Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Session 2
Session 2
Session 2
Structuring Arguments
Argument: a reason or set of reasons given in support of an idea, action or theory
§ A good argument should move the listener
§ Simba: “But I thought a king can do whatever he
wants?!”
§ Mufasa: “Oh, there’s more to being a king than
getting your way all the time”
OR
“I have introduced a new, Web-based cash
management service which will reduce your
working capital requirements; saving you money”
“Unfortunately, the engine fire you reported occurred
one day after the expiration of the warranty period.”
OR
“You’re late”
“Given the situation, we have determined that the best
course of action is to reject all current bids and to seek
others.”
OR
Your bids are terrible. We reject them
How to write well?
But first…
Why should you write well?
81% of businesspeople state that “poorly written
material wastes a lot of their time”
§ too long, poorly organized, unclear, filled with jargon,
and imprecise.
Respondents spend average of 25.5 hours per week
reading for work.
§ 1/3 of that is email
https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/casestudy-costpoorcommunication/#footnote-56-2
§ Clear, direct, active language:
§ Forces writers to think through what they really
mean and the arguments they can use to support it
§ Makes smart people stand out
Source: https://hbr.org/2016/09/bad-writing-is-destroying-your-companys-productivity
The Roadmap
Say what your’re going to say
A Body Paragraphs
formula Say it
Conclusion as a reminder
Repeat what you said
§ Structure & Organize
§ Situation, Complication, Question Framework
Having a clear Being audience
Stating your key
purpose focused Staying on topic
message clearly
Good Writing: It begins with principles, Harvard Business Press Chapters, 6853BC-PDF-ENG (Chapter)
§ The Minto Pyramid
Principle by Barbara
Minto
1. State a condition
already agreed
upon
2. Introduce the
complication that
is prompting the
piece.
3. Resolve the
complication
Email Etiquette
§ Why bother with email etiquette?
Include a call to action in subject line
One email thread per topic
Manage recipients
Start with the main point
Summarize in your reply
Hyperlink whenever possible
Change default setting to “Reply” (not “Reply all”)
Change undo send options
Source: https://hbr.org/2021/08/how-to-write-better-emails-at-work
§ Relationship with readers – persuasion is the goal