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LESSON 1

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF TECHNICAL WRITING

Overview:
The module on the nature of technical writing intends to widen the
perspective of the third year BSEd-English students on concepts and
principles related to the nature of technical writing.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. define technical writing;

2. enumerate the end products of technical writing;
3. use the principles of technical writing as guide material;
4. define technical communication;
5. explain the qualities of a good English writer; and
6. apply the processes involved in technical writing.

Materials Needed:
1. Computer/Android phone with internet connection (Moodle, scree
recorder, Google meet and Google classroom)
2. Module

Duration: 9 hours

Learning Content:

INTRODUCTION

When the world ushered in the 21st century, many things changed and
advanced in various fields and disciplines. These changes and advancements
were prompted by the rapid paces of technology.
Technology as we know today has permeated human beings’ lifestyles,
hence, more advance thinkers believe that we have to work with technology.
Although this is the trend now, we cannot do away with traditional forms. Even
if we live in a highly technical world and all sectors in the society including

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schools are affected by the lure to absorb modern technology, there is still a
need to preserve older forms of communication.
In the field of language teaching, the effective use and teaching of
technical language becomes more pronounced most especially in the science,
information technology and engineering and technology fields. Thus, a course
or a program intended for the teaching of Technical Report Writing seems to
be the best answer to the clamor for a more appropriate form of language
teaching and meets the specific vocabulary of professional and technical
programs. Thus, knowledge of technical report and technical writing is being
given premium in improving the language of men and women who are to
become a prime mover of the future.
Processing the skills in technical report writing is an advantage for men
and women who are tasked to work in writing technical reports, manuals,
brochures, and handbooks to represent their company, institution, or place of
work. A course in Technical Report in Writing will at least prepare them for
more complicated work they will have to accomplish later on as professionals.

1.1 WHAT IS TECHNICAL WRITING?

All good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.

- Anne
Lamott

DISCUSSION

Acclaimed proponents of technical writing Mills and Walter (1981) gave

several definitions to aid us in understanding the nature of technical writing.

According to them:

Technical writing is writing about scientific subjects and about various

technical subjects associated with the sciences.

Technical writing is characterized by certain formal elements, such as its

scientific and technical vocabulary, its use of graphic aids, and its use of
conventional report forms.

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Technical writing is ideally characterized by the maintenance of an attitude

of impartiality and objectivity, by extreme care to convey information
accurately and concisely, and by the absence of any attempt to arouse
emotion.

Technical writing is writing in which there is relatively high concentration of

certain complex and important writing techniques, in particular description of
mechanisms, description of process, definition, classification, and
interpretation.

Technical writing is a type of writing where the author is writing about a

particular subject that requires direction, instruction, or explanation. This style
of writing has a very different purpose and different characteristics than other
writing styles such as creative writing, academic writing or business writing.

To students, perhaps, Technical Writing may just be a requirement to pass an

assignment, but to professionals, it may be any of the following which is
required to fulfill a task. These are the products of technical writing:

• A business letter is a type of written communication. It is written using

formal language and follows formal elements of letter writing. People
usually write business letters to communicate with companies,
organizations or individuals with the purpose of applying for a job, making
request, seeking appointments, etc.

• Contract is a written agreement between two people under mutually

agreed terms.

• Monograph is a detailed essay or book on a very specific topic. It is

usually written by professionals or academicians on topics of interest
concerning of their specific fields.
• Printed action memo is a ready – format memorandum that only requires
a checkmark on the appropriate box that contains the message. this is
especially useful for busy people who need to make quick decisions and
act on the circumstance or situation.

• Graphic aids are drawings, sketches and illustrations that aid the readers
in understanding the presented data.

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• Instructional manuals are written to guide the readers on how to

assemble, maintain, and operate an apparatus, machine or gadget,

• Brochures are pamphlets or flyers that endorse the products in such a

way that the potentials costumer will be convinced that the product is
effective and eventually avail of the products.

• Proposals are written suggestion on how to make the company or

organization more productive and successful. Most companies and
organizations require this before an agreement is reached.

• Memoranda are inter-office written communication use to disseminate

information.

In today’s world, the demand for accomplishing more written outputs makes a
professional who is skilled in this area all the more needed. In whatever field,
a skilled technical writer is needed, thus, taking note of the FIVE
IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES in GOOD TECHNICAL WRITING separates a
talented technical writer from an ordinary writer. Bear in mind the following:

1. Always have in mind a specific reader, real or imaginary, when you

are writing a report. Always assume that he is intelligent, but
uninformed.

2. Before you start to write, always decide to what the exact purpose of
your report is and make sure that every paragraph, every sentence,
every word makes a clear contribution to that purpose.

3. Use language that is simple, concrete, and familiar.

4. At the beginning and end of every section of your report, check your
writing according to these principles: “First you tell the reader what
you’re going to tell him, then you tell what you’ve told him”

5. Make your report attractive.

On the other hand, while bearing in mind the important principles of technical
writing, it would also help to distinguish the purpose of technical writing so
that we do not confuse technical writing with other writing forms.

So, what are the purpose of technical writing?

1. It serves as basis for management decision.

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2. It furnishes needed information.

3. It gives instructions.
4. It records business transactions through proposals.
5. It procures business proposals.
6. It serves as basis for public relations.
7. It provides report to stockholders of companies.
Properties of Technical Writing
The following properties of technical writing are also known as
“considerations” when writing technical reports.
1. Subject matter. in writing technical papers, you must ask the question,
“What will write about?”
The subject is an essential element is technical report writing. Some
examples of this are description of a process, writing about a theory,
submitting a policy.

2. Audience. When thinking about the audience, ask “Whom am I writing

for? Or Who are my intended readers?” this is a property which pertains to
particular reader of a technical literature.

3. Expression. This property refers to two basic modes in which a technical

report has to be delivered – writing it or reading it. Your expression of the
content will depend on your awareness of your audience’s / reader’s
psychology and your style in writing to be able to reach your audience’s/
reader’s understanding.

4. Style. This refers to how the material is written. A technical writer uses
clear, specific point of view, objective, impartial, and unemotional style in
writing.

5. Arrangement of materials. This pertains to how the material should

organized in chronological, spatial or logical order, from general to specific
or specific to general, and use illustrations to present the information.

Earlier, technical writing is treated as a unique form of written

communication because of its important qualities, purposes, and properties.
Let us elucidate it further by enumerating striking differences between this

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form of writing which is more formal and academic compared to other writing
forms. For instance, writing can be group into five basic types:
• Technical writing covey’s specific information about a technical
subject to a specific audience for a specific purpose.

• Creative writing is fiction – poetry, short stories, plays and novels – far
different from technical writing.

• Expressive writing is a subjective response to a personal experience

– journals and diaries – whereas technical writing might be objective
observation of a work – related experience or research.

• Expository writing “exposes” a topic analytically and objectively, such

as news report. Like technical writing, the goal of expository writing is
to explain or reveal knowledge, but expository writing does not
necessarily expect a response or action from the reader.

• Persuasive writing depends on emotional appeal. Its goal is to

change one’s attitudes or motivate him or her to action.

Differences between Technical Writing and Creative Writing

Writers have different writing styles. There are writers who are more
inclined to the straightforward or direct form of writing while others are on the
creative or literary.

Below are differences between technical writing and creative writing

based on content, audience, purpose, style, tone, vocabulary, and
organization.

Technical Writing Creative Writing

Content factual, straightforward imaginative, metaphoric
or symbolic

Audience specific general

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Purpose inform, instruct, entertain, provoke,

persuade captivate

Style formal, standard, informal, artistic,

academic figurative

Tone objective subjective

Vocabulary specialized general, evocative
Organization sequential, systematic arbitrary, artistic

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Write “TW” if the statement or examples refers to Technical Writing; “CW”

if it refers to Creative Writing.

_____ 1. Before writing a news story, begin by asking the 5 W’s and I H.
_____ 2. Education is movement from darkness to light. (Allan Bloom)
_____ 3. Of the ten largest shopping malls in the world, three are found in
the Philippines.
_____ 4. This is to request payment for your bill amounting to Php 150.00
_____ 5. Social Engineering has become about 75% of an average
hacker’s, toolkit, and for the most successful hackers it reaches 90% or
more (John MacAfee)
_____ 6. Manufacturing is more than just outing parts together. It’s
coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting the engineering,
as well as final assembly (James Dyson)

_____ 7. Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all (John F.

Kennedy)

_____ 8. Food is everything that we are. It’s an extension of nationalist

feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region,
your tribe, your grandma. It’s separated from those from the get-go
(Anthony Bourdain)
_____ 9. Anything is good if it is made of chocolate (Jo Brand)

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_____ 10. Popeye was right about spinach: dark green, leafy vegetables
are the healthiest food on the planet. As whole foods go, they offer the
most nutrition per calorie (Michael Greger).
Activity 2:
Let us discuss some ideas by answering the following questions. Explain
and /or give examples.

1. What other types of writing would be considered under technical writing?

2. What other consideration can you give before writing a technical writing?

3. Are there other properties of writing that you can add to make a technical
writer an effective one?

4. Aside from the purpose given about technical writing, can you think of
other purposes which we can add to the list?
5. Are you more inclined in technical writing or creative writing?

Activity 3:

Interview a teacher, an engineer, a businessman or any professional of

your choice about their experience in writing a technical paper. Ask what their
strengths and weaknesses are in writing technical papers. Also, ask the value
of technical writing in their profession.

Learning Evaluation

Quiz 1

Directions: Determine whether the following statements are true or false.

_____ 1. Subject and expression are properties of technical writing

_____ 2. It is important for a technical writer to take note of the attractiveness

of his paper.

_____ 3. Writers have different writing styles.

_____ 4. Technical writers can be creative when writing technical report.

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_____ 5. Technical writing is all about technical jobs.

_____ 6. One purpose of technical writing is that it gives instructions.

_____ 7. A business letter and monograph are types of technical writing.

_____ 8. A sales letter is an example of creative work.

_____ 9. Graphic aids are often used in creative writing rather than in
technical writing.

_____ 10. The language of technical writing is simple, concrete, and familiar.

1.2 RELEVANT LAWS AND ETHICAL

CONSIDERATION RELATED TO TECHNICAL WRITING

In law, a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics, he is

guilty if he only thinks of doing so.

- Immanuel Kant

Discussion

There are four bodies of law that are relevant to technical communication.
Technical writers must be aware of legal and ethical considerations when
preparing technical papers.

1. Copyright law – covers the protection of the rights of the author.

2. Trademark law – pertains to federal protection (different from registered
trademark).

3. Contract law – covers written warranties or their implied warranties.

4. Liability law – pertains to responsibilities and obligations of writers
especially claims they made on their paper.
Principles of Ethical Communication

Technical writers are like researchers. Both take into consideration the
bounds and limitations to things that they write. They carefully study the

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information to be presented and they are aware that prudence has to be

exercised.
Do’s Technical Communication
• Abide by relevant laws.
• Abide by the appropriate corporate or professional code of conduct.
• Tell the truth.
• Be clear.
• Avoid discriminatory language.
• Acknowledge assistance from others.
Don’ts of Technical Communication
• False implications – assuming the outcomes of a project or making
sweeping generalizations.

• Exaggerations – expressing situations in extreme proportions.

• Euphemisms – writing about situations seemingly good conditions
even though they are not.

• Don’t mislead your readers.

Learning activities

Activity 1

Directions: Read the passages below. On a clean sheet of paper,

identify its subject, audience, purpose, style, arrangement of materials,
and kind of technical literature in tabular form.

Passage 1

THE WHORF – SAPIR VIEW OF LANGUAGE

Studies by anthropologist reveal that language guides our perceptions.
The language of the Hopi Indians makes no distinctions between
objects and actions, whereas, English uses nouns and verbs
respectively. The English word snow is the only word we need to
define frozen while precipitation that falls in winter. Arctic cultures,
where snow is a major aspect of life, have a rich snow vocabulary,
with words for powdery snow, icy snow, dry snow, wet snow and so

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forth. The distinctions are important to designate snows that affect

wildlife, travel conditions, and so forth. (Whorf, 1961 in Wood 2001)

Passage 2

WHO MAKES ARHITECTURE?

Architecture is manmade, so it has to be imagined and build by
somebody. In today’s society, this “somebody” is architect. Architect
have to play many roles to make sure that the buildings constructed
enhance people’s lives. According to Philippine laws, an architect is
responsible for designing, planning, and supervising the construction
of the building. The architect also has to make sure that the building
he or she designs looks after the people’s health, safety, and
wellness…

Architect works hand in hand with other professionals. Such as

engineers, interior designers, developers, and builders to make sure
that the building the architect designs and imagines becomes a reality
(Cabalfin, 2015)

Activity 2

Reflect on the following situations. What will you do if you are faced
with any one of them?

1. You are the boss of a company. You receive a report about

missing milk boxes in the shipment from one your employees
who made an inventory.

Your company ordered 150 boxes but two boxes were missing.
2. You are in hurry to submit the proposal for a very important
meeting. However, your fellow employee who is the main
proponent forgot to sig the proposal. It is 2:50 PM and the paper
has to be submitted by 3:00 PM. what will you do?

3. An attendance sheet is being passed around in the seminar

room. You were asked to write your purpose for attending

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because it is about professional development. What will you

write?

Learning Evaluation
Below are the ethical considerations in writing technical papers, some
however are opposite practices, underline all the ethical practices.

1. Abide by the appropriate corporate or professional code of

conduct.
2. Tell the truth.
3. Avoid discriminatory language.
4. Make false implications.
5. Exaggerate.
6. Use euphemisms.
7. Mislead your readers.
8. Be clear.
9. Acknowledge assistance from others.
10. Abide by relevant laws.

1.3 THE WRITING PROCESS

The most important is to read as much as you can, like I did. T will give
you an understanding of what makes good writing and it change your
vocabulary.

- J.K. Rowling

Discussion

From the moment we started to learn the ABCs, and become familiar
with different words we learn from books, people, or the internet, we develop
the skills not only of reading but also of writing. They say that when a person
is good in reading, he or she can become good in writing. How is this
possible? Reading is an input skill; therefore, writing is its output.

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Let us review some of the things that we know when it comes to the WRITING
PROCESS. There are three basic stages:
Pre-writing stage in

Planning is the term used by others to identify this initial step in

technical writing. What do you do in this stage is similar to what you
preoccupy yourself with before moving or inverting any food in the casserole
or frying pan laid over the burning stove. This before-cooking act dictates you
to prepare all the ingredients and materials needed before cooking.
Disregarding these preparatory acts makes your cooking imperfect.
(Thompson, 2007)

It is not only in culinary where pre-writing or planning is analogous to

but also in Architecture. As an architect, you have to plan or make a design
for the layout of the building that an engineer has to construct.

In this stage of writing, what then do you worry about in laying the
foundation of you succeeding writing acts? You spend a great deal of time
considering about the purpose, subject matter, content, and readers of your
written work.

It is what the writer does before he writes the first draft. In this stage,
the writer composes or supplies information pertaining to:
a. Purpose of the paper. This is necessary to determine the content of
paper to be included, the organization and the style of the paper.

The most, purpose, means something that you what to get or accomplish in
your life. Aiming at realizing or reaching this purpose of yours, you needed to
focus your mind and heart on it. Glued to this specific purpose, you are able to
determine that right ideas or knowledge to include in your paper. Devoid of a
clear purpose in writing, such as not knowing exactly whether you have to
inquire, recommend, buy, sell, invite, or instruct your writing finds no specific
direction at all.

b. Choice of topic/subject matter. A writer has to explain or justify his

or her chosen topic.

Giving you much time to think carefully of the topic or your paper, including
ideas to support or explain your chosen topic, this pre-writing stage is also

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called by the others as the Ideation or Inventive stage. Deciding what to write
about you expect all kinds of ideas, major or minor to bombard your mind.
This is now the time when you have to determine which of the various ideas
coming to your mind are very relevant to your topic and which of the different
pre-writing strategies are very effective in collecting more ideas for your
subject matter.

Aside from focusing your mind on the why and what of your technical
written work, you have to think of who will read your paper as well. Writing
from your reader’s point of view rather from your point of view (as the writer)
enables you to adapt the purpose, tone, and readability level of your report to
your readers. This writing technique is what others call as the You Attitude or
the Reader-Oriented style of writing. Central to this is the knowledge or
understanding that you must have about your audience or reader so you can
easily fit your writing styles to your audience’s interests, needs, mentality, like
or dislikes. Moreover, your technical written work will have a strong convincing
power if it is written within the realm of your readers’ experience. The
effectiveness or success of your report depends on how it appeals to your
reader, (Gallo, 2010)

Your audience or readers may also fall under any of the following
type:

a. Primary audience – makers of decisions

b. Secondary audience – implementers of decisions and givers of
recommendation
c. Immediate audience – transmitters of decisions through the different
users.
d. Nominal audience – names mentioned in the report but have no
significant participation in the production of the report.
c. Gathering information. A writer must be able to find sources of information
to enrich his or her topic.
All the things you want your readers to know about your chosen subject
matter make up the content of your technical written work. Being in the
Ideation or Inventive writing stage, you devote a lot of time thinking of ideas,
facts, or opinions to substantiate your paper. A great deal of this knowledge
great depends on your sensory experience and perceptions. Collecting ideas

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for the content of your report is possible through the help of the following pre-
writing strategies.

Pre-writing techniques
Below are some techniques which will help you get stated in writing:
1. Keep a writer’s journal by recording personal experiences, perceptions,
and ideas.
2. Do free writing, write about whatever comes to your mind.
3. Brainstorm by listing ideas as quickly as they occur.
4. Cluster by drawing lines and circles to show connections between
ideas. It also called webbing or making connections.

5. Ask questions using the news reporter’s the 5Ws – who? What?
Where?
Why? When? And how?
6. Read with focus. This entails reading efficiently to locate and collect
specific information.

7. Listen with focus. This means listening efficiently to locate and collect
specific information.

8. Observe by noticing details around you through the senses.

9. Imagine. Probe your imagination for ideas, often use a “what if?”
approach.

Writing stage

The writing stage is the where we begin to write our first draft. We know
that not everything that we write is perfect at the first go. Hence, you must
remember what to do and what not to do during the stage.
Do’s and Don’ts of writing a first draft

1. Don’t overanalyze your writing.

2. Do free to follow the flow of ideas where it is leading you, even if
it is not what you initially planned.

3. Don’t exaggerate details.

4. Do work on the details as much as possible to keep the story
fresh in your mind.
5. Don’t worry yet about how good your writing is.

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6. Do have fun.
Re-writing stage
This stage is also known as “revision” stage. We revise to ensure that:
1. The content of the paper is relevant;
2. There is organization and coherence in the arrangement of the
ideas; and
3. Grammar and mechanics are clearly observed.

Learning Activities

Activity 1
Fill the table with activities and information about your chosen topic, submit
your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Then, write an essay of not more than
250 words about your chosen topic.
Topic:
Pre-writing Activities Writing Activities Re-writing Activity

Activity 2

Write a short essay two hundred (200) words about the three reasons why
you have chosen to enroll in your program and elaborate by explaining or
giving examples. Remember the pointers in each writing phase. Use the
margins on your paper to mark which of the pointers you followed in each
phase (pre-writing, writing, and re-writing)

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Rubric for Short Essay

5 4 3 2 1 Sco
re
Content The essay The The essay The The essay
contains essay mentioned essay did not
the contains contains mention a
some of
purpose, the one purpose,
the
information purpose, purpose and
purpose,
and informati and informatio
with one or
elaboration
on and two n or
of the one
few information elaboratio
chosen elaborati and few informatio n
topic, all n but no
ons of elaboration about the
these are elaboratio
the s of chosen
discussed chosen the n of the topic is not
completely topic. chosen chosen evident.
topic. topic.
.

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Organiza The ideas There is One or two More than There is

tion flow freely an effort ideas flow two ideas no free
smoothly
and there for ideas seem to flow of
but
are no to flow ideas.
be
smoothly there are Exaggerati
exaggerati disconne
exaggerati
ons. The and
ons. One cted and ons are
ideas are there is
or two exaggerat evident.
coherent.
no ideas are
attempt coherent. e. More Ideas are
than three incoherent
to
ideas are
.
exagger
incoheren
ate. The
t
ideas are
coherent

.
Mechanic Punctuatio One or Three to Five to six Too many
s n two four errors errors in errors in
errors in punctuati punctuatio
in
punctuati on marks, n, spelling
marks, on marks punctuatio misspelle and
and d words. margin.
spelling n marks,
misspell Error in
and misspelled margins
ed
margins words.
are
perfect.
words. Margin
Margin is is
correct. correct.

Total

Learning Evaluation

Quiz
Which of the following activities are done on the pre-writing, writing, or
rewriting stage? Write you answer on the space before the numbers.

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_______________ 1. Gather information.

_______________ 2. Do free writing.

_______________ 3. Choose a topic.

_______________ 4. Brainstorm.

_______________ 5. Cluster.

_______________ 6. Work on the details.

_______________ 7. Check the mechanics.

_______________ 8. Have fun.

_______________ 9. Ensure relevance of content.

_______________ 10. Follow the flow of ideas.

References:

Aaker, J. (1997). Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing

Researcher.
Anderson, C (2014). Instructional design and technical writing. Cyril
Anderson’s Learning and Performance Blog. Cyril Anderson Training.
Retrieved from cyrilandersontraining.com/2014/05/05/instructional-
design-and-technical-writing/
Bautista, L. (2018). How I edit my photos using tangerine preset (tips+free
download). Retrieved form
https://www/livinautista.com/tangerinepreset/#comment-7632.
Low, A.L. (20 July 2018). How I broke into technical writing – and Why You
Should Too. Media Bistro. Retrieved from
https://www.mediabistro.com/gofreelance/journalism-advice/technical-
writing/

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Minas, R.M. Ferianiza, M.B., Bermundo, P.JV., &Yango, A. (2010). Technical

writing in the modern world. Intramuros, Manila: Mindshapers Co., Inc.
Philippines. (2012). Republic Act 10175: An Act defining Cybercrime,
Providing for the prevention, investigation, Suppression, and the
imposition of penalties therefore and for other Purpose (a consolidation
of Senate Bill No, 2796 and House Bill No, 5808). Manila City,
Philippines.
Rosales, M.J.D., Esperida, P.M.H., Maynes, D.t., & Destacamento, M.P.A.
(2009).
Technical Writing. Qipao, Manila: Mary Jo Publishing Inc.
Mills, G. H., Walter, J. A. (1991). Technical writing. Manila; National
Bookstore.
Mosura, C.T., Tenorio, E. S. (1991) contemporary technical writing styles and
strategies. Valenzueala City: mutya Publishing House.
Thorn, M., Badrick, A. (1990) An introduction to technical writing. London:
Cambridge University Press.
Zall, P.M. (1980). Elements of technical writing. Quezon City: ken Inc.
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-definitions/definition-of-
technicalwriting.html/August 12, 2021,7:00 pm

LESSON 2
EXPLORING EXPOSITORY TECHNIQUES
Overview:
This module contains different lessons in exploring expository
techniques, these are classification, definition, description of the process and
description of mechanism.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:

1. differentiate the forms of technical writing;

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2. explain principles involved in writing classification, process, definition,

and description of a mechanism; and

3. apply the principle learned by applying them in writing.

Materials Needed:
1. Computer/Android phone with internet connection (Moodle, scree
recorder, Google meet and Google classroom)
2. Module
Duration: 10 hours

Learning Content:

Introduction
Exposition is a writing technique used by a writer when his or her
intention is to explain something, to analyze an idea, to classify a thing, to
give the correct definition of a term, to make others follow directions, to point
out similarities or differences, to clarity causes and effects, to present data, to
interpret research work, and others.
Therefore, many textbook and other printed or electronic material make
use of this type of writing. It is probably the most utilized form of writing.
This chapter shall be divided into four lessons which will explain the
nature and use of the following expository techniques as they are applied in
technical writing: classification, definition, description of a process, and
description of a mechanism.

2.1 CLASSIFICATION

In the old days, you would have one lawyer to handle everything:
speeding tickets, buying a house, contracts, litigation, real state, copyrights,
leasing entertainment, intellectual property, forensic, accounting, criminal
offenses… the list goes on. Now, you have to have a separate lawyer for each
one of those categories!

- James Belushi

Discussion

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Classification is dividing something into groups, classes, categories,

etc. This is normally done in accordance with several criteria (standards or
principles on which judgments are based).

Classification is done by the writer when he or she believes that there

are shared qualities or characteristics about a subject matter. Take for
example that passage below:

GENDERED POWER PATTERNS

Research (Helgessen, 1990; in Wood, 2001) reveals general

differences in how women and men define and use power. Men tend to see
power as finite and as something to guard closely. Women are more likely to
regard power as unlimited and to share it freely. Another difference is how
the sexes see the ends of power. In general, men see power as something
an individual has and uses to enhance individual status. The tendency
among women is to perceive power as a resource for empowering others
and building strong collaborative teams. Differences in orientations toward
power are consistent with gender communication cultures and the divergent
rules of communication they teach men and women.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

Let us answer the following comprehension questions:

1. What two classes are being compared or contrasted in n the passage?

2. How is gender classified?
3. What descriptions are based on the similarities and differences?
How to classify
One way of classifying objects or ideas is to look for relationship among them
and to organize them into groups. It may either be in the basis of their
similarities or differences.
Try to find the similarities or differences of the words listed below by
classifying them into identifiable categories. Be ready to explain why you
grouped the words in those categories.

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 23

Ignition Albert Bandura

Noun Brake system

Philippines Engine Oil System

Rodrigo Duterte Benigno Aquino, III

John Dewey Car seat

Vietnam Cambodia

Wiring harness Verb

Gloiria Arroyo Singapore

Jean Piaget Fidel Ramos

Adjective

Conjunction

The passage on “Gendered Power Patterns” illustrates a simple form of

classification. Let us try and analyze the next passage on “Education in the
Philippines” an article which is published in Wikipedia.

