Straight Talk

Written Communication for Career Success

Paul R. Timm, Sherron Bienvenu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780415802314
• eBook ISBN: 9781136909016
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Straight Talk: Written Communication for Career Success is a fresh new approach that gives tools needed to communicate with confidence. This text provides a thorough overview and hands-on practice in the written communication skills essential for life and work success. Whether writing person to person, or to a group, plenty of practical applications give hands on experience in: practicing effective writing, handling professional memos, participating in teams, and gaining confidence in delivering formal and informal professional documents. This book also helps students prepare for competitive events and includes a 5-Step Strategic Communication tactic which students can immediately apply and practice.

Reference Tool for Straight Talk Writing

We conspicuously display our professionalism in our writing.

Because of their tangible nature, your messages live on, for better or for worse. The good ones accomplish their tasks while polishing our image. The bad ones …? Well, we have all had the experience of writing something we should not have. We may have sent an email or letter in the heat of the moment that later embarrassed us. Or, we may have distributed an unedited (and grammatically unclear or misspelled) message.

This reference tool can help. Spend enough time to digest just six categories of writing errors and their remedies. Mastering these will greatly reduce the likelihood of “detail” errors that would otherwise diminish your credibility and communication effectiveness.

This material targets the most common grammar and usage mistakes, although it is not intended to be a substitute for a good style guide you can refer to for specific questions. We recommend that you keep a reference book handy or use an online guide for dealing with the less common rules and language conventions.

For now, and in the spirit of the ubiquitous 80/20 rule, we give you 20 percent of the guidelines that will fix 80 percent of any grammar or usage questions you face in workplace writing. Applying the information in this reference tool will allow you to avoid the vast majority of common language-use pitfalls. You will write with better confidence, will project professionalism, and will avoid credibility-damaging errors.

Avoiding Common Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage Mistakes¹

In our quick review of common language problems, we will focus on the following six writing functions:

Punctuation.

Agreement (subject–verb and pronoun–antecedent).

Pronoun case.

Voice.

Prepositions and connectives.

Modifiers.

Common Punctuation Questions

Many writers get confused about the use of commas. The following sections present an easy-to-understand guide on using commas correctly.

Using Commas

1 Don’t insert a comma in a sentence just because the sentence “sounds” like it “needs” a comma, and don’t leave out commas just because you’re afraid of using them incorrectly.

2 Learn the “names” or functions of the commas; then use the right commas to get your point across.

Below is a discussion of the names and functions of different types of commas.

The Conjunction Comma

Use the conjunction comma with a conjunction like “and,” “but,” or “so” to separate two main clauses. The choice of either “and” or “but,” or another conjunction depends on the relationship you want to convey between two main clauses. However, be sure to include a conjunction—a conjunction comma without a conjunction cannot do its job properly. For exa...

Table of contents

• Contents
• About the Authors
• one Introduction to Straight Talk Writing
• two Define Context Before Writing
• three Consider Your Media, Source, and Timing Options
• four Select and Organize Your Message Content
• five Enhance Your Writing With Graphic Elements
• six Delivering Effective Workplace Writing
• seven Evaluate Feedback for Continued Success
• Reference Tool for Straight Talk Writing
• Notes
• Index