Introduction to Business Writing

8/19/2019 Introduction to Business Writing

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What You Need to Know

about Writing Business Papers at UWT

Presented to Junior Business Students

Business Administration

University of Washington, Tacoma

Presented by Victor Delacruz

Business Writing Workshop

March 16,2000


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Table of Contents

Subject

Page Number

Title Page .

Table of Contents.........................

11

Executive Summary.................................................................................. 111

Getting Started: Where Do You Begin? .

Outlining Your Paper. .

Defining your purpose

Developing your outline

Structuring Your Paper... 5

.Front matter .

Main body of text

Back matter

Writing Your Paper: What to Consider :..... 8

Use of Headings........................................................................................................ 8

Sentence Characteristics........................................................................................... 9

Paragraph Design :........................................................................................ 10

Finalizing Your Paper: Whai is Left to Do? 12

Tips for Revising :................ 12

Tips for Editing.................................................................................................. 13

Appendix A (Sample Outline)............... A-I

Appendix B (SWOT Analysis Format)..... B-1

References .. . 15

11


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Executive sUmmary

Statement of Purpose.

One of your most challenging and rewarding experiences at

UWT

will

be that of writing. Every course will require -Writing and you can expect to write well over fifteen

full-length papers during your time at

UWT.

What is it your professors will be looking for in

your writing and what do you need to know about writing business papers at

UWT?

This is a

good question and one this paper seeks to answer.

This sample paper was designed for the incoming student and will discuss writing in three phases

to include, (1) getting started, (2) writing your paper, and (3) finalizing your paper. Each phase

will contain valuable information for you to know and use in your writing. As a result of reading

this paper, you should have a greater understanding of the writing process and be able to produce

papers that meet or exceed your professors expectations as well as your own.

Methods and Sources.

The sources used to address this topic include the Guide to Managerial

Communication (Munter, 1997). The Basics of Business Writing (Stuckey, 1992), and The

Standard Components of Business Documents (Nelson, 2(00).

Summary. There are three phases you should follow as you compose: (1) getting started, (2)

writing your paper, and (3) finalizing your paper. Getting started includes actions such as

outlining and formatting. Writing your paper includes header use, sentence characteristics, and

paragraph design. Finalizing your paper includes revising, editing, and-proofreading.

Getting started on a paper requires you to develop an outline in order to organize your thoughts

on a topic, then structure or format your paper to later assist you during your writing. You

should first study all guidance related to your writing assignment then determine your purpose

for writing. Having a purpose is very important because it will drive outline development. An

outline will allow you to create your own road map, which can make writing a much more

organized, time efficient, and enjoyable experience. Also, an outline serves as the framework or

structure for your entire paper. It becomes your table of contents, executive summary, and

headings in your paper.

Writing your paper means composing and piecing it together a little bit at a time according to

your outline. You should consider the use of headings, sentence characteristics, and paragraph

design. Headers are simply well chosen phrases, which are formatted to guide your reader

through your document and make it easier to read and comprehend. Sentence characteristics such

as purpose, length, and quality are important for you to consider because sentences are the

building blocks for effective paragraphs. Finally, paragraph design considerations such as the

role of topic sentences, paragraph development, and paragraph length are important for you to

consider because paragraphs are the building blocks for entire papers.

Finalizing your paper requires revising and editing. Revising involves rewriting or rearranging

all or parts of the entire document. To effectively revise you should first step back from your

draft and see it whole (Mayberry, 1999). This is an important action because you enable yourself

to later read it with more objectivity (Mayberry, 1999). It is likely that you will reread your

paper. discover more effective ways to inform or persuade your audience, and rewrite or

rearrange all of parts of the document.

III


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One of your most challenging experiences at UWT will be that of writing. Every course

will require writing and you can expect to write well over fifteen full-length papers during your

time at UWT. What is it your professors will be looking for in your writing and what do you

.need to know about writing business papers at UWT? Thi~ a good question and one this paper

seeks to answer.

This paper will discuss writing in three phases to include, (1) getting started, (2) writing

your paper, and (3) finalizing your paper. Each phase will contain valuable information for you

to know and use in your writing. Getting started includes actions such as outlining and

formatting. Writing your paper includes header use, sentence characteristics, and paragraph

design. Finalizing your paper includes revising, editing, and proofreading. As a result of

reading this paper, you should have a greater understanding of the writing process and be able to

produce papers that meet or exceed your professors expectations as well as your own.

-

This paper is organized into three main sections and according to three phases of writing.

The first section will discuss actions involved in getting started. The second section will discuss

the formats and mechanics involved in writing your paper. The third section will discuss actions

involved in finalizing your paper.

