CAP105X Academic year 2024

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WRITING
SKILLS
 WRITING PROCESS
• Stage one: Planning;
• Stage two: Drafting;
• Stage three: Revising
• Stage four: Editing
 TONE
• Tone refers to the way the writer sounds
• It refers to the writer’s attitude
• It shows the professional feelings and attitudes of the writer towards the
subject matter and the recipient.
• A professional business communication tone should be neutral, considerate
and respectful.
THE IMPORTANCE OF REGISTER
(LEVEL OF FORMALITY)

• Register refers to the level of formality of the

communication.
• Choose a register that is appropriate to the message,
context and audience and adjust the language
accordingly.
 THREE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

Why are you writing? What is your purpose for writing? What results do you
want to achieve?
Who are you writing for? What are the demographic factors of your intended
audience (gender, age, education, vocation, nationality, culture and
experience). You may have to modify your style, depending on who your
audience is. Do you know your receiver, and can you predict his/her response?
What is the content of your writing? Try to identify one main point that you
wish to emphasise. Do not get side-tracked. What is it that you want your
recipient to know?
 THE SEVEN Cs
Clear: Messages must be clear and effective.
Correct: Writing needs to be correct (including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format).
Complete: The message is complete. Did you include all the necessary information?
Concrete: Use concrete (specific) instead of abstract (vague) words.
Concise: Writing must be brief. Simply say what you need to say while maintaining goodwill.
Remove all words phrases and sentences that serve no purpose.
Coherent: Let your ideas flow from one to the next through smooth transitions.
This can be achieved by writing simple sentences and focusing each paragraph on one idea.
Coherency can also be achieved through connecting words and phrases, parallel structure,
and guideposts.
Courteous: The message should be positive, building goodwill and focused upon the reader.
Be careful of using gender specific language and always use proper titles.
 PARAGRAPHS
• Each paragraph should be a UNIT ABOUT ONE IDEA ONLY
• Coherence
• Cohesive
• Sentence order
• Transitional expression (last sentence)
• Repeating keywords to create unity
PARAGRAPH: TOPIC SENTENCE AND
SUPPORTING SENTENCES
• Make the first sentence of your paragraph your topic
sentence.
• Follow the topic sentence with supporting sentences
(supplementary sentences)
• Supporting sentences can contain examples, explanations,
statistics and quotes.
• Use transition words.
THANK YOU

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