7 Steps to Better Writing - Charles Maxwell 2020
What you will learn
Good writing is important
Documents are the bridges we build to convey our thoughts
Clear writing improves thinking
Good writing has always been important
The modern world depends on writing
Writing better can boost your career
Conclusion
Additional Resources
7-step writing process
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 1 – Identify readers & Purpose
Seek guidance
Put yourself in the place of your readers
Define your purpose
Write or not write
Make notes
Create an attribute matrix
Match your document’s form to its purpose
Control the tone
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 2 – Collect information
Consider your purpose
Set a goal
Report progress
Sources
Note taking
Calculations, drawings, and sketches
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 3 – Brainstorm
Brainstorming strategies
Capture techniques
Assess completeness
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 4 – Organize
Organization steps
Formal outlines
Templates
Patterns
Capture attention
Storytelling
Summaries and conclusions
Persist
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 5 – Draft
Withhold judgment
Find a place where you can focus
Music
Select the best time of the day
Have your equipment ready
Use voice recognition software
Go for speed
Write short sentences
Talk to your readers
Control the tone
Keep a little in reserve
Working with data and images
Draft the summary and conclusions last
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 6 – Revise
Take a structured approach to editing
Editing equipment
Remember the reader
Develop your ideas
Grammar
Keep it simple – less can be more
Provide facts
Be alert to commonly misused words
Use concrete nouns and strong verbs
Avoid confusing pronouns
Choose the right words
Subordinate less important details
Emphasize what is important
Use active voice
Make positive assertions
Place the most important or complex at the end
Proceed from known to unknown
Keep related words together
Use parallel construction to discuss similar ideas
Use different constructions for variety and development
Check the sound
Use transitions
Fix capitalization and punctuation
Attend to page layout and design
Practice
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Step 7 – Proof
Determine the right amount of proofing
Give yourself time
Take a sequenced approach
Read aloud
Print or reformat the document
Get help
Track changes
Use spelling, grammar, and style checking software
Obtain more spelling help
Watch out for words people confuse
Capitalization
Punctuation
Visual appearance
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Application – Preparing informative documents
Email
Letters and memos
Reports
Presentations
Articles, blogs, and websites
Business proposals
Summary
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Afterword
Your personal plan
Additional resources
Appendix – words people confuse
Photo Credits
Author
One last thing