WRITING SKILLS NOTES
3.1. ESSAY WRITING
Essay writing is an attempt to write a given topic. Essay is derived
from French word essays that means to attempt. It means composition. In
any topic or subject composition is made up of paragraphs which are
logically arranged and connected with one another. Each paragraph
discusses a particular subject relating to the topic i.e. leads to
succeeding.
How to Write Good Essay
- Define the scope of essay e.g. if you are about the problems of
industrialization the scope will be different from if you are to write
about evils industrialization. In the 1st topic i.e. the problems of
industrialization you will discuss about the availability of raw materials, energy, labour
and market conditions etc. In the 2nd topic you can write about effects
or industrialization e.g. pollution of atmosphere, exploitation of
labour, concentration of wealth in few hands etc. - Jot down the ideas
This means you put down relevant ideas in a sketch form. - Prepare the outlines
You arrange the ideas you have generated in a logical sequence and you
prepare your outline e.g. if you are writing about an event you should
write using chorological sequences. - Think of an attractive beginning
Introduction should be fresh, original and arresting. It should be
strictly relevant to the subject. - Conclusions have to be stated clearly and firmly.
- Develop different points in different paragraphs.
- Revise your essay
- Avoid being irrelevant.
- Use simple language
- Develop habit of reading newspapers and periodicals.
3.2.Types of CORRESPONDENCE
3.2.1. BUSINESS LETTERS
It is used for communication to persons outside the organization
FUNCTIONS OF A BUSINESS LETTER.
- To provide a convenient and inexpensive means of communication
without personal contact. - To seek or give information
- To furnish evidence of transactions entered into
- To provide a record for future reference.
- To provide a written record and reference
CLASSIFICATION OF BUSINESS LETTERS
Business letters can be classified into:
- Letters of inquiry
- Letters answering a request
- Claim and adjustment letters
- Credit letters
- Collection letters
- Sales letters and
- Employment letters
ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE BUSINESS LETTER
- Promptness
Reply to the letter the day it is received. If time is needed
acknowledge the letter and indicate when a reply will be sent. - Knowledge of the subject
This includes knowledge of past correspondence. - Accuracy completeness and clarity:
Verify facts before you write them. - Courtesy
We should seek favours politely and express our gratitude for the
favours done to us. - Appropriateness
Vary the tone of your letter according to the occasion and the
psychology of the reader. - Tact
You should endeavour to retain the goodwill of someone even though his
request has been turned down. - Persuasion
This means winning people to your point of view by making positive
suggestions and explaining that what you say is to their advantage. - Conciseness
Eliminate all irrelevant details from your letter. - Adopt the you approach
Avoid the ‘I’ and ‘We’ in your letter. - Adopt the positive and pleasant Approach.
Avoid No’s and Sorry’s in your letter they are unpleasant and unwelcome
No for example can be written as ‘
another time’ or ‘try later’ sorry may be presented as’ I will try’. - Use familiar language
Avoid jargon, bombastic and colloquial or words when writing a business
letter.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
- THE HEADING
The heading is the letter head of the letter. It contains; the name of
the organization, the logo, the address, the telephone number, fax
number, e-mail, and the physical location of the business. - THE DATE
The date comes below the heading. The date should have a format of
either ‘30th October 2007’ or ‘October 30th 2007’ the date should be
underlined. For fully blocked letters the date comes at the left hand
side. In case of semi blocked letter ,it will appear at the right hand
side of the paper. - REFERENCE
It comes below the date for fully blocked letters, or it is written on
the same line as the date for semi blocked letters but starting at the
left margin. The reference is used to identify the department or section
where the communication originates.
Examples are:
-Reference No………
-Ref. No…… - INSIDE ADDRESS
It contains the name and address of the person or firm to which the
letter is written. You can add ‘For the attention of ’ when you want the
letter to be directed to an identified officer in the organization. - THE SALUTATION
This is the greeting part of the letter. For formal letters you can
address dear Sir, for and Dear Madam for ladies. For semi-personal
letter you can write Dear Mr. Otieno or Dear Moraa. For personal letters
you can write My dear Juliet. - THE BODY OF THE LETTER.