Education in the Philippines

Education in the Philippines is provided by public and private schools,

colleges, universities, and technical and vocational institutions. Funding for
public education comes from the national government.

At the basic education level, the Department of Education (DepEd) sets

overall educational standards and mandates standardized test for the K-12
basic educational system, although private schools re generally free to
determine their own curriculum in accordance with existing laws and
Department regulations.

On the other hand, at the higher education level, the Commission on

Higher Education (CHED) supervises and regulates colleges and universities,
while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for

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 24

technical and vocational institutions regulates and accredits technical and

vocational education programs and institutions.

For the academic year 2017 -2018, about 83% of K-12 students
attended public schools and about 17% either attended private schools or
were homeschooled.
By law, education is compulsory for thirteen years (kindergarten and
grades 1-12). These are grouped into three levels: elementary school
(kindergarten 6), junior high school (grades 7-10), and senior high school
(grades 1112); they may also be grouped into four key stages: 1 st key stage
(kindergarten 710) and 4rth key stages (grades 11-12). Children enter
kindergarten at age 5.

Institutions of higher education may be classified as either public or

private college or university, and public institutions of higher education may
further be subdivided into two types: state universities and colleges and local
colleges and universities.

Activity 2

Make a diagram of the classification of education system in the

Philippines. Read the text again and complete the diagram writing on the
blanks the words that are missing.

Next, write a brief description of the information contained in the diagram.

Begin it this way:

The education system in the Philippines is classified into three main

categories________ (Continue)

Basic Technical Vocational Tertiary

(Supply the ideas which should be connected by the arrows)

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 25

DIAGRAM 1: EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Learning Evaluation
Quiz 1
Each is family is unique. In the Philippines, our family is of prime
importance to us. Apply what you have learned about classification and make
your “Family

Tree”. You need to submit a creative output in class to be evaluated in this

activity.

Rubric for Classification: Family Tree

5 4 3 2 1 Sco
re
Categor The The family The family The family The family
y family is tree has tree has tree has tree has
categoriz one or two
no
ed clearly defects in three four
categoriza defects in defects in categoriza
categoriza categoriza
tion of
showing tion of tion in tion in groups/
similariti groups/ide groups/ide groups/ide ideas.
es and as. as. as.

differenc
es.

Creativit The The The The The

y activity of creativity creativity creativity student
the of the
of the of the needs
students students is students is students is
evident evident to
evident
is with two of with one of improve
with three the criteria the criteria
evident
on his
of the under under
in the use creativity.
creativity. creativity.
of criteria
under
materials creativity.

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 26

, colors,
theme,
and
expressi

ons of
ideas.
Explanat The The The The There is
ion explanati explanatio explanatio explanatio no
explanatio
on of the
n bears n bears n n of the
family is three of two family
clear, the criteria. bears one tree.
criteria. of the
informati
criteria.
on,
entertaini

ng

and
relevant.
Total

2.2 DEFINITION
Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history,
there could be no concept of humanity

- Herman Hesse

Discussion

There are times when we are asked by people around to us define or

give meaning to an unfamiliar word. How do you reply? Do you find yourself
saying “it is like this…,” “it resembles that…,” “it is similar to…?”

When we define words or unfamiliar terms, we give concise but exact

meanings of unfamiliar words and special Meanings of familiar words. For
people of all ages, definition is useful technique in oral or written
communication. It is particularly a must for a technical writer to be able to

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 27

define the terms with multiple meanings and those that are unfamiliar to the
reader.
Methods of Defining Terms

There are two methods of Defining terms: simple and extended definition m

A simple definition could be formulated by bearing in mind its three parts: the
species, genus and differentia. This method of definition is commonly used in
technical writing whether formally, semi-formally, or non-formally.

When using simple definition, note that the species or the term to be defined
maybe introduced by a determiner, a genus or the class or category where
the terms belong is always connected to species by linking verb. Both species
and genus can be introduced by a determiner. To make the definition
complete, a differentia is written to give the characteristics of the term that
make it different from other terms belonging to the same genus.

Species (term to be Genus (the class where Differentia (a

defined) the term belongs) characteristic of the

term)
Language is a form of communication.
An architect is a professional who designs the building
Communication is a process of giving and receiving
information.

Another method of Defining a term is by expanded definition. This is done

by stipulation, operation, explication, cause and effect, classification, example
and other rhetorical functions.

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 28

Example:
Species

Communication is a genus

systematic process
in
which people interact with and Differentia (containing explication
through symbols to create and and sample)
interpret meanings.

Informal definition on the other hand does not follow a pattern. The
only objective is to give meaning to a word that is unfamiliar or explain the
special meaning of a familiar word. Word meaning enter informal definition by
means of providing denotative or connotative meaning. Denotation is the
basic literal meaning or the dictionary meaning of words when connotation is
the additional shade of meaning that words imply aside from its dictionary
meaning. Connotation is the positive or negative association a word naturally
carries.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

Supply the meaning of the terms in the table below:

Term Denotation Connotation

(Positive or negative)
A school Is an institution where the
children are educated.

A star Famous person.

A dove Is a type of bird.

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 29

Orange Is a fruit.

A dog Is man’s best friend.

Pointers when Defining Terms

1. Never give definitions of a term that include any of its derivatives. For
example: definition is the act of defining.

2. Do not use “is where” or “is when” to define a term. Don’t say
“Christmas is when Jesus Christ is born” or “A classroom is where you
will find students”.

3. Use the simple present tense (active and passive voice). Consider the
following examples:

Documents is the process of acknowledging the sources used in

developing a research paper. (Active)

The process of acknowledging sources is called documentation. (Passive)

4. Often, we use relative clauses to give additional information. For
example, “Documentation is the process of acknowledging the sources
used in developing a research paper. This is also another way of
helping researchers who may be later on reading your work to do
further research themselves.
Activity 2
Apply the concepts you have learned in lesson 2. Answer this activity
by providing the formal definition of the terms. Choose the appropriate
definition. Make the sentences correct by supplying the correct word to link or
connect ideas.

Term Definition
A botanist is a person He designs buildings, machines or
public works.

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 30

A square is a geometric figure Investigates the psychology of crime

and the criminal.

An engineer is a person Deals with the composition and

behavior of substances.

An economist is a person He studies plants.

Chemistry He studies the way in which industry
and trade produce and use wealth.

Criminal psychology It has four equal sides, four right

angles.
Sociology Is a person who is engaged in
commercial or industrial activities.

An accountant Studies the development and

principles of social organization.

A businessman Is a person whose business is to

keep or examine books of a
mercantile or banking house.

Learning Evaluation
Quiz
In your chosen field, list down give terms and define each term using
formal definition. List another five terms and define each term using informal
definition.

Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper.

2.3 DESCRIPTION OF A PROCESS

Writing the perfect paper Is a lot like a military operation. It takes
discipline, foresight, research, strategy, and if done right, ends in total victory.”
- Ryan Holiday
Discussion
There are writing task that entail an explanation of how something
works, how something is done, or how something is made. That is why
knowing how to describe a process will enable a technical writer and his or
her reader to perform or do something.

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 31

In describing a process, writer explains the arrangement of a sequence

in chronologist order. As it is used in technical writing, the process is akin to
mechanism description. Here, process description includes sequence,
instructions, and procedure.
There are two separate concepts which we must briefly explain here:
“How to do something” and “How something occurs”. The first call for
instructions or procedure; the second for sequence.
In like manner, process is also a description of equipment, materials,
and procedures. Graphic materials are used for detailed presentation of the
process. The writer makes use of sequence markers to follow the natural or
mechanical system.
When we describe a process or procedure, we often use the present
passive tense: is or are + v + Ed. For example: is manufactured, is controlled,
etc.
When describing a process, we use sequence markers to link
sentences like first, second, then, next, subsequently, finally, at last.
Now, let us read the passage on “How do you make paper from a tree?” it is
an article written by Stacy Wonders published in wonderpolis.org.

How do you make paper from a Tree?

If you look at a tree, you might have a hard time imagining how something so
tall and strong could be turned into something as thin and weak as a sheet of
paper. The process begins with the raw wood, which is made up of fibers
called “Cellulose”.

The cellulose is stuck together with natural glue called “Lignin”. When the
lignin is removed and the cellulose fibers are separated and recognized,
paper can be made.

It’s also possible to make paper from a variety of other types of plants fibers
such as cotton, flax, bamboo, and hemp. For example, cotton fibers are often
used to make the paper that money is printed on. The overwhelming majority
(about 95 percent) of the raw material used to make paper though, comes
from trees.

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 32

To make paper from tress, the raw wood must first be turned to “pulp”. Wood
pulp is a watery “Soup” of cellulose wood fibers, lignin, water and the
chemicals used during the pulping process.

Wood can be turned to pulp in a couple of different ways. Mechanical pulping

involves using machines to grind wood chips into pulp.

The resulting pulp retains most of its lignin, though. The short fibers created
by grinding leads to weak paper most suitable for newsprint, phone books, or
other types of low-strength papers.

The more commonly used method is chemical pulping, also known as “Kraft”.
Chemicals are used to separate lignin from the cellulose fibers, leaving pulp
mixtures that can make stronger papers.

Depending on what type of paper is desired, the pulp mixtures might need to
be bleached to create whiter paper. Paper makers use a variety of chemicals
to bleach pulp to the color they want.

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 33

Once the pulp is ready, it is then used to make paper in a process that is
quite similar (in the basic actions) to the process first used by the ancient
Chinese

more than 1,900 years ago. Because the pulp mixture is so watery
(sometimes as much as 99% water!), The cellulose fibers need to be
separated from the watery mixture.

Huge machines spray the pulp mixture onto moving mesh screens to make
layered mat. The mat of pulp then goes through several processes to remove
water and dry it out.

Finally, the mat is run through heated rollers to squeeze out the any
remaining water and compress it into one continuous roll of paper that can
be up to 30 feet wide.

When the paper has the desired thickness, it may be colored or coated with
special chemical to give it a special texture, extra strength, or water
resistance. As a last step, the paper rolls are cut to size and packaged for
shipping to other facilities for additional processing to turn it into all sorts of
specialized papers

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Learning Activities

Activity 1

Let us answer the following comprehension questions:

1. What is the passage about?
2. Where does paper come from?
3. Pick the sentences that show present passive tense.
4. How is paper made? Describe it by using sequence markers.
5. Draw the process of making paper.

Activity 2
Have you ever dreamed of driving your own automatic car? What if you
can drive it today? Below are steps in starting an automatic car. Imagine that
you are starting your own automatic car! Write the number of the sequence to
this process:
_______________ Push the brake pedal and insert the key to the ignition to
turn it on.

_______________ Gently shift the gear to the D.

_______________ Then, release the pressure on the brake pedal slowly.

_______________ the vehicle will start slowly.

_______________ And, if you want the car to move faster, press the gas
pedal.

_______________ First, make sure that the lever should be at “P” before
starting the car.
Learning Evaluation
Quiz
How about writing your own description of a process? This time, think
of a process related to your field l. Come up with a minimum of four sentences
and a maximum of seven sentences. Use at least three sequence markers
and observe correct sentence structure.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Rubric for a Description of the Process
5 4 3 2 1 Scor
e

Content The The The essay The essay The essay

essay essay mentione contains didn’t
contains contains d some of one mention a
the the the purpose purpose;
purpose, purpose, purpose, any
and one
informatio with three with informatio
informatio
or
n and n but no n or
one or
elaboratio elaboratio elaboratio
n of the four two n on the
n of the
informati informatio
on and n and few
chosen elaborati elaboratio chosen chose
topic. All on of the ns of the topic. topic is
chosen chosen
these are
topic. topic. not
discusse evident.
d
completel

y.
Organizati The ideas There is One or More ideas There is
on flow an effort two ideas seem to be no free
freely, the flow
idea to disconnect flow of
ideas are smoothly
connecte but there ideas.
flow ed and
d are two or there are Ideas are
smoothly
correctly three more than
by but there errors in not
three

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 sequence are the use of errors in connecte
markers. sequence the use of
markers. sequence d by
one or
markers. sequence
markers.
two
errors in
the use of
sequenc

e
markers.
Mechanic Punctuati One or Three to Five to six Too many
s on marks, two four errors errors in errors in
spelling errors in punctuati
in punctuatio
and punctuati on,
margins n spelling
on marks punctuati
are and on marks, and
perfect. misspelle misspelle marks, margin.
d words. d words. misspelled
Margin is Margin is
correct. words.
correct.
Error in
margins.

Total

2.4 DESCRIPTION OF MECHANISM

If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he maps omit things
that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth
of it being above water.
- Ernest
Hemingway Discussion

We may belong to different fields and disciplines but there are certain
machines or apparatuses that we use to make our work easier. Description of
a mechanism is an explanation of a system or parts of an apparatus. This
includes the characteristics and functions of a piece of a device and the
totality of the mechanism.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

It also explains the arrangement and shape of an object in space. In writing a
description of a mechanism, the writer may be guided by the following
questions:
• What is it (equipment, machine, device, apparatus)
• What is its function?
• What does it look like?
• How does it work?
• What are its principal parts?
Below are examples of machines and how they work. Read the passages and
perform the activities that follow.

How the refrigerator Works?

A refrigerator is really nothing more than a box in which articles can be kept at
a cool temperature. The temperature inside the box is regulated by means of
thermostat. Apart from the thermostat, the refrigerator mechanism includes a
motor -driven compressor, a condenser and a set of thin, metal evaporated
coils, into which is pumped a liquid refrigerant called freon.

When a liquid evaporates, it absorbs heat. The refrigerant used in a

refrigerator has a very low boiling point and it evaporates in the metal coils. As
this happens, it absorbs heat and as a result the evaporator coils cool down.

As soon as the temperature inside the refrigerator rises from above a

predetermined level, the thermostat causes the motor to start. Freon vapor is
drawn from the evaporator coils by the compressor, reducing the pressure
and allowing liquid refrigerated to move into them. The liquid is its turn
evaporates, absorbing heat and cooling the refrigerator. The cool refrigerant
passes through the condenser, where it is changed back into a liquid form and
is eventually forced back into the evaporator coils.

The process continues until a preset temperature is reached. At this point the
thermostat cuts out the compressor and the refrigerator remain idle. When the

a Course Module for Technical Writing

temperature rises above the pre-determined level, the thermostat triggers the
compressor into action once more and the cooling cycle recommences.
(Thorn and Badrick 1990)

How Rice Cooker Work?

(Jessika Toothman)

Rice needs two things to evolve from a hard, little grain to big, fluffy morsels –
lots of water and lots of heat. For this reason, cooking rice happens in four
phases: sitting in water, boiling, absorbing water (steaming) and resting.

Rice cookers automatically guide rice through these four stages. The
appliance consists primarily of a main body, an inner cooking pan, an electric
heating plate, a thermal sensing device and some buttons.

Water and rice sit inside the cooking pan while it’s inserted into the rice
cooler’s shell. The Pan’s weight depresses the thermal – sensing device, and
the heating plate quickly brings the water to a boil. The sensing device is a
small, spring – loaded Thermometer that gauges the temperature of the Pan’s
contents. It’s Set into the bottom of the rice cooker’s main body.

Simple rice cookers usually warm their contents by transferring heat from the

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 heating plate to the cooking pan, and the type of metal used can improve that
transfer. Some metals – copper and aluminum for example – are highly
conductive. In other words, they transfer their heat easily. A wide range of
materials can be used for the cooking pan, and each type may affect the
overall time it takes to cook the food.

The process for cooking the rice is simple. Water boils at 212 degrees
Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), and once it reaches a steady boil, it won’t
get hotter. As long as there is water in the pan, the temperature should be
stable. Once the rice absorbs all the water in the pan, the temperature will
start to rise. The rice cooker senses this change and will either switch off or
switch to a warming cycle. At this point, the rice

Learning Activities

Activity 1

There are among us visual and imaginative learners. Based on the

description on how the refrigerator works and how Rice cookers work, draw a
diagram to illustrate how the mechanism work. Use lines and arrows, if
necessary. Add short description or captions to make each part of the diagram
understandable.

Activity 2

Overall, when we employ techniques in expository writing, we make

use of discourse marker that identify a particular technique. For the purpose of
describing a mechanism, the following discourse marker can be used: then,

a Course Module for Technical Writing

apart from, as soon as, as a result, where, at this point, once more, and
as.

Use the discourse markers (those set in bold face) to fill the blanks in the
following paragraph:
How to Start a Manual Car
__________ a driver gets into the car; he has to make sure that the car is in
neutral position. __________ the battery, a car also includes accessories like
gasoline, light, oil, water, and air.

__________ the driver has started the engine, he puts the car into first gear
__________ he releases the clutch and changes to second gear, then to third
gear __________ of which the car will glide on smoothly along the road. He
presses the clutch and moves on to fourth gear in order that the car will
become faster as it moves along the highway.

Activity 3

1. In your field of specialization, what types of tasks would entail the use of
classification, definition, description of a process, and description of
mechanism?

2. Which of the above-mentioned expository techniques are particularly

useful in your field of specialization? How?

3. Which of the expository techniques do you think are less likely to be

used? Why?

4. Aside from discourse markers, what another knowledge did you gain
from this chapter?

5. What do you need to strengthen as a future professional in order to

become a good or better expository writer?

Learning Evaluation

Quiz

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 Write a 300-word description of a mechanism. Choose an apparatus,
device, machine that is used in your field of specialization. Make use of
discourse markers and observe correct sentence structure and paragraph
form. Your teacher will grade you in this activity using a scoring rubric.

Rubric for a Description of Mechanism

5 4 3 2 1 Scor
e

Content The The The The essay The

essay essay essay contains essay did
contains contains mentione one not
the the d some of purpose mention a
purpose, purpose, the purpose;
and one
informati with three purpose, any
informatio
or with one informatio
on and n but no
or two
elaborati elaboratio n or
four
on of the informatio n of the elaboratio
chosen informati n and few chosen n about
elaboratio topic.
topi. All on and the
ns of the
these are elaborati chosen chosen
discusse on of the topic. topic is
chosen
d
topic. not
completel evident.
y.
Organizati The ideas There is One or More ideas There are
on flow an effort two ideas seem to be no
flow
freely. for ideas disconnect
smoothly
to flow but there free flow
The ideas ed and
are smoothly. are two or there are ideas.
connecte There are three more than
errors in Ideas are
d three
one or
correctly the use of errors I the not
by two use of connecte
errors in
d by

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 sequence the use of sequence sequence sequence
markers. sequenc markers. markers. matter.

e
markers.
Mechanic Punctuati One or Three to Five to six Too many
s on marks, two four errors in errors in
spelling errors in errors in punctuatio punctuati
and punctuati punctuati on,
margins n marks, spelling
on marks on marks,
are and misspelle misspelled ad
perfect. misspelle d words. margin.
words.
d words. Error in
Margin is margin. Error in
correct. margin.

Total
References:

Ntuli, E. (2018). Seven characteristics (and six Tools) that support meaningful
feedback. ASCD Express, Volume 13, no. 9.
www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.
Oliveria, C (2017). 16+ Must know platforms for sharing content (with Cheat
Sheet). Creative minds. Retrieved from
https://www.cminds.com/platforms-sharingcontent/
Tangpermpoon, Thanatkum. “Integrate approaches to improve students’
writing skills.
Lyons, L. H., Heasley B. (1991). Study writing. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Rico, L.T. and Weed, K. Z. (1995). The cross-cultural language and academic
development handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
LESSON 3
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE
Overview:
This lessons will broaden the knowledge of the BSEd –English students
on writing effective business correspondence.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. demonstrate how communication works in business and
organization;
2. compare personal and business letter;
3. evaluate and explain the characteristics and elements of a
business letter;
4. compose basic and optional parts of a business letter;
5. discuss and write different types of business letter;
6. distinguish different business letter punctuations and styles; and
7. analyze and write memorandum.

Materials Needed:
1. Computer/Android phone with internet connection (Moodle, scree
recorder, Google meet and Google classroom)
2. Module
Duration: 9 hours

Learning Content:
Introduction
Nowadays, due to the revolution of technological advancements in
business, academe, and industry sector people are being highly engaged in
various daily communications, through email, texting, chatting, formal
presentation, or even face to face conversation. This phenomenon leads to
unending quest on how to communicate effectively to survive the digital era.

Although, no matter how technological the workplace may become

according to Roberts (1999) there will be always be really power in the written
word. Technology hasn’t eliminated the need for people to write clearly, it’s
merely simplified the writing process.
If we will compare the writing with the other macro skills such as
listening, speaking, reading, and viewing, writing probably is the most difficult
skills because it covers the great deal of knowledge as well as principles of
organization to produce a good composition (Tangpermpoon, 2008).

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 3.1 COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS AND
ORGANIZATION

Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.

- Nat Turner
Discussion

Communication is business

Effective communication the key to success in business. That is why

business depends so much in communication. People must communicate to
plan products; hire; train; and motivate workers; coordinate manufacturing and
delivery; persuade costumers to buy; and bill them for sale (locker, 2006)
certainly, communication can’t be set apart in business transactions.
However, presently, according to Steimle (2017) many entrepreneurs
become more estranged from their teams, turn off partners and lose deal all
basic they lack basic communication skills. Often, this lack of skills gets
passed down to teams, and the problem is perpetuated through the
organization. Indeed, great knowledge on proper and effective communication
skills in business and organization is vital.
Basically, business letter refers to how people communicate, whereas
organizational communication deals with whom to communicate.
Understanding the requirements of good business communication, developing
good communication skills, and understanding the channels of communication
in your organization will ensure success in your career (Custodio et al., 2013).
Communication in business is a two-way process that follows the
common communication process of sending and receiving messages.
However, business communication differs on then medium for it uses paper,
pen, typewriter, or computer to make then message tangible to then receiver.
Communication in Organization
An organization according to Rosales et al. (2009) is comprised of
people who are committed to a common goal and are ready to share
information and resources in pursuit of a desire goal. Communication in
organization is relaying messages or information between or among people
inside and outside an organization.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 There are several written documents needed to run an organization.
Every single document has on e or more of the three basic functions of
organizational writing which is to inform, to promote goodwill, or to persuade.

To inform

Basic Functions of
communication

To persuade To promote goodwill

The following internal and external documents are some of the specific
documents needed in an organization. (Adapted from Locker, 2006)

Table 1: Internal Documents Produced in one Organization

Document Description of Purpose(s) of

document document

Transmittal Memo accompanying Inform: persuade reader

To read document; build
document, telling why
image and goodwill.
it’s been forwarded to
the receiver.

Monthly or Report summarizing Inform: build image and

quarterly probability, productivity, goodwill (report is
report and problems during accurate, complete;
period. Used to plan writers understand
activity for next month or company)
quarter.

Performance appraisal Evaluation of an Inform: persuade

employee’s employee to improve

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 performance, with
recommended areas for
improvement or
recommendation for

promotion
Memo of congratulations Congratulations to Promote goodwill
employees who have
own awards, been
promoted, or earn
community recognition.

Table 2: External Documents Produced in One Organization

Document Description of Purpose(s) of

document document

Quotation Letter giving price for a Inform: promote goodwill

specific product, (price reasonable)
fabrication or services

Claim / adjustment Letter granting or Inform: promote goodwill

denying costumer
request o be given
credit for defective
goods
Annual report Report to stockholders Inform: persuade
summarizing financial for stockholders to retain
year
stock and others to buy;
build goodwill (company
is a good corporate

citizen)
Thank you, letter, Letter to suppliers, Promote goodwill
costumers, or other
people who have helped
individuals or the
company

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Formal and Informal Channels of Communication

There are two basic structures that make up the communication of channels
of an organization.

1. Formal channel of communication follows then usual pattern of an

organizational chart where the superiors are classified from the
subordinates through connecting the lines of communication to every
ember of the organization.

2. Informal channel of communication follows an unstructured channel of

communication where lines and patterns of the organization are vague.
This is sometimes referred as grapevine because it usually relays more
information that the formal communication through chismis or
rumormongering.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Draw a picture showing the difference between communication in business

and communication organization. Use the boxes below.

COMMUNICATION IN COMMUNICATION IN
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

a Course Module for Technical Writing

B. The class will be divided into five (5) groups. Each group will prepare a
roleplay showing how communication business and in organization works.

Afterward, each group will discuss their presentation to the class.

C. Interview a company or business manager or supervisor. List five effective
tips on how they communicate with their employees, clients, and
customers.

Activity 2
Answer the following questions briefly.

1. How does effective communication contribute to the success of

any businesses?

2. What activities can you suggest that will develop effective

communication skills for both the employer and the employees?

3. What will happen to the company if the administrators don’t

know how to properly communicate well to their subordinates?

4. What are the basic functions of organizational communication?

Explain each function.

Learning Evaluation

Quiz

Complete the sentences by filling in the correct words/ phases.

1 – 3. Communication in __________________________ deals with

how people _____________________________ while
__________________________ in organization focuses on whom to
communicate.

4 – 6. There are three basic functions of organizational communication

which are __________________, __________________, and
_________________.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 7 – 8. Effective communicate increases _________________
satisfaction, customers _________________ and improves a
company’s image.

9 – 10. ___________________ of communication skills will lead to a lot

of __________________.

3.2 PERSONAL AND BUSINESS LETTERS

More than kisses, letters mingle souls.

- John Donne

Discussion
Personal Letters
Despite the numerous changes on how people communicate,
traditional letter writing remains the best way to communicate among persons.
There are two basic kinds of letter, the personal and the business
letters. The two extremely differ from each other in terms of their nature,
purpose, scope, structure, formality, size, and language.
Personal letter is a written type of communication of an individual to
another concerning personal or family affairs rather than business matters.
This kind of letter does not follow certain rules or structures and uses a less
formal wording or colloquial language. An example of a personal letter a
birthday greeting given to someone whom we know personally who is
celebrating his special day. Personal letter maintains and develops personal
relationships with people whom you consider a friend or a family. Lastly, this
type of letter can be type – written or handwritten depending on the length of
the content.

