Chap 3.

Composing business messages

 Composing process:
1. Gathering information (research)
a. Formal research method:
- Search manually: searching of resources in public and college libraries (books,
newspaper, magazine, journal articles, dictionaries, business directories,…)
- Access electronically: the Internet, databases, CDs, or DVDs that can be accessed by
computer.
- Go to the source: collect data by conducting interviews or surveys, by putting together
questionnaires or by organizing focus groups
- Conduct scientific experiments: Instead of merely asking for the target audience’s
opinion, scientific researchers present choices with controlled variables.
 Good sources of primary information are interviews, surveys, questionnaires, and
focus groups.
b. Informal Research and Idea Generation:
- Examine company records and files.
- Talk with your boss: What does that person know about the topic?
- Interview the target audience.
- Conduct an informal survey: Gather unscientific but helpful information by using
questionnaires.
- Brainstorm for ideas.
2. Organizing Data to Show Relationships
- Organizing includes 2 processes: grouping and strategizing
- Helps the reader understand relationships and accept the writer’s views.
- Poor organization is the greatest failing of business writers.
a. Scratch List and Outlining
- For simple messages, some writers make a quick scratch list of the topics.
- For complex projects, use a hierarchy such as an outline.
b. Direct and Indirect Strategies
- Direct strategy (frontloading): the main idea comes first, followed by details, an
explanation or evidence.
o 3 advantages:
+ Saves the reader’s time.
+ Sets a proper frame of mind.
+ Prevents frustration.
o For who are familiar with background information and likely to be receptive to or
at least not likely to disagree with what you have to say
o Typical business messages that follow the direct strategy: routine requests and
responses, orders and acknowledgments, non-sensitive memos, e-mails,
informational reports, and informational oral presentations. 
- Indirect strategy: Placing the main idea after the details, explanation or evidence.
o 3 advantages:
 + Respects the feelings of the audience. 
+ Encourages a fair hearing. 
+ Minimizes a negative reaction. 
o Used when the audience is uninterested, unwilling, displeased, or even hostile.
o For 3 kinds of messages:
+ bad news
+ ideas that require persuasion
+ sensitive news, especially when being transmitted to superiors.
3. Constructing effective messages
a. Using 4 Sentence Types to Achieve Variety
- A simple sentence: one complete thought (an independent clause) with a subject and
predicate verb
- A compound sentence: 2 complete but related thoughts (independent clauses) may be
joined:
+ by a conjunction such as and, but, or
+ by a semicolon “;”
+ by a conjunctive adverb such as however, consequently, therefore.
- A complex sentence: an independent clause (a complete thought) and a dependent clause
(depend on meanings of an independent clause).
+ Dependent clauses are often introduced by words such as although, since, because,
when, if.
- A compound-complex sentence contains at least 2 independent clauses and one
dependent clause.
b. Controlling sentence length
- Try to limit your sentences to 20 or fewer words.
- With highly educated readers longer sentences are appropriate.
c. Avoiding 3 Common Sentence Errors
- Fragments : các phần bị ngắt thành câu khác khi không cần thiết
- Run-On (Fused) Sentences: lack of a coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, but) or a
semicolon (;)
- Comma-Splice Sentences: joins two independent clauses with a comma instead of a
coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, but) or a conjunctive adverb (however,
consequently, therefore,…)
4. Improving writing techniques
a. Developing emphasis
- Achieving Emphasis Through Mechanics:
+ Underlining, italics, boldface, font changes, all caps, dashes “-“, and tabulation (listing
items)
+ The arrangement of space, color, lines, boxes, columns, titles, headings, and
subheadings…
- Achieving Emphasis Through Style:
+ using specific statements
+ labeling the main idea (like most important, primary reason,…)
 + positioning the main idea strategically (first or last, in simple or independent clause)
- De-emphasizing when necessary:
+ Use general words
+ Place the bad news in a dependent clause connected to an independent clause with
something positive.
b. Using active and passive voice
- Writers prefer active-voice sentences because they are direct, clear, and concise.
- However, passive voice  is useful in certain instances such as:
+ To emphasize an action or the receiver of the action.
+ To de-emphasize negative news.
+ To conceal the doer of an action.
c. Achieving Parallelism
- Parallelism is a writing technique where the same form is used for a series of items.
- Use similar structures to express similar ideas
d. Avoiding Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers
- A modifier dangles when the word or phrase it describes is missing from its sentence
- A modifier is misplaced when the word or phrase it describes is not close enough to be
clear.
- Modifiers must be close to the words they describe or limit.
5. Drafting powerful paragraph
a. Crafting topic sentences: Topic sentences explain the main idea of a paragraph
and often appear first.
b. Developing support sentences: Support sentences illustrate, explain, and
strengthen the topic sentence.
c. Building paragraph coherence
+ Repeat a key idea by using the same expression or a similar one.
+ Use pronouns to refer to previous nouns.
+ Show connections with transitional expressions: however, as a result,
consequently,…
d. Controlling paragraph length: The most readable paragraphs contain 8 or fewer
printed lines.
6. Composing the first draft:
- Create a quiet place in which to write.
- Experts recommend free-writing for first drafts.