Getting Started: Where Do You Begin?

Writing can be difficult and knowing where to begin is one of your first tasks. There are

many approaches associated with this phase and you may already have your own unique

approach. However. at a minimum, you should develop an outline to organize your thoughts on

the topic, then structure or format your paper to later assist you during your writing.


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Outlining Your Paper

Outlining is the key to beginning most writing assignments. Can you imagine writing a

six to 10 page paper without a plan? It would be an unguidedjourney. you would most likely

confront some obstacles, and your experience wo~ld probably not be too enjoyable. What you

should have is a plan and an outline is the first part of a plan. An outline will allow you to create

your own road map, which can make writing a much more organized, time efficient, and

enjoyable experience. Also, an outline serves as the framework or structure for your entire

paper. It becomes your table of contents, executive summary, and headings in your paper.

However, before you begin any outline, you will need to determine exactly what it is you are

supposed to be writing about.

Defining your purpose. Beforeyou begin drafting an outline, you should spend some

time studying your professor's guidance on the particular assignment. Often such guidance is

specified in the course syllabus and other times it is given out in class. Regardless of how you

receive your professor's guidance, study it to determine the specific requirements for your paper .

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This is a very important step that should not be rushed because your resulting statement of

purpose (thesis) will drive outline development. For example, a professor may instruct you to

write a company analysis with an emphasis on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and

threats (Thompson

Strickland, 1999). After considering such guidance, you could develop a

statement of purpose that reads, This paper win discuss Microsoft's strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats and provide strategic recommendations for the company's

improvement. In this example, your professor gives you specific guidance on what to write

about and what to address. Thus, from your professor's guidance you essentially have a

statement of purpose and outline structure for your paper.


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example, the purpose of this paper was to describe and discuss those things that students needed

to know about when writing business papers. From-this purpose, many notes were created as a

result of brainstorming. Each note was then analyzed for content and similarity to the other

notes and major groupings were determined. Eventually, aJ :afi outline was completed which

established a framework for the paper to follow (Appendix

A).

Take a moment to look at this

paper's table of contents and see what the outline later developed into.

Organizing the topics of an outline requires that you become familiar with the various

patterns of organization. It is important that you are aware of these patterns so that your outline

is consistent in its structure. For example, a topical pattern might include major headings such as

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and recommendations. A topical pattern in effect

allows you to address major concepts. A sequential pattern might include major headings such

as getting started, writing your paper, and finalizing you paper. A sequential pattern allows you

to address major concepts in the order in which they occur. Other patterns of organization

include spatial, prioritized, chronological, pro/con, compare/contrast and problem/solution. By

using a pattern you are able to organize your outline in a consistent manner which leads to a

paper that is easy to follow structurally.

Brainstorming does not necessarily work for every assignment. If you do not know much

about your writing assignment you may need to first gather information. Two places to begin

gathering information are the library and the Internet. First, the library is and will always be a

great place to begin searching for sources. For example, you can locate a book or journal that

relates to your topic, physically pull it from the shelf, and review it. Sometimes, in a matter of

seconds you can determine if a source is going to support or enhance the development of your

outline. Second, the Internet contains numerous web sites that are sure to address your topic and


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sometimes lead you to sources that you can obtain through the UW library system. Specifically,

you-should become familiar with the UW Information Gateway located at http://www.lib.

washington.edu. At this web site, you will find numerous databases such as ABIlInform and

Lexis-Nexis, which can provide you with access to excellent sources.

Structuring Your Paper

Once your outline has been drafted your next task is to integrate it into the overall

structure of your paper. In order to accomplish this task you should become familiar with the

general writing sections known as front matter, mairi body of text, and back matter. Front matter

will introduce your reader to your paper and layout all that is contained within the main body of

text. Back matter will detail your research, analysis, and sources used. Although this section

will only briefly discuss the individual components contained in front and back matter, a more

extensive coverage may be found in your Student Survival Guide in the writing standards

section.

Front matter. The first few pages of a paper are referred to as front matter and include

the title page, table of contents, and executive summary. These components, in their own unique

way, introduce the reader to the entire document. First, the title page contains the title, among

other important entries, which provides the reader with a summary of focus (Munter, 1997,

p.

166 ,

This summary of focus is a very useful piece of information that sets the tone for the

paper and communicates to the reader what to expect. For example, the title of this paper, What

You Need to Know about Writing Business Papers at UWT, should have caused you to expect

an informative and useful paper.

