Written Communication

UNIT-3
SYLLABUS
Written Communication: Purpose of writing – Clarity in writing – Principles of effective writing –
Approaching the writing process systematically: The 3X3 writing process for business
communication: Pre writing – Writing – Revising – Specific writing features – Coherence –
Electronic writing process.
MEANING
➢ A medium for communication that entails the written word is known as written
communication. Writing is mode of communicating message for a purpose of creating
understanding in the minds of receiver. Writing reveal’s, one’s ability to think clearly and to
use language effectively.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

➢ Most formal type of communication: formal message in the organization are
communicated through E-mails, letters, memo, notice etc. which are in the form of written
communication.
➢ Used for documentation: written communication in organization is used to save important
documents of organization, which may serve the purpose of reference or legal evidence in
future.
➢ Used for circulation of information: written communication makes it possible to circulate
information without distortion and misinterpretation
➢ Convectional by nature: written communication is convectional; it has to follow definite
pattern as per rules laid down by language.
➢ A creative activity: written communication is creative activity. It requires conscious and
creative effort. Creativity of this effort comes from the stimuli produced by mind.
➢ Time factor: written communication does not require quick response like oral
communication, because of which receiver can have proper understanding about the content
and accordingly respond to sender.
➢ It has fewer cycles: written communication has fewer cycles as message is sent and received
and that is end of the event.
➢ Presence of sender and receiver is not necessary: it is one of the salient features of written
communication. Presence of just sender or receiver of is sufficient to continue the process of
communication.

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ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

➢ Ready reference: written communication has advantage of providing records and

references for further use.
➢ Legal defence: maintenance of proper records, letters, reports and memos builds up legal
defence of the organization.
➢ Promotes uniformity: written communication promotes uniformity in policy and
procedure. It is only means of laying down clear guidelines for working of the
organization.
➢ Mass access: written communication gives access to large audience through mass
mailing. It is common practice on part of a well-known organization to reach out people
at large.
➢ Suitable for distance communication: written communication is suitable, when the
receivers are spread over vast geographical distance and oral communication proves to be
very expensive in the situation.
➢ Image building: written communication builds up the organizations image. Therefore,
the outgoing letters of certain well-known companies are cited as examples to be
emulated.
➢ Accurate and unambiguous: written communication is accurate in nature as due care is
taken before drafting business letters, reports. Once they are drafted alteration cannot be
made to the same.
➢ Permanent in nature: growth of organization is promoted, to a large extent, by
reference to its old, well maintained records and minutes of meetings.

DISADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

➢ Limited to literature world: written communication is limited to literature people, who

have the capacity to read and write compare to that of illiterate people.
➢ Time consuming: written communication takes time to reach the target. Both encoding
and transmission of message takes time resulting in delays.
➢ Lot of paper work: written communication consumes lots of paper as all the reports,
letters will be in written format and are required to be documented which may prove to be
expensive for organization.
➢ Needs expertise in expression: written communication runs the risk of becoming
ineffective in the hands of people, who are good at job and poor at expression.
➢ Lack of information feedback: written communication is handicapped by its inability to
get immediate feedback.
➢ Costly: written communication is a costly process in terms of stationery and number of
people involved in typing and sending out the letters.
➢ More man hours needed: it is costly in terms of man hours lost in taking dictation,
typing, entering in diary, despatching etc.
➢ No immediate clarification: if the receiver of the message at a distance place, seeks
some clarification, he cannot have it as quickly as he would like to do.

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WRITTEN COMMUNICATION:
1. Coherent: Coherence in writing is the logical bridge/connection between words, sentences,
and paragraphs (Relevant and connected)
• Sachin likes to jump, running, and skate.
• Instead, the list should be
• Sachin likes jumping, running, and skating.
2. Clarity in writing: Business communication that is written with clarity makes the content
easy to read and understand.
3. Concise - short and simple - you stick to the point and keep it brief.
• Cut-out repetition and redundancy words: “true fact”, a person who is honest, I saw it
with my own eyes
4. Concrete - Appropriate Words- Be specific rather than vague
• Our company batteries are better, A significant loss, Good attendance, The Majority
5. Correct: error-free communication
• Weather vs whether – atmosphere Vs Doubt
• Week Vs Weak – Days Vs physical condition