It is divided into
- Subject or Reference
Subject is used when writing a letter for the first time while
reference is used when replying a letter. - Opening paragraph
The letter should open with the expression of pleasure, gratitude or Acknowledgement. Remember to use the ‘you approach’ in your opening paragraph. - Main paragraph
This paragraph contains the subject matter of the letter. Make sure
all issues are detailed in this paragraph. - Closing Paragraph
The ending should aim at motivating the reader to take action. You
can close with an offer or a request.
- COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
This is also referred to as subscription. It is a polite way of ending a
letter. Letters having salutations ‘Dear Sir, Madam, Sirs, and Mesdames’
should end with ‘yours faithfully’. Less formal letters can end ‘yours
truly’ or ‘yours very truly’.
Letters having Dear Mr. John should end ‘yours sincerely’. Letters to
superiors can end ‘yours respectfully’
- SIGNATURE
The writer should sign by putting his/her name down and the position in
the organization. - ENCLOSURE
This is used when there are other documents enclosed in the same letter
for the receiver. - CARBON COPIES
This is used to show who else has been sent the same letter. For example.
Cc District Officer1
Town clerk
Town engineer
What is a MEMO
Memo is short form for memorandum
It is used for internal communication
3.3. What is a REPORTS
A report is an orderly presentation of facts about specific business
activities or programs. Reports can also be defined as a communication
from someone who has some information to someone who wants to use that
information.
Report – It’s a document in which a given problem is examined for the
purpose of conveying information, reporting, finding, putting forward,
ideas and sometimes making recommendations.
Business report
It’s a document which investigates a specific subject according to a
prescribed format and for a clearly defined leadership. A report can be
oral or written. However, a written report is preffered to an oral
report for a number of reasons.
- Oral report can be denied at any time but written report is a
permanent report and it can not be denied. - An oral report tends to be vague. It may contain some irrelevant
facts and some important points may be overlooked. - A written report tends to be accurate and precise.
- A written report can be referred to again and again.
Report can be either informative, interpreting.
Informative reports
An Informative report is one that represents facts pertinent to a given
situation or issue. Interpretive reports They are reports that analyze
the facts, draw conclusion and make recommendations .e.g. An informative
report on sale of tables, draws will simply record the number of tables
sold during a given month/months. An interpretive report on sale of
tables, we analyze why and to what extent the sale of tables go up
during summer month i.e. May-July and it will make recommendation on the
schedule of production.
Importance of reports
Report is basic management tool that is used for decision making
Characteristics of reports
It should be precise, clear and answering the questions that is being
investigated.
A report should have accurate facts because they are used for decision
making inaccurate facts may lead to disastrous decisions.
A report must be relevant i.e. should contain only relevant facts.
Irrelevant facts should not appear in the report.
A good report should be leader oriented.
Objectivity of recommendation. If you are to write conclusions make sure
they are impartial and they are objective. They should come as logical
conclusions to investigation and analysis.
Reports should be written in simple and ambiguous language.
Report should be clear and brief.
A report should be grammatically correct.
According to stephene a report should be characterized by clear
expression and neat display. It should be nature of agreement well
reasoned and arranged, accurate in all details and leading logically to
the conclusions and recommendations set forth.
Skills/Qualities of Report Writing
Ability to record facts clearly and objectively
Ability to interpret facts and attributes them to findings
Ability to formulate and present opinions based on the facts but clearly
separated from them.
Types of business reports
- Based on legal formulations reports are of two kinds
- Formal Reports
They are prepared in prescribed form and presented accordingly to an
established procedure to prescribed authority. - Informal Reports
Usually inform of person to person communication and usually
submitted in form of letter or memo.
Formal reports can be divided into two:-
Statutory reports – They are prepared and presented according to the
form and procedure laid down by law. e.g. the directors of a company are
required to submit a statutory report to the share holders in annual
general meeting.
An auditors report
Non statutory reports
Are formal reports which are not required under any law. e.g. management
may require a departmental head to write a report on a certain issue.