Business Letters
Business letter is a formal type of written letter concerning business
transactions and other business-related issues and information. This kind of
letter must adhere to certain rules, restrictions, and formats and must use a

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formal language. In addition, an effective business letter should sound like a
person talking to another person. An example of this an application letter
written by an applicant who is interested in a vacant job. Finally, a business
letter is commonly written on an 8 ½ x 11 inch-size clean bond paper. It
follows certain margin and free from dirt and scratches in order to build a good
impression to the reader.

Personal versus Business Letters

The business Communication page posted eleven (11) comparisons of
personal letter and business letter.
1. Nature: Business letter or commercial letter is impersonal and universal in
nature. Personal letter is fully personal in nature.

2. Purpose: Business letter is exchanging various business-related issues

and information. Personal letter is exchanging personal or family-related
affairs and information.

3. Scope: Business letter scope is wide and contains various types of

business information. Personal letter scope is limited and contains only
personal information.

4. Structure: Business letter follows officially recognized structure. Personal

letter does not follow any recognized structure.

5. Formality: Business letter maintains formal rules and procedure. Personal

letter is informal.

6. Size: Business letter generally is concise in size and avoids irrelevant

matter. Personal letter may be concise or large in size.

7. Types: Business letter can be categorized differently. Personal letter

generally cannot be categorized.

8. Salutation: Business letter salutation can be Sir, Dear Sir, Dear Mr. X, etc.
Personal letter salutations are Dear friends, my dear x, dear x, etc.
9. Language: Business letter language should be easy and simple. Personal
letter language may be easy, poetic, emotional, etc.

10. Cop: Business letter copy of business letter should always be preserved.
Personal letter copy of personal letter may or may not be preserved.

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11. Method: Business letter use direct and persuasive method. Personal letter
uses only direct method.
Whether you are writing a personal or a business letter, the way you
construct the message and the way the receiver decodes the message
are very important.

The Technique of Writing Business Letters

To make your letters effective in terms of today’s business world, you

should understand and make use of four basic psychological techniques
according to Mager and Mager (1968):

1. Write from the “you” attitude. Every person is interested primarily in himself
and thus responds to a letter written from his own point of view. To test the
effectiveness of your letter on this point, count the number of I’s and you’s
in your letter and then compare. A good letter should have a
preponderance of your’s and a minimum of I’s. But more than this, your
letter should have the reader’s viewpoint in mind throughout the text.

Compare:
I: I was happy to hear that my letter of January 5 th provided sufficient
information for the completion of the order for us.

You: Thank you for your assurance that you had sufficient information
for the completion of your order.

Accentuate the positive. Even the letter that has to say “No” can be
written from a positive point of view. Make it an absolute rule never to start or
end your letter with a negative. Whenever possible, avoid words with a
negative connotation, such as argument, careless, complaint, disagreeable,
error, neglect, and unfair.

Compare:

Positive: Thank you for your order. The merchandise goes out to you as
soon as …

Negative: We regret to inform you that we will not be able to ship your
order until…

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2. Make your letters smile. A business letter should leave a pleasant
impression. Get a smile into your letter, a bit of your personality, an
atmosphere of good will. A sour letter, piqued attitude, complaining
undertone, is comparable to a surly manner in your conversation. Some
phrases have a built-in smile. Here are some friendly phrases that you can
and should use freely:

We shall be glad to…

It is pleasure…
Thank you…
We appreciate very much…
With our compliments…

3. Make your copy live. The reader should feel what you say. If possible,
create a visual experience. Let the reader see himself doing
somethingrunning a machine, telling his friends about his triumphs, selling
more accounts, reinterpreted the same copy.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Compare personal and business letters. Complete the Venn diagram

below.

B. The class will be divided into two (2) groups. Each group will discuss the
importance of personal and business letter. The group who can give the
highest number of strong points will be the winner.

C. Interview a corporate or company secretary. List the step-by-step

procedure on how they write a business letter.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 Personal Letter Business Letter

Activity 2

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. When do you write a personal letter? A business letters?

2. Why do you think Technical Writing course is included in your curriculum?
3. In a scale of 1 to 10, how knowledge is you in writing a business letter?
Explain your answer. (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)

4. How can you apply your knowledge and skills in writing business letter in
your field?

Learning Evaluation
Quiz

Write TRUE if the statement is correct. Otherwise, write FALSE.

_______________ 1. Personal letters use colloquial language.

_______________ 2. Both personal and business letters can be handwritten.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

_______________ 3. In writing personal letter, the writer should be formal and
polite.

_______________ 4. Business letter strictly follows a set of rules and formats.

_______________ 5. It is easier to write a business letter than a personal

letter.

_______________ 6. You can’t just simply fold a business letter.

_______________ 7. The wording in a business letter should be poetic to

impress the reader.

_______________ 8. Business letters focus on business transmissions and

issues.

_______________ 9. In writing a business letter, the complete name of the

receiver is necessary.

_______________ 10. A letter of request is a good example of personal letter.

3.3 CHARACTERISTICS AND ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS

LETTER
The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of light of letters, is
simplicity.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 - Walt
Whitman

Discussion

Characteristics of a Business Letter

Business letter is one of the vital components in the success of a business. To

ensure that we are writing an effective business letter, there are “Ten (10) C’s
we should consider.

1. Completeness refers to the inclusion of complete information. The

business letter should answer the question WHO, WHERE, WHAT,
WHEN, and HOW to produce a good and complete business letter.

2. Correctness refers to the correct grammar, punctuation, spacing,

information, and structure. It also refers to the correct format of a business
letter.

To attain correctness, double the spelling of the names, address, letters

properly, verify numbers, and amounts, always check the dictionary.

3. Conciseness refers to being direct and brief without compromising the

complete idea. In writing a business letter, we should not include
unnecessary information which might confuse the reader.

Example:
Instead of saying: At the present time
Say: now
Instead of saying: Prior to
Say: Before
Instead of saying: Pitch in
Say: join to
Instead of saying: Start from scratch
Say: Make new from
nothing

4. Coherence refers to the smooth flow of ideas in a business letter. The

content of a business letter should be in order and easy to follow. Some of

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 the devices that you may use to achieve Coherence are use of synonyms,
use of transitional words, use of pointers, use of repetition of words, and
use of sentence pattern.
5. Clarity refers to readability of information which is easy to understand. We
should bear in our minds that simple words are more preferred than
complex ones.

6. Concreteness refers to the use of specific words not general words.

Example:

Instead of saying: Return of investment

Say: profit
Instead of saying: Market penetration
Say: Successful selling
7. Courteousness refers to the politeness of the tone of the business letter.
Being friendly by showing positive approach is the key for a successful
communication in business.

Below are some examples of the negative and positive word. But then
again, positive words are more preferred in doing business.

Negative Positive
bad good
sad glad
old new
hard easy
slow fast
disagree agree
delay early
demand request

8. Consideration refers to the use of professional tone to show respect to

the reader of the letter. Also, we need to anticipate the “YOU” attitude in
writing our letter.

Example:
Instead of saying: we are glad to offer you the best services.

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 Say: you will be pleased to find must – try services in our branch near
you.

9. Consistency refers to the uniformity of the time and style of a writer of a

business letter.

10. Credibility refers to the personality of the writer as himself which might
reflect on his writing.

Elements of a Business Letter

Because business letter is part of communication, it also follows the
communication process. There three elements in the communication process
that are also present in business writing. There will be a sender, message and
receiver.
The sender of the letter is the one who is writing it. It is one of the
protocols in business writing that the receiver of the letter should be known by
the sender. The complete name, position as well as the address of the
receiver should be included in the letter. The sender or writer must be
knowledgeable in basic grammar, punctuation, spelling and mechanics so that
he might build a good impression to the receiver of the letter.
The message is very important in the communication process because
it is the reason that moves the sender to start the communication process.
The message of the sender should be well-written, simple and
understandable. The message should be direct and persuasive and should
avoid including unnecessary information. It should be concise and complete
so that everything you want say is included.

Sender Message Receiver

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Lastly, the receiver of the letter completes elements of communication
process.

The main role of the receiver is to carefully decode the message of a business
letter and provide a feedback that will complete the entire communication
process.

Learning Activities
Quiz
A. Look for a copy of a business letter. Evaluate the characteristics of a
business letter by answering the checklist using this scale:

3 – high evident 2 – Evident 1 – Not evident

Characteristics of a 3 2 1
business letter

1. Completeness
2. Correctness
3. Conciseness
4. Coherence
5. Clarity
6. Concreteness
7. Courteousness
8. Consideration
9. Consistency
10. Credibility

Write your other observations:

B. The ass will be divided into five (5) groups. Each group will prepare a
Human Picture Frame or tableau showing the elements of a business letter
as well as how the business letter is being communicated. Each group will
discuss it to the class.

C. Construct your own business communication process. You may add more
elements if necessary.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Activity 2
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. What advice will you suggest to the reader when decoding the message
of the letter?
2. What will you feel if the writer of the letter failed to include your complete
name in the letter?
3. Among the ten characteristics of a business letter, which do you think is
the most important? Why?

Learning Evaluation
Quiz
Match the column k. BUSINESS into the column on COMMUNICATION. Write
the letter of your answer on the space provided before the number.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
A. Completeness
__________1. This refers to the tone and

style of the letter.

B. Correctness
__________ 2. This is translating abstract

to concrete terms.
C. Conciseness
__________ 3. The letter must be
mechanically perfect.

D. Coherence
__________ 4. This is correctly arranging

the words and sentences.

__________ 5. This is anticipating the reader. E. Clarity

F. Concreteness
__________ 6. All important information
must be included.

G. Courteousness
__________ 7. This refers to the status of
the writer as himself.

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__________ 8. It is using more simple words. H. Consideration
__________ 9. The writer should be polite I. Consistency
in writing the letter.

__________ 10. Use common words that J. Credibility

can easily be understood.

3.4 BASIC AND OPTIONAL PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what

importance is used to play in people’s lives.

- Anatole Broyard

Discussion

Basic parts of a Business Letters

A business letter is composed of the following basic parts: letter head

or heading, dateline, inside address, salutation, body of the letter,
complimentary close, signature line, and written signature.

1. Letterhead – this part of a business letter includes the company name,

company mailing address, and company contact numbers. It may also
contain the company logo or symbol of the organization. Today, most of
the companies have their own personalized letterhead exclusive for their
employees' use.

In case you will write a business letter not on behalf of any company you
may use heading or a return address. A heading/return address is
composed of your complete, correct, and specific address. In writing the
heading of your business letter, the lot and block number, street,

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 barangay, municipality or city, province, region, and even the sip code
must be included properly.

2. Dateline – This part contains the month, day, and year when the business
letter was written. There are certain rules in writing the correct dateline:

A. You should not use abbreviation when writing the dateline. For
Example, 10-13-92 or 10-13-1992 or 10/13/92 or 10/13/1992.

B. You should not include st, nd, or th, after the day of the month. For
example, September 1st, October 2nd, or November 3rd.

C. You may use the conventional style, January 15, 2007 or the military
style, 15 January 2007.

3. Inside Address – This part consists of three, four or five lines which
include the complete name as well as the jib tittle/s of the receiver on the
first line, the complete position of the receiver on the second line, the
complete division or department of the receiver on the fourth line, and the
complete name of the company or organization followed by the complete
address of the company or organization. There are certain rules that are
worth considering in writing the inside address:

A. The inside address is like the address written on the envelope.

B. You use Miss when addressing a single woman; Mrs. of married woman. If
the status is not known, use Ms. if the firm is comprised of women; use
Mesdames or its abbreviation Mmes.

C. Use Mr. in addressing a man. You may also use its plural form Messieurs
(French) or its abbreviation Messrs.

D. You may abbreviate the title Doctor to Dr. For example, Dr. Silvia C.
Ambag.
E. The title reverend should not be abbreviated and it should be preceded by
the. For example, The Reverend Sonny Ramirez

F. You may or may not abbreviate the tittle Professor. For example,
Professor Danilova A. Lorenzo or Prof. Danilova A. Lorenzo. But if only

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 surname is available, the title should not be abbreviated. For example,
Professor Lorenzo

G. Company or organization positions such as Supervisor, Manager,

Secretary, Superintendent, Proprietor or even president may either
precede or follow then name of the receiver of the letter. For example,

Ms. Armie Joie A. Rivera

Proprietress
Elysian Events Specialist
Or
Ms. Armie Joie A. Rivera, Proprietress
Elysian Events Specialist
H. The title Honorable use by judges of the court, Members of the cabinet,
Congressmen, Senators or other government officials who hold an
important position and office in the city, province, or country.

You may or may not abbreviate the title Honorable. For example,
Honorable Rodrigo R. Duterte
Or
Hon. Rodrigo R. Duterte
4. Salutation – is composed of the word “Dear” followed by the last name of
the receiver of the letter. Use the colon (American English) at the end of
the salutation or comma (British English). For example, Dear Mr. Alcaraz
or

Dear Mr. Dela Cruz

5. Body of the Letter – this consists the message of the writer. Some claim
that the first and last sentences are the most important parts of the body of
the letter. The first sentence should make the reader feel at ease and the
last sentence should make the reader pleased and content.

6. Complimentary Close – this is sometimes called closing, the part where

sender says goodbye to the receiver of the letter in a formal way. You may
use the standard complimentary close such as Sincerely yours or
respectfully yours or very respectfully yours. We should take note that the
first letter of the first word is the only capitalized letter on the
complimentary close.

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7. Signature Line – this is composed of the complete typewritten name of
the writer and his official designation, or the name of the company.
Very formal or legal: Miguel Rodriguez Galit
Less formal or business: Miguel Galit
Miguel R. Galit
For Married Signature: Truly yours,

Daisy A. Dellosa
Or (Miss) Daisy A.
Dellosa
President
Formal Unmarried Signature: Very respectfully
yours,

Nora T. Alvarez
Or (Miss) Nora T. Alvarez
Supervisor
For Company responsibility: Sincerely yours

Elysian Events
Specialist

8. Written Signature – This refers to the sender clearly scribing or affixing

his specimen signature on the space between the complimentary close
and the printed name. Allot enough space (3-4 spaces) for this between
the complimentary close and the signature line. The signature part also
follows certain rules:

Optional Parts of a Business Letter

1. Attention line – this is use when the letter urgently needs to be received
by the best person who can handle it. Commonly, the attention line is at
the center.
For example: Elysian Events specialist

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 San Mateo, Rizal
Attention Miss Armie Joie A. Rivera
2. Subject Line - this is used in short reports to let the reader know the
content of the letter immediately. It may be placed above or below the
inside the address; maybe flushed to the left, intendent or centered.

For example: Elysian Events Specialist

San Mateo, Rizal
Subject: Inquiry on wedding package
3. Identification Initial or References Initials – this includes the initials of
the secretary or typist who took the dictation in lower cases and initials of
the one who dictated or dictator in upper case placed at the lower left-hand
corner of the letter two spaces below the last line of the signature part.

For example: EAG/ jtd

Or EAG: go
4. Enclosed or enclosed reference or enclosure notation – this is
composed of the attached materials on the letter. This is usually
abbreviated Incl. and place below the reference initials.

For example: Inc. 1. Grade Sheets

2.Class Records
3.Anecdotal Records
5. Copy Notation – this consists the names or department of other people
who also receive the letter.

5.1. Carbon Copy Notation (cc) – this notation is indicated on the original
copy and all the duplicate copies.

For example: cc: Mr. John Paolo Sarce

cc: Human Resource Department
5.2. Blind Carbon Copy Notation (bcc) – this is a notation not indicated
on the original copy but indicated on all duplicated copies.

For example: bcc: Miss Sarrah Mae Amata

6. Mailing Notation – this notation refers to the special postal services such
as air mail, special delivery, or registered mail.

Learning Activities

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Activity 1

A. In a short bond paper, construct an example of each basic parts of a

business letter.

B. In a short bond paper, construct an example of each optional part of

business letter.

C. The class will be divided into five (5) groups. Each group will be given
a scenario where they will write a letter including the needed basic and
optional parts of a business letter.

Scenario 1: imagine you are the president of the students Council.

Write a letter addressed to the college dean requesting for
a possible venue for an upcoming freshman orientation for
the school year.

Scenario 2: Imagine you are one of the students in a science class.

The they before your examination day in your science
class, you suddenly got sick. Write a letter addressed to
your science teacher to excuse you from the scheduled
test and request him to give you a special test.

Scenario 3: Imagine you are the dean of your college, write a letter
addressed to your faculty members about the upcoming
faculty development.

Scenario 4: Imagine you are newly elected chairman of your

barangay. Write a letter addressed to the city mayor
requesting for a possible sponsorship in any barangay
event.

Scenario 5: Imagine you are a team leader in a business process

outsourcing company. Write a letter addressed to the
supervisor requesting foe the additional budget for the
company’s team building.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

Activity 2
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. What is the importance of knowing how to construct the different parts of a
business letter?

2. Which among the basic parts of business letter is the most difficult to
construct?

3. Which among the optional parts of a business letter is the easiest to

construct?

Learning Evaluation

Imagine you are operations manager of j and j Bus Company. Write a letter
requesting for additional 10 bus drivers and 30 bus conductors addressed to
the president of the company using the different basic and optional parts of
business letter.

3.5 BUSINESS LETTERS PUNCTUATIONS AND STYLES

Changing writing styles is like an actor taking on a different part.

- Ed McBain

Punctuations Used in Business Letters

There are three ways on how to punctuate our business letters. We can
use Open Punctuation, Standard Punctuation, and Mixed Punctuation.
1. Open Punctuation
In writing a business letter, open punctuation does not include any
punctuation after any part of the letter except the body or the message of
the letter.

2. Standard Punctuation
This is the most common style of punctuating a business letter which
includes on salutation and complimentary close only. The punctuation on
salutation is colon while on complimentary close, it’s comma.

3. Mixed Punctuation
This format uses comma (British style) or colon (American Style) after the
salutation and uses comma after the complimentary close.

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Business Letter Style
There are several business letters styles that are accepted and being
used in the corporate world.

Full Block Style

In this style, some make use of Open Punctuation and some do not. All
parts of this business letter start at the left margin.

_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

_________________________ :
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__

_____________________________________________________________
__ ___________________________ .

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_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__ _______________________________________ .

___________________________ ,

___________________________

Modified Block Style

This style places the inside address and all paragraphs at the left-hand
margin while the heading, dateline and complimentary close start at the
middle part of the paper or #3 on the top ruler of SM Word going to the
right margin.

_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________

_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

_________________________

_____________________________________________________________
__

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_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__ _________________ .

_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__ _________________________________________ .

__________________________

__________________________

Semi – block Style

This style is like the Block Style however it follows the rule of indention
to its paragraph. This style also makes use of standard punctuation.

________________________
________________________
________________________

_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

_________________________ :

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 ___________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__ _________________________________ .

___________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________________
__ ___________________________________________________________
.

________________________

_________________________

Simplified Style

This style is similar to Full Block Style, beginning all the parts of the
letter at the left margin. However, the headings are placed at the center
upper part of the letter. This style follows the open punctuation and
omits the complimentary close. The spaces in between of every part
from every first part of a business letter are 6, 4, 3, 3, 4-5.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 __________________________________
__________________________________

_______________________
_______________________
_______________________

_______________________ :

______________________________________________________________
_
______________________________________________________________
_
______________________________________________________________
_
______________________________________________________________
_
______________________________________________________________
_ ____________________________ .

______________________________________________________________
_
______________________________________________________________
_
______________________________________________________________
_ ________________________________________________ .

_______________________

_______________________

Indented style

a Course Module for Technical Writing

This style makes use of indention \s which has uneven numbers of
spaces in the various elements of the letter. Nowadays, this style is
rarely use because its complexity of arranging the different elements of
the letter.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 _______________________________
_________________________
____________________

_____________________________

______________________
______________________
______________________

___________________________

______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________ .

______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
________________ .

_______________________

______________________.
6. Hanging-idented Style

This style is another unique style of writing a business letter. The first line of
each paragraph is aligned with the inside address and salutation flushed at
the left. The line succeeding the first line are indented five spaces. It usually

a Course Module for Technical Writing

uses standard punctuation.

____________________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________

_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

_____________________ :

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
__________________________ .

_____________________________________________________
____
_________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________ .

________________________
________________

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 Business Letter Envelope Formats

There are different envelope formats in business writing. Here

are some of the examples:

1. Block Form

____________________________
_______________________
____________________

________________________________
________________________________
________________________

2. Indented Form

_____________________________
_________________________
________________________

_______________________________
__________________________
_______________________

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 3. Semi-Bock Form

___________________________

___________________________
___________________________

__________________________
_______________________

____________________

Learning Activities
Activity 1
A. Compare the different style of business letter by answering the
table below.

Full Block Modified Semi-Block Simplified Indented Hanging-

Style Style Style Style style Indented
Style

a Course Module for Technical Writing

B. The class will be divided into six (6) groups. Each group will pick one (1)
business letter style. They will write a business letter emphasizing the
differences of each business letter style.

Activity 2

Answer the following question briefly.

1. Which among the different business letter styles is the easiest to use?
Why?
2. Which do you think is the most common style that the businessmen are
using?

3. If you are going to implement one general format or style in your company,
what will it be and why?

Learning Evaluation

Quiz

Write TRUE if the statement is correct. If false, underline the incorrect word/s
and write the correct word/s on the space provided.

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___________ 1. In modified block style, all parts of business letter are placed
at the left.
___________ 2. The simplified style uses open punctuation.

___________ 3. Semi-block style is similar to full block style.

___________ 4. There is no heading in a simplified business letter.

___________ 5. The salutation in a modified block style is aligned with the

heading.
___________ 6. The semi-block style uses mixed punctuation.

___________ 7. The body of the letter in modified block style is indented.

___________ 8. For some, the full block style is the easiest style to write a
business letter.
___________ 9. In simplified style, standard punctuation is used.

___________ 10. Heading is placed at the center in a simplified letter style.

3.6 TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTER

Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good
company.
- Lord
Byron

There are different types of business letter that are commonly used in the
corporate world. They differ in purpose, style, and nature. Some business
letters transmit good news while some transmit bad news. Moreover, some
letters of interest to the reader which do not affect the emotion and feeling of
the reader are called routine letters.
Writing Good vs Bad-News Business Letters

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 If the business letter directly affects and stirs the emotions and feelings of
the reader, it is either a good or bad news business letter. If you are writing a
letter promoting someone for you employee in your company, if you are
commending a term in your corporation for being the monthly sales, you are
probably writing a good-news letter. The good-news business letter is light in
mood expressing pleasant information.
Unfortunately, there will be times wherein you will be required to write
badnews business letter. If you are writing a letter rejecting a job applicant, if
you are writing a thank-you letter for an employee, or worst. Writing a letter
fire an employee, you are probably writing a bad-news business letter.
No matter what type of letter you are writing, no matter how good or bd the
letter is, always make sure to be professional in writing the business letter.
Mind over matter is the rule of the game.
There are common types of business letter such as the following:
1. Applicant Letter
- Is sometimes called cover letter, is composed persuasively whenever you
are applying for your target job. This letter is usually accompanied by your
resume for additional information of your experiences and skills.

In writing your business letter, you may follow this format:

First Paragraph: Determine the reason/s why you are applying for the
job.
Mention if the job is solicited or unsolicited.

Second Paragraph: explain why you deserve the job without being too
boastful.
You may support it by citing your qualifications.

Last Paragraph: Even if you think you are hired or not, thank the
hiring personnel.
There are three styles of resume:
a. Chronological Resume focuses on the employment history of the
applicant. This style is ideal for those who already have several work
experiences showing steady career growth.

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b. Functional Resume Focuses on skills rather than on employment history.
This style is ideal for those who are fresh graduates seeking for their first
job.

c. Combination Resume focuses on drawing the best features or strong

points of chronological and functional resume styles.

2. Letter of Inquiry
- Is a letter that ask for a particular information or assistance. These types of
business letter are direct and questions are constructed to get the
information straightforwardly.

In a writing a letter of inquiry considers the following guidelines:

First Paragraph: Begin with the most important question or a

summarizing statement.

Second Paragraph: This part may contain the explanation or list of

questions.

Third Paragraph: The ending should tell the reader what you want to
be done and when.

3. Letter of reply or response

- Is written in response to a letter inquiry which directly answers all the

inquiries regarding the company’s products or services. As part of
business as usual, most companies promptly reply to all the inquiries
addressed to them.

In writing the letter of response, the following steps may help you:

Acknowledge the inquiry by mentioning important details from the

letter of inquiry you received.

Build goodwill and pave the way for future contacts by using a cordial
or friendly tone.

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Answer the questions fully and send prompt replies.
A Sample Application Letter

101 Rosal St., Roberto Homes,

Barangka Drive, Mandaluyong City

May 28, 2017

DR. CONCHITA DE GUZMAN

Director
Philippine Science High School – Main Campus
Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City

Dear Dr. De Guzman

Good day.
With great interest, I would like to apply for the position of full-time
English teacher of Philippines Science High School. Furthermore,
working in a prestigious school like Philippine Science High School is
really a great opportunity.

I graduated at Polytechnic University of the Philippines last 2015 with

a degree of Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English. After
graduating, I reviewed for the Licensure Examination for Teachers
(LET) at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) and passed the board
examination at the same year.

I appreciate your honorable consideration for my application. I am

always prepared to be interviewed anytime which is convenient for
you.

The accompanying resume may serve to provide with greater details

of my background and what I can offer.

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 Thank you very much for reading letter.

Very respectfully yours,

Eliz Navarro
Applicant

A Sample Letter of Inquiry

ELYSIAN EVENTS SPECIALIST

Gateway, Mall, Cubao Quezon City

January 20, 2017

MR. ERIC YATAL

Business Manager
Tiffany Chairs and Table Co.
Ermita, Manila City

Dear Mr. Yatal:

Good day.