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING

1. Accuracy: in written communication refers to use of
appropriate words for subject, audience and purpose for which
data is communicated. Accuracy can be brought in written
communication by using facts, figures, language, grammar.
Technical accuracy of language: a message should be
communicated correctly in terms of grammar, punctuation and
spellings. Rule of concord (grammatical agreements between
words) and dangling modifiers should be used appropriately in
written communication.
• Punctuation: determines the meaning of the
sentence and paragraph.
Meaning of the sentence gets
changed by punctuation marks.
• To avoid incorrect usage of words, recheck the
appropriateness of the words we choose. E.g.
• Adapt means "to change." Adopt usually means "to
take something legally as your own."
Accept means to receive, except means exclude,
Remainder means left over, Reminder means to
remember
Know –understand and no – not really
Will - confirm, would- not sure.
2. Clarity: Written Communication involves expressing yourself clearly, using language with
precision; constructing a logical argument; note taking, editing and summarising; and writing
reports. Words often confused when writing, clarity of thoughts, information need to be
expressed.
3. Brevity: (“How can I make this briefer?”) consist in saying only what needs to be said and
leaving out unnecessary words. Concise and exact use of words in writing.
Keep it Short and Simple.

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 PURPOSE OF WRITING
➢ To inform: written communication intends to inform employees about the organization
vision, mission statement, techniques of performing work in form of instruction.
➢ To plan: data in form of documents serve purpose of predicting and drafting plan for
further action.
➢ Record: information reserved in form of written format can be recorded, which will
suffice the purpose of legal evidence and reference in situation of crisis.
➢ Create understanding: company creates understanding in minds of employees about
company values through company manuals, reports, magazines etc.
➢ To educate: management educates employees about task performance, through
instruction in form of training and development.
➢ To persuade: persuasive writing aims at convincing the reader about a matter which is
debateable; it expresses opinion rather than fact.

3*3 WRITING PROCESS

Mary Ellen Guffey, author of Business Communication: Process and Product, combines these
steps into what she calls, "The 3 X 3 Writing Process." This process is composed of three stages:
pre-writing, writing, and revising. Each stage is then broken into three subdivisions:

1. PREWRITING: Team members work closely to determine purpose, audience, content,

organization
➢ Analyzing: analyse refers to establishing purpose, what message you want to give to the
reader or listener.
➢ Identify the purpose: Analyse the task by identifying the purpose and selecting the best
channel.
➢ Anticipating: Anticipate that you must have an idea of what is your audience knowledge.
➢ Profiling the audience
o Who is my primary reader or listener?
o Who might see or hear this message in addition to the primary audience?
o What is my personal and professional relation with the person?
o What position does the individual hold in the organization?
o How much does the person know about the subject?

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 ➢ Responding to the profile: by anticipating your audience, you will be able to make
decision about forming your message. Writer will have clarity about audience knowledge
and accordingly he can develop his content.
➢ Selecting best channel: after identifying your purpose for writing message, you have to
select the best communication channel. There is variety of modes by which to
communicate and your choice of mode will depend on the need and factors derived from
the forecast. How the message is to be delivered (i.e. via email, letter, memo,
presentation, etc.).
➢ Adapting to task and audience: Guffey explains that "adaptation is the process of creating a
message that suits your audience" once you know your audience, adapt your language, so
that it speaks to them in the right tone and using the right vocabulary so that they understand
and relate to.
o Use reader benefits
o Cultivate “you” attitude
o Avoid negative expressions
o Use precise and familiar words
2. WRITING
➢ Research: This stage allows the writer to gather any information, data, and facts that are
needed to write the message. Research can involve search engines, books, personal
surveys and interviews, among other methods. (primary and secondary data collection)
o Formal research method
o Informal research method
➢ Organize: make quick outline of your entry or article. Start with writing header, sub
header and list of items or steps.
➢ Compose: at this time, you should be ready to write the first draft of the text.
➢ First drafts are often written quickly and are in no way perfect, but they serve as a
way to initially lay thoughts down on paper for future refinement.
➢ Drafting effective paragraph
1. Discuss only one topic
2. Arrange sentences in one or three strategic formats
3. Link ideas to build coherence
4. Use transitional expression
5. Compose short paragraph
3. REVISING: Revising means improving the content and sentence structure of your
message
1. Revising for clarity: Guffey describes revision as the stage where writers can "edit the
message to be sure it is clear, conversational, concise, and readable. Look for ways to
highlight important information"
➢ You’ll want to read and re-read drafts to eliminate wordiness ad redundancies and
find places where bulleted lists, bold fonts, and other visual aids would be helpful
and appropriate.
2. Proofreading: Proofreading involves correcting its grammar, spelling, punctuation,
format, and mechanics.
o What to look for
1. Spelling
2. Grammar
3. Punctuation
4. Names and numbers
5. Format

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 3. Evaluate: evaluate the message to see if accomplishes your goal.
o How successful will this communication be?
o Does the message say what you want it to be?
o Will it achieve its purpose?
o How will you know if it succeeds?
o Did you obtain the intended feedback?

