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Workshop Outline
Following is a typical schedule for Spence & Company’s one-and-a-half day workshop on effective business and technical writing.
Day 1 — 7 hours
Introduction to the principles for organizing ideas: Defining the message — Position, Issues, Data, Conclusions, and Recommendations. Outlining the three sections of a piece of writing — Opening Statement, Body, and Summing Up. (2 hours)
The Opening Statement: Telling the reader what prompts the piece of writing, stating your Position – what the reader should do or believe, giving essential background, and summarizing the Issues, Conclusions, and Recommendations. (2 hours)
The Body: Deciding what Data to include and in what order to present it. Alternative ways to organize the Body. How to present tables, graphs, and spreadsheets in the text. When to present supplemental Data in attachments. (1 hour)
The Summing Up: Wrapping up a piece of writing. Restating what you want your reader to do or believe and emphasizing the most convincing Conclusions. Getting action from readers on your Recommendations. (1 hour)
Writing for your Readers: Identifying a document’s key and non-key readers and adapting the document to their needs. Anticipating and overcoming readers’ objections to your Position.
(1 hour)
Day 2 — 3 hours
Principles of Paragraph Structure: Instruction on paragraph organization; guidelines for paragraph length and for establishing the flow of ideas within each paragraph. (1 hour)
Principles of Sentence Structure: Guidelines on the sequence and number of ideas in a sentence; guidelines on length, eliminating the five types of unnecessary words, and using familiar, readable language. (1 hour)
E-mail and other forms of business correspondence: Writing e-mail; composing subjects; managing your Inbox; e-mail policies. Preparing cover letters and special types of business reports. Using subheadings and enumeration. (1 hour)
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