Can Tiffany Chairs Tables Co. provide 1,000 pieces of golden tiffany chairs
and 500 pieces golden tiffany tables to be delivered on February 5, 2017?

We need to find a bulk supplier of tiffany chairs and tables for our events
company. Kindly answer the following questions:

1. Can you provide us with the total number of chairs and tables
needed?
2. Can you deliver the products on February 5, 2017?

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 3. Do you accept credit card or cash only?

We will highly appreciate your immediate response to this letter for we are
currently preparing for our schedule events on February 14, 2017. May we
please have your response by January 25, 2017?

Thank you so much.

Sincerely yours,

Anthony Herrera
Proprietor

A. Sample Letter of Response

TIFFANY CHAIRS AND TABLES CO.

Ermita, Manila
Contact #: 09056675432

January 24, 2007

MR. ANTHONY HERRERA

Proprietor
Elysian Events Specialists
Cubao, Quezon City

Dear Mr. Herrera:

SUBJECT: YOUR JANUARY 20 LETTER OF INQUIRY ABOUT YOUR

PRODUCTS

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 Here are the answers to your questions about our company’s Products. We
are glad to inform you that we can supply your needed chairs and tables. We
also

wish to inform you that from January 1 to January 31, 2017, have a New Year
Promo which is%
10discount on all our products.

1. Yes, we can provide you the needed number of golden Tiffany tables
and chairs.
2. Yes, we can deliverit as soonas you pay the total amountof the
products.
3. Yes, we accept credit card.

We hope we answered all your queries

about our golden Tiffany products. If
you have more questions, you can reach us at 09056675432 or you can visit us
from Monday through Saturday, 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
We look forward to more business transactions with your company. Thank you

Truly yo
urs,

ERIC YATAL.
Business Manager

4. Letter of Request
- Is commonly used everywhere. We daily used it in academe, in industry,
even in incorporate world. The main purpose of this letter is to request for
something you need.

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 In writing a letter of request, you may follow these steps:

First Paragraph: (orientation) This is the introduction part where you

begin with the details of the event or any activity. The date, time and
venue, should be also indicated.

Second Paragraph: (information) In this part, you need to mention the

requested materials or equipment or even venue. You need to be very
specific in this part.

Last Paragraph: (action) Thank the person in charge to promote good

will.
A Sample letter of request

5. Letter of Order
- Is one type of business letter which is written for the purpose of purchasing
items that are for sale.

An order letter according to Rosales et al (2009) usually contains the

following:

a. Name of the item ordered

b. Description each item, giving size, style, finish, quality, material, weight, or
whatever will help in identifying the article wanted

c. Catalog number of the item, if it is available

d. Quantity of each item wanted
e. Price of each item and the total price of the order
f. Method of shipment desired by the buyer
g. Address the goods are to be shipped or delivered
h. Date of shipment
i. Credit references, if payment is made from an account
j. Mode of payment

Qualification and carter objective will help you select format of your resume:

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 1. Chronological Resume Format Includes:
• Applicant’s name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Job Objectives
• Education
• Work history – listed job by job, beginning with the most recent position

A Chronological Resume

ERICSON TAN DELOS REYES

22 Masipag, st., Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal
[email protected]

09058450529

Possesses an effective, positive, and flexible teaching style with the

willingness to wok beyond the call of duty.

• Master Teacher I
Mandaluyong National High School
2014 – present
• High School Teacher
Our Lady of Fatima University-Valenzuela
2010 – 2014
• High School Teacher
Bright Morning Star academy
2005 – 2010
• Master of Arts in Filipino
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
2009 – 2014
• Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Filipino

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 Polytechnic University of the Philippines
2000 – 2004
• Expertise on mS word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint
• Filipino and English literate
• Good team leader
• Great skills in hosting events

Functional Resume Format focuses on the applicant’s skills rather

than on previous employment.

2. Combination Resume Format highlights the best features of 1 and 2

emphasizing the applicant’s capabilities while also including a complete
job history and is recommended for fresh graduates.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Name your top three dream companies and dream jobs. Write an
application letter for each company.

1. _______________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________
B. The class will be divided into six (6) groups. Each group will write
different types of letters. Each group will present and discuss their work
afterwards.

Activity 2

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. How do the different types of letters differ from one another?

2. Which among the three types of resumes will you use after you
graduate?
Why?

Learning Evaluation

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 Find a partner in your class. Write a letter of inquiry addressed to your
partner asking for his or her products and/ or services. After writing the letter of
inquiry, your partner will write a letter of response to your inquiries.

3.7 WRITING MEMORANDA

A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer.
- Dean Acheson

Discussion

Memo is one of the most frequently used in the corporate world. However,
some employees are still confused on what memo is. Due to lack of
knowledge and background about the definitions and content of the word
“memo”, sometimes it denotes something negative especially if you will learn
that it came from your superiors.

Memo as defined by Collins’s dictionary is a short official note that is

send by one person to another within the same company or organization to
remind the recipient. It is clipped or shortened term for memorandum. It is one
type of business correspondence together with business letters, contracts,
certifications, and endorsements which is written for the purpose of effective
management.

How long should a memo be? According to locker (2006), some

organizations force writers to be concise by requiring or encouraging one-
page memos. In simple situations, a page may be more than you need. In
other situation, careful revising and editing may enable you to cut your memo
to a page. When you can’t get everything on one page even with careful
revision, put the key points on one well-designed page and attach appendices
for readers who need more information.

Minas et al. (2010) shared two essential facts about interoffice

memorandum. First, a good memo passes departments, between individuals
in different departments, between the management and the staff, and others.
Second, most firms provide printed forms and restrict inter-office

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correspondence to one subject only in order to encourage conciseness and
clarity and facilitate filing and reference.

Memorandum versus Letter

Characteristic Memorandum Letter

Definition Internal: External:
correspondence written correspondence written
to colleagues within a outside the business.
company.
Format Identification linesInclude letterhead,
includes “Date” “To or address, date, reader’s
address, salutation, text,
for” “From” and
complimentary close
“Subject”. and signature.
The message
follows these.
Audience Generally high-tech or Generally low-tech and
low-tech, mostly lay readers such as
business colleagues. vendors and clients.

Topic Generally, to high-tech Generally low-tech to

to low-tech lay; abbreviation and
abbreviations and acronyms are usually
acronyms are often defined.
allowed
Tone Informal (peer audience) More formal (audience
of vendors and clients)

Attachment or Hard copy attachment Additional information

enclosure can be stapled to the can be enclosed within
memo. Complimentary
the envelope.
copies can be sent to
other readers, Complimentary copies
can be sent to other
readers.

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 Delivery time Determine by a Determine by the
company’s in-house destination (within the
mail procedure. Memos
city, state or country).
could be delivered
within 3 days (more or Letters could be
less) delivered within 3 days
but may take more than
a week.

A memorandum, just like any business correspondence must consist of

the following basic elements:

1. Heading – most of the time, companies create their own heading.

2. Dateline – the actual date when a memorandum is issued.
3. Number – refers to the frequency of the issued memos.
4. Receiver – the person whom the memorandum is to be sent.
5. Sender – the person who issued the memo
6. Subject – the topic or title memo
7. Enclosure – an optional part which includes the attachment.

Memorandum Number ________

TO:

FROM:
Focus + Topic
SUBJECT:
DATE:
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion

In writing memorandum, we should take note that there is a subtitle

difference between using Memorandum for or Memorandum To. The first is
usually written by a subordinate addressed to his superior while the letter
generally comes from the superior addressed to his subordinates.

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 Lastly, we should always remember that letters normally go to people
outside your organization; memos go to other people in your organization.

\Learning Activity

A. Analyze the parts and contents of the given memorandum.

Answer the following questions.

999Global Solutions
3rd Floor, Gateway Mall, Cubao, Quezon City

Memorandum Order No. 21

TO : ALL TEAM LEADERS
ALL CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES
FROM : MS. EVANGELINE DORIA
Supervisor
SUBJECT: 52 TALK GLOBAL SOLUTIONS CHRISTMAS PARTY
DATE : NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Good day,
This is to inform you about the scheduled Christmas Party that will be
held at Marikina Convention Center, Marikina City on December 23, 2013
(Saturday), 6:00 P.M to 10 P.M.

With this, I am glad to announce that bringingeoffamily

immediat
members to the event is highly encouraged to enjoy and to feel the spirit of
Christmas.

Kindly give the list of names of your invited guests to your Team Leader
on or before November 29, 2013 for reservation.

For information
and guidance. Thank you and God bless.
1. Who wrote the memorandum?

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 2. When was it written?
3. What is the memorandum all about?
4. When is the event?
5. What is the directive to the CSRs?

B. The class will be divided into five (5) groups. Each group will write a
memorandum to their instructor suggesting three (3) activities for Technical
Writing course that will be done by the class. Each group will present their
work to the class afterward.

Activity 2

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Why do you think it is important to observe FOR and TO in
addressing the receiver of the memorandum?

2. What will happen if the top management of a business entity

does not know how to write a memorandum?

3. What are the differences and similarities of business letters and

memoranda?

Learning Evaluation

Write a sample memorandum related to your field. Follow the memo checklist.
Effective Memo Checklist (Gerson. S.J. & Gerson, S.M., 2003)

✓ Have you used the correct memo format, including the date, to,
from, and subject lines?

✓ Is your subject line, correct?

• Is it typed in all caps?
• Does it contain a topic and a focus?
✓ Does your introduction tell why you are writing and what you are
writing about?

✓ Does the body explain exactly what you want to say?

✓ Does the conclusion tell what’s next, providing either a
complimentary or directive close?

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 ✓ Is your page layout reader friendly?
• Do you use highlighting techniques for accessibility, such
as bullets, boldface, underlining, and white spaces?

✓ Is your writing concise?

• Do you limit the number of words per sentences, the
number of syllables per word, and the number of lines per
paragraph?

✓ Is your writing clear?

• Do you answer reporter’s question?
• Do you avoid vague words, such as some, several, many,
or few, specifying instead?

✓ Have you written appropriately to your audience?

• Have you defined high-tech terms where necessary for
low-tech or lay leaders?

• Have you achieved the correct tone and personalized

your memo based on your audience and purpose?

✓ An error eliminated? Remember, memo with grammatical or

mechanical errors will destroy your credibility. You must
proofread to catch errors.

References:

Custodio,E.S., Achas, A.P., Ambida, R.S., & Maglaya,R. (2013). Business

communication in the Deloitte. (2017). Assessing cyber risk: Critical
questions for the board and the C-suite. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
limited. Retrieved form
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Risk/
gx-ersassesing-cyber-risk.pdf For English major students. “ABAC
Journal. 28.2 (2008): 10 Mar. 2013.
Kollock, P. (2018). “The economics of online collaboration: gifts and public
goods in Cyberspace.” In Kollock, Peter and Marc Smith. Communities
in Cyberspace. London: Routledge. 1999. ISBN 9780415191401. Pp.
220-239.

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Lentz P. & Rentz, K. (2018). Business communication: a problem-solving
approach (loose-leaf), 1st Edition. McGraw Hill Education.
Locker, K. O. (2006). Business and administration communication (7 th ed.).
New York: McGraw-
Roberts, S.L. (1999). Business writing for dummies. Foster City, C.A.: IDG
Books Worldwide
Magpayo, E. R. (2005). Effective technical and business communication.
Quezon, City. Bookman, Inc.

LESSON 4

TECHNICAL REPORT

Overview:

This lesson will help learner to become more knowledgeable in

writing rousing technical report. It focuses on fundamental concepts of
report writing, classification of technical reports, and minutes of the
meeting.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. explain the fundamental concepts of report writing;

2. use different concepts in writing technical report;

3. distinguish the categories of technical reports;
4. write different technical reports; and
5. compose minutes of the meeting.

Materials Needed:
1. Computer/Android phone with internet connection (Moodle, scree
recorder, Google meet and Google classroom)
2. Module
Duration: 9 hours
Learning Content:

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 A side from writing business letters, another way to communicate in
business or in organization effectively is writing a report. Every day, there is a
tremendous number of reports written and circulating in the corporate world.
There are two vital questions that every report writer should consider;
“who is the audience?” and “what is my purpose?”
Before writing any report, we should bear in mind the destination of our
report. In business, the audience might be your boss, supervisor, manager,
employee or client. Furthermore, written reports may supply a record of work
accomplished, record and clarify complex information for future reference,
present information to a large number of people, record problems
encountered, documents schedules, timetables, and milestones, recommend
future actions, document current status, and so on (Gerson, S.J. & Gerson
S.M. 2003).
Your purpose is your reason for writing a report. It may be for the
purpose of informing important details or progress about the company,
analyzing the costing or strengths and weaknesses of the company, or
recommending possible actions or solution based on certain facts and data.

4.1 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF REPORT WRITING

Being a real writer means being able to do work on a bad day.

- Norman
Mailer

Discussion

In writing a report, language plays a vital role. The language should be

concise, coherent, and precise to smoothly connect the ideas and the sections
of a business report. There are four fundamentals of report writing.

1. The K-I-S-S Concept is an acronym for Keep It Short and Simple. This
concept highlights the use of simple but concise words rather than the use
of jargons and complex words. This concept also emphasizes expressing
rather than impressing.

2. Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing. Quoting is the exact copying

of a portion of an original text. In doing this, certain punctuation must be

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 observed. In paraphrasing, you will need to use your own words in
restating author’s ideas or words. In doing this, the same number of words
like the original is observed. Summarizing is like a paraphrasing but differs
on the number of words. Summarizing is recapitulating author’s ideas or
words. This is a shorter restatement of the original text in your own words.
Lastly, these three need to be properly documented.

3. Use of graphic organizers may be classified as tables or figures. Tables

are compact summary of data or information which is systematically
presented in columns. Furthermore, figures may include graphs and charts
in presenting the data or information.

Categories of Report

A report should be well-planned and organized, logically sequenced,

and easy to read. There are two main categories of report, according to
Roberts (1999):

1. Informal report can range from a few paragraphs to several pages. Whether
an informal report is written as a letter, memo, or email message, it generally
includes an introduction, body, and conclusion recommendations. This report
may function to inform, sell, direct, clarify, or recommend.

The introduction elaborates the subject and procedures of the report while the
body presents the findings from thorough researches. All finding is arranged in
order of priority. Lastly, the conclusion/ recommendation tells what the
diagnosis is all about. It also gives the possible actions, solutions or
recommendations on what to be done about the findings of the study.

2. Formal report is generally lengthy. It may include tittle page, executive

summary, table of contents, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations and
symbols, body, conclusions or recommendations appendixes, index, and
more. This repot may function to inform, document, direct, clarify, examine,
analyze, propose, and recommend.

A report should be long enough to be thorough and short enough to be

concise. To ensure that, your report is thorough, cover all the key issues.

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To ensure that it’s concise, KISS (keep it short simple).
Reports can just provide information, both provide information and
analyze it, or provide information and analysis to support a recommendation.
Reports can be called information report if they collect data for reader,
analytical reports if they interpret data but do not recommend action, and
recommendation reports if they recommend action or solution (Locker, 2006).

Three levels of reports

Reports can provide the following:

Information only
• Sales reports (sales figure for the week or month)
• Quarterly reports (figures showing a plant’s productivity and profits for
the quarter)
Information plus analysis
• Annual reports (financial data and an organization’s accomplishments
during the past year)

• Audit reports (interpretations of the facts revealed during an audit)

• Make-good or pay-back reports (calculations of the point at which a
new capital investment will pay for itself)
Information plus analysis plus a recommendation
• Feasibility reports (evaluate two or more alternatives and recommend
which alternative the organization should choose)

• Justification reports (justify the needs of a purchase, an investment, a

new personnel line, or a change in procedure)

• Problem-solving reports (identify the causes of an organizational

problem and recommend a solution)

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. The class will be divided into five (5) groups. Each group will write a
sample report following the ten steps in report writing. After writing the
report, each group will present their work into the class.

B. Interview a company manager. List five best practices being followed by

the company manager in writing a report.

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Activity 2

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. For you, which among the fundamental concepts in writing a report is the
most important? Why?

2. Among the five practices given by a company manager, which among

them do you find interesting? Why?

3. Why do you think skills in report writing are important? Explain your
answer.

Learning Evaluation

Quiz

Explain the steps in writing a report briefly.

1. Determine the problem.

__________________________________________________________
_

2. Identify who your audience.

___________________________________________________________
3. Identify what you need to learn.
___________________________________________________________
4. Gather information and data.
___________________________________________________________
5. Summarize your findings.
___________________________________________________________
6. Design, organize, and write your report.
___________________________________________________________

7. Draw possible conclusions and recommendations.

___________________________________________________________

8. Cite your references if applicable (Use APA Style)

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 __________________________________________________________
_

9. Review and revise your report.

___________________________________________________________
10. Present or submit your report,
___________________________________________________________

4.2. CLASSIFICATION OF TECHNICAL REPORTS

Even in writing an annual report, the unconscious plays a role.

- Mason Cooley

Discussion

In the workplace, the report plays an important role, whether you are
preparing one of your supervisors, the executive staff, board of directors or
clients. It may be short or simple, in the form a memorandum or email, or it
may be more several pages long. Whatever is length, content, or destination,
is the end result is the same: a report must be informative, factual,
understandable, and neatly presented (Oxford Dictionary).
Business report is broad in scope and covers numerous written
documents necessary in doing business such as incident report,
accomplishment report, recommendation report, financial report and so on.
Even though, there are several types of business reports, having a
standard business report format, according to Custodio et al. (2013) allows
the reader to easily locate the important information presented. It also enables
the writer to organize the report effectively and logically. Knowing how to write
a business report is necessary in the business world.
There are basic classifications of written report
1. Article Report – is a simple report which aims to inform the masses. This
report focuses on any general interest. This is like the magazine article we
read on regular days.

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2. Laboratory Report – is a comprehensive report written to communicate
laboratory works and observations to the management. It also focuses on
the question, “How” did we do it?
The following are the common parts of laboratory report;
a. Abstract – This part shows the outline of the entire experiment.
b. Introduction – This part presents the objectives and importance of the
experiments. Sometimes, the background of the report often includes
theoretical predictions for what the results should be.

c. Procedures – This part is sometimes called methods or steps for it

presents the step – by – step methods on how the experiment is done.

d. Results and Discussion – This part presents the discussion of the

experiment as well as the results which are composed of tables and
figures.

e. References – This part includes the sources and references used in

conducting the experiment.

f. Conclusion – This part summarizes the results of experiment.

g. Appendices – This part is composed of raw data, calculations, graphs,
figures, pictures, communication and so on that you have not included in
the report itself.

3. Information Report – The main functions of this report are based from the
title itself, to inform. This report includes the periodic and annual report.

a. Periodic report – is a type of information report written by the employees

or subordinates which they submit daily, weekly or monthly to their
superiors to note information of interest to the organization to show
comparison and tendencies.

b. Annual Report – is a type of information report which includes the listing

of activities, projects and event of an organization during the whole year
round to show progress, financial status, and general states of affairs. This
project can be classified as public or private.

4. Special Information Report – is composed of three subcategories which

are preliminary report, progress report and final report.

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a. Preliminary report – is a type of special information report that collects
information about a proposed project which includes the costing, designs,
and other elements.

b. Progress report – is a type of special information report that records the

history of an activity from the time it has started up to the present date of
writing.

SAMPLE OF PROGRESS REPORT: (extracted from Lannon 1997)

Progress report (on the job)

Subject: Progress Report: Equipment for New Operations Building

Work Completed
Our training group has met twice since our May 12 report in order to
answer the questions you posed in your May 16 memo. In our first meeting,
we identified the types of training we anticipate.

Types of Trainings Anticipated

• Divisional Surveys
• Loan Officer Work Experience
• Divisional System Training
• Divisional Clerical Training (continuing)
• Divisional Clerical Training (New Employees)
• Divisional Management Training (Seminars)
• Special/ New Equipment Training.

In our second meeting, we considered various areas for the training room,

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Training Room
The frequency of training necessitates having a training room available
daily. The large training room in the Corporate Education area (10 th floor)
would be ideal. Before submitting our next report, we need your confirmation
that this room can assigned to us.

To support the training programs, we purchased this equipment:

• Audioviewer
• LCD monitor
• Videocassette recorder and monitor
• CRT
• Software for computer-assisted instruction
• Slide projector
• Tape recorder

This equipment will allow us to administer training in variety of modes,

ranging from programmed and learner-centered instruction to group
seminars and workshops.

Work Remaining
To support the training, we need to furnish the room appropriately.
Because the types of training will vary, the furniture should provide a flexible
environment.

Outlined here are our anticipated furnishing needs.

• Tables and chairs that can be set up in many configurations. These

would allow for individual or group training and large seminars.

• Portable room dividers. This would provide study space for training
with programed instructions, and allow for simultaneous training.
• Built – it stages for audio-visual equipment and training supplies.
Ideally this storage space should be multipurpose, providing work and
display purposes.

• A flexible lighting system, important for audio-visual presentations and

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 individualized study.

• Independent temperature control, to ensure that the training room

remains comfortable regardless of group size and equipment used.

The project is on schedule. As soon as we receive your approval of these

specifications, we will proceed to the next step: sending our bids for room
dividers, and having plans drawn for built-in storage space.

cc. R.S Pike SVP

G.T. Bailey, SVP

c. Final Report – Is a type of special information report submitted after

completing a project to show plans were delivered.

5. Research Report – is a common report which generates data either in a

laboratory or in the field. The contents and organization of this type of
report have a basic logic: you present your data and conclusions, but also
present information on how you went about the experiment or survey. The
following are the contents of a research report:

a. Introduction – this part of research provides the reader a background

of the report as well as the purpose of the report.

b. Problem – this includes essential inquiries and situations that led to

the writing of the report.

c. Purpose, Objectives and Scope – this section tells the reader what the
researcher intends to do. Also, the Aims of the research as well as the
limits to be covered are included in this part.

d. Review of Literature – this part of report includes related readings from

different literatures such as books, journals, articles, magazines,
encyclopedia, and the likes.
e. Materials, equipment, and facilities – These include the supplies,
resources and facilities that were utilized in the report.

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f. Theory, Methods, Procedures – these tell the reader how the report writer
conducted the research. These include the process Involved in the
completion of the report.

g. Results, Finding, and Data – these present the outcome of the research
with the use of tables, figures, and charts. The tables, figures, and charts
are interpreted and explained by the research.

h. Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations – this section is the last

part of a research report. This includes the conclusions based from the
findings and the Recommendations are in turn based on the conclusions.

i. Bibliography – this is the list of all the sources and references user by the
report writer in accomplishing the research report.

The general format of a research report commonly includes the

following:

• Transmittal Letter
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Problem, Background
• Purpose, Objectives, and Scope
• Review of Literature
• Materials, Equipment, and Facilities
• Theory, Methods and Procedures
• Results, Findings, Data
• Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
• Bibliography

6. Field report – is intended to improve student understanding of key

theoretical concepts of a course through observation and reflection of real-
life practice. In addition, this type of report facilitates the development of

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 data collection and observation skills and allows students to see how theory
applies to real world practice.

When writing a field report, you need to consider two things:

a. Systematically observe and accurately record the details and information

of a certain aspect of a situation; constantly analyze your observation for
meaning.

b. Keep the report’s aims in mind while you are observing; consciously
observe, record and analyze what you hear and see in the context of a
theoretical framework (Glense & Peshkin, 1992).

Therefore, field report is linking theory and practice. It also involves both
description and analysis. It is necessary to avoid some common students’
errors when writing a field report such as presenting description without
any analysis of what has been described or observed.

7. Recommendation Report – is written to answer questions which are

somehow critical to decide on. It shows options or choices so that good
decision can be drafted.

The following elements are the typical contents of a recommendation

report: a. Introduction

b. Technical Background
c. Make Comparisons
d. Critical Requirements
e. Conclusions
f. Recommendations

SAMPLE Recommendation Report (Extracted from Lannon, 1997)

Trans Globe Airlines

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 To: R. Ames, Vice President

From: B. Doakes, Health and Safety

Date: August 15, 20xx

Subject: Recommendation for Reducing Agents’ Discomfort

In our July 20 staff meeting, we discussed physical discomfort among

reservation and booking agents, who spend eight hours daily at automated
workstations. Our agents complain of headaches, eyestrain and irritation,
blurred or double vision, backache and stiff joints. This report outlines the
apparent cause and recommends ways of reducing discomfort.

Causes of Agents’ Discomfort

For the time being, I have ruled out the computer displays screen as a cause
of headaches and eye problems for the following reasons:

1. Our new display screens have excellent contrast and no flicker.

2. Research findings about the effect of low-level radiation from computer
screens are inconclusive.
The headaches and eye problems seem to be caused by the excessive glare
on display screens from background lighting.

Other discomforts, such as backaches, ad stiffness, apparently result from the

agents’ sitting in one position for up to two hours between breaks.

Recommended Changes

We can eliminate such discomfort by improving background lighting,

workstation conditions, and work routines and habits.

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Background Lighting. To reduce the glare on display screens these are
recommended changes in background lighting:

1. Decrease all overhead lighting by installing-wattage bulbs,

2. Keep all curtains and adjustable blinds on the south and west windows
at least half-drawn to block direct sunlight.
3. Install shades to direct the overhead light straight downward so that it is
not reflected by the screens.

Workstation Condition: These are recommended changes in the

workstations:

1. Reposition all screens so light resources are neither in front nor back.
2. Wash the surface of each screen weekly.
3. Adjust each screen so the top is slightly below the operator’s eye level.
4. Adjust all keyboards so they are 27 inches from the floor.
5. Replace all fixed chairs with adjustable, armless, secretarial chairs.

