IMPORTANCE /PURPOSE

Reveals one’s ability to think and to use language effectively

To inform –

Informative writing-

purpose is to inform not persuade

To Persuade –

Opinions to be persuasive

Point of view should be well argued and reasoning to be logical, acceptable, and clearly arranged

CLARITY IN WRITING

A manager should be clear about what he / she has in his/her mind

structure of thoughts has to follow the structure of sentences, paragraphs and whole composition

One has to follow principles of unity and coherence that binds words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into essays.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING

Effectiveness is achieved by following the principles of :-

Accuracy :-

check all the information for –

Facts, figures and words, language etc.

Technical accuracy of language is very important for effective writing.

Follow the rules of grammar:

Concord – rule of agreement between words in gender, number, case or person.

- when 2 subjects joined by either-or , neither –nor, not only-but also, the verb agrees in number with its nearest subjects

If both subjects are singular, the verb will be singular

If one subject is singular and other plural, the verb will be plural and plural subject should be placed near plural verb.

E.g. 1) either she or her brothers are coming

2) neither the father nor the mother knows him

3) not only the students but also the teachers deserve praise

Dangling Modifier -

Is a word or phrase that modifies a word or not clearly mentioned in the sentence

- when the subject (doer of action ) of the introductory phrase is not mentioned ,we have dangling modifier.

E.g. expecting a big audience , a large number of chairs were ordered.

Having arrived late for class, a written apology was demanded

Mary, having completed the home work , switched on the radio

Unnecessary shift in tenses

Tense should be consistent through out the sentence and paragraph

E.g. he usually makes sensible statements although he often changed his mind.

Prepositions –

Prepositions change the meaning of the sentence. There are no rules for correct preposition. They are governed by usage.

Some guidelines are :

Expression of time

Expression of place

E.g. for time – at midnight, at noon at sunrise at the end of the meeting, at the beginning of the class etc

‘On’ is used for a particular day when it is mentioned like –

On diwali, on Friday morning etc

‘In’ is used to show the total period of time needed to complete some activity in action like - in the morning, in an hour etc

‘By’ is used to show the limit of time by which something is to be done or was done – by September, by Oct 20th etc

E.g. of place –

‘In’ is used for general terms which do not specify names, in case of large places like in India in villages, in Delhi etc

‘At’ used for small towns like- at Rayagada etc.

Use ‘in’ for kind of place, names of roads, streets etc

E.g. in a bank, in a shop, in a hotel, ministers live in janpath etc

Punctuation –

It determines the meaning of the sentence and paragraph

E.g. -it is necessary to keep practicing ones communication skills

it is necessary to keep practicing one’s communication skills

Brevity –

Consists in saying only what needs to be said and leaving out unnecessary words or details

E.g. I need biscuits that are salty

I need salt biscuits

Establish Your Credibility

Honesty and objectivity

Awareness of audience needs

Credentials, knowledge, expertise

Endorsements or testimonials

Evidence of performance

Communication style