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by Judith G. Myers
Plain Language in Government Writing
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
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Plain Language in Government Writing
A Step-by-Step Guide
Judith Gillespie Myers, Ph.D.
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