Work Routines and Habits: these are recommended changes in agents’ work
routines and habits:

1. Allow frequent rest periods (10 minutes after each hour instead of 30
minutes twice daily.
2. Provide yearly eye exams for all terminal operators, as part of our
routine health-care program.
3. Train employees to adjust screen contrast and brightness wherever the
background lighting changes.
4. Offer workshops on improving posture.

cc. J. Bush, Medical director

M. white, Manger of Physical Plants.

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8. Incidental Report – is written to narrate incident prior to, during, and
after a situation suddenly occurred. We should bear in mind that incident
report is definitely different from narrative type of essay. The presentation of
ideas in an incident report is systematically arranged and organized using
appropriate language. This kind of report uses simple and clear words and
avoid using jargons and technical terms.

There are things to consider in writing an incident report:

a. The context of the incident

b. Details of the incident
c. Thoughts, feelings, and concerns about the incident
d. Demands of the incident
e. Impact of the incident

Sample incident report (from

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/medicine/reflective/5.xml)

At the end of my clinical tutorial my tutor arranged for us to

meet briefly in order for her to discuss her feedback with me. She
stated that over the semester she had noticed that I very rarely spoke
in the tutorials and did not appear to engage with the other students.
She was concerned that I appeared to lack confidence, and explained
that being able to express opinions clearly and confidently was
essential in my future career as a doctor. In her view the only way to
develop confidence was to participate regularly. She asked me how I
felt about this, and if there was a reason why I almost never spoke in
class. I explained that in my culture students were not always
encouraged to speak, and for that reason I did not find it easy. I also
mentioned that I sometimes feel shy. At the time of this
incident, many emotions were running through me. I felt embarrassed
that my lack of confidence was so obvious to her, and also concerned
about what impact it might have on my results. I was worried that she
would write negative comments about my behavior and attitude, and

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that these comments would be available for other lectured to read. At
the same time, I realized that her concerns were justified – I had been
aware of my lack of contribution throughout the semester, and had
even avoided going to some tutorials because of those feelings. This
was also an unfamiliar situation for me, as I had always done very
well at school and achieved good marks, so I had never had to talk
with a teacher in this way before. Although I understood that her
intention was to help me to do better; I felt very uncomfortable and
even ashamed to have to acknowledge my poor performance in this
area. I felt guilty when I realized that in her opinion I had contributed
so little to the class.
This incident was very demanding because it forces me to
acknowledge an area where I have always lacked confidence. Even
though I prepared to focus on other areas, I knew that my tutor would
he noticing me my behavior in tutorials over the rest of the semester,
and that her written comments would depend on my performance, as
a consequence I felt under pressure. I also felt anxious about
confronting this issue and trying to develop the confidence I needed.

Although this incident caused me discomfort and added

pressure in the short term, I realized that it was a very significant
event in my studies. As a result of the conversation with my tutor u
was forced to consider my behavior in tutorials and became more
aware on how others viewed me. I had been using to think that I was
‘invisible’ In tutorials, but now I realized that not taking actually made
me stand out more. Fortunately, the tutor gave me advice on how to
gradually develop the confidence I need, and I also sought help from
some of my friends. I even organized to have some informal tutorials
with friends to give me a chance to practice. Over the final weeks of
the semester, I managed to talk at least once in every clinical tutorial,
either asking a question or making a comment. I have started trying to
talk in other tutorials also, in other subjects. I have set myself the goal
of talking at least once every tutorial.

This Incident was therefore very important, because without it I

would still be remaining silent in my tutorials, and would have

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 received negative written comments from my clinical tutor in my
portfolio. More importantly, it has helped me to acknowledge and work
on an area for improvement which will be beneficial in all aspect of the
course. Developing greater confidence at speaking in tutorials may
lead to me being more confident in performing clinical examinations
on patients. It may also lead to me feeling more in control and
experiencing less nerves during my Objective Structured Clinical
Examination (OSCE) assessment.

9. Accomplishment Report – is written for the purpose of presenting the

company, organization, or institution’s activities and achievements and to
monitor and check if the plans were successfully carried out. Every
organization or business entity provides a format of an accomplishment
Report.

The following are some steps in writing an accomplishment Report:

a. Use the prescribed template of your company;

b. Create tables or charts with the following columns: number, action or
activity, initiator, person responsible, remarks (target time, comments);

c. Add risk factor if needed; and

d. Include a list of who will be remaining this report.
There are more common types of reports such as feasibility repots,
inventory reports, staff utilization reports, travel reports, study reports,
justification reports, and so on.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Complete the student progress Report by providing the necessary

information. After accomplishing the table, interpret and explain your
progress report.

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 STUDENT WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT

Date: __________________________________

Student Name: ________________________ Year and Section:

___________

Cours Attendanc Assignmen Seatwork Qui Remark Teacher’

e Title e t / z s s
Activity Signature
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Write your insights and interpretations:

______________________________________________________________
__
______________________________________________________________
__
______________________________________________________________
__

B. The class will be divided into five (5) groups. Each group will write an
incident report about any sudden incident in the school. After
accomplishing the incident report, each group will present their work to the
class.

C. Write an annual accomplishment report stating from the previous year by

listing all your targets, achievements, and remarks by month.

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 MY ANNUAL ACCOPLISHMENT REPORT.

Coverage:
_______________________________________________________

Month Target Achievement Remarks

D. Visit your school’s library, look for a research paper related to your field.
Analyze each part of the research that you picked by making your own
analysis about it.

E. With the permission from a company on an organization, paste any sample

report. Analyze the report in terms of the following: types, parts, and
purpose.
Activity 2

Answer the following question briefly.

1. What is the importance of writing a laboratory report? Explain your

answer.

2. Among the different classifications of report, which is the most

important report in a company? Why do you think so?

3. Why do we write our accomplishments in an accomplishment report?

4. What is the essence of writing a progress report?

Learning Evaluation

Quiz

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 Identify what is being described in the statement. Choose tour answer
from then book of knowledge. Write your answer on the space provided.

_______________ 1. This report is like the column in a magazine.

_______________ 2. This report is presented after completing a certain

project.

_______________ 3. This report is submitted to record weekly information of

interest.
_______________ 4. The data of this report can be obtained from field or
laboratory.

_______________ 5. This report contains the details of the incidents.

_______________ 6. This written to answer queries for a purpose of

decisionmaking.

_______________ 7. This report is written to report certain development.

_______________ 8. This report has a purpose of archiving the work.

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_______________ 9. This report includes periodic and annual report.

_______________ 10. This report combines theory and practice.

4.3 MINUTES OF THE MEETING

The trouble with the contemporary generation is that it has not read the
minutes of the last meeting.
- Richard Weaver

Discussion

Every meeting is important, furthermore, every minute in a meeting is

important as well. every minute in a meeting especially during board
meetings, annual meetings, and other executive meeting should be recorded
so that none from the agenda will be overlooked. This is vital in a saving time
and money.

Minutes of the meeting or sometimes called meeting minutes can be defined

as written or recorded documentation that is issued to inform people of what
happened during the meeting and define the next step planned.
(beesappps.com)

Creating a meeting minutes according to MeetingKing.com provides a

written report of what has agreed at a meeting. Good meeting minutes tell
people what was decided and what they need to achieve and b what date.
When meeting minutes are received, it jogs memories about task that people
need to do. If a task is not performed then you can refer back to the meeting
minutes to follow up on it. Without meeting minutes, you have no resource if
an action was not carried out. In the worst case, if meeting minutes is not
written you may end up having to repeat the meeting.

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 Every company has its own format or template for the minutes of the
meeting. The template depends on how the companies use the documents.
Here are some of the essential and general parts of the meeting:

1. Heading – contains the complete name and address of the company.

Every company has its own template for heading. Sometimes,
company contact number and e-mail address are included in this part.

2. Title of the meeting – includes the date, day, and starting time of the
meeting. Also, the venue or location of the meeting is included.

3. Attendance – is the complete list of names of all the attendees of the

meeting. Most of the time, the attendance of the meeting is listed on
separate sheet of paper that is being attached to the minutes of the
meeting.

The attendance of the meeting into three components:

a. Present – the complete list of names of all those who are
present at the meeting.

b. Regrets – the complete list of names of those who have

contacted the chairman or presider to let them know that they
will be unable to attend the schedule meeting.

c. Absent – the complete list of those who are absent at the

meeting.

Usually, the attendance of the meeting is being checked, monitored,

and approved by the corporate secretary. The general rule in
establishing the quorum of the meeting is half plus one of the total
numbers of the attendees.

4. Call to order – consist of the time of the scheduled meeting. Moreover,

in this part, the complete name and position or designation of the one
who set the meeting is stated. You may refer to then Notice of Meeting
for the details needed in this part.

5. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of the Previous Meeting –

contains the motion to approve the minutes of the previous or last

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 meeting as circulated to approve the minutes of amended. The
attendees of the meeting may correct or revise the minutes of the
previous meeting.

6. Business Arising from the Previous Minutes of the Meeting – includes

some agenda from the previous meeting that are needed to be
reviewed and needed to take immediate action.

7. New Business – refers to the agenda of the meeting. You may refer to
the notice of meeting to follow the flow of agenda of the meeting. Other
agenda that are not listed maybe added in the other matters. This is the
heart of every minute of the meeting. This part should be carefully
written. Every detailed should be included and specified so that nothing
will be overlooked.

8. Adjournment – is composed of the exact time the meeting was

adjourned or ended by the chairman or presider.

9. Signature – contains the signature over complete name of the

corporate secretary who prepared the minutes of the meeting.
The corporate secretary should be keen in recording the minutes of the
meeting and careful in writing them down.

Sample of minutes of the meeting

GOLDEN EAGLE CONSTRUCTION

BC3 Building, Vito Cruz, Manila

MINUTES OF THE MEETING

September 13, 2017 (Wednesday), 9: 00 A. M
New airport Auditorium, BC3 building,
Vito Cruz Manila

I. ATTENDANCE
Please see the attached attendance sheet.
II. CALL TO ORDER

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 The meeting was called to order at 10:00 A.M. by Engr.
Antonio Dela Merced, President and CEO of the Golden Eagle
Construction.
III. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MEETING
 None
IV. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES OF THE
MEETING
 None
V. NEW BUSINESS (AGENDA)
1. Engr. Antonio Dela Merced, the president and CEO of the
company, announced that the company will be expanding in
Cebu early next year.
2. In connection with the expansion, additional managers,
supervisor, staff, foreman, electrician, construction workers and
the likes are needed. Mr. JR Doromal, Human resource
manager mentioned that additional of 250 employees are
needed.
3. Mr. Dino Caabral, the company’s finance officer presented the
estimated budget for the expansion. (Please refer to the
attached budget proposal)
4. The president also told the head of every department to prepare
for the upcoming expansion and to submit the needed reports
and documents next meeting.
5. The next meeting is scheduled after 2 weeks, said the president,
September 27, 2018 (Wednesday) 9:00 A.M., same venue.
6. Every department head is expected to attend and present
reports for the expansion.
7. There are no other matters to be discussed.

VI. ADJOURNMENT
 The meeting was adjourned by the president at 11:48
A.M.
Prepared by:

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 Mr. Raymond Sibuco
Corporate Secretary

Approved by:

Engr. Antonio Dela Merced

President and CEO

Learning Activities

Activity 1
A. The class will be divided into eight (8) groups. For 20 minutes, they will
discuss how to write minutes of the meeting. After brainstorming, each
group will write minutes of meeting based on what they have brainstormed
following the format give in the discussion.
B. Listen to a video of an executive meeting. Write minutes of the meeting
about the video you’ve watched.

Activity 2
Answer the following questions briefly.

1. What is the importance of writing minutes of the meeting?

2. What will happen if a company does not write minutes of the meeting
every meeting?

3. What is the most difficult part in writing the minutes of the meeting?

Learning Evaluation

Attend any meeting. Ask permission if you can record the meeting using your
mobile phone. Write the minutes of the meeting using the recorded
discussion.

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References:

Kolenda, N. (2016). The psychology of fonts. Kolenda entertainment LLC.

Spredfast, (2018). 22018 Social audience guides: your guide to understanding

audiences across networks. Spredfastt.com
Steimly, J. (2017). 15 ways to lead with effective communication.
Entrepreneur.com
Cabalfin, E.G. (2015). What kids should know about Filipino architecture.
Quezon City, Adarna House.
htttp://www.micron.com/k12/writing/differences
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-iss-a-monograph.html
Jordan, R.R. (n.d). Academic writing course.
Lannon, J.M. (2000). Technical communications, 8 th Ed. New York
AddisonWesley Educational Publisher inc.
Mills, G. H., Walter, J. A. (1991). Technical writing. Manila; National
Bookstore.
Mosura, C.T., Tenorio, E. S. (1991) contemporary technical writing styles and
strategies. Valenzueala City: mutya Publishing House.
Thorn, M., Badrick, A. (1990) An introduction to technical writing. London:
Cambridge University Press.
Toothman, J. (2018). How rice cookers work. Retrieved from
https://home.howstuffworks.com/rice-cooker2.com
Wonder, S, (2018). How do you make paper from a tree. Retrieved from
https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-you-make-paper-from-a-tree
Wood, J. T. (2001). Communication mosaics: an introduction to the field of
communication (2nd edition) Australia: Wadsworth.

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 LESSON 5
EVALUATING VISUAL RHETORIC
Overview:
This lesson will enlighten learners on the what, why, how, where and
the analytical methodologies of visual rhetoric.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lessons, students should be able to:

1. define visual rhetoric;
2. explain visual rhetoric’s significance in business communication;
3. analyze visual cues and image based on odes of persuasion;
4. criticize the manner of visual rhetoric presentation;
5. create their own visual arguments; and
6. evaluate visual rhetoric examples.

Introduction

In the chapter, we study the growing avenue to communicate, particularly the

role visual images to persuasion. By nature, people are cognizant that
convincing someone to act on something is a necessary skill to practice I
order to satisfy one’s needs. Whatever our status or role in life is – whether
you are a business man, a teacher, a lawyer, a broadcaster, a doctor, a clergy
man, a student, a friend, or even simply by being a child to your parents, the
ability to persuade others has become our drive to strive and fulfil our
purpose. However, given the unimaginable and inevitable advancement of
technology, our means to induce others has grown as well. more than mere
words or texts, we choose to tell our stories and stance image forms to adapt
to the demands of the changing society.

Although reading in something visual form is not new, we could still bring
ourselves back to the time and place where people during the Old Stone Age
left evidence of rock paintings and cuneiforms where the earliest human acts
are picture writing and reading. Followed by the Sumerian in Southern

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Mesopotamia more than 5000 years ago, they developed a writing system
whose wedge-shape strokes influenced the style of the scripts for the next
3000 years. Also, during the Egyptian civilization when Egyptians invented
paper from papyrus plant where they wrote their signs with reed pen and ink
made by a mixture of water, gum and soot. These visual cues were nearly
relevant to how we perceive things in the real word in order to convey
meaning and register to memory. But how do these images act rhetorically
towards their spectators?

5.1 THE WHAT, WHY AND WHERE OF VISUAL

RHETORIC

New media text is typically distributed in an online context, and because of

their use of modes that readers more typically find in aesthetic texts (i.e., film,
audio, animation), their argumentative models are not linear, alphabetic,
reminiscent of traditional print – bound models.
- Cheryl Ball

Discussion

In our growing visual culture, having the millennials and gen Z down to gen
Alpha, it is incontestable that people of the modern day would always opt to
seeing and evaluating things through visual images, may they be moving or
still. In any aspect of the society, reading long text and articles became
problematic to the way we understand them in one sitting or so. Even the
PowerPoint presentations that are crammed with verbose content (words and
visuals) are no longer ideal and acceptable to the eyes and judgment of the
viewers. Sadly, there is no or little appreciation on the works of the writer or
image of the speaker as a result.

Effective business communicators must realize the needs of being

understood particularly on how their visual presentations affect the audience’s
ability to apprehend and response positively to the message they want to

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convey that also reflects their professional credibility. Therefore, visual
rhetoric is seen as a vital part of solving problems in the business world.

Visual Rhetoric refers to the way the visual topographies of a message and
the overall design of a document communicate not only the message but also
the business communicators’ professional credibility. These features include
not only photos, drawings, charts, graphs, and tables, but also the document
design such as font styles, size, color, placement of text on a page, paragraph
length, and the use of headings (Lentz and Rentz, 2018). Given this definition,
it is not imperative for one to become a graphic designer or IT professional in
order to achieve the desire result. Whether you plan to be a teacher, an
accountant, marketer, vlogger, public speaker, event manager, dancer or
choreographer, director, actor, doctor or a veterinarian, as long as your
purpose is to design a message and to present them visually for the best
readability that can persuade the readers or viewers and see your message
as worth reading and worth spending time on, you are creating a visual
rhetoric.

Considering the need to convince the audience, the following modes of

persuasion (rhetorical appeals by Aristotle) are used:
o Ethos or the ethical appeal means to convince the audience of the
communicator’s credibility and character.

o Pathos or the emotional appeal is a way of convincing the audience of an

argument through stimulating an emotional response on however the
communicator wants him to feel based on the visual cues.

o Logos or logical appeal is the communicator’s way of convincing the

audience based on logic and facts.
In business, visual rhetoric becomes rampantly significant to one’s
success. Conversely, words are said to be a powerful weapon of a person
especially in making an impact to customers or client. This is unswervingly
similar to images. More than visual manipulation, image is as powerful as
words as they are still part of some materials used to persuade the recipients
but mostly because of the imagery that they create in our minds.

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For instance, when browsing your Facebook feed, you might come across ads
like the following:

Ask yourself questions such as, “what is this advertisement for?” or

“what is the purpose of this ad?”
The first ad from Maybelline Philippines enthused the makeup enthusiast or
even an ordinary person who is into beauty products to hoard or simply buy
their lipstick products since they are on sale via online shop which can be
accessed through lazada.com.ph. The word “SALE” and figure “50%” are the
feature that customer may always give attention to. The phrase “FEW HOURS
LEFT” will create alarm as it emphasizes that they will have countdown for the
“2HRS ONLY” promo. With the additional photo of Gigi Hadid wearing a nude
lipstick shade and display of their new shades of lipsticks, the audience will
rely on the color hues they see. Thus, the audience of this ad may neglect to
realize or give careful mindfulness of the time limit of sale.
Since visual rhetoric is not limited to picture neither to a text alone,
rather a combination of visual and verbal expression or arguments with an
effort to stimulate a desired response from the audience, other modes to
locate them include political cartoons on newspapers, captioned photographs
in print or media (e g. Magazines), business communications, dad short and
independent films, television advertisements, political and fundraising
campaign films and ads, statistical graphs and charts of instructions and

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maps, book covers, YouTube video intros, and even social media memes.
Majority of these platforms are expressed through visual typographies.

Learning Activities
Activity 1
A. Answer the following comprehension questions:
1. What is visual rhetoric?
2. Why is visual rhetoric being significant in today’s word? In business?
In one’s life?
3. Where else can you see visual rhetoric?
4. How would you identify that the material is an example of visual rhetoric?

5. When do you need to create a visual rhetoric?

B. Below are examples of commercial ads. Analyze them visually and answer
the questions rhetorically.

Comprehension Questions:

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 1. What rhetorical strategies do these ads use to achieve their
purpose? Pay attention to the interaction of the written text with
the visual elements.

2. How does the arrangement on the page affect your response?

3. What is the appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos?
4. How effective do you think the advertisements are in reaching its
intended audience?

5. What symbols are used?

Activity 2

Below are visual typographies and illustrations you may encounter around
you.

A. Identify where you usually see them.

B. Write the initial message of each on a separate sheet of paper.

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C. Analyze the visual (not textual) information in the following ads, then,
answer the questions that follow. You will have three sets of answer.

1. Are there people in the ads? If yes,

a. What do they look like? (Age, gender, status)
b. How are they dressed? (Fashion taste)
c. What are they doing in the ad?
2. What is the setting?
a. Is it indoors or outdoors? Why do you think is their preference?

b. What is the background? Is it emphasized or not?

3. What are the other objects that appear in the ad?
4. What colors are used in the ad? Are they bright or muted? Warm or
color?

5. What are the other features that caught your attention?

6. What kind of person drinks this brand?
7. How will this alcoholic drink make you feel?
8. What will this alcoholic drink add to your life?
9. Will you be pleased to drink after seeing that ad? Why or why not?
10. If you were to choose one ad that fits you, which would it be? Why?

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D. Write a descriptive paragraph describing a person using at most six
adjectives (e.g., proud, approachable, funny, loving, friendly, naughty).

Don’t hesitate to be creative. Then, using your phone, take a selfie

capturing this character that you have to personify considering how you
can best exemplify the person through your photo setting, angle,
costume, facial expression, quality or filter of the shot. Send the selfie
to your instructor. The teacher complies all selfies and description in a
slide show. In class, you will match a numbered selfie in the slideshow to
the description you think the person would have written.

Discussion Questions:

1. What made you think that what you match with the selfies are correct?

2. How do the selfies accurately describe a person’s character? In what

ways are you convinced?

3. Why do you think the traits, together with the pictures, contribute a lot to
one’s credibility (ethos)?

Learning Evaluation

Using the visual arguments below complete the table by writing your
answers. Use a separate sheet of paper.

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 Claim Assumption Evidence What makes the
(What is the (What is the (What does it advertisement
advertisement logical present as proof effective or
trying to say?) to show that the appealing?
construction of
the argument?) claim is true?)

AD 1:
AD 2:
AD 3:
AD 4:
5.2 THE HOW OF VISUAL RHETORIC

The field of Rhetoric/composition has yet to acknowledge, truly

acknowledge, that changes and developments in writing tools have changed
writing, literacy, and Communication practices in fundamental ways – that,
given how writing happens in the 21st century, all composition research needs
to be computers and writing research.”

- Jim Porter

Discussion

It is important for information whether on print or on the computer screen to

convey the overall meaning and message and relay complete understanding
to the audience. This can be achieved through various conventions of design
of visual arguments such as font size, font weight, indention, capitalization,
punctuations, italicization, use of boldface, choice of color, and other fillers.

Basic Elements of Visual Rhetoric in Hypertext

As cited in Dynamic Diagrams, Inc. (2014), originally published in Designing

User Interface for Hypermedia (1995), there are three fundamental elements
of visual rhetoric in hypertext. Hypertext is defined as a database format in
which information related to that on a display can be accessed directly from
the display which was first known used in 1965 (Merriam Webster Dictionary).
When browsing the World Wide Web, this usually in a format of underlined

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words in color blue font that can be clicked, then, the user will be redirected to
another website where the highlighted words are further discussed.

Hypertext are undeniable significant in business since they can link one
business to another, to customers, and to a certain degree of user
empowerment. In a digital world, there is always a need of immediate
publishing and presentation of content information that encourages interaction
between the communicator of the organization and audience. And who in
earth can say that there is a limit to human knowledge.

The three important elements and methods in any hypertext system are as
follows:

1. Link presence which must have link extent.

• The hypertext uses a glyph to denote the presence of a link in all types
of media such as text, graphics or images, GIF or animation, and even
video in highlighted format.

• This link presence is not limited to being underlined and colored blue,
the style can also be in a form of bracket, box, partial box of linked
words and phrases. In addition, use of bold, background color, strike
through, and background stripes with hard and rounded corners are
also possible.

2. Link destination which must have multiple destinations

• It denotes that a hypertext provides clue to the reader about a links
destination in a form of a file/document name, type, and anchor
explainer. For instance, the user inserts a hyperlink that does not
create a hypertext on a PowerPoint presentation/slide, moving the
cursor anywhere on that slide would highlight the navigational
possibilities from that link where a hypertext is located. This would
give the reader the file name and type that has possible destinations.

• However, if the link has multiple destinations, double-clicking on the

hypertext would show a dialog box listing the file names where the file
is possibly located. Usually, a uniform or general location will pop up

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 which is unrelated to the hyperlink so the user needs to select a file
destination to continue the navigation.

3. mapping which must display link and knot relationship

• This happens when a hypertext reader gets lost of his track once he
clicks the link and be redirected to an unknown website. This normally
occurs when one wants to download the file and unconsciously finds
himself in different websites (usually ads), only to find out, in most
cases, that he cannot download such file because of payment
restrictions.

• However, this works when the reader clicks the hypertext, for
example, “See also” or lateral links that are clustered at the bottom of
the page and be able to scroll fast and read what’s on the next page.
Wikipedia is one good example of this. If you notice, there is a link
browser for online documentation system that they use that looks like
a table of contents for the entire page information. The navigation
experience of the reader will be at ease because he does not need to
scroll up and down only to see if the content, he is looking for is
located there or not.

In creating a hypertext link, bear in mind that a link does not

necessarily have to be a text. It can be an image or any other HTML
element. HTML links are hyperlinks where the user can click on them
and be redirected to another file. This is why when hovering the cursor
over hyperlinks, the cursor style changes into an arrow or a hand.

3 Easy Steps to Create a Hyperlink to a Location on the Web (for

Microsoft Office Word)

(Retrieved from: https://support.office.com)

1. Select the text or picture that you want to display as a hyperlink.

2. On the insert tab, click Hyperlink. You may also right click the text or
picture and click Hyperlink on the shortcut menu.

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3. In the Insert Hyperlink box, type or paste your link in the Address box. Or
simply select the file.

7 Easy Steps to Add a Hyperlink with HTML/Hypertext Markup

Language

(Adapter from: https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/m.wikihow.com.Add-a-

Hyperlink-with-HTML%3famp=1)

1. Open a new document in a simple text editor. You may use notepad an a
Windows PC or TextEdit on a Macintosh.

2. Create your HTML document with the proper HTML tags up to the point
where the link needs to be added, bearing in mind that links must be seen
to be able to be used effectively. You must add them to the file somewhere
below the <body> and before the </body> tags. Form each item on its own
separate line, as shown below, which is required for all web pages.

• <html>
• <head>
• </head>
• <body>
• </body>
• </html>
3. Create link tag on where the tag needs to be easily noticed by the reader.
Begin your tag by typing both the beginning and ending tags. Type <a href=”
“> followed by a </a> to form the link/anchor tag, thus, the “a” in the HTML
tag’s name.

