THE 3x3 WRITING PROCESS

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THE 3x3 WRITING PROCESS

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The Complete Process

1. Prewriting Analyze Anticipate Adapt

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2. 2. WritingWriting ResearchResearch OrganizeOrganize ComposeCompose

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2. 2. WritingWriting ResearchResearch OrganizeOrganize ComposeCompose

3. 3. RevisingRevising ReviseRevise ProofreadProofread EvaluateEvaluate

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1. Prewriting Analyze: Define your purpose. Select

the most appropriate form (channel). Visualize the audience.

Anticipate: Put yourself in the reader’s position and predict his or her reaction to this message.

Adapt: Consider ways to shape the message to benefit the reader, using his or her language.

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2. Writing Research: Collect data formally and

informally. Generate ideas by brainstorming and clustering.

Organize: Group ideas into a list or an outline. Select the direct or indirect strategy.

Compose: Write first draft, preferably on a computer.

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3. Revising Revise: Revise for clarity, tone,

conciseness, and vigor. Revise to improve readability.

Proofread: Proofread to verify spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. Check for overall appearance.

Evaluate: Ask yourself whether the final product will achieve its purpose.

6 - 1Business Communication: Process and Product, Mary Ellen Guffey, South-Western.

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Activity 1: Revising for Clarity, Conciseness, Vigor and ReadabilityKeep it simple.Keep it conversational. Remove opening fillers.Eliminate redundancies.Reduce compound prepositions.( 减少复合介词）Purge empty words.Kick the noun habit.Dump trite “business” phrases.Develop parallelism (balanced construction).Apply graphic highlighting.Measure readability.

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Revising for Clarity: Keep it simple.

• Avoid foggy, indirect, pompous( 华而不实 ) language.– Poor: It would not be inadvisable for you to affix your

signature at this point in time.– Improved: You may sign now.

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Avoid artificial or formal expression.Avoid legal terminology, technical words, and third-person constructions.– Formal: Our Accounting Department takes this opportunity

to inform you that we have credited your account for the aforementioned sum.

– Conversational: Your account has been credited for $100.

Revising for Clarity: Keep it conversational.

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Wordy: There are four new menu items

we must promote. Improved: We must promote four new menu

items.

Revising for Conciseness: Remove the opening filler.

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Redundancies mean unnecessary repetition. For example:

– collect together– contributing factor– personal opinion– perfectly clear

Revising for Conciseness: Eliminate the redundancy

More examples for redundancies• past memories • various differences • each individual • basic fundamentals • true facts • important essentials • future plans • terrible tragedy • end result • final outcome • free gift • past history • unexpected surprise • sudden crisis

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A compound preposition is formed when two or more words are combined and considered a single prepositional unit. For example:

– at such time, at which time when

– due to the fact that, inasmuch as because

Revising for Conciseness: Reduce Compound Prepositions.

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Empty words/phrases ( 虚词） are those convey no meaning.

– As for the area of athletic shoes, the degree of profits sagged.

– This is to inform you that we have a toll-free service line.

– Not all students who are registered will attend.

Revising for Conciseness: Purge empty words.

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As for the field of athletic shoes, the degree of profits sagged.

This is to inform you that we have a toll-free service line.

Not all students who are registered will attend. registered

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Wordy: We must conduct an investigation of all

parking violations before we can give consideration to your fine.

Improved: We must investigate all parking violations

before we can consider your fine.

Revising for Vigor : Kick the noun habit.

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Trite: Pursuant to your request, enclosed please

find a job application. Improved: As requested, we have enclosed a job

application.

Revising for Vigor: Dump trite Business phrases

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Not parallel: We can collect information, store it, and later it can be updated.

Parallel: We can collect, store, and update information.

Revising for Readability: Develop Parallelism

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Letters, such as (a) and (b) within the text. Numerals, like 1, 2, and 3, listed vertically. Bullets, like Headings and print options

• CAPITAL LETTERS • underscores• boldface• italics• font size

Revising for Readability: Apply graphic highlighting

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Measure readability.

Apply a readability test such as Gunning's Fog Index.

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Applying the Fog Index to Determine Readability

Select the passage. Count the total words. Count the sentences. Find the average sentence length. Count the number of long words. Find the percentage of long words. Add the results. Multiply.

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Select the passage.

Choose a continuous passage of between 100 and 130 words.

*See the Sample Letter, slides 6-25 to 6-27.

