Book Description A Plain-English Guide to Government Writing Whether you're in the public or private sector, good writing skills are critical to your success in the workplace. Plain Language in Government Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide shows you how to apply federal plain-language guidelines to every type of writing — from emails, memos, and letters to agency communications, technical procedures, and budget justification statements. Through numerous exercises as well as examples from a variety of federal and state agencies, this practical guide walks you step-by-step through every phase of the writing process, providing tips for improved clarity, conciseness, and completeness. This valuable reference will help you: Write for diverse audiences in reader-friendly, plain language Overcome writer's block Gain confidence in your ability to write — and get results Make your writing visually appealing Prepare for briefings and presentations Recognize successful writing and identify what makes it effective A Plain-English Guide to Government Writing will enable you to express yourself more clearly and concisely, produce documents more efficiently, and work more effectively with others throughout the writing process. Show and hide more
Table of Contents
Cover Title Page Copyright Page About the Author Dedication Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Part 1 Process and Stages of Plain Language Writing Chapter 1 Succeeding as a Writer in Today’s Workplace Common Myths about Business Writing The Importance of Plain Language in Government Writing Presidential Efforts to Improve Government Writing Other Plain Language Programs Why Use Plain Language? Plain Language Saves Money Plain Language Helps Avoid Lawsuits Plain Language Pleases Readers Plain Language Makes Your Job Easier Chapter 2 Getting Started: The Planning Stage Guidelines for Planning Know Your Purpose Know Your Audience Know Your Subject Guidelines for Brainstorming and Organizing The Mind Map The Questioning Technique Index Cards Sticky Notes or Movable Tape Free Writing Guidelines for Outlining The Checklist The Semiformal Outline The Traditional Outline The Electronic Outline Turning Generated Ideas into an Outline Writing an Outline after the Draft Guidelines for Sequencing Your Ideas Documents to Inform Documents to Persuade Chapter 3 Drafting: Writing It Down Turning Off Your Inner Critic Getting Started on Your First Draft Planning Paragraphs Qualities of Effective Paragraphs Unity Coherence Development Writing Sentences Sentence Fragments Run-On Sentences Conjunctive Adverbs Overloaded Sentences Choppy Sentences Tips for Writing Drafts How to Avoid Writer’s Block Getting Some Distance from Your Draft Revisiting the Draft Chapter 4 Editing: Using the Right Voice and Tone Writing Tip: Prefer the Active Voice How to Recognize Passive and Active Sentences The Case for the Active Voice The Case for the Passive Voice How to Activate Passive Sentences Writing Tip: Bring Submerged Action to the Surface Writing Tip: Substitute Action Verbs for Forms of “To Be” Choosing Your Words: Tone in Writing The Right Tone Ways to Find the Right Tone Chapter 5 Editing: Writing with Clarity and Conciseness How to Improve Clarity Use Short Sentences Divide Material into a List Replace Wordy Expressions Relax Old-Fashioned Grammar Rules Avoid Cumbersome Phrases Delete Redundancies Use Shorter Words Use Parallelism Other Tips for Writing More Clearly Being Precise Identify Your Audience Precisely Avoiding Common Barriers to Understanding Watch Out for “Noun Sandwiches” Place Words Carefully within Your Sentences Avoid Ambiguous Phrasing Make Pronoun References Clear Correct Dangling Modifiers Use Words Correctly—Especially Similar Words Checking Your Readability Chapter 6 Adding Visual Impact to Your Writing Plain Language Guidelines for Visual Formatting Layout Typography An Example of Plain Language Applied Visually Enhancing the Text with Graphics Types of Visual Aids Photographs Drawings Maps Flow Charts Schematics Screen Shots Tables, Line Graphs, Pie Charts, and Bar Charts Chapter 7 editing: the Final Phase Two Types of Editing Substantive Editing Line Editing (Copyediting) Proofreading Frequently Used Proofreader’s Marks The Editing Process Making Changes Online How Can a Style Manual Help? Editing Someone Else’s Document Field-Testing Your Writing Focus Groups Protocol Testing Control Studies When to Use Different Tools Part II types of Business Writing Chapter 8 emailing the right Message Planning Email Audience Elements of Email Subject Statement Opening Statement Email Etiquette (Netiquette) Tone and Style The Right Recipients and the Right Timing Other Guidelines Security and Privacy Issues Some Land Mines to Avoid Chapter 9 Writing Winning Letters How To Format a Business Letter Common Components of a Business Letter Letter Styles Basic Steps in Writing Business Letters Begin the Letter Give a Point of Reference Organize the Body of the Letter Writing to More Than One Audience How To End the Letter What Readers Should Do What You Intend to Do Other Specific Types of Business Letters Letters of Persuasion IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) System of Legal Writing Letters of Recommendation Letters Accompanying Reports Formatting Your Letters to Increase Effectiveness Using Indented Lists Using Headings Using a Question-and-Answer Format Using “If-Then” Tables Chapter 10 Creating rousing reports Basic Parts of an Informal or Brief Report Tips for the Introduction Tips for the Body Tips for the Conclusion Formal Reports Title Page Letters Executive Summary Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations and Symbols Acknowledgments, Preface, and Foreword Body Glossary References Bibliography Appendices Index Formats for Workplace Reports Research Reports White Papers Feasibility Reports Progress Reports Laboratory Reports Test Reports Trip Reports Trouble Reports Proposals Meeting Minutes Chapter 11 Achieving Skill in technical Writing The Audience for Technical Writing Technical Definitions Informal or Parenthetical Definitions Formal Definitions Extended Definitions Rules for Definitions Mechanical Descriptions Technical Instructions Forms of Technical Writing Technical Manuals Journal Articles Abstracts Specifications Online Help Systems Computer- and Web-Based Training Making Technical Material Accessible Creating Accessible Graphics and Designs Chapter 12 Other Forms of Workplace Writing Collaborative Writing Guidelines for Collaborative Writing How Groups Work Ghostwriting Delegating the Task Taking on the Task Budget Justifications Briefings and Presentations Steps in Preparing for a Briefing or a Presentation Make an Opening Statement Relate to Your Listeners Personally Give Examples Conclude Writing Policies Why Written Policies Are Important How Policies Develop Guidelines for Writing Policies Components of the Policy Drafting Regulations Interoffice Memos Steps in Writing a Memo APPENDIX: Exercise Answers Index