4. Find the place in between the quotation marks and place your complete
URL there. Make sure to use the actual URL in the address bar.
5. Compose your own title for the link on what readers should click. Type this
text directly after the triangular end bracket of your anchor beginning tag
and before the beginning part of your triangular end bracket’s anchor tag.
You may also insert your own images in this location by using <img> tag to
the HTML page, leaving the <a href=” “> and </a> tags in place to form the
link to other page.

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6. Save your file with a html extension and open it in a web browser to view
your output.

7. Preview your website. Make sure to double check your codes to avoid
showing the actual incorrect codes to your reader because the process
fails. Your code should be like: <a href=http://www.example.com>Test link
</a> Further Reading:

Lanigan, M. L. (2010). Creating a Web Page Using HTML, XHTML, and CSS:
The Basics. Module 6. Third House, Inc.

How to Generate Visual Material

Text elements are relatively important as displayed on one particular image.
Text is highly visual and powerful to catch someone’s attention that they
naturally become invisible at times. Thus, communicators need to give
emphasis on what “type” does to their design of information. Even without
considering the actual meaning of the words displayed, meaning and visual
should always work together.

Font conventions must be considered because they convey and create

distinct meaning to one’s mind when viewed and paid attention to.
Nick Kolenda (2016) published a book titled “The psychology of Fonts” where
he explains thoroughly that people subconsciously evaluate fonts as they
compare collective meaning to the context and based on the degree of
fluency. He enumerated traits with their corresponding meanings and levels
based on how audience.

Below is a table he used and adapted fro. Handerson, Giese, and Cote (2004)
on how to choose the right font according to science. The user may simply
look for a group of traits that describe his target context, then choose a font
with similar visual characteristics.

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Fonts also vary in perceptual traits.
For SERIF vs SANS-SERIF
• Serif fonts are more readable via print while Sans-Serif fonts are more
readable via scree.
• Serif fonts denote the elegance and rationale while Sans-Serif imply
informality and innovation.
For light vs Bold
• Light fonts signify beauty and femininity while bold fonts convey power
and masculinity.
• However, medium weight fonts are most readable.
For Rounded vs Angular
• Rounded fonts indicate comfort, softness, and femininity while angular
fonts show formality, durability, and masculinity.
For Simple vs Complex
• Simple fonts represent directness while complex fonts embody stability.
For Slanted vs Straight
• Slanted fonts show movement while straight fonts show stability.
For lowercase vs UPPERCASE
• Lowercase symbolizes compassion and innovation while uppercase
represents power and strength.
• While mixed case letters are most readable.

For Separated vs Connected

•Separated letters indicate fragmentation and individuality while connected
ones signify unity and collectivism.
For Condensed vs Extended
•Condensed fonts imply tightness and precision while extended fonts denote
space and relaxation.
For Short vs Tall
•Short fonts signify heaviness and stability while tall fonts show lightness and
aspiration.

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Further Readings:
Kolenda, N. (2016). The psychology of Fonts. Kolenda Entertainment LLC.
Retrieved from https://www.nickkolenda.com/font-psychology/
https://nickkolenda.com/color-psychology/
https://nickkolenda.com/copywriting-tips
https://www.nickkolenda.com/naming-process/

Queries to consider when choosing Fonts

1. What does my audience expect from my use of fonts?

Are they people in the academe, netizens, athletes, beauty gurus, film
enthusiast, or religious people?

2. What do I embody in my font choices?

▪ Am is writing as an event manager?
▪ Am I applying for a job?
▪ Am I an owner of a Facebook page that creates a lot of memes of one
particular aspect of the user’s life? ▪ Am I an editor – in – chief of our
school newspaper?

▪ Am I a producer of short films?

▪ Am I a YouTube vlogger?
▪ Am I a cartoonist?
▪ Am I an online seller?
3. What kind of text am I typing in various fonts? Is it for headlines or fine
print? Body text or bulleted list?

4. How far is my text being viewed by the audience? Is it on billboard, poster,

flyer, sticker, or greeting card?

5. What are the available fonts that can register on majority of my audience’s
computers if I will post on my website in case, they are using an old
version of OS?

How Colors Affect Customer’s Mood and Branding

Same as text, colors are essential as your “type” choice, not to mention that
some people are color blind. Still, color attracts the audience, in general, as it

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paints all sort of emotions and triggers the creativity in people to think and
appreciate something. Colors have many meanings depending on the context
and field. But let us focus on the technical side where Ciotti (2018) wrote this
article titled “The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding” on Help
Scout Website.
In Chapter 1, we talked about the three modes of persuasion. Since
persuasion is one of the most thought-provoking and debatable aspects of
marketing and all business need this power to persuade people, certain color
is seen as a factor that is associated with certain feelings or mood based on
studies as believed since 1930 in the western world. There are metaphors of
colors that affect people’s mood. First things first, business communicators
must understand how their choice of colors for their brand may affect the
consumer’s mood toward their products or services.
Not all people have bipolar disorder yet many people change mood from time
to time. This one aspect may be answered by one of many factors – colors
around us. It is true that colors have different meanings depending on
cultures. There are certain colors that generally align with particular traits such
as brown with ruggedness but can be used to create warmth feeling in
another context, purple with sophistication, red with excitement, and green
with calmness but sometimes used to brand environmental issues or to brand
financial cases.
Talking about color preferences based on gender, there is a sovereignty of
blue across both men and women although blue and pink became associated
with men and women. Further studies found that when it comes to shades,
tints, and hues men in general, prefer bold and strong colors like black, while
women like soft colors such as colors with white added on them, or what we
now called “pastel” and “nude” color. Therefore, idea of “perceived
appropriateness” should not be taken constant as audience’s taste changes
over time same as it does on color theory surveys.
In addition, different color stimulates different behavior. When choosing the
right color for your brand, you may consider the following using color
psychology:
• Blue indicates trust and appeals of discipline, formal calmness,
trustworthiness, clarity, security, and articulation. (e.g. Baskin Robbins,

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 United Airlines, British Airways, Nokia, Volkswagen, The Range, Pfizer,
MMDA, Globe, Robinsons, Petron, Metrobank, SM, Goldilocks,
Unilever, and Social Security System)

• Green denotes prosperity, progress, peace, environment, balance and

freshness, (e.g. Subways, Potato, Corner, Cebu Pacific, Landbank and
Smart)

• Red conveys energy, excitement, vibrancy, passion, enthusiasm, rebel,

masculinity, and action. (e.g. McDonald’s, Vans, Audi, Jollibee, National
book store, Lucky Me, Go nuts, Donuts, San Cellular, MMDA, BPI,

Robinsons, Petron, Selecta, Max’s, Tokyo-Tokyo, and PLDT).

• Yellow is a cheerful color: it is warm, active, and innovative. (e.g.
Subways, McDonald’s, Jollibee, Lucky Me, Zagu, Sun cellular, MMDA
and Duty free)

• Black signifies power, class, elegance, uncompromising behavior,

strength, security and evil. (e.g. HUGO BOSS, Nike, Adidas,
Qualcomm, Channel, Vans, Zagu, and Tokyo-Tokyo)

• Orange exudes, extroversion, confidence, youthfulness, and fun. (e.g.

Hermes, The Home Depot, Potato Corner, and Meralco.)

• Silver or white stands for quality and workmanship. (e.g. Toyota and
Datu Puti)

Use color psychology to get your perfect color but if you cannot get the color
that best suits your personality or spirit you want to pass on to your audience,
you may mix and match.
Below is a Color emotion Guide from the Logo Company that may help you
choose appropriate colors for your brand. (Please see color rendition at the
inside front cover.)

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 Psychologist and Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker (1997) conducted
on studies on color branding with her research titled “Dimensions of

Brand Personality” that highlights five core dimensions that portray a role in a
brand’s personality. The figure below shows these dimensions of brand
personality.

5 Dimensions of Brand Personality

Sin Ex Co So
ceri cit mp phi
Down to earth Daring Reliable Upper-class
Family-oriented Trendy Hard-working Glamorous
Small-town Exciting Good looking
Secure
Honest
Spirited Charming
Sincere Intelligent
Real Cool Feminine
Young
Technical
Smooth
Corporate
Wholesome
Original Imaginative
Unique Successful
Cheerful Leader
Sentimental Up-to-date Confident
Friendly Independent
Contemporary

Ru
gg
Outdoorsy
Masculine
Western

Tough
Rugged

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 The truth about color branding is based on personal experiences of
people that may be associated to specific feelings and emotions and yes, it
depends. Although, the context where one is working at is an important
consideration. It has been proven by several studies that the way consumers
see colors of products affects their judgment on them. In a study titled “impact
of color on Marketing,” researchers found that up to 90% of immediate
verdicts made in the products can be dependent on color alone, considering
the products itself. Another study showed that relevance of color and brand
rests on the perceived appropriateness of the color being used for the
particular brand. In a nutshell, it is still the feeling, mood, and image of the
brand or product that one creates that matters.

Visual Designer Apps and Tools

In our tech savvy generation, it is not only the brand alone that is
being sold having certain color that represents it, but also the color
manipulation applied on a specific image becomes a trendy product being
sold all over the social media spectrum.
Specifically, the millennials who spend their time mostly on social
media, particularly, Instagram, found this hobby in mixing and playing with
colors a meaningful and productive job. I am talking about “PRESETS.” Many
Instagram users sell Light room CC (the app they use to edit high definition
and eye satisfying photos) presets in their websites to people who would like
to make their photos presentable and attractive to their followers on a certain
media platform but cannot afford to purchase the premium features of the
application.
A Lightroom presets is a package of filter that takes the bothersome of
editing, applying modified effects for you without you having to adjust levels
of photo editing tools and features only to achieve the desired fulfilling photo
that’s you may want publish in your Instagram account. Mostly, bloggers or
vloggers and photographers are the main sellers of this product. This also
proves that tech savvy people tend to judge a person’s credibility, especially
if he is famous online, based on the way his IG feed is presented.
Below is an example of Lightroom preset photo editing process from
livibautista.com. (Please see color rendition at the inside front cover.)

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 There are many other apps that can be used to create visual rhetoric
images that are ideal for social media marketing even if you are not an
expert in choosing and manipulating colors and fonts. They will help you
do the job well. Some of them are:

• Adobe Photoshop
• AnyFont
• Aviary
• Bazaart Photo Editor & Collage
• Blend Eidtor-SuperImpose FX
• Enlight Photofox
• Fly
• Font Candy
• Fotor
• Fount
• Ghost Lens AR Fun Video Editor

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• Kapwing
• Meme Creator: Make Dank Memes
• Meme Generator
• Mix on Pix
• MyFontbook
• Over
• Phonto
• Photo lab filters for pictures
• Photofy
• Pic Collage
• Pic Lab
• Piclay Photo Blend Editor Text
• PicsArt
• Snapseed
• Split Pic Collage Photo Maker
• Studio
• Tiff
• Typecast
• Typekit
• Typorama
• Unfold-Create Stories
• VSCO Cam
• WordSwag

Designer Tools

• Canva
• Frontify Style Guide
• Html5UP
• Inspectlet
• Pablo by Buffer
• Peek
• Pexels

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• Photodex
• ScreenFlow
• SmartMockups
• TypeGenius
• Visual Website Optimizer
• WebFlow

Design as Rhetorical Organization

Designing visuals rhetorically is likened to the way a normal person reads

being particular to setting his eyes on important cues whether horizontal,
vertical, diagonal, or circular manner. This is also the same when we organize
concepts in writing a paragraph. The following points can help you design with
Rhetorical Organization.

1. Design based on significance. Meaningful contents use large font size,

customized fonts, and carefully chosen color.

2. Design based on purpose. Images that will be used should directly get the
meaning and purpose across the reader. Do not include unnecessary
graphics, text, or even punctuations.

3. Design to build up, highlight, and zoom in. More than delivering the
message or contextual meaning to the audience, it is no doubt that you
design to be noticed, may it be positive or negative, you publish your
design because you want people to see and criticize it.

4. Design based on uniqueness. One design cannot easily be noticed or

appreciated if it is not new. Always bear creativity in mind. Design based
on who you are and who you want to be known for.

Learning Activities
Activity 1

Answer the following and discuss in class.

1. What context and trait would you like to create in your audience’s brain?
2. How would you like to design your typography based on your chosen
context?

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 3. Why would you consider font and color conventions in designing your
visual rhetoric presentation?
4. Why do you need to rhetorically organize your design?

Activity 2

Using the learning on font and color conventions and hyperlinks, create your
own visual design based on your purpose as the website manager
considering the impact your visual design may bring to your target audience.
Send the file to your teacher’s Gmail and submit a hard copy of your output
next meeting.

Activity 3

A. Practice your visual invention. Read a brief argument about an issue which
you are familiar with. You may search for articles from Rappler.com. after
reading the piece, from a small group the use Photoshop or any app you
learned from the discussion to build a visual version of the argument. Your
visualization must be an infographic or a collection of related images. Be
able to share your work with the class and discuss the choices you made.
Refer to the criteria below.

• Subject/composition (10 points) – strong and thoughtful

presentation of the argument. Simple/creative attention to detail
(strong design/layout/composition)

• Communication of idea (10 points – demonstrate superior ability to

understand and communicate ideas from concept to creation.

• Concepts/Creativity/Uniqueness/Innovation (10 points) – thought

and planning are evident and has an idea that holds attention.

“Different” ideas are focused; end product has evidence of an

interesting and original theme.

B. Choose one designer app or tool from the list and create your own brand
of product or services. Upload your design on your Facebook account and
invite friends to assess it based on the criteria below:

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 • Subject/Composition (10 points) – strong and thoughtful solutions;
simple/creative attention to detail (strong
design/layout/composition)

• Communication of idea (10 points) – demonstrates superior ability

to understand and communicate ideas from concepts to creation

• Concept/Creativity/Uniqueness/Innovation (10 points) – thought

and planning are evident and has an idea that holds attention.
“Different” ideas are focused; end product has evidence of an
interesting and original theme.
C. Choose one form the designer tools to create your own campaign poster.
Bear in mind the points that can help you design with rhetorical
organization. Be guided by the criteria below.

• Message/Content/Purpose (10 points) – easily Communicate to

the audiences and persuade them to support the campaign.

• Originally Creativity of design (10 points) – shows uniqueness and

newness of layout

• Clarity of presentations (10 points) – exhibits neatness,

sharpness, and high-definition quality of overall poster

Learning Evaluation

Quiz

• Peer Assessment
Exchange output with your classmate. Using the same rubric above, assess
your classmate’s work and provide comments on the following: 1. Successful
aspects of the design solution; and

2. Things that may help improve the design.

• Self-Assessment
In your notebook, answer the following questions:
1. What was your favorite part of this project? Why?
2. What was most challenging about this project? Why?
3. What did you learn by completing this project?

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4. Where do you think were you most successful at in this project?
5. What do you think you could do to improve this project.

5.3 VISUAL RHETORIC ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGIES

“Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet
identifiable from others.”
- Orson Welles

Discuss
After learning the nuts and bolts of generating visual material, it is now
time to put yourselves into the shoes of the audience. Whenever you come
across a visual argument, you cannot help but give comments and criticisms
verbally or mentally.
But the questions might be “How should we analyze visual rhetoric?”
“Is there really a proper way of doing it?” and “Should I feel obliged to give the
right judgment to a particular visual image and typography?”
The following initial steps may be considered when conducting visual rhetoric
analysis:
1. Take note of every single thing you see in the ad. Give careful attention to
colors, objects, and all meaningful details.

2. Identify the significance of the objects and graphics used. Ponder on why
you think the visual designer chose to use that certain illustration. How
does it appeal to your emotions (pathos)? Logos? Ethos?

3. Determine the overall message. What is the ad’s purpose?

4. Pinpoint the target audience. Are you the possible target audience of the
visual? The rules may change depending on whom the author wants to
speak to because diverse audiences may have various responses.
Rose (2007) enumerated three sites and modalities at which meanings of
visual images are made and interpreted. The three sites are production,
image and audiences. While the three modalities are technological,
compositional, and social that are also found in all sites.
• Production/Technological – the medium or material/tool used to
produce and design a specific image

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 • Image/compositional – the image itself including the objects,
text, color, style, organization of features on page, and graphics
used that convey a particular meaning/message

• Audience/social – people who view the visual image since it can

reach and can be seen by different kinds of individuals who are
expected to be affected/persuaded by the visual rhetoric

How to Write Your Visual Analysis Paper

Generally, people see visual analysis as a “go with the flow” method that
whenever you see something, you simply judge it based on what you
see first and what you can say about this prominent thing on the image.
However, you may have an outline when writing an academic paper on
visual rhetoric. Your visual analysis paper must include the following
parts:

Introduction – state the fundamental details about the visual image. Note that
your purpose is also to make other audience have a look at it. You may
consider one of the following:

• Tell interesting facts about the artwork or artist (if you know him).
• Describe the visual clearly but only to preempt the reader of your paper to
also see it using imagery.

• Explicate the purpose of the image itself and/or artist.

• Discuss the position or argument of the image.
Thesis Statement – have your thesis statement at the end of your
introduction or at the beginning of your body. Do this by analyzing the
meaning of the visual image. You may:
• Consider the time of the designer when he created it or to whose time, he
created it for;

• Describe what sort of claim you are writing (is the image stating a fact,
posing a claim, inculcating values, or proposing a policy?); and/or
• Write your position/idea it you are in favor or not of the claim.

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 Body – discuss your ideas and thesis statement with supporting evidence
based on the visual image. Make sure to understand the elements of
an image.
• State your claim. (See description of thesis statement)
• Describe the visual composition based on the arrangement of
features. You may examine the:
➢ Directional terms such as layout, balance (use the ruler of thirds
either vertically or horizontally), background (determine the distance
of object to know the least important feature);

➢ Directional terms like juxtaposition when two objects are put together to
show association and relevance, contrast when putting two different
objects together, focus on what you see first when you first look at it which
is usually at the center of the visual, frame when analyzing the edges of it
including the cropped parts and margin, and vector or some lines on the
visual that your eyes follow unconsciously to move in a different direction;
and

➢ Color, lighting, and texture techniques that affect the mood of the message
such as bright, gloomy, pastel or nude, and dark colors, whether the light
is bold, plain, shadowy, or the texture is rough, smooth, organic, geometric
or linear.

• Have confidence with your own eyes and trust to your description even
before you research on the history of the visual.

• Determine the genre of the visual image. (e.g. advertisement, book cover,
graphic art, film, painting, signage, campaign poster, etc.)

• Explain the relevance and role of the text to the visual.

• Highlight the appeal to logic, emotions, or character of the designer.
• Explain whether there is a cultural aspect involved.
• Narrate briefly the story that the visual conveys.

Conclusion – end your analysis by concluding or giving a fascinating or

motivating tact rather than giving a summary or repetition of your claim.
Visual rhetoric is never Palin. It is always design through personal
experiences, innovation, and meaningful knowledge or sentiments of a

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person. Therefore, critical analysis to visual rhetoric is necessary. There are
many methodologies in conducting visual analysis debating on what aspect to
focus on to come up with the most accurate meaning the designer wants to
deliver to his audience. Thus, what matters most is when one makes meaning
of something that he once thought of as meaningless.
Learning Activities
Activity 1
A. Using the initial steps discussed, conduct a visual rhetoric analysis on one
of the following visual images on a separate sheet of paper. (Please see
color rendition at the inside back over.)

B. Answer the following questions.

1. What do you think is the most important element to analyze in a visual
rhetoric?
2. How would you know that your analysis has the same message as the
author’s?
3. What would be the most difficult visual rhetoric material to analyze?
4. What would be the setback of not knowing who the author/designer
was?
5. Why is visual rhetoric analysis important in the digital world?

C. Look closely into the video campaign of Department of Tourism titled

“ANAK”. Answer the questions below:

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1. What graphics/still/moving picture/s or video/s did the ad use to show its
message?

2. What facial expressions are they exhibiting? How do these affect you as
the viewer?

3. What people are present in the ad? Describe how they look.
4. What are the people in the ad doing? Why did the campaign choose to
present these people?

5. What colors are used in each frame? What effect do these give you?

6. What can you associate with the layout theme used?

7. Why do you think it won the award, “Best in Overall Performance, Creative
and Media”? “3rd place in Corporate Image and Public Sector Category”?
“3rd place in Travel, Transportation, Automotive, and Leisure Category”?

Activity 2

Dyad Activity: Choose a partner then write a visual rhetoric analysis

paper. Choose one from the following:

(Photos from boilingwaters, pastermagazine.com, YouTube.com,

dailybeast.com, hrw.org, imgfflip.com)

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Criteria:
CONTENT (10 points) – Analysis paper contents are well discussed. check
the points from the lesson.
ORGANIZATION (10 points) – Transitional devices are used properly and
parts are followed chronologically.
MECHANICS (10 points) – Grammar, capitalization, punctuations, and
format are used correctly.

Individual Activity: write your own visual rhetoric analysis paper using your
own choice of image. Make sure to include all elements of the paper and
create your own title for it. Do this on a short bond paper. Refer to the criteria
above.
Take-home Project: Watch a video controversy of any topic of your choice.
Then, be able to create a material in a form of a multimodal, research-
based, argumentative output exhibiting your analysis on it. Everything will
be done digitally. See the minimum requirements below:
• Your stance on the controversy should be clearly presented.
• You must involve your analyses by either supporting certain
representations, subverting stereotypical representations, and
/or transforming an argument.

• You must integrate various types of media (both visual and

alphanumeric modes; possible to compose a comic; PPT,
websites, short film, video game, etc.) for rhetorical purpose
(audio is encouraged with subtitle, but optional – depending on
your medium)

• You must include at least five sources in APA format.

• Your presentation must only consume 2-4 minutes.
• You make work alone, with a partner, or with two members.

Criteria

• Subject/composition (10 points) – strong and thoughtful analyses

of the controversy; simple/creative attention to detail (strong
design/layout/composition.)

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 • Communication of Idea (10 points) – demonstrate superior ability
to understand and communicate ideas from concept to creation

• Concepts/Creativity/Uniqueness/innovation (10 points) – thought

and planning are evident and has an idea that holds attention.
Ideas are focused; end products have evidence of an interesting
and original theme.

Learning Evaluation

A. Peer Assessment

Using the output from previous activity, assess your classmates’

work by answering the following questions on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. What do you think is the claim?

2. What do you want to know more about?
3. What other positions are there aside from the proposed claim?
4. What will the critic need to do to persuade the reader of his
paper to create visual imagery?

5. How are the values of the critic the same or different from the
values of other audience?

6. Do you have additional observation or evidence the critic can

use to support the visual’s claim? Cite them.

B. Self – Assessment

Using an imagery, draw a summary of what you felt and learned

from the lesson. Do this in your notebook.

References:

Kahn, P., Peters, R., & Landow, G. (2004). Three fundamental elements of
visual rhetoric in hypertext. Dynamic Diagrams Inc. iris, Brown
University.

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Rose, G (2007). Visual Methodologies: An introduction to interpretation of
visual materials: second Edition, London SAGE publications.

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 LESSON 6

MAXIMIZING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND ELECTRONIC

COMMUNICATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Overview:
This lesson will give awareness to the learners in embracing new
means of communication, social media and technical documentation,
including the best and worst of social media and electronic communication.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:

1. explicate the nuts and bolts of how to get the most out of social media;

2. reflect on their usage of social media apps and sites;

3. recognize the social media platforms by identifying them according to
their logos;

4. customize their own social media profile;

5. understand social media’s role in technical writing;
6. analyze and criticize technical documents;
7. create own credible content to be published online;
8. secure then own cyberspace by following the safety precautionary
measures;

9. enumerate internet problems and propose solutions; and

10. produce an advocacy campaign on safety and security against
cybercrime.

Materials Needed:
1. Computer/Android phone with internet connection (Moodle, scree
recorder, Google meet and Google classroom)
2. Module

Duration: 9 hours

Learning Content:

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Introduction

We have learned from the previous chapter that visual rhetoric plays an
important role in communicating and developing consciousness between
ourselves and our environment, knowing that these images surround us
whether we are at home, at work, on the railway, in malls, in restaurants and
coffee shops, or mostly, in the virtual world. Thus, earthlings’ life
opportunities are no longer limited in this hasty advancing world. This is why
majority of the people say that they cannot live without their gadgets and
other electronic devices since these are their media of connecting to the
world though virtually yet for many, more ideal and variable.
This chapter helps the netizens to maximize their involvement and
possibilities of treating social media and electronic communication in a more
constructive way.

Social media and electronic communication in the 21 st century are the most
progressing fields used to connect, communicate, and network with others.
Although, majority of their platforms are merely used to be in contact with
friends and family, they have also recently been used by small and big
companies to connect more directly with prospect clients. They use social
media platforms as their way to advertise and send their message out
regarding their recent activities in just one click. Despite their irrefutable
credence, still, majority of the people feel incompetent in making the most out
of being a tech savvy. Now, let us learn how.

6.1 EMBRACING NEW MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

The biggest mistake is believing there is one right way to listen, to talk, to
have a conversation – or a relationship.

- Deborah Tannen

Discussion

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Consumed by too many advanced technologies around us, we often think of
communicating to others using them without even thinking of exerting at least
a little effort to see someone, listen to one’s stories, sell products personally to
customers. Resolve conflicts in an organization face-to-face in a meeting, sit
in a conference hall, pursue graduate studies in the mainstream, browse hard
copies of magazines, books, and newspapers, or simply be available for
people. But let us make things clear, this chapter will not debunk the positive
notions and vast possibilities of accepting and understanding the role of
modern communication in our studies, workplace, business and other aspects
of our lives.
This lesson is not generalizing that all communications are now done virtually,
yet, as people become advanced thinkers, modern technology always results
to negative effects as it deteriorates relationship due to lack of physical
interaction.
However, we will still take a look on that as we need to be just and fair in
welcoming its pros and cons, but of course, mostly, pros.