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Count the total words.

Count numbers, dates, and abbreviations separately.

Our letter sample has 110 words.

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Count the sentences.

Count all independent clauses separately.

For example, He applied and he was hired counts as two sentences.

Our sample has seven sentences, marked with superscript numbers.

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Find the average sentence length.

Divide the total number of words by the number of sentences.

110 7 = 16 words

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Count the number of long words.

A word is long if it has three or more syllables. Exclude:

Capitalized words Compound words formed from short words

(nevertheless) Verbs made into three syllables by the

addition of -ed, or -es (located, finances) In our sample sentences the long words are

underlined.

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Find the percentage of long words.

Divide the number of long words by the number of total words.

10 110 = .09 or 9 percent

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Add the results.

Add the average sentence length (16) and the percentage of long words (9).

The result is 25.

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Multiply.

Multiply by 0.4

25 x 0.4 = 10

The reading level of this letter is 10.

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Sample Letter

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Dear Mrs. Lawrence:

1Yes, I can meet with you Thursday, April 3, at 10 a.m. to discuss possible ways to finance the purchase of a new home in San Diego. 2Before we meet, though, you might like to consider two possible plans.

Sample Letter

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3The first plan finances your purchase with a swing loan, which has a fixed interest rate for a short period of time. 4A second plan requires you to refinance your present residence. 5We have located five programs from three different institutions that would do this. 6Enclosed is a summary of these five plans.

Sample Letter

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7I look forward to seeing you Thursday to find a way for you to own a home in San Diego.

Sincerely,

Sample Letter

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Activity 2: What to Watch for in Proofreading

Spelling Grammar Punctuation Names and numbers Format

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How to Proofread Routine Documents

For computer messages, read on the screen in WYSIWYG mode (what you see is what you get) or, better, print a rough copy to read.

For handwritten or printed messages, read carefully and use proofreading marks to indicate changes.

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How to Proofread Complex Documents

Print a copy, preferably double-spaced. Set it aside for a breather. Allow adequate time for careful proofreading. Be prepared to find errors. Congratulate, not

criticize, yourself each time you find an error! Read the message at least twice – for meaning

and for grammar/mechanics. Reduce your reading speed. Focus on

individual words.

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Basic Proofreader’s Marks Delete

Capitalize

Lowercase (don’t capitalize)

Transpose

Close up

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Basic Proofreader’s Marks Insert

Insert space

Insert punctuation

Insert period

Start paragraph

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Marked Copy

This is to inform you that beginning september 1

the doors leading to the Westside of the building

will have alarms. Because of the fact that these

exits also function as fire exits they can not actually

be locked consequently we are instaling alrams.

Please utilize the east side exists to avoid setting

off the ear piercing alarms.

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Marked Copy

This is to inform you that beginning september 1

the doors leading to the Westside of the building

will have alarms. Because of the fact that these

exits also function as fire exits they can not actually

be locked consequently we are instaling alrams.

Please utilize the east side exists to avoid setting

off the ear piercing alarms.

doors

l

use

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Revised Copy

Beginning September 1 the doors leading to the

west side of the building will have alarms.

Because these doors also function as fire exits,

they cannot be locked; consequently, we are

installing alarms. Please use the east side exits to

avoid setting off the ear-piercing alarms.

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Activity 3:Evaluating the Outcome

How successful will this communication be?

Does the message say what you want it to say?

Will it achieve its purpose? Did you encourage feedback so that you

will know whether it succeeded?

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Wordy Memo – PoorDocument for Analysis 6.1

“Before” Version

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To: All Management

This memo is addressed to all members of management to advise you that once a year we like to remind management of our policy in relation to the matter of business attire. In this policy there is a recommendation that all employees should wear clothing that promotes a businesslike atmosphere and meets requirements of safety.

Employees who work in offices and who, as part of their jobs, meet the public and other outsiders should dress in a professional manner, including coat, tie, suit, slacks, dress, and so forth. In areas of industrial applications, supervisors may prohibit loose clothing (shirt tails, ties, cuffs) that could become entangled in machinery that moves.

Activity 6.1 “Before”

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Activity 6.1 “Before”

Where it is necessary, footwear should protect against heavy objects or sharp edges at the level of the floor. In the manufacturing and warehousing areas, prohibited footwear includes the following: shoes that are open toe, sandals, shoes made of canvas or nylon, tennis shoes, spiked heels higher than 1 1/2 inches.