Second, the table of contents previews the major and minor sections of the paper and

serves as a useful tool for your reader. Since the table of contents is derived from the outline, it


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displays the major topics from the outline as primary headings, which ~ flush with the left

margin. For example, the first major section of this paper, Getting Started is located in the

table of contents and is flush with the left margin. The minor headings, or secondary and tertiary

headings, are also displayed in the table of conte~ts but are indented under the major headings.

The table of contents may be used to immediately access certain sections of a paper. A

reader only needs to look at the table of contents, identify the desired topic, find the appropriate

page number, and turn directly to that page. This is an important feature of the table of contents

because readers may only need to read a specific portion of the paper or may not have the time to

read the entire document. While this may be the reality in the business world, it is certainly not

the reality at UWT: you can expect your professor's to read your entire paper.

Third, the executive summary is a mini paper, which encapsulates the main conclusions

of the paper. For most readers, the executive summary is a major focus because every sentence

is expected to be very conclusive, and the summary should make sense on its own (Munter,

1997, p. 166). Beginning with the statement of purpose, the summary briefly describes the

introductory information of the paper. Next, methods and sources highlight the primary

references cited within the paper and a summary section then draws conclusions from each of the

major sections of the paper. Finally, a preview describes the major sections of the paper to

follow. Take a moment to review the executive summary of this paper.

Main body of text. There should be three distinct sections within the main body of text to

include the introduction, the body, and the closing sections. The introduction should describe

your topic and put it in perspective. Most importantly, the introduction should bring the reader

to a clear expectation of the document's specific goals (Nelson, 2000). The main body of text

within a paper is where you persuade or inform your reader to believe or understand your


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the primary, secondary, and tertiary headings are also generalizations that relate to and preview

the text that follows them. Therefore, an opening or topic sentence is the final generalization that

previews and guides the reader into the many individual arguments or points contained within a

paper.

Second, paragraphs must be fully developed by the use of effective sentences. Since the

topic sentence communicates a generalization to the reader, this generalization should be

addressed then summarized to some degree within the paragraph. How well this is achieved is a

reflection of the writer's experience and ability. Let's now apply these concepts to the preceding

paragraph. Notice how the topic sentence generalizes about three main things to consider. The

next sentence following the topic sentence immediately addresses one of the three items and the

remaining sentences in the paragraph continue to develop the paragraph based on the topic

sentence. Thus, paragraph development is achieved by the use of sentences that effectively

address and support their respective topic sentences.

Third, paragraph length is also of considerable importance with regard to paragraph

design. If a paragraph is too long, it may not be,welcoming or easy to read. For instance, long

paragraphs require readers to be engaged and follow your thoughts for a period of time that may

not be acceptable to them. If on the other hand your paragraphs are too short, they may not

adequately develop your ideas and leave your reader wondering what your point was. For

writing business papers, you will want to keep your paragraphs short, averaging not more than

150-200 words (Munter, 1997, p. 54). This translates into about five sentences per paragraph.

Up to this point, we have discussed some key aspects relating to the first two phases of

writing. In getting started, we discussed the necessity of an outline and we described one

method that could be used to develop an outline. We then reviewed the many components that


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comprise the structure of a paper. In writing your paper we described the use of headings and

how they link to the outline of a paper. We focused on sentence characteristics to learn about the

importance of sentence purpose, length, and quality. Finally, we reviewed some rules about

paragraph design. Now that we nave a greater un~erstanding of the first two phases in writing,

we will discuss those actions involved ui finalizing your paper.

Finalizing Your Paper: What is Left to Do?

Once a paper has been conceptualized, outlined, and drafted, a writer must take two

additional actions to complete the final paper. First, revising involves rewriting or rearranging

all or parts of the entire document. Second, editing involves a careful check of grammar,

punctuation, and spelling. These two actions are critical for achieving a quality paper and there

are some tips to keep in mind while finalizing your paper.

Tips for Revising

Revising a paper means stepping back from it [your first draft] and seeing it whole

....

(Mayberry, 1999). In order to successfully revise a paper you should, (1) give yourself some

time before you reread and revise, (2) review your statement of purpose, and (3) review the

overall effectiveness of your writing.

First, giving yourself some time away from your document enables you to distance

yourself from your work and later read it with more objectivity (Mayberry, 1999). It is likely

that you will reread your paper, discover more effective ways to inform or persuade your

audience. and rewrite or rearrange all of parts of the document. Thus, giving yourself some

distance contributes to a more objective revision and serves as a critical step in achieving a

quality paper.


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Second, reviewing your statement of purpose enables you to revisit your original purpose

for writing and apply this mindset to a written body of text instead of a promising outline.