- Based on number of persons writing a report
- Report by individuals
- Report by committee or sub committee
3 On the basis of nature of reports
- Periodic or routine reports
- Progress reports
- Examination reports
- Recommendation reports
- Statistical reports
Writing a Report
- Before beginning you need to know why you are writing the report and
what exactly you are writing about. - You need to keep report accurate and relevant
- While writing the report omit opinions from sections concerning the
facts. - Organize your points in a logical order.
- Use your judgment and experience when suggesting actions or making
recommendations. - Use language suited to the leader and make sure each session has
clear heading.
Sections of a Report
- The title
The title should be concise but comprehensive. The situation stated
briefly together with name of company and date of the event. E.g. Report
on staffing levels in the general office, William engineering on Friday
15th December 2006. - Background
This contains two kinds of information. Brief descriptions of
circumstances under discussion and outline of the procedure/method of
inquiry used by writer. e.g. On Friday 15th December the general office
was staffed only by Mr. Jones and the other four staff members were
absent. As a result the services available were limited. I have
discussed the matter in confidence with each member of staff involved
and also with other departments which were concerned. - Findings
This is the part of report. It presents in simple clear, unbiased terms
an account of the events or circumstances which form the subject of the
report.
Principles to follow when preparing the findings
- Organize your material in sections according to subject area and
present each one under a clear descriptive heading which could be
clearly numbered. - Write in clear, single style points under consideration only. Don’t
note from or numbered from below your findings. - Include only those statistics that are really essential to support
your points. The findings do not interpret, they only give the observations - Conclusions
This means that section of report that interprets the facts and the
observations represented in the findings. It presents direct and clear
interpretation of event or circumstances.
Basic Principles of presenting conclusions
- Conclusions should be presented under the same series of subject
heading as findings and in the same order with the same system of numbering. - It should be written in simple continuous prose.
- Do not include statistics or graphs or maps which have not been
included in the findings. - Recommendations
It’s the final section of a report and it puts forward future course of
action concerning the topic under investigation.
Principles
- Each recommendation should be as specific as possible given the
information available. - Even when we feel the present arrangement for a certain aspect of
topic is satisfactory, you should mention this in the recommendation
section. E.g. current arrangement for replacing lost library tickets is
satisfactory and should remain unchanged. - Recommendations should be grouped under the same heading and should
appear in the same order as used in findings or conclusions. - Recommendations must rest on the information and the findings and the
reasoning in conclusions so that the leader can see that the reports
proceed clearly and logically and nothing has been cancelled. - Signature, Name, Position and date.
This should follow each other in that sequence.
3.4. SUMMARY WRITING
Summary is also referred to as precise or abstract. It means a prose
passage or composition from which all unnecessary and unrelated ideas
and words have been removed. Word precise is a French term that means
exact or just. A precise is written in precise
writer own words and about 1/3 of original passage.
Abstract: Its summary constructed by extracting the key sentences or a
paragraph and putting them together coherently.
A precise/summary is in form of paragraphs a summary on the other hand
can be in form of paragraph or inform of notes.
Objectives of Precise/Summary
Objectives of summary is
To put down in short form a message which can be understood by very busy
officers who do not have time to read original passage.
Qualities of good summary
- Should be concise
I.e. a summary should be as long or short to serve the purpose. - Clarity
– It has to be clear. - Coherent
I.e. it should hold together. You can use the following words to
join sentences or paragraphs consequently. Moreover, however,
naturally, next, thus, nevertheless, finally etc. You can also use
phrases to join paragraphs or sentences e.g. equally important, in
this way, on contrary, first of all, on the other hand, of course,
for instance etc.
How to Make Summary
- Read the passage thoroughly. Try to get general idea of passage
- Read the passage again until you have grasped the entire meaning
- Underline/highlight all important ideas.
- Write down a title which sums up the theme of the passage
- Rewrite in fewer words what the author has said, use your own
language as far as possible. - Re-read the passage, compare you point with passage to ensure no
important points have been overlooked and nothing insignificant has been
included. - Using your points write down sum and substance of the passage in well
connected and readable paragraphs. This is your rough draft. - Count the words in your rough draft. Make alterations if necessary to
give your summary the required length. - Review and rephrase you rough draft where desirable.