History of social media and Electronic Communication

Looking back at the history of communication, way back 550 BC, written
correspondence or letters delivered by hand from person to another was the
earliest mode of communicating over long distances. The earliest postal
system was created 550 BC in Ancient Persia where the Persia King, Cyrus
The Great, mandated that every province in his kingdom would organize the
delivery of postal to all of its residents. Many other postal systems were
introduced in many other countries ensuring the Persian system. But then,
Rome established the first welldocumented postal service. During the time of
Augustus Ceasar, mails where delivered by light carriages pulled by horses.
This service was created for government communications and only later those
other services for citizens were added. Over many centuries, postal delivery
system became widely used and organized.
Up to late 1830s and 1840s, single-wire telegraph system was invented
that was based on European telegraphs. The first telegram was sent by
Samuel Finley Breese Morse who was also a co-developer of Morse Code.
This method allowed messages to be delivered faster than postal system.
However, the message in telegrams must be kept short yet was considered

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the fastest way and most essential advancement of communication
technology before. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone
which allows people to communicate to others instantly over long distances.
20th century came and technology began to advance rapidly. The first
super computers were invented in the 1940s when engineers started to create
networks between computers. J.C.R. Licklider (1960) described this network
of computers connected to one another by wide-band communication lines
provided the functions of today’s libraries together with expected advances in
information storage and retrieval and other symbiotic functions or what we call
now, the internet. The first network link was established in 1969 from four
network host computers called ARPANET, followed by the networks, such as
USENET that allowed users to communicate virtually. In 1978, the first e-mail
was developed for users to receive messages and text instantly. The
distinction between telephones and e-mail is for telephone to work, both users
have to be available at the same time, while in e-mails, the sender may simply
send his message then be read by the receiver whenever and wherever he is
available and have access to the internet. The internet system occurred in the
late 1970s whose primary purpose was to connect and merge all of the
several networks that have been created. The first personal computer
appeared in 1976 which is called the Apple I, then continue to develop in 1981
with the IBM personal computer. In the late 1980s, the first Internet service
provider companies were created and the first Internet was unlocked for non-
governmental are like America online. In 1989, World Wide Web was the first
web browser developed by Tim Burnes Lee.

Before social media came into place, the internet was mainly used for
emails, e-commerce, online forms and personal websites. In 1997, the first
social media platform was six degrees. Like our Friendster then, and
Facebook now, it allowed users to create their own profile and invites friends.
1999, blogging began to be popular. The first blog websites were Open Diary
and Life Journal where users can post or blog about their personal lives for
public viewing like the Tumblr, Bloggers, WordPress, and Blogspot Website
now. After the blogging has been introduced, social media platforms began to
flourish such as MySpace, Linkedin, and flickr became popular in early 2000s.
in 2004, the domain Facebook.com was registered by Mark Zuckerberg which

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is now the widely used social media platform today and became open to the
public in 2006. Now as we go with the flow of the social media advancements,
many other platforms continue to thrive such as Instagram, Pinterest,
Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter and many others.

Whatever platform you are using, the main purpose of social media is
to connect to family, friends, and even to strangers through sharing photos,
videos, news, opinions, or simply sending a quick message to anyone in the
world.

Why use social media

Below are common reasons why you should start using social media:

• To communicate and be updated with family, friends, and famous people

around the globe

• To learn from others and engage in conversations about current news and
issues

• To be friend strangers and be involved in groups with similar interests

• To be employed in a desired job
• To sell and buy products or services
• To share one’s life including photos, videos, and other life’s important
events

• To be heard and be known in a field

• To express oneself and influence people based on your own beliefs

How to Get the Most Out of social media

Naturally, people all over the globe tent to make impressions on you based
on what they can see first in your profile. Whether you are a student, an
employee, a business person, or whatever your position is in life right now,
social media profile serves as a window for others to see your life even if you
are not aware of it. There is this one video experiment that was posted online
where one group of people installed this big white tent while other members
started to invite passersby to come inside the tent to be asked questions

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where majority were personal questions. Invited people started to feel
uncomfortable and surprised during the interrogation when all of the questions
and judgments about them were proven true by themselves. Only to find out
when the big white curtain inside the tent was removed, the other members of
the group were in front of their computers searching and browsing in real time
these facts and issues including the past relationship that the users posted on
their Facebook account which available to the public. So, whether the
impression is true or not, it would be too late for you to justify because it is
what you presented to the public.

With this, personal branding is very important. Personal is how one

presents himself online so others can see him. Despite the “self-love”
advocacy of many women today, netizens are still very conscious about how
they look on their social media accounts. Same as the product branding, your
well-known brand such as Nike, Zara, Mac Cosmetics, Coach even your
favorite hair salon has logo, vision and mission for people to know what to
expect from them and how these might affect their purchasing decision. To
maintain and stablish their marketing, they monitor all positive and negative
incoming comments and feedback about their brands. Therefore, the
company needs to address each to continue its harmonious relationship with
its clients.

In an article published in business world last October 17, 2017, a study

was conducted by Kantar TN’s 2017 connected life surveyed 70, 000 people
in 56 countries and the conduct of 104 interviews showed that some 59% of
online consumers in the country see content in their social media feed as
reliable which was higher than the global trust of 35%. Also, Digital Director of
kantar TN’s Philippine, Nicco De Jesus said that Filipibo netizens are very
open to interaction online specifically on social media platforms. He added
that they were really glad to trust the content they read online, making the
Philippines one of the most trusting countries in the region next to Indonesia.
This research proves that people, particularly the Filipinos, have high
confidence on the messages that these brands post online that also make
them share their personal information to these companies.

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 Going back to your personal brand, whether you are a celebrity or not,
you may consider the following steps to start creating your personal brand:

1. Spend time stablishing your true self in your mind. (How do you want
others to see and define you based on who you really are and not based
on who you are not?)

2. Start de-cluttering your profile information and post from the time you
started using it. (Be mindful that whenever you apply for a job, employers
highly consider your social media accounts, particularly your Facebook
account, as one of your character references. And even if you are already
employed, your fellow workers especially the top management may
misunderstand your sentiments or rants online. Also, start customizing
your privacy settings whether you like to post to be in public, friends, only
me or friends of friends setting.

3. Identify your personal brand using a combination of your values, skills,

goals, personality how you look what you say and do, and how you look
out for others (Thomas, 2013). These includes your photos email address,
status, comments, and even reactions (emojis).

4. After pondering on your self-definition or personal brand, start living your

brand both online and offline. (In order to maintain quality relationships
with others, they should see you as the same person in the virtual and
physical world.)

Classification of social media

Taprial and kanwar (2012) classified types or forms of social media that exist
on the internet into magazines, internet forums, web blogs, social blogs,
microblogging, wikis, podcast, videos, rating and social bookmarking. While
Blue Sail (2010) termed these as social media tools namely social networks,
blogs, microblogging, podcast, forums, content communities, and wikis.

Whereas, based on Kaplan and Haenlein’s media research published in

Business Horizons (2010), there are six different types of social media
namely:

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1. Collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia)
2. Blogs and Microblogs (e.g. Twitter)
3. Content Communities (e.g. YouTube)
4. Social Networking Sites (e.g. Facebook)
5. Virtual Game Worlds (e.g. World of warcraft)
6. Virtual Social Worlds (e.g. Second Life)

You might identify all these as simply social networking sites since all
of these social media platforms allow and encourage interaction among the
users. We cannot deny that the breadth of social media is too immense that it
encompasses all sorts of fields in life so it is a challenge for the experts to lay
down the condensed nature of it. Since many business entities continue to
invest in social media to support their vision, mission, and other functions, it is
imperative for others to understand the reality and benefits of it in order for
them to succeed in their chosen path.
Content Worth Sharing

Content sharing is seen as the core of all social media platforms. Each
websites have its own content to share. Content varies from news articles,
videos, photos, music, e-books, business presentations, research journals,
and other kinds of multimedia materials that are made available at a low or no
cost to the clients either to make money or simply share for the sake of
attending to people’s needs. Yet, this is perceived differently in the business
world, mostly to achieve the former. Not all media sharing services online
exist as the main source of media. This is to say that one website uses the
other to achieve his goals virtually. For instance, if you are a blogger in
Tumblr.com, you may be great at writing your blog entries, but you are not
knowledgeable in customizing your profile themes. You may simply download
and copy HTML template and easily apply it to your account. Though majority
of the primary source of this kind of services leave watermark or any
identification of the software developer to make sure they receive credits or
are recognized whenever used for personal purposes. Other websites or
social publishing type of content sharing, for example, a free e-book and
audiobook downloader site like Scribd.com, ask the visitor to create an
account first before getting access to their selected free e-books and others

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which are not for free. This is why whenever we sign up for an account, we
are provided the terms of services (also known as terms of use and terms and
conditions) which is often neglected by the users, instead we simply tick the
box as if we finish examining it.

The following are the “16+ Must Content sharing Platforms” for specific
media according to Oliveria (2017), Research SEO contributor of cminds.com:

• Facebook – allows sharing of various types of content from text to videos

and is ideal for connecting directly with clients

• LinkedIn – allows users to publish blogs and share their expertise about
topics such as leadership, innovation, economics, and many others
• Twitter – allows users to communicate online with 140-character limit
which plans to increase up to 280 which is best for quick updates

• Google+ - allows users’ contents get indexed instantly by Google though

became underused with a dense number of around 400 million active
users

• Triberr – works by matching content creators into “tribes” that refer them
to the audience and includes paid options to boost one’s content as a
social network and marketing automation tool

• StumbleUpon – provides recommendations to users by randomizing

one’s content to reach wide range of audience

• YouTube and Vimeo – allow user to share visual or video content

• Instagram – allows users to share photos which are strongly related to
lifestyle and consumerism with its new features of video, story and ad
sharing

• Pinterest – allows user to visually engaging products where post is pinned

into various topics to easily organize and direct content

• Tumblr – allows the user to connect to his community through blogging vis
text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio, and video with over 370 million short-
form blogs and has promising multimedia features

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• Snapchat – allows users of the new generation users below age 34 to get
closer to other users through one-on-one channel, and creates applicable
image features and filters

• Medium – allows bloggers to post contents that vary from politics to

cooking and a safe platform to post about research, reflections, and
opinions with a personal voice

• Slideshare – allows users to share, upload, and download online

PowerPoint and PDF presentations that was bought by LinkedIn in 2002
because of its large and active community

• Visual.ly – allows embedding for social media created for infographics and
general visual content

• Reddit – gives the users the best of the internet in one place such as an
updating feed of breaking news, funs, stories, photos, memes, videos and
more
• Quora – helps users share gain knowledgeable by asking and answering
questions

• Cheat Sheet – gives the users a list of all active short cuts of the current
application

• Buzzfeed – a PR service website that shares news

• Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur,
FastCompanay – allow users who are industry leaders to submit their
cotent

• Mashable, TechCrunch – created for inside and sponsored content

• New York Times, Huffington Post – crafted for users’ opinions

Another form to share content through filter and recommendation is

what is widely known as “hashtag/s” using the symbol “#” followed by words
or phrases without space or any punctuation between the locate relevant
discussions about a certain topic. This tag is very useful now to people who
wanted to locate a chain of posts even without finding in one post in one’s
certain different feed. This commonly available on Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, YouTube, and even online research journals. This also identifies the

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most “talk of the town” topics or what the social media termed as “viral or
trendy”

The Apps and Social Networking Sites

One of the most updated and brilliant inventions of web 2.0 is the
increasing number of apps being visited, uploaded by developers, and
downloaded by millions of users. These are called web or mobile applications
that the beneficial for all kinds of people whether they will use the apps for
personal productivity, school, business, leisure or any other sorts of human
activity. These apps are available for Apple users through Apps Store and for
Android Users through Google Play Store, while for web apps or social
networking sites, they are readily available online. The obvious limitations
would be some apps are not for free so you have to purchase them for a
reasonable price while other apps are free to download but once you have
them installed in your mobile device, you need to purchase their premium
services to continue using and maximizing their best features.
Social media sites have also grown in unfathomable number. Based on
the reports of Statista, statistics showed that around 2 billion users used social
networking sites and apps in 2015 and due to the highest need and rampant
demand for mobile device use, this figure is possible to reach the 2.6 billion
marks by 2018. Thus, you might want to start or should I say continue
exploring the social media world and fin some really practical and productive
social platforms where you will say you cannot live without.

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Below is a figure of names and icons of “+60 Social Networking Sites You
Need to Know about in 2018” posted in Blog Traffic Social by Jaime
Spencer on Makeawebsitehub.com updated last June 1, 2018.

Image Sharing

One major reason people purchase high-end smartphones is to have a

quality photo. Most of the newly released phone gadgets today such as
Samsung Galaxy A7, S9, S9+, Huawei P20 Pro, iPhone Xs, x Max, and X r,
are competing about the advancement of their camera features. They realize
that people all over the world look at this picture prominently than other
features only for one reason and this is not just to capture eye titillating photos
of any subject but to share them to public. This includes sharing them with
their family and friends on Facebook, Instagram, etc. with restrictions off
customizing its privacy settings. Personally, people want to share places they
have been to and food they have tried while professionally, this is being done
by someone to promote one’s business.

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The following are one of the suggested free image hosting sites:

LOGO IMAGE-HOSTING DESCRIPTION

SITE/APP
Aside from image
sharing, this mobile
also helps the user to
back up all his photos
Google photos to save storage which
is also great for
autoenhancement.

This software
offers cloud
storage, file
Dropbox
synchronization,
personal cloud,
and client
software.

This site offers 1TB of

storage for free that
can store up to 2
million photos
Flickr including high
definition, videos
maintaining the
resolution.

This is a site that is

ideal for professionals
Zenfolio having homepage

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 layout showing off
one’s best images and
videos, and a blog to
upload them.

This is a site that has

sleek design that
allows the users to
500npx
publish only highly
edited landscape and
portrait photos in grid
form.

Facebook Being the most famous

social media
networking suite/app
with 2,230,000,000 (as
of August 2018) this
site also offers a wide

audience to view one’s

shared image with
privacy settings and
suggested filters.

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 This is an app which is
great for social
sharing. It also
updated its features to
better

promote one’s
profile/feed for
Instagram personal and business
use including
highlights, maximum of
10 selected photos and
videos to be included
in one upload, live
video and IGTV, daily
stories good for 24
hours, direct message,
saved posts, nametag,
and account for
business use.

For further readings, refer to (1) later and HubSpot (2018). Instagram for
business in 2018. Retrieve from
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/53/instagram_for_business_in_2018_HubSpot
_La ter_1.pdf and (2) Chacon B. (2017). Instagram Ads: A step-by-step guide
to running your own ad campaign. Retrieve from
https://later.com/blog/instagramads/.

Mobile Device as One’s Total Life Package

One’s mobile device is small handy tool that allows the users to
instantly navigate any area of his needs, access the internet constantly, and
connect with other users. Some examples of this are iPads, smartphones, and
tablets. To date, we can no longer predict until when innovations and
capabilities of mobile devices will end, if there is such a thing.

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 Even without the internet connection, mobile device users have this
total life package that can gratify their personal and worldly desires. Some of
these hundred things one can do even without internet/data connection are
simply messaging or calling someone if you have load, listening to
downloaded music, sharing any kind of file using SHAREit, Airdrop, or
Bluetooth, computing expenses using color calculator, reading downloaded e-
books in iBook’s and iClouds or Google Drive, setting alarm, stopwatch, timer,
even bedtime schedule, recording audio, looking for words’ meaning in
dictionary app, keeping track of what to do first using Reminders, Notes,
Evernote and ScreenMemo apps, keeping track of your calorie intake and
other health records, saving all your appointments in Calendar app instead of
carrying a planner all year round, and many others.

But still, many people will say that they “can’t live without Wifi/Internet”
because through this connection, they can reach other people from sending
emails, waving at Someone and leaving personal message on messenger,
downloading devotional plans, watching YouTube Videos, downloading and
listening to any genre and updated playlist on Spotify, browsing, adding
products to cart, and selling them in Lazada, Shopee, OLX, Carousel, and
Zalora, managing business on Facebook, Instagram, and other websites,
messaging someone in iMessage if you do not have load, scanning codes to
keep boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, and rewards in one place
using Wallet app, buying load and paying bills using Coins.ph, booking your
transportatiOn and travel tours using Grab app and Traveloka or Klook,
receiving something you forget via Angkas or Lalamove app, to lulling yourself
to sleep and relaxation using the Calm app.

Learning ActivitIes

Activity 1

A. Let us discuss the following:

1. Have you ever tried searching for yourself on Google?
2. Do you think how you are currently presented online is correct?
3. Do you see yourself on a positive side of how you want people to see
you? Or on the negative side which you believe you are not?

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 4. In what instances did you get Involve in a conversation where you felt
appreciated? Felt bashed? Felt unneeded?
5. On a scale of 10, ten being the highest, rate your personal brand on your
social media account? Explain.

B. Make an inventory of all apps in your phone and rate the frequency of
how often you use them. Explain why is that particular app your most
used and/or least used app. Justify the pros and cons of why you still use
and/or no longer use the apps. Do this on a separate sheet of paper.

Activity 2

A. Write persuasive essay on how social media affects your life. Be able to
convince readers to agree on your stance whether to start/continue using
social media or totally depart from it. As you write, be guided by the criteria
below:

CONTENT (10 POINTS) – takes a clear stance and supports it’s

consistently with relevant reasons and/or examples; may use persuasive
strategy to convey an argument.

ORGANIZATION (10 POINTS) – is focused and we’ll organized with

effective use of transitional devices.

MECHANICS (10 POINTS) – consistently shows variety in sentence

structure and word choice; errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation
are limited and do not restrict reader’s understanding.

B. Choose a partner. Go to his social media account preferably Facebook

account. Evaluate the person’s credibility and personal brand based on
how he presents himself in his profile. Write objective and subjective
paragraph as you look into the following elements:

• Display photo (profile picture and cover photo)

• Text Bio

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• Feeling/Activity
• About (Work, Education, places he has lived, contact info, basic info, other
names, relationship, family member, life events, check-ins, sports, films, tv
programs, books, likes, following events, groups, linked accounts)

• Photos (uploaded and tagged)

• Posts (status, shared, mentioned)
• Privacy settings for posts

Criteria:

CONTENT (10 POINTS) – Complete evaluation of all given elements

DELIVERY (10 POINTS) – Balance exposition between objective and
subjective description
MECHANICS (10 POINTS) – Appropriateness of word choice, limited errors
in grammar, spelling and punctuation

C. Write a paragraph about your past experience/s with social media where
you were branded as a person whom you believe you’re not and how it
has influenced you today. Do this in your notebook.

Criteria:

• Unity (5 points) – oneness of idea

• Coherence (5points) – proper use of transitional devices

• Emphasis (5 points) – repetition/parallelism of words/ideas

that
need to be highlighted

Learning Evaluation

A. Assume that you are currently seeking a job. Customize your social media
profile using the following aspects. Submit a hard copy portfolio of your
profile’s print screen exemplifying the following parts:

1. Description of previous jobs and education

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 2. Highlights of expertise including hard and soft skills
3. Links of your websites, blogs, or artwork
4. Professional and Social Community Affiliations (e.g. evidences of causes,
charity work, and advocacies)
5. Contact information
6. Display Photo of thumbnail
7. Credible, professional, and we’ll – written content

Criteria:

• PROFILE DETAILS (10 POINTS) – should be complete, professional,

accurate and sensible

• SOCIAL MEDIA OAGE CONTENT (10 POINTS) – Posts, life events, and
comment should reflect appropriateness, fairness, and truthfulness

• THEME LAYOUT AND GRAMMAR (10 POINTS) – organized and

enthusing layout is used; no or minimal lapses is grammar

• WORK ETHICS AND TIME MANAGEMENT (10 POINTS) – well-

narrated portfolio; completed and submitted on or before deadline of
submission

B. Given the ten elements of a successful social media profile below,

describe how each should be presented to your audience in the virtual world.

1.Your name:
_____________________________________________________

2. Your username: _________________________________________________

3. Your profile picture:

_______________________________________________

4. Your link/websites:
_______________________________________________

5. Your bio:
_______________________________________________________

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6. Your interest: ___________________________________________________

7. Your background/work/affiliation:
____________________________________

8. Your privacy settings:

_____________________________________________

9. Your activity:
____________________________________________________

10. Your promotion/linked accounts:

____________________________________

6.2 SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

“But on the web, something new is emerging: communication that has the
individuality and personal touch of a conversation, but the persistence and
public availability of a publication.”

- Mark Baker

Discussion

In lesson 1 we have understood the powerful impact social media has

brought to people’s lives. After highlighting the personal opportunities and
responsibilities a user gets, let us take a look at why thus Chapter becomes
an integral part of this
comprehensive book
on technical writing.

Social Media
Platforms and How
You Can Use Them
in Technical Writing

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 Majority of the people in the planet of this modern generation work
with and for social media. They belong to this digital community with
worldwide access to the internet where they found a living. The following
figures show the social media demographics on 2018 Social Audience Guide
made by

Spredfast that will help you realize the need for writing and producing content
in these well-known social networking sites and other technical writing jobs.

To be able to thrive as a beginner content producer, here are some points

that you must enliven first, in no particular order:

• Engage in meaningful and active communities that talk about concepts

where you are good and interested at.

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• Know that your purpose is to establish rapport and create discussion so be
persistent.

• Take things and process one at a time. Remember that it takes one, his
friends, and your account in an established website to discover your skills
and content.

• Focus on one concept or with subcategories that reflect who you really are
and expose the things you really love.

• Conduct your research and further readings before being involved.

• Be direct with all your transactions, bookings, investments, and
collaborations.

• Get ready to refer one to another. Helping others build and enhance their
own web content will help you eventually.

• Expect to fail, learn, change, improve, and prosper.

Now, if you are ready to dwell on a life of a technical writer, let us

learn first from a testimony and journey of Amanda Layman Low, a
contributor in Mediabistro.com, on how she became a technical writer.

“Before I got my feet wet as a technical writer, I thought the field

was about drawing up instruction manuals or legal documents. Maybe
at a higher level some of these people got to write NASA reports or top-
secret government stuff, but the options for technical writing for
someone like me were probably limited to explaining how to put
together a cabinet or work a coffee machine. Despite what I thought
was a complete lack of technical knowledge. I landed a contract job
writing e-learning course material that teaches sales representatives
how to sell software. Weird right? The gist was this: I would read
through a bunch of source documents, try to make sense of the
information and structure in into four lessons based on an outline
provided to me.

But let me go back. When applying for the job, I was asked to complete a

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 “writing assessment” that all contractors are required to take to
determine their skill level. I almost gave up before even starting. When
I read the instructions, I didn’t understand half the words onscreen, let
alone what I was supposed to do with them. So, I just did my own
thing: I wrote a marketing blurb about the company, based on its
website content and whatever else I could find online. My hope was to
show them I could at least to do research and out words into
grammatically acceptable sentences.

I guess it was good enough. A few days later I was given an

assignment, for which I would be paid more money than I’d earned in
the last six months. Then one day, saw a job pasting that told me that
the company was looking for a fulltime writer. I jumped at the
opportunity and got the job. That first project was hard. I cleared out my
schedule and locked myself in my office for an entire weekend. When I
finally finished it, I got paid promptly. And I was asked to do another
project… but the more I familiarized myself with the industry jargon, the
more this type of writing started to feel natural. And although I still have
plenty to learn, I’m now twice as fast at completing an assignment than
I was when I started. And new types of projects became open to me
such as editing a PowerPoint presentation, writing catchy marketing
copy and performing quality assurance on a completed course.”

There are four important things we can learn from her experience.

1. You will never go out of job. Whatever is your filed right now, there will
always be that destined work for you especially if you wish to be a
technical writer online, small to big companies will always be in need of
people to write for them whether to simply write a business letter, design a
terms of service manual, or even write a resume for a job applicant.

2. You start being raw, turned into a well-polished diamond. Always seek
to learn. Even if you were born as a grammar Nazi, there will always be a
room for improvement. Never stop learning, love it instead. You can
always ask someone to help and train you. Your evaluated experience will

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 be your best teacher. Do not stop yet, unless you have started and you are
far away from it.

3. Be direct in writing. Even though some technical writing assignments

require you to be creative, it is still far from a creative short story you wrote
when you were a kid. Still, majority need precise and on point ideas and
instructions. Be systematic, set your goals and expectations. And
remember to always submit before the deadline, do not wait for it to meet
you.

4. It can sustain you and your future family. There is sure money in this
line of work. According to Ms. Layman, the payment in this industry ranges
from $30 to $50 per hour, making $50,000 to $70,000 per year. For part-
times or freelancers, payment may be project-based than hourly. Based on
her experience for this type, it ranged her between $400 and $2,500 per
project.

Her story was so inspiring that we can no longer wait for tomorrow to apply
for a technical writing job. Though, technical writing is also not easy as other
white or blue-collar jobs since you need to press hard and strain all your brain
cells with all your English writing and research skills, but it only takes a little
effort to start and 100% dedication to try writing and make a living.
Are you ready to start exploring the field of technical writing online? You
may simply search on Google technical writing and instructional design jobs
and thousands of suggestions will be presented to you. Note that the technical
writing and instructional designing are two complimentary terms and skills as
differentiated by Anderson (2004).

Technical Writing – deals with writing manuals to promote and support

hardware and software that include writing user, operation, or maintenance
documentations for equipment, products, or services, formal documents of
standard operating procedure (SOPs), or citations of libraries for software;
engage writers with hardware developers and engineers to document vital
data about the systems and /or products.

Instructional Design – Concentrates on determining goal objectives and

performances, knowledge and skills breaches, professional and educational

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training and content objectives, designing instructional strategies, media and
training delivery approaches and methodologies, and writing assessment and
evaluation to gauge learning and competencies.

Whether you would want to be a technical writer or an instructional designer,

one thing is for certain, you can learn anything as long as you devote your
time a d heart on things that really matter. If you live in the Philippines and you
like to work in an office or even from home, you may check out JobStreey.com
and Indeed.com.