Each and every manager has the responsibility for the determination of suitable business attire, and employees should be informed of what is required.

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Wordy Memo – ImprovedDocument for Analysis 6.1

“After” Version

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Activity 6.1 “After”

To: All Management

Once a year we like to remind you of our policy regarding business attire. All employees should wear clothing that promotes a businesslike atmosphere and meets safety requirements.

Office employees who meet the public should dress professionally, including coat, tie, suit, slacks, dress, and so forth. In industrial areas, supervisors may prohibit loose clothing (shirt tails, ties, cuffs) that could become entangled in moving machinery.

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Activity6.1 “After” Where necessary, footwear should protect against heavy objects or sharp edges at floor level. In the manufacturing and warehousing areas, prohibited footwear includes the following: open-toe shoes, sandals, shoes made of canvas or nylon, tennis shoes, and heels higher than 1 1/2 inches.

Every manager is responsible for determining suitable business attire and for informing employees of what is required.

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Copy With Proofreading Marks Document for Analysis 6.2

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Document for Analysis 6.2

Dear Ms. Willis,We appreciate you interest in employe leasing

through U.S. Staff Network. Our programs and our service has proved to be powerful management tools for business owners, like you.

Our seventeen year history, Ms. Williams, provide the local service and national strength neccesary to offer the best employee leasing programs available, we save business owners time, and money, employee hassles and employer liability.

r eve

ss

-

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s

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Your employees' will receive health care benifits, retirement plan choices and a national credit union. As a small business owner you can eliminate personel administration. Which involves alot of goverment paperwork today.

Whether you have one or 1,000 employees and offer no benefits to a full-benefits package employee leasing will get you back to the basics of running your business more profitably. I will call you to arrange a time to meet, and talk about your specific needs.

Cordially,

1

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Document for Analysis 6.2

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Revision of Letter – Poor“Before” Version - Activity 6.3

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Dear Mr. Sato:

Pursuant to your request, the undersigned is transmitting to you herewith the attached materials and documents with regard to the improvement of security in your business. To insure the improvement of security of your after-hours security, you should initially make a decision with regard to exactly what you contemplate must have protection. You are, in all probability, apprehensive not only about your electronic equipment and paraphernalia but also about your company records, information, and data.

“ Before” Version - Activity 6.3

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Inasmuch as we feel you will want to obtain protection for both your equipment and data, we will make suggestions for taking a number of judicious steps to inhibit crime. First and foremost, we recommend that you install defensive lighting. A consultant for lighting, currently on our staff, can design both outside and inside lighting, which brings me to my second point. Exhibit security signs, due to the fact that nonprofessional thieves are often as not deterred by posted signs on windows and doors. As my last and final recommendation, you should install space alarms, which are sensors that look down over the areas that are to receive protection, and activate bells or additional lights, thus scaring off intruders.


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After reading the enclosed materials, please call me to further discuss the protection of your business.

Sincerely,


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Computing the Fog IndexThe letter shown has a reading level of 17.2.Here's how the reading level was computed: Total words in passage 208 Number of sentences 9 Number of long words 41 Average sentence length (2089 = 23)

23 Percentage of long words (41 208 = .20)

20 Add the results

43 Multiply by .04 (0.4 x 43 = 17.2)

17.2 Reading level/Fog Index 17.2


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Revision of Letter - Improved“After” Version -Activity 6.3

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Dear Mr. Sato:

At your request, I am sending you the attached materials regarding improving security in your business. To improve your after-hours security, you should first decide what must be protected. You are probably concerned about your electronic equipment and about company data.

“ After” Version - Activity 6.3

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Because we feel you will want to protect both equipment and data, we can suggest a number of prudent steps to deter crime. First, install defensive lighting. Our lighting expert can design both outside and inside lighting. Second, post security signs. Amateur thieves are often deterred by signs on windows and doors. Finally, install space alarms. These sensors look down over the areas that are being protected. The sensors can activate bells or lights, thus scaring off intruders.


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After reading the enclosed materials, please call me to further discuss protecting your business.

Sincerely,


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Revised Fog Index Reading Level

Total words 134 Number of sentences 12 Number of long words 19 Average sentence length (134 12 =) 11 Percentage of long words (19 134 =).14 Add 25 Multiply by .04 (25 x .04 =) reading level: 10.0


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End

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End