ELECTRONIC WRITING PROCESS

➢ Note taking: skeletonise your notes as you take them in library. Use abbreviations such as J
for journal. Then take on your desktop computer, record the notes to the file. Next use the
word processing feature called as search and replace.
➢ Searching: if you are writing lengthy research paper or working on long term project at
work, place your research data in data base. Put similar topics in one heading, later when
you are writing, seek out that heading to see your sources.
➢ Word polishing: if your word processor doesn't have a built in dictionary, load separate
packages that will help you find the right (Synonyms) word in occurrence of spelling
mistakes.
➢ Outlining: outliner may be separate program or a part of word processing package.
Outliners allow you to outline your thought quickly and to rearrange sections rapidly,
change levels etc.
➢ Changing defaults: open your word processing software. Does some setting as you create
your new file? This set up will enhance document appearance on your screen and layout
later.
➢ Using multi-screen: if your window processor supports division of screen into two or more
parts, split your screen and place your outline in one window. Then start writing your draft
in other window.
➢ Searching and replacing: as you edit or revise. Take the advantage of search and replace
function of your word processor.
➢ Linking: data in your database can be transferred to another program- say spreadsheet for
statistical analysis and graphical presentation.
➢ Adding attribution/Values: most word processing software facilitates adding footnotes or
end a note, which proves to be a value addition to every document.
➢ Using E-mail: is an electronic correspondence, by which users send or receive messages
over a network of computer and telecommunications link.

SPECIFIC WRITING FEATURES

➢ Organize: organization can mean direct versus indirect order. A second form of
organization has to do with the flow of words within and between sentences.
➢ Coherence: is a sentence implies how various parts are linking to each other with
no other words unnecessary, no word inappropriate. Also the parts are sticking
tightly to each other in a logical order.
➢ Appropriate tone: second major characteristics of effective writing in appropriate tone
which comprises of:
o Writing with “you” attitude
o Using positive phrasing
o Avoiding tactless wording

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 ➢ Readability: third component in writing process is making the writing readable.
Readable writing builds on some of the concepts discussed above, but adds additional
dimensions such as clarity, conciseness, parallel structure and activity.
Technical accuracy of language:
1. Concord: when two subjects are joined by either – or; whether – nor; not only but also,
the verb agrees in number with its nearest subject.
Concord is the rule of agreement between words in gender, number, case or person.
• E.g. Neither the father nor mother knows him
• Not only the students but also teacher deserve praise.

2. Dangling Modifier:
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly mentioned in the
sentence. When the name of the doer of the action is not clearly stated in the introduction
phrases, the phrases then modifies the subject that appears in the independent
It is an ambgramiguousmatical construct, whereby a grammatical modifier could be
misinterpreted as being associated with a word other than the one intended, or with no particular
word at all.

Examples:
➢ Hoping to excuse my lateness, the note was written and given to my teacher.
➢ Hoping to excuse my lateness, I wrote a note and gave it to my teacher.

➢ When 9 years old, my mother enrolled medical School -

➢ When I was 9 years old, my mother enrolled medical school.

➢ Teacher Said, on Monday she will give assignment.

➢ Teacher Said on Monday, she will give assignment.

➢ Here “on Monday” is the Dangling Modifier.

➢ Here is an example of a dangling modifier (shaded):
Having read your letter, my cat will stay indoors until the ducklings fly off.
➢ In this example, the missing word is we.
A correct version would be:
Having read your letter, we will keep our cat indoors until the ducklings fly off.
(In this example, the modifier having read your letter is modifying us as it should.)

Note:
➢ Dangling modifiers are generally used at the beginning of the sentence, they occur at
the end, as well
➢ Dangling modifier begin with either a present participle (ing word) or past
participle (ed form of the verb)

*********** THANK YOU ***********

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