0170 - Advanced Business Writing

Course Description

For anyone whose job includes frequent writing about complex issues with a variety of readers in a workplace environment, the task is hardly ever easy. Add to that the fact that consistencies within the English language are constantly changing, and often workplace writers haven’t thought much about grammar and punctuation since they were in school.

This advanced business writing course will extend general principles for writing well in the business world with the crafting of documents typically found in the workplace. 

We will apply practical strategies for planning and executing messages and achieving goals, even in the most challenging professional situations, and refine written communication skills to adjust for the audience, scope, structure, and tone. You will also learn to rethink some previously learned writing rules with mindfulness toward current and contemporary writing practice.

Course Outline

Topics Include:

• Ten tips for writing well in the workplace
  • Determine why you are writing
  • Identify your reader or recipient
  • Start strong and stay specific
  • Be conciseness
  • Check all your words
  • Read aloud
  • Revise for clarity
  • Take a moment
  • Imagine yourself as the recipient
  • Send your message
• A word about writer’s block
• What’s the “this”? What’s the “it”?
• Gender-neutral language
• The “I” vs. “me” pronoun issue
• Misplaced and dangling modifiers
• “That” vs. “which”
• Ending with a preposition
• Avoiding absolutes

Learner Outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Identify and review English grammar, standard punctuation marks, and today’s usage rules.
• Relate current punctuation rules to standard business documents, acknowledging that punctuation is for the reader or recipient.
• Explore the importance of style guides and style sheets and how to use them.
• Discuss the use of templates and collaborative written endeavors with an awareness of purpose and audience.
• Learn tips for getting started, prioritizing and arranging, locating information when one is unsure what to say, and knowing when enough is enough.
• Consider tips for organizing thoughts to communicate messages effectively.
• Summarize and synthesize important information into coherent professional documents that highlight main points, not merely a recitation of facts.
• Embrace the 5 C’s of effective business writing: (1) Correctness, (2) Clarity, (3) Conciseness, (4) Consistency, and (5) Comprehensibility.

Who Should Attend?

• Managers looking to update writing approaches with a more contemporary mindset and approach
• Business professionals ready to move up in management and wish to embrace a variety of documents consistent with such positions within the business world
• Individuals re-entering the workforce and wishing to embrace current best practices
• Those interested in refreshing writing consistencies to be the best professional communicators possible

Applies Towards the Following Certificates or Series

• Certificate in Professional Writing : Certificate in Professional Writing