ENL1813B

COMMUNICATION I

Week 2
Chapter 3: Planning, Writing
and Revising Business
Messages
Agenda
• Brief review of week 1
• Lecture based on Chapter 3 (Meyer, 2020)
• APA citation and plagiarism
• APA quiz assigned: due May 27
• Hybrid activity due May 27
• Assignment 1: Information Request Email
due May 31
Brief Recap of Chapter 2 …
How Good Communication Works
1. Sender has idea
• What assumptions already in play here? What
expectations?
2. Sender encodes idea in message
• Care taken that the idea is not miscommunicated
3. Message travels over channel
• Note: synchronous (e.g. Zoom) or asynchronous (e.g.
letter)
4. Receiver decodes message
• Misunderstanding here will also prevent
communication
5. Feedback travels to sender
• Message received and (not?) understood
Worst misunderstanding you’ve ever
experienced at a workplace
• Take five minutes to write
key points of the story
• In breakout rooms,
discuss, addressing
these questions:
What went wrong?
What caused it?
How might it have been
avoided?
Analyse your on-the-job communication

Thinking of a current or a past job:

a. What channel(s) do you principally use?
b. How important is your communication?
c. What direction is your communication (up, down, or
horizontal)?
d. What communication barriers exist?
e. How formal or informal is the communication?
f. Is the grapevine (informal oral network) in your
organization accurate?
Chapter 3: Planning, writing and
revising business messages
Writing in Context: Key Concepts
• Context: situation, organisational
procedures, intended readers
• Genre and register: agreed-upon
formats (e.g. memo, resume);
formality of language
• Discourse communities: goal-
sharing group using common
practices (genres, registers,
terminology)
• Rhetorical (persuasive)
situations: writing intended to
change opinions or behaviours
Steps in the Writing Process
Prewriting: Understanding purpose

Ask yourself:
• Why am I sending this
message?
• What do I hope to achieve?

There may be secondary purposes, as well

as primary purposes – distinguish each
(e.g. inform/persuade + establish goodwill)
Anticipate the audience
• Profile the audience
Who is it? What is my relationship
with them? What is their position?
What is their background
knowledge? Is there a secondary
audience?
• Consider the ideal
imaginary audience
The reader exists only in our
imagination; practice for the real
thing.
Select the best medium/channel
Written Spoken
• Email • Telephone call
• Instant message • Voicemail
• Fax • Face-to-face
• Memo conversation
• Letter • Face-to-face group
• Report/proposal meeting
• Blog • Video/ teleconference
• Wiki
• IM See Meyer, p. 94: Communication
channels and their best uses
Generate content

• Brainstorm

• Map or cluster ideas

• Ask/answer “reporter”
questions: who, what, when,
where, why, how?
Four ways to organise content

• Sequential development: identifies steps in a

process
• Chronological development: describes events as
they occurred
• General-to-specific development: broad
information > specific details
• Cause-and-effect development: links events with
the reasons behind them
Create an outline…

• Shows how to arrange Outline: Awards Ceremony Costs

I. Venue
A. Rentals

ideas
1. Microphone
2. Screen projector
3. Tablecloths
B. Extra staff

• Ensures document is
1. Security guard
2. Set-up, clean-up staff
II. Food
A. Pre-awards

logical and complete

1. Non-alcoholic beverages
2. Appetizers
B. Post-awards
1. Alcohol + non-alcoholic

• Provides framework for

2. Dinner
3. Dessert
III. Awards
A. Certificates

writing B. Cash
Sample Outline:
Awards Ceremony Costs
I. Venue
II. Food
III. Awards
Sample Outline:
Awards Ceremony Costs
I. Venue
A. Rentals
B. Extra staff
II. Food
A. Pre-awards
B. Post-awards
III. Awards
A. Certificates
B. Cash
Sample Outline:
Awards Ceremony Costs

I. Venue B. Post-awards
A. Rentals 1. Alcohol + non-alcoholic
1. Microphone 2. Dinner
2. Screen projector 3. Dessert
3. Tablecloths III. Awards
B. Extra staff A. Certificates
1. Security guard B. Cash
2. Set-up, clean-up staff
II. Food
A. Pre-awards
1. Non-alcoholic beverages
2. Appetizers
Compose the first draft

• Find a comfortable place to

write, without distractions
• This is about generating the
basic material to work with –
you will revise it later
• When you can’t think of the
right word or you are missing
information include a ?? or a
TBD or a *** to indicate a gap.
Revise, edit, proofread

• Revise: add, delete, reorganise, replace

words, sentences, paragraphs
• Edit: check the draft to ensure it conforms
to standards of good style and practice
(spell check, grammar check)
• Proofread: check the final copy (“proof”)
for errors and inconsistencies
Polish your work

• Whenever possible, finish your

“final” draft early; let it sit for
Pro Tips
several hours to digest
• Print it out; read it on paper
• Read it out loud; listen for
wordiness
• Read from end to beginning
• Find a pair of fresh eyes (a
peer) to read it for you
Assignment 1
Information Request Email: 10%
• Due: Tuesday, May 31 at 11:59 PM
• Topic: Can I Do a Co-op Placement at Your
Firm?
• Note: email formatting:
• Compose in MS Word, submit a .doc file
• Remember the headings, including To, From, Date,
and Subject
• Use 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1½-line
spacing
Hybrid activity:
Chapter 2 reading quiz
• Open-book quiz in Brightspace
• 30 questions
• Recommended time 1 hour
• Unlimited attempts
• Due Friday, May 20 at 11:59 PM

Why complete hybrid activities?

These independent exercises take about one hour each. By doing them you will
learn about business communication, which will help you successfully complete
all your ENL1813B and other college assignments, and you will earn 10%.
APA Quiz: 5%
• Open-book quiz in Brightspace
• 30 questions
• Recommended time 1 hour
• Unlimited attempts
• Due Friday, May 27 at 11:59 PM