Remember your statement of purpose first assisted you in developing an outline then coming up

.with the right text to support your argument. By .reviewin~e statement of purpose and

rereading the first draft you are now determining whether your words adequately support your

original purpose for writing.

Third, reviewing the overall effectiveness of your writing means checking for coherence

and appropriate style. A coherent paper will effectively link ideas together which make the

paper flow logically (Munter, 1997). If your ideas are not effectively linked, your readers may

become puzzled with your paper and loose interest in it. The use of an appropriate writing style

will ensure that your readers have the ability to sense where your writing is coming from. As

you seek to inform our persuade your readers, you should keep in mind that they are deciding .

whether or not your writing appeals to them based on your tone and word choice (Mayberry,

1999).

Tips for Editing

Unlike revising, editing is a careful check of the spelling, grammar, punctuation, and

overall consistency of a paper (Mayberry, 1999). Since professors spend a great deal of time

correcting such micro issues. the effectiveness of a paper is potentially impeded by excessive

errors of this kind (name undisclosed. personal communication, February 22, 2000). Therefore,

in order to successfully edit a paper you should (1) edit in stages, (2) use a dictionary, and (3)

review punctuation rules.

First, editing in stages means rereading your paper at.least one time beyond the revision

readings in order to check for correctness in sentences and words. Remember your revision


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readings focused on the paper's content, organization, and coherence. However, for editing you

will focus on individual sentences and words (Munter, 1997).

Second, using a dictionary enables you to verify words that you are not completely

knowledgeable about, with regard to spelling and_meaning. Indeed a computer spell check will

catch the majority of misspelled words, but it will-not catch them all. For example, the words

affect and effect sound the same, but they are spelled differently and have two entirely

different meanings. Other word combinations that share these same characteristics include

ensure/insure, capital/capitol, foreword/forward, its/it's, their/there/they're and you're/your.

Thus, using a dictionary can improve the accuracy of your word choices and perhaps add to your

vocabulary.

Third, reviewing punctuation rules enables you to make correct use of commas and

semicolons; punctuation marks that are most commonly found in error (name undisclosed,

personal communication, February 22, 2000). In the grand scheme of things, punctuation is less

important than logical organization and clear wording, however, avoiding punctuation errors

.

should be a focus during this final phase of writing (Stuckey, 1992). Let us take a moment to

review punctuation rules for commas arid semicolons.

Commas are used where you would have a light, natural pause, or whenever necessary

to prevent misunderstanding (Munter, 1997, p. 187). For example, The Business Writing

Workshop, an excellent opportunity for incoming business students, was successfully executed,

which resulted in improved business writing overall. Semicolons are used, if at all, to join two

or more complete sentences that are closely related. For example, In the autumn quarter,

business students begin their introductory courses; in the spring, business students are offered

graduating courses. Semicolons can also be used to separate two sentences. For example, The


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business students forgot to register for classes on time; however, they had a great holiday break.

Therefore, knowing how to effectively use punctuation can serve to enhance your paper.

In summary, there are many things you need to know about with regard to writing

business papers at VWT. First,your professors will be looking for writing that is organized in

structure and in thought. Provided you have effectively oriented your paper towards your

statement of purpose and used an outline that adequately supports your purpose, you should have

a paper that is organized in its structure and thought. Second, your professors will be looking for

writing that is informative and convincing. Provided you have composed precise sentences and

paragraphs, which follow your outline and effectively support your purpose, you should have a

paper that adequately informs or persuades your reader. Finally, your professors are looking for

papers that are free of spelling and punctuation errors. Provided you have carefully edited, you

should have a paper free of errors.

Writing is something that, you continually improve upon provided you have the right

resources, receive good feedback, and you consistently strive to learn about writing. Although

papers will vary in content, the components of a paper rarely change from what you see in this

paper. Careful study of this paper will ensure you have an edge when you writing business

papers and you should be able to produce papers that meet or exceed you professor's

expectations as well as your own.


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References

Mayberry, K. J., (1999). For argument's sake: A guide to writing effective arguments.

New York, NY: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc.

Munter, M., (1997). Guide to managerial communication: Effective business writing and

speaking, (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

Nelson, G. K., (2000). Standard components of business documents: Standard Document

formatting guidelines. Student Survival Guide, [On-line], Available: http://staff.washington.eduJ

bsabizlpage9.html

Stuckey, M., (1992). The Basics of business writing. New York, NY: AMACOM

American Management Association

Thompson, A., Strickland, A. (1999). Strategic management: Concepts and cases

(11th Ed.). Boston, MA: Irwin McGraw-Hill