- Reconsider the appropriateness of your heading/title.
Title Heading
The heading can be written before the summary is made. The heading
should express in few words the theme of passage. The topic should be
written one line or less. More than one line may appear confusing. A
summary can have many suitable headings but you should choose the best
that gives the central theme or the passage.
Rules of writing summary
- Determine the theme of passage very carefully.
- A summary is not reproduction of important sentences but it’s the
act of remodeling. - Brevity is good but not at the expense of clarity.
- Your summary ought to be intelligible even to persons who have not
read the original passage. - Use your own language.
- Summary is always written in 3rd Person.
- Use your own discretion if the passage contains statistical information.
- The summary should be well proportioned.
- You are not to give any comments appreciative or critical on ideas
expressed in the passage. - Reproduce the passage to its 1/3rd.
How to achieve brevity
- Try to replace clauses by phrases and phrases by words. E.g. “an
arrangement of a permanent nature,” Can be written as “A permanent
arrangement” E.g. “To a considerable degree” you can write “considerably”. - Make use of one word substitutions. E.g. “the secretary’s proposal
was adopted with the full agreement of all the members”. You can simply
say “the secretary’s proposal was adopted unanimously”. - Avoid unnecessary repetition e.g. it was decided to allow only our
own executives to participate in the seminar and not to invite any
external participants. The words in italics are unnecessary repetitions. - It’s important to link various sentences. For example; we are selling
a new garden fertilizer in the market. It’s in form of powder. Its
colour is pink. You can dust it on the plants. You can dissolve it in
water and spray. You can say “Our new garden fertilizer, a
fine pink coloured powder can be dusted on the plants or dissolved in
water and sprayed”. - When writing a summary; omit examples, comparisons, contrasts and
mere details.
3.5. READING
Many readers waste a lot of time for 2 reasons.
- They read everything at the same speed, often at a slow pace.
- They do not understand or retain what they have read
A good reader adjusts his/her speed according to the purpose or
difficulty of the subjectmatter.
Types of Reading Techniques
1. Scanning
It’s the process of looking quickly through a text to find a particular
piece of information. To scan move your eyes quickly down the text
looking for key words related to the topic in question. Scanning is used
for reading street or telephone directories to find particular name. Its
also used when you need to go through a piece of continous writing to
find specific piece of information eg. statistics.
Scanning can be useful for reading annual report, catalogue. Members of
staff read many reports. Scanning is important to allow them grase the
main draft of the report.
How to increase scanning speed
Draw a finger down the center or the page while moving your eyes rapidly
from side to side as you follow it down.
Uses of certain techniques – move an envelope or piece of paper down the
page curtaining off the line you have read.
2. Skimming
Skimming is glancing at speed over the printed words on a page. In
skimming words are not individually note but an impression is gained.
Skimming requires a lot of concentration to get an idea of what the text
is all about.
Where skimming is used
- To preview
- To identify priorities where to read more slowly.
- To find a required piece of information
- To help memory by immediate grasp of what we have just read.
How to skim
- Anticipation.
As we read we should aim to understand the whole content by seeing the
complete picture rather than the small separate bits. This means that
you think faster than you read and make predictions or what you expect
to read next. E.g. if a problem has been
described, you may well anticipate a solution. - Organization
Go through the structure or patterns of the writing. This skeleton will
help you in grasping the whole text e.g. a book is divided into chapters
and subsections. If we go through the structure we find our way more
speedily.
Study Reading
This is required when you need to read in detail, when studying a report
or a textbook study reading is crucial mostly when reading contracts and
other legal documents.
Method
- When you take a textbook, make sure of all the clues it offers before
you actually begin to read it. - Read the ‘blurb’ inspect the context page I read the preface and
check the subject index. - While reading, look for the internal skeleton for synopsis and
summarize for topic sentences in paragraphs, for headings and italics
which may emphasize key points by making the book and taking notes. - Skim the notes once you have finished reading.