Job vacancies vary from:

• Instructional Writer/Designer, Technical Copy Writer, Technical Content

Writer, Educational Content Specialist, Researcher, Marketing Content
Writer, Size set Maker, Audit Writer & Document Controller, Software
Quality Assurance Test Script Writer, Digital Content Writer, Senior
Medical Writer, Technical Marketing Editor, Technical Writer for
Businesses Management, Accounting, Tourism, ICT, E-commerce Content
Producer, SEO Specialist, and many others.

You may also want to have foreigner clients and earn reasonable and
verified salary. Visit upwork.com

Jobs vary from:

• Personable Take Resume Writer, Content Creator for Blog Post,

Portrait Photography Researcher & Webpage Writer, Newspapers Article
Translator, Business Letter Worker to Magazine Advertisers, Freelance Writer
for Tech Companies Using Blockchain, Editor/Proofreader of eBook Content,
Profile Consultant, French Writer, Yoga Article Writer, Computer Science
Content Writer, Language Reviewer for a Word Report, Trendy Topics
Content Creator, Article Researcher and Creative Writer, Real Estate
Assignment Writer and boundless online company.

There is so much in store in the internet for technical communication.

Traditional writer sees new opportunities to publish their own content or serve
others through social media. There is literally no limit to spreading one’s

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horizon in building and sharing intellectual gifts and skills because technical
communicators can grasp this wider and boundless online community.

Challenges and Opportunities

Laying down a good façade of technical communication, there will

always be challenges despite the opportunities that await you as a technical
communicator. It is not simply about writing since it covers multifaceted
expertise and fields. You are well oriented that when you write, you probably
and mostly deal with text. Going back to visual rhetoric lesson in Chapter 5,
users and audiences demand for simplified and concise presentation such as
photos and videos, through content producers and editors of these media
platforms are considered technical communicators as they enhance product,
system, and training course materials. But of course, highlighting the
opportunities, the social media platforms continue to market for texts and
printed materials (considering PDF format) that co-exist with multimedia
services.

The following are some obvious challenges and Opportunities of a technical

communicator. He or she should:
1. Identify consumer’s documentation or product needs;

2. Connect and collaborate with users who can help to produce noteworthy
content;

3. Design product the way consumer would want it to be without

compromising credibility and creativity.

4. Be open to questions and feedback as he or she enables discussions with

users.

5. Manipulate and discover new technologies at home or aim to learn

something new in school to solve consumer problems.

6. Avoid killing time on reviewing the tools used for a website, rather spend it
wisely by maximizing his or her presence online during work.

7. See online platform as an opportunity to learn and practice socialization

skills. Usually, people write for other to write as well.

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8. Consider free documentation. Oram (2007) as cited in Gentle’s book,
conversation and community (2012), he reported reasons people write free
documentation. The following are some of the surprising findings:

• Majority of the people do not realize that they were contributing.

• They do not consider themselves as a writer even though they shared
contents are in written form.

These people’s content is considered “free” because these writers were

not paid for their contributions especially in open-source sites. However, the
compensation they get is some forms of acknowledgement and recognition
that were termed as contribution motivations by Peter Kollock (2008) in his
work titled

“The Economics of Online Collaboration: Gifts and Public Good in

Cyberspace” namely, reciprocity, reputation, attachment and efficiency.

As long as communication and conversational context exist, technical

communicator will never be out of the picture. Whether you are working for a
company online or simply an unemployed or freelance user of an app, you
could always seek avenues to rewrite content information to make it more
accessible to a broader population of audiences. You can do this by putting
yourselves into the shoes of the consumers.
Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Answer the following discussion questions:

1. Give examples of instances when you comment or help someone online?

2. Where do you usually read technical concepts and information?

3. How do you consider sharing what you know about the technical content to
online users?

4. Why do you think there is a need for you to help others online?
5. After learning from this lesson, do you now consider yourself a writer?
Why or why not?

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B. Go online and visit one social media platform where you can see sharing
of reliable source content. Analyze the document by looking into the
following:

• Author’s name and other details

• Exact date of publication
• Edition or version (if applicable)
• Publisher
• Title of journal/article
• Target Audiences
• Gola and objectives
• Coverage (if it includes other primary and secondary sources)
• Writing styles and techniques
• Reviews and feedback from the readers

Criteria:

• CONTENT (10 POINTS) – complete parts are presented and well –

analyzed.

• ORGANIZATION (5 POINTS) – analyzes are logically and

chronologically arranged and discussed.

• MECHANICS (5 POINTS) – correct grammar, punctuations,

capitalization, and formatting are observed.

C. Search for published article that was proven to be take news. Analyze it by
describing why and how it became unreliable. Be critical and use the 4 tips
for evaluating news by Nagler (2016) of Harvard University. D.
1. Vet the publisher’s credibility.
a. Do the publishing sites need academic citation standards?
b. Is the domain name credible?
c. What does it “About Us” say about its content?
d. Who published the article? Is the author credible?
2. Look into the quality and timeliness
a. Are there typographical errors such as excessive use UPPERCASE text
and too much punctation?

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 b. Is the material current or recycled?
3. Check the references and citations.
a. Where and how you find the article?
b. Who are does quoted and what they say?
c. Can the material also be found in other sources?
4. Ask the professional
a. Have you have come across a fact – checking website?

Activity 2

A. Search for an article published in one of our government

websites/agencies.
Examine it by writing a reaction paper with the following parts:
• Synthesis
• Analysis
• Learning Insights
• Policy Recommendation

Criteria for each part of the paper:

• CONTENT (10 POINTS) – complete parts are presented and well-analyze
• ORGANIZATION (10 POINTS) – analyses are logically and chronologically
arranged and discussed.
• MECHAMICS (10 POINTS) – correct grammar,
punctuations, capitalizations, and formatting are observed.

B. Visit Indeed.com choose and apply for technical writing job. Narrate your
experience by writing a narrative essay of your before, during and after
work experiences. Your essay must include the following:

• Topic sentence (Optional)

• Setting and action (4Ws)
• First Action (Dialogue/Event)
• Second Action (Dialogue/Event)
• Third Action (Dialogue/Event)
• Climax
• Conclusion

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Criteria:

• CONTENT (10 POINTS) – complete parts are presented and

wellnarrated

• ORGANIZATION (10 POINTS) – narration is logically and

chronologically arranged.

• MECHANICS (10 POINTS) – correct grammar, punctuations,

capitalizations, and formatting are observed.

Learning Evaluation

Imagine you are writing for a website about current political and social
issues. Using the elements (except the last part) from previous “Activity” (letter
B), produce your own content. Then, upload it online. Aim to receive
constructive and relevant feedbacks and reviews. This will determine your
grade for this activity.

(Integrity must be realized and point system must not be included in the post.)

The point system below will be employed. (Maximum of 30 points)

• Constructive feedback (5 points) – the reader offers solutions to the

problem/s.

• Specific feedback (4 points) – the readers identify the certain problem and
provides relevant examples.
• Balanced feedback (3 points) – the reader highlights strength and
weakness of the article.

• Sensitive feedback (1 points) – the reader expresses his or her emotions

through empathetic tone of text voice response. (Emojis reactions and
negative language are excluded.)

6.3 THE BEST AND WORST OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

Cyber terrorism could also become more attractive as the real and virtual
worlds become more closely coupled, with automobiles, appliances, and other
devices attached to the internet.

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 - Derothy Denning

Discussion

Staying Secure in Digital World

The more people get used to waking up and opening their eyes next to social
media, life activities ranging from Facebook posts, fun facts about themselves
on YouTube, disclosed contact information in research websites, email
subscriptions, to mobile banking, the higher the urgency of the call to personal
digital safety and security should be. From previous lesson, we have been
talking about content sharing and maximizing the use of social media and
electronic tools. But how sure are we that our personal data do not matter to
people with bad motivates evil schemes?

Tracing back our childhood fairy tales, one story has become so prominent
where a beautiful white young lady, with the seven dwarfs, was poisoned by
the wicked witch who poisoned an apple for Snow White to partake. The evil
witch disguised her malicious motive as a pleasing fruit injected with poison.
Relevant story when Jesus was tempted thrice by Satan for the exchange of
fame, wealth and power as long as he surrendered to his demands. These
promises from Satan were like that sweet, pleasing apple of Snow White,
however, unlike the princess, Jesus was never tempted and deceived. He was
so wise that he knew that Satan’s intent was malicious and was not really a
form of generosity. Therefore, the deceitful plan did not succeed.

So, how these two stories become relevant to our lives as tech savvy? In the
cyber world, there are a lot of people whose plans are to deceive others to get
what they want, no matter how vigilant you are in protecting all of your private
accounts, they will always find ways to unlock those. So, we have to be alert
24hours. This does not mean that you have to stay up all night and widely
open your eyes during the day. It only reminds us to be extra careful,
prepared, and guarded in the cyberspace. Same as those crimes that are
happening in the physical world, they too can happen in the virtual
environment.

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 Gelbstein (2013) enumerated in his book, “Good Digital Hygiene”
some of the possible incidents that might happen if one is not prepared
in digital world.

• Sudden malfunction of electronic devices such as personal or

office computer, smartphones, tablets, camera, GPS, and game
consoles

• Spread of virus from one device to another

• Loss of electronic device due to theft, forgetfulness, and
negligence.
• Unexpected loss and corruption of data in devices like data in
your laptop and smartphones

• Disclosure of personal and professional data to harmful risk such

as rape, theft, murder, and homicide

• Exposure to spams, phishing, spear phishing and scams

• Vulnerability to unsuitable and undesirable materials such as
those that are xenophobic, misogynist, political, and
pornographic, and others

• Risk of children’s exposure to inappropriate materials

• Identify theft leading to financial damages, and many others

Cyber Crime Cases

Locally, despite having the Republic Act 10175 also known as the
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 which is a law in the Philippines
that aims to address legal issues regarding online communications and
the internet in the country, Francisco (2017) of rappler.com reported
that cybercrime in the Philippines has increased for the past three
years (2013-2016) (update from last year) having online libel, online
scams, and identify theft as the most common incident complaints.
There were 494 complaints recorded of online libel of 2016 compared
to 311 in 2015, while online scam complaints had 444 complaints in
2016 from 334 in 2015 along with increasing identity theft reports since
2013 according to Philippine National Police-Anti-Cyber Crime Group
(PNP-ACG).

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 Below is the list of cybercrime offenses that are punishable by
law in the country:

• Offenses against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of

computer data and systems: o Illegal Access o Illegal
Interception o Data Interference o System Interference o
Misuse of Devices o Cyber-squatting o Computer-related
Forgery o Computer-related Fraud o Computer-related Identity
Theft o Cybersex o Child Pornography

o Unsolicited Commercial
Communications o Libel

• Other offenses:
o Aiding or Abetting in the
commission of Cybercrime o
Attempt in the commission of
Cybercrime

Cyber Crime Technology

Needless to say, the author, among all possible offenders, could be held
responsible and liable whenever you spread malware, spam messages
usually with malicious content, and even your use of your infected flash
drives. So, you should always be aware of your devices especially when you
lend them particularly drivers with copyrighted contents. Other offenders
include hackers, malware suppliers, cyber criminals, terrorist, and cyber
armies. A cybercrime offender is not like any other criminal who does not
need to be technically intelligent to commit a crime. He or she is usually well-
educated, intelligent and creative human being that has enough knowledge in
ICT. Cybercrime happens due to lack of editorial measures or quality
assurance in the World Wide Web.

How to be Safe in Cyberspace

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Naturally, all the digital natives must be cautious and aware of the probable,
though not the least things they can do for their own safety and security in the
virtual world. Although, total security may not be possible to achieve, people
should still be oriented on how to make adjustments and appropriate actions,
in case.

1. To avoid and/or respond to malware (malicious software) issues…

• have updated software devices;
• use password for your ISP (Internet Service Provider) like your Wifi
and to all your other devices especially if you were a generous person
who always allows other people to use your gadgets (you may still use
the guest account;

• do not easily go to websites, download and install files with high

chance of infecting your device; (you may opt to remove your pre-
installed app in your

Computer. Go to SETTINGS>SYSTEM>APPS&FEA-
TURES>UNINSTALL.)
• make it a practice to scan and safely remove drivers that install to your
device;

• do not entertain spam messages;

• back up your files ALWAYS;
• dispose your devices properly;
• buy and use only verified and reliable anti-virus, firewall, and web
security software; and

• do not attempt to misbehave online.

2. In case you deliberately want to misbehave, stop thinking of the following:

• Exporting your office or employer’s systems, devices, and facilities;

• Using bcc inappropriately to your email transactions;
• Reproducing confidential data of other people and sharing it with
others without their notice;

• Leaving offensive, insensitive, and slanderous comments on someone

else’s post only to defame them; and

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 • Hacking other’s devices by installing malware to theirs.

3. To avoid being a victim of identity and data theft…

• Just like your physical stainless keys for different privacy and security
use, you should also have various passwords on all your electronic
devices and social media accounts but make sure not to forget them
by providing secured backups;

• Use strong password such as combining lower and uppercase letters,

letters with Arabic numbers, any sequence of numbers to letters
conversion, or the new forms such as the use of your email, contact
number, security question, finger print, face and photo detector, and
many others;

• Do not click on any unknown link through email, websites, chatrooms

or even SMS to avoid phishing and spear-phishing;

• Discern websites if there is really a reason for you to sign up in order

to download the file;

• Limit your sharing of personal electronic devices and personal

accounts (May that be your boyfriend/girlfriend, wait until you get
married);

• Carefully link your accounts to your email so you can monitor if a

person opens your account in another devices;

• Allow other users to use the GUEST and CHILD account,

• Prevent people from installing or purchasing software in your devices
without your permission; and lock your device when not in use.

4. To secure your privacy or personal cyberspace

• Use VPN or Virtual private network that enables you to send and
receive data across shared networks that are directly connected to a
private network;

• Turn on your private browsing mode in your mobile browser so Safari

on any other browser will not remember the pages you visited even
search history;

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 • Choose the “secret conversation” feature of messenger and “direct
message” on Twitter and Instagram;

• Customize or limit your post audience on Facebook, YouTube,

Instagram and messenger story;

• Make your accounts private so unexpected guest or friends would

have to wait for your confirmation before they see your profile on
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter;

• Turn off your GPS or location apps;

• Cautiously are tags on all social media accounts; and
• Hide your connections and turn off your linked accounts.

Whatever you do, there will always be a chance that someone is watching
you.
You should not be afraid, instead, be attentive. As the law state, “the liability
imposed on the judicial person shall be without prejudice to the criminal
liability of the natural person who has committed the offense, “therefore, do
not lose trust in the authority.

Common Interest Problem and Solutions

1. Personal Computer lags forever with pop-up ads everywhere.

o if you always experience slothful start-up, your PC may be infested with
malware. It can be in a form of spyware that is brought by your Web
browser, viruses from your emails, and worms of all forms.
o You may try using these antispyware software programs; Microsoft
Windows defender, at
www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software which is free
and already include in your updated windows; Ad-ware, from lava Soft
at www.lavasoftusa.com; and Spybot Search and destroy from
www.safernetworking.org

2. Inability to send large email files and attachments o Due to the limitations of
the file size offered by email providers, users are having a hard time to
send or receive files.

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 o To resolve this, you may use Google Drive which allows the user to get
access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup
for photos, videos, stories, designs, recordings, and other types of files
up to 15GB of storage for free. Simply use your Google account.

To get access with received files in Google Drive, you need to get
permission first from the sender through the same e-mail he sent, and
wait for his approval.

3. “Forgot password” o It is inevitable to forget password due to a high

number of registered accounts to different websites and apps where user
does/does not use only one for all due to convenient reasons.

o The mandatory advice is to create password from a combination of

letters, numbers, and symbols; to still use unique and different
password for each account that are meaningful to you; t memorize
them and not write them anywhere (e.g. sticky notes on your monitor,
note pad app on your smartphone) for security reason; and to regularly
change password.

o You may still store them all, if you are not good at memorization, in a
password protected file using KeePass software or Keyring app. But of
course, you need to remember your password to these programs.
Also, you may choose the options “Remember or Keep password” on
browsers and smartphones every time you enter password for the first
time.

o Do not choose a password that is common English word on your full

name which is easy for someone to guest.

4. People know everything about you.

o If you are a private or secretive type of person you may want to make
personal things only to yourself. This is a common fear of those
people who join and opt to b active on various social platform.

o Remove spyware in your PC; use VPN (Virtual Private Network) apps
which offer a safe and encrypted connection over a less secure

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 network; always clear history of internet activities on browsers and
smartphones; avoid linking accounts to other accounts which is
rampant now to those who want make all their activities in public
mode; do not be careless by putting all your personal information on
the web if you do not want others to know those things about you such
as your home address, phone or contact details; and do not log in to
public devices such as those in computer shops, ordering stuff using
other’s devices, and giving your account details to anyone.

5. Unlimited exposure to PC, tablets, and smartphones AKA internet

addiction.

o If you are a parent and you seem to see your kids and spouse being
stuck on their electronic devices, you may want to alleviate their
addiction to them. or if you are an employee or student, and you
cannot help yourself from using your smartphones at works and in
school, you need more internal government and self-discipline in this
aspect. o First things first, to avoid addiction, to do not install a WiFi
router at home. But if you really need it, you may set schedule of
usage and apply the reward system to your kids while suggesting
better apps to your husband where you may be involved together at
the same time.

o You may also choose the privacy options for kids (Kids Mode) which
are present in some of social media and entertainment apps or usually
already installed for free in your tablets you purchase. (e.g. YouTube
kids, kids proof app, Amazon HD Fire 8 kids edition. Apple iPad 2018,
LefFrog Leap and Ultimate).

o For employees, realize integrity of not using company owned

properties for personal use such as their internet connection, working
computers, and paid subscriptions for personal use. This problem and
stigma are common to this generation. There are even Facebook
pages that target these activities where working people can relate. It
may raise awareness and reminders but only mostly for entertainment.
This requires internal government which can only be done by the
personal himself. o For students, in line with one’s internal

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 government, you may opt to deleting your apps and simply use the
browser to access them. Through this, you may feel impatient to wait
for the loading of the feed that will make you want to log out or
discontinue. Also, ask for an accountability partner or people around
you to remind you to limit your use of it or simply discipline yourself by
setting alarms or time allotment when to stop to give yourself its right
to rest. Id this does not work, do yourself a favor by committing to
digital detoxification. Remember the cliché, “if there’s a will, there’s a
way”.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

A. Let us discuss the following

1. What is something that will makes you stay online?
2. Do you think social media make the youth vulnerable to potential risk
online?

3. What can you say about the detection of the clause on “cyber bullying”
in the Republic Act 10175?

4. Do you think potential sex offenders differ in perspective when it

comes to gender? Why or why not?

5. Besides what’s provider in the list, can you suggest other things that
might happen to the unprepared in digital world?

6. Explain Albert Einstein quote, “the different between and stupidity is

that genius has limit.” Relate it to the lesson.

B. Download the Republic Act 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act of

2012 file. Critically analyze the inclusion of cybercrime offenses and
gravity of penalties to cybercrime offender.

Do the following steps:

1. Read and understand the case.

2. Identify the parties.
3. Make an online of the procedural history of the case.

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 4. Highlights the most important facts and detect the legal issue raise by
the facts.
5. Enumerate the legal rules used by the court.
6. Construct a yes/no question for the issue.
7. Find the court’s answer to the issue.

CRITERIA:

• ISSUE, PROBLEM, OR QUESTION (10 POINTS) – vividly and

accurately identifies the issue or problem; exemplifies breadth and
depth of the case

• THESIS ARGUMENT AND CONCEPTS (10 POINTS) – Precisely

and consistently presents and explains the stance and relevant
concepts of the issue

• INTERPRETATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS (10 POINT) – reasonably

makes inferences and explicitly discusses the significant implications
and consequences

• ORGANIZATION AND MECHANICS (10 POINTS) – is easy to read

and exemplifies flawless grammar

C. Search for an article about a cybercrime case in the Philippines. Analyze

the article and write an expository text by looking into the following:

• Reason for being sued/cybercrime offense

• Setting of the incident
• People involved
• Punishment for the offender
• Casualties to the victims

CRITERIA:

CONTENT (10 POINTS) – All elements are well-discussed.

ORGANIZATION (10 POINTS) – transitional devices are appropriately used.

a Course Module for Technical Writing

MECHANICS (10 POINTS) – grammar, punctuation, capitalization and format
are correctly observed.

Activity 2

A. Individual Activity
Conduct a risk assessment on your social media account.
1. Identify the system of the chosen social media platform
including its process, basic functions, and applications.

2. Detect threats, risk and determine possible impact.

3. Analyze the control environment.
4. Explain possible steps to recover and restore systems
and improvement.

B. Group Activity
• Write an open letter to your social media friends addressing the
needs of exercising privacy and safety in the cyberspace.

• Make an advocacy video expressing the content of your open

letter.
• Upload it on your social media accounts and encourage
discussions about it.

CRITERIA:

• CONTENT/STORYBOARD (25 POINST) – targeted topic and

exemplified thoroughness of expression

• VIDEO QUALITY
SHOTS/EDITING/SOUND/SUBTITLES/GRAPHIC/OVERLAY (25
POINTS) – high quality video with creative and well-chosen
shots and angle; clear audibility; applied correct, appropriate,
readable subtitles and overlays

• TIME MANAGEMENT (25 POINTS) – maximized allotted time

for the creation of the project

• TEANWORK (25 POINTS) – all members participated and

contributed in the creation of the project.

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 Class Activity:

Hold a class seminar about cyber security or a cyber security

awareness week. Be able to make a poster about in that includes tips
for students and teachers? Post it around the school. Make sure to ask
permission to post.

CRITERIA:

• First impression (10 points)

• Readability (10 points)
• Layout (10 points)
• Creativity and originality (10 points)
• Quality of the material (10 points)

Learning Evaluation
Quiz

A. Answer the questions briefly. Wrote your answers on a separate

sheet of paper.

1. Why do you think netizens feel that they can do anything

they want on their social media accounts/Internet?

2. What is cybercrime?
3. Who are the people behind many of the cybercrime?
4. Enumerate two cybercrimes that children think are only
pranks.
5. Give for instances differentiating what you can do in the
real world but you can’t in the virtual world.

6. Do not think a person should receive the same

punishment in both worlds? Why or why not?

7. Give 5 effects of Cybercrime to one’s life.

B. Match column A (definitions) with column B (key terms).

COLUMN A

a Course Module for Technical Writing

 1. Any illegal activity that uses a computer as its primary means of
commission

2. Sending the same message indiscriminately to a large number

of internet users

3. The fraudulent practice of using another person’s name and

personal information in order to obtain credit, loans, etc.

4. Gaining unauthorized access to data in a system or computer

5. The fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from
reputable companies in order to include individuals to reveal
personal information online

6. A network of private computers infected with malicious software

and controlled as a group without the owner’s knowledge, e.g. to
send spam

7. An attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable

to its intended users, such as to temporarily or suspended
services for a host connected to the Internet

8. Security barrier design to keep unwanted intruders “outside” a

computer system or network while allowing safe communication
between systems and users on the “inside”

9. A malicious program or code that attaches itself to another

program file and can be replicate itself and thereby infect other
systems

10. Defamation of a person by written or representational means

COLUMN B

A. Botnet
B. Cybercrime
C. Denial or Services (DOS) Attack
D. Firewall
E. Hacking
F. Identity Theft

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 G. Libel
H. Phishing
I. Spamming
J. J. Virus

C. Enumerate at least five (5) additional internet problems you usually

encounter and provide solutions for each.

1. Problem: _______________________________________
Solutions: ______________________________________
2. Problem: _______________________________________
Solutions: ______________________________________
3. Problem: _______________________________________
Solutions: ______________________________________
4. Problem: _______________________________________
Solutions: ______________________________________
5. Problem: _______________________________________
Solutions: ______________________________________

D. Self-Assessment
• Download and read the PDF file from
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/Documents/Risk/gx

-ers-assessing-cyber-risk.pdf
• Print pages 6-15. Assess your maturity level using the cybersecurity
maturity scale. Skip items that do not apply.

• Provide justifications/concrete evidence for your choices. Use the back

part of the paper.

References

Gentle, A. (2012). Conversation and community: the social web for

documentation. Second Edition. XML Press. Laguna Hills, CA.
http://xmlpress.net
Gittschalk, P. (2010) Policing Cyber Crime. First Edition. Petter Gottschalk &
bookboon.com. ISBN 978-87-7681-679-7 Hill Companies Inc.

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Kaplan, A. & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges
and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, volume 53, Issue
1, January February 2010, pages 59-68.
Lanigan, M. L. (2010). Creating a web page Using HTML, XHTML, and CCS:
The Basics. Third house, Inc.
Licklider, J.C.R. (1960). Man computer symbiosis, IRE transactions on human
factors in electronics, volume HFE – 1, pages 4-11. MIT Computer
Science ans Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
McHaney, R.W. & Saachs, D. (2016). Web 2.0 and social media:
business in connected world. Third edition. BookBoon.com. ISBN 978-
87-403-1428-1.
Minas, R.M. Ferianiza, M.B., Bermundo, P.JV., &Yango, A. (2010). Technical
writing in the modern world. Intramuros, Manila: Mindshapers Co., Inc.
Taprial, V. Kanwar, P. (2012). Understanding social media. Varinder Taprial &
Priya Kanwar and Ventus publishing aps. ISBN 978-87-7681-992-7.
Thomas, M. (2013). Using social media for personal gain. First Edition.
Bookboon.com ISBN 978-87-403-0569-2.
Later & Hubspot (2018). Instagram for business in 2018. Retrieved from
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/53/Instagram_for_business_in_2018_H
ubspot_La ter-1.pdf
Levine, R. & Young, M.L. (2010). The internet for dummies. 12 th Edition. Wiley
Publishing Incorporated. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774.
Indianapolis, India.

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