By Alex Nauman and Ben Damm
Objectives and Outcomes:
Ø Understand that correspondence, an important kind of technical communication, does not exist in a vacuum, nor does it have rigid format prescriptions
Ø Compose correspondence using appropriate planning strategies, selecting appropriate content, and developing an appropriate organization so the document is legible, readable, and usable
Ø Present good news in direct (descending) order. Present bad news in indirect (ascending) order
Ø Positively influence readers’ perceptions of your professional competence by using direct language, adopting a you-attitude rather than an I- or we-attitude, focusing on readers rather than yourself, and avoiding exclusionary language
Ø Understand and respond to the factors in the rhetorical situation that affect the composition and interpretation of correspondence
-Characterizing Correspondence
Correspondence includes all types of e-mail, memos, and letters. Accurate and clear correspondence is the everyday communication that moves workplace activities forward.
o Audience
Although notable exceptions exist, correspondence typically addresses one person or an identified group of people
o Composing and Revising
Knowing your audience is important in composing a presentation or document. Always reread correspondence before sending it
o Datedness
Because correspondence usually responds to a current situation, the information needs to be kept updated more frequently
o Conventions
Because correspondence is often prepared quickly, writers sometimes don’t pay enough attention to parts such as mechanics, grammar, and sequence. Inattention might make the audience think that your correspondence is inaccurate or details don’t matter to the writer
-Delivering Correspondence
Delivery for paper documents is usually sent by the USPS. Common electronic modes of delivers are faxes, instant messaging, and e-mails which are the most common.
-Composing E-mail Messages, Memos, and Letters
The following guidelines should help you compose effective correspondence:
o Include a descriptive subject line if appropriate
o Address your audience directly
o State objectives or ask questions initially; follow with explanatory material
o Organize material in descending order if you anticipate a neural or positive response
o Organize material in ascending order if you anticipate a negative response
o Enumerate or bullet items for clarity
o Be specific about the action that you want the reader to take
o End with a friendly comment
When composing e-mail, memos, and letters you should consider these factors:
o Attitude and tone
Use simple, direct language. Provide a you-attitude. Don’t use biased language.
o Organization of information
The content in all correspondence should be organized so that it can be read easily and quickly. You can effectively organize correspondence to fulfill disseminating information, making requests or inquiries, responding to requests or inquiries
o Format
You need to be familiar with formats and conventions for two reasons. First, many document originators use word processing to enter their own drafts. Second, when you sign a letter or initial a memo, you are acknowledging that it meets your standards of format as well as comment
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21 comments:
To me chapter 18 is very simple but yet very important. Preparing correspondence is very important in people’s everyday lives. They do it at home and at work, whether they know they are doing it or not. A person may use correspondence with presentations, email, mail, telephone calls or any other means of communication. An example of preparing correspondence in my life, right now, is trying to set up a time to meet with my bilingual partner. I emailed her and asked her to meet up with me so we could discuss the differences in the technical document I had translated to Spanish.
I think this chapter needs to be read by anyone who composes emails/memos. I think the latest thing I can relate this chapter to would be the weekly emails I get from my boss. He does not use a normal format - everything is kind of just thrown into the email. It is sometimes hard to comprehend because it feels like he just typed what came to mind. Nothing is organized. Usually accompanying the email is an attachment with our weekly assignments. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the attachment and it is sometimes left unnoticed. Another thing I see throughout his emails is the more important things are usually at the bottom. I think if he really thought about the format of his correspondence, he would realize that his audience isn't interested in reading his long messages and important things at the bottom are often ignored.
This chapter is very important, because we use correspondence every day. It is especially important to make sure you format an e-mail or memo carefully when sending it for professional purposes. If you use bad grammer, or a bad format, you are putting your credibility in jeopardy. Since the audience cannot hear your tone of voice in an e-mail, it is very important to explain everything you are saying, and use words that could not be misconstrued as something else.
Many businesses communicate only by e-mails or memos. It is important prepare correspondence correctly. Make sure to keep it organized. It is also important to reread the document because these kind of documents are usually written pretty fast. It is important to reread it to make it clear for the audience to read. It is good to keep the audience in mind. Keep it organized and the purpose of the document will be clear.
This chapter sums up the majority of the emails i send. In the business world one must pay attention to grammar and the mechanics of an email. Using proper organization and format will directly affect the readers. Keeping good news and bad news in the correct format will help, as well as keeping "I & We" out. Using bulleted formats and writing with a direct non misleading writing will bring your point across. Using formating to make attachments or other important information viewable is also very cruital.
Chapter 18 has very detail information about correspondence. Something that I really never thought as being to important, but as I read this chapter I notice the importance to know what they are out in the professional life. I've been writing and typing electronic mails for quite a long time now and never thought about a correct way to write them, and up to this class I have assign to write a memo. Is nice the wat this chapter decribes the procedures to crete corresponde such memos, I'm glad because I really want to prepare myself for later develop the skills that I'm learning in class.
This Chapter was very useful in that e-mails, memos and letters in a business setting are very helpful. Without this ability it would be tough to get so many things done at once. In the setting of my hometown the medical facilities are several blocks away from one another but are all tied together so communicating fast and easy is very important and relays what you need to say. Usually when I create something that needs to go out right away I chose whether to check it over on if it is proper and grammar is ok if the person is a professional when grammar matters vs. when I am sending a message to a friend/coworker.
This chapter was really good because it discussed correspondence, which before I read the chapter I did not know what it was, but after reading the chapter I realized how common place it was. When I was going through this chapter it made me think of the horrible memos my boss posts at work. They often do not say who they are for, if it is for everyone, the kitchen people, or the shift leaders, they are never dated, and they often have many misspellings and grammatical errors. I feel that because of the way my boss does the memos the message is not always received correctly.
I thought this chapter was helpful because we communicate through correspondence every day. Think of how many times you e-mail your professors, classmates or post messages on your friends facebook- each time you correctly address the person you are communicating with and hopefully organize your messages correctly and efficiently. This chapter emphasