CHAPTER 2: SUCCESSFUL WRITING STEPS

Introduction 2.1

A Successful writing on the job is not the product of inspiration, nor is it merely
the spoken word converted to print; it is the result of knowing how to structure
information using both text and design to achieve an intended purpose for a
clearly defined audience. The best way to ensure that your writing will succeed-
whether it is in the form of a memo, a résumé, a proposal, or a Web page is to
:approach writing using the following steps

Preparation .1

Research .2

Organization .3

Writing .4

Revision .5

You will very likely need to follow those steps consciously even selfconsciously at
first. The same is true the first time you use new software, interview a candidate
for a job, or chair a committee meeting. With practice, the steps become nearly
automatic. That is not to suggest that writing becomes easy. It does not.
However, the easiest and most efficient way to write effectively is to do it
.systematically

As you master the five steps, keep in mind that they are interrelated and often
overlap. For example, your readers' needs and your purpose, which you
determine in step 1, will affect decisions you make in subsequent steps. You may
also need to retrace steps. When you conduct research, for example, you may
realize that you need to revise your initial understanding of the document's
.purpose and audience
Chapter 2

Successful Writing Steps

Similarly, when you begin to organize, you may discover the need to return to
.the research step to gather more information

The time required for each step varies with different writing tasks. When writing
an informal memo, for example, you might follow the first three steps
(preparation, research, and organization) by simply listing the points in the order
you want to cover them. In such situations, you gather and organize information
in your mind as you consider your purpose and audience. For a formal report, the
first three steps require well-organized research, careful note-taking, and
detailed outlining. For a routine e-mail message to a coworker, the first four
steps merge as you type the information onto the screen. In short, the five steps
expand, contract, and at times must be repeated to fit the complexity or context
of the writing

.task
Dividing the writing process into steps is especially useful for collaborative
writing, in which you typically divide work among team members, keep track of a
project, and save time by not duplicating effort. For details on collaborating with
.others and using electronic tools to help you manage the process

Preparation 2.2

Writing, like most professional tasks, requires solid preparation. In fact, adequate
preparation is as important as writing a draft. In preparation for writing, your goal
:is to accomplish the following four major tasks

.Establish your primary purpose

.Assess your audience (or readers) and the context •

.Determine the scope of your coverage

.Select the appropriate medium
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Chapter 2

Successful Writing Steps

Establishing Your Purpose 2.2.1

To establish your primary purpose simply ask yourself what you want your
readers to know. "Be precise". In addition to your primary purpose, consider
.possible secondary purposes for your document

Assessing Your Audience and Context 2.2.2

The next task is to assess your audience ask key questions. Who exactly is your
reader? Do you have multiple readers? Who needs to see or to use the
document? What are their attitudes about the subject? What do your readers
already know about the subject? Who is included in that category? many
workplace documents have audiences composed of multiple readers. You can
:accommodate their needs through one of a number of approaches described
learn as much as you can about the context. Simply put, context is the
environment or circumstances in which writers produce documents and within
which readers interpret their meanings. you might ask both specific and general
questions about the situation and about your readers' backgrounds: Is this the
company's first new facility, or has the company chosen locations for new
?facilities before? What is the corporate culture in which your readers work

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Determining the Scope 2.2.3

Determining your purpose and assessing your readers and context will help you
decide what to include and what not to include in your writing. Those decisions
establish the scope of your writing project. If you do not clearly define the scope,
you will spend needless hours on research because you will not be sure what
kind of information you need or even how much. Given the purpose and
audience established for the report on facility locations, the scope would include
such information as land and building costs, available labor force, cultural issues,
transportation options, and proximity to suppliers. However, it probably would
not include the early history of the cities being considered or their climate and
geological features, unless those aspects were directly related to your particular
.business
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Chapter 2

Successful Writing Steps

Selecting the Medium 2.2.4

Finally, you need to determine the most appropriate medium for communicating
your message. Professionals on the job face a wide array of options from e-mail,
fax, voice mail, videoconferencing, and Web sites to more traditional means like
.letters, memos, reports, telephone calls, and face-to-face meetings

The most important considerations in selecting the appropriate medium are the
audience and the purpose of the communication. For example, if you need to
collaborate with someone to solve a problem or if you need to establish rapport
with someone, written exchanges could be far less efficient than a phone call or
a face-to-face meeting. However, if you need precise wording or you need to
provide a record of a complex message, communicate in writing. If you need to
make information that is frequently revised accessible to employees at a large
company, the best choice might be to place the information on the company's
intranet site. If reviewers need to submit their written comments about a
proposal, you can either send them paper copies of the proposal that can be
faxed or scanned, or you can send them the wordprocessing file to insert their
comments electronically. The comparative advantages and primary
characteristics of the most typical means of communication are discussed in
.selecting the medium

Research 2.3

The only way to be sure that you can write about a complex subject is to
thoroughly understand it. To do that, you must conduct adequate research,
whether that means conducting an extensive investigation for a major proposal-
through interviewing, library and Internet research, and Careful note-taking or
simply checking a company Web site and jotting down points before you send an
.e-mail to a colleague
Methods of Research 2.3.1
Researchers frequently distinguish between primary and secondary research,
depending on the types of sources consulted and the method of gathering
information. Primary research refers to the gathering of raw data compiled from
interviews, direct observation, surveys, experiments, questionnaires, and audio
and video recordings, for example. In fact, direct observation and hands-on
experience are the only ways to obtain certain kinds of information, such as the
behavior of people and animals, certain natural phenomena, mechanical
processes, and the operation of systems and equipment. Secondary research
refers to gathering information that has been analyzed, assessed, evaluated,
compiled, or otherwise organized into accessible form. Such forms or sources
include books, articles, reports, Web documents, e-mail discussions, and
brochures. Use the methods most appropriate to your needs, recognizing that
some projects will require several types of research and that collaborative
projects may require those research tasks to be distributed among team
.members

Sources of Information 2.3.2

As you conduct research, numerous sources of information are available to you,

:including the following
Your own knowledge and that of your colleagues •
The knowledge of people outside your workplace, gathered through •
interviewing for information
Internet sources, including Web sites, directories, archives, and discussion groups
Library resources, including databases and indexes of articles as well as books
and reference works
Printed and electronic sources in the workplace, such as various •
correspondence, reports, and Web intranet documents
Consider all sources of information when you begin your research and use those
that are appropriate and useful. The amount of research you will need to do
.depends on the scope of your project. See also documenting sources

Organization 2.4

Without organization, the material gathered during your research will be

incoherent to your readers. To organize information effectively, you need to
determine the best way to structure your ideas; that is, you must choose a
.primary method of development

Methods of Development 2.4.1

An appropriate method of development is the writer's tool for keeping
information under control and the readers' means of following the writer's
presentation. As you analyze the information you have gathered, choose the
method that best suits your subject, your readers' needs, and your purpose. For
example, if you were writing instructions for assembling office equipment, you
would naturally present the steps of the process in the order readers should
perform them: the sequential method of development. If you were writing about
the history of an organization, your account would most naturally go from the
beginning to the present: the chronological method of development. If your
subject naturally lends itself to a certain method of development, use it-do not
.attempt to imposs another method on it

Often you will need to combine methods of development. For example, a

persuasive brochure for a charitable organization might combine a specific-to-
general method of development with a cause-and effect method of development.
That is, you could begin with persuasive case histories of individual people in
need and then move to general information about the positive effects of
.donations on recipients

Outlining 2.4.2

Once you have chosen a method of development, you are ready to prepare an
outline. Outlining breaks large or complex subjects into manageable parts. It also
enables you to emphasize key points by placing them in the positions of greatest
importance. By structuring your thinking at an early stage, a well-developed
outline ensures that your document will be complete and logically organized,
allowing you to focus exclusively on writing when you begin the rough draft. An
outline can be especially helpful for maintaining a collaborative-writing team's
focus throughout a large project. However, even a short letter or memo needs
the logic and structure that an outline provides, whether the outline exists in
.your mind or on-screen or on paper
At this point, you must begin to consider layout and design elements that will be
helpful to your readers and appropriate to your subject and purpose. For
example, if visuals such as photographs or tables will be useful, this is a good
time to think about where they may be positioned to be most effective and if
they need to be prepared by someone else while you are writing and revising the
draft. The outline can also suggest where headings, lists, and other special
.design features may be useful

Writing 2.5
When you have established your purpose, your readers' needs, and your scope
and have completed your research and your outline, you will be well prepared to
write a first draft. Expand your outline into paragraphs, without worrying about
grammar, refinements of language usage, or punctuation. Writing and revising
.are different activities; refinements come with revision

Write the rough draft, concentrating entirely on converting your outline into
sentences and paragraphs. You might try writing as though you were explaining
your subject to a reader sitting across from you. Do not worry about a good
opening. Just start. Do not be concerned in the rough draft about exact word
.choice unless it comes quickly and easily- concentrate instead on ideas

Even with good preparation, writing the draft remains a chore for many writers.
The most effective way to get started and keep going is to use your outline as a
map for your first draft. Do not wait for inspiration- you need to treat writing a
draft as you would any on-the-job task. The entry writing a draft describes tactics
used by experienced writers- discover which ones are best suited to you and
.your task

Consider writing an introduction last because then you will know more precisely
what is in the body of the draft. Your opening should announce the subject and
give readers essential background information, such as the document's primary
purpose. For longer documents, an introduction should serve as a frame into
which readers can fit the detailed

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Chapter 2

Successful Writing Steps

.information that follows

Finally, you will need to write a conclusion that ties the main ideas together and
emphatically makes a final significant point. The final point may be to
recommend a course of action, make a prediction or a judgment, or merely
summarize your main points-the way you conclude depends on the purpose of
.your writing and your readers' needs

Revision 2.6

The clearer finished writing seems to the reader, the more effort the writer has
likely put into its revision. If you have followed the steps of the writing process to
this point, you will have a rough draft that needs to be revised. Revising,
however, requires a different frame of mind than does writing the draft. During
revision, be eager to find and correct faults and be honest. Be hard on yourself
for the benefit of your readers. Read and evaluate the draft as if you were a
reader seeing it for the first time. Check your draft for accuracy, completeness,
and effectiveness in achieving your purpose and meeting your readers' needs
and expectations. Trim extraneous information: Your writing should give readers
exactly what they need, but it should not burden them with unnecessary
.information of sidetrack them into loosely related subjects

Do not try to revise for everything at once. Read your rough draft several times,
each time looking for and correcting problems or errors. Concentrate first on
larger issues, such as unity and a different set of coherence; save mechanical
corrections, like spelling and punctuation, for later proofreading. See also ethics
.in writing

Finally, for important documents, consider having others review your writing and
make suggestions for improvement. For collaborative
writing, of course, team members must review each other's work on segments of
the document as well as the final master draft. Use the Checklist of the Writing
Process on Appendix A to guide you not only as you revise but also throughout
.the writing process

Style Guides and Standards

Organizations and professional associations often follow such guides as The
Chicago Manual of Style, MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing,
and United States Government Printing Office Style Manual to ensure consistency
in their publications on issues of usage, format, and documentation. Because
advice in such guides often varies, some organizations set their own standards
for documents. Where such stan- dards or specific style guides are
recommended or required by regula- tions or policies, you should follow those
style guidelines. For a selected list of style guides and standards, see
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