • Introduce techniques to help participants determine what they want to say before they begin writing.
  • Provide tools for isolating a main message and its supporting points.
  • Explain how to determine reader groups and what’s important to each.
  • Cover the basic mechanics of good English.
  • Offer guidance for proofreading and editing.

Course Overview

Great business writing usually starts with good thinking. When you know what you want to say and why, it’s a whole lot easier to get something concise and cogent on paper than it is when you start writing without a clear plan. This web-based writing series consists of three two-hour segments. The first addresses the importance of planning, the second covers the mechanics of good writing, and the third discusses proofreading and editing.

Segment One Objectives

At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Choose the goal (inform, persuade, entertain).
  • Follow a seven-step method for creating documents. 
  • Create a mind map.
  • Isolate a main message and supporting points. 
  • Craft a bottom-line statement.
  • Anticipate and answer readers’ questions. 
  • Create a reader profile.

Segment One Modules

  • Reasons to Write: Inform, Persuade, Entertain
  • The Writing Process: Seven Steps to Stronger Documents
  • Writer-Reader Relationships: Communicating with Empathy

Segment Two Objectives

At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Compose compelling thesis statements. 
  • Craft concise paragraphs.
  • Apply the single rapid reading standard. 
  • Write in the active voice. 
  • Use accessible vocabulary. 
  • Avoid common grammar, punctuation, and style slips. 

Segment Two Modules

  • How Did You Do?: Review
  • Oh Sheet!: Writing Strong Paragraphs with Ease
  • Get Active: Avoiding the Passive Voice 
  • Comma Again?: Clearing up Punctuation and Grammar
  • Say What?: Avoiding Jargon, Lingo, and Other Semantic Slips 
  • Stay on Key: Finding the Appropriate Style and Tone 
  • Oh Sheet, Part Deux: Style Guides and Sheets 

Segment Three Objectives

At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Evaluate documents critically. 
  • Give feedback constructively.
  • Use analogies.
  • Format to increase clarity.
  • Follow a business writing checklist. 
  • Find common mistakes. 
  • Use online correction tools appropriately.

Segment Three Modules

  • How Did You Do?: Reviewing your Work
  • Clear Targets: Proofreading and Editing documents 
  • Proofreading and Editing Methods: Choosing and Customizing Tools 
  • Pull Out Your Red Pen: Critiquing Work Constructively 

By the conclusion of this interactive web-based training course, participants should have an understanding of the fundamentals of business writing, and they should be able to create a basic document their readers can understand in a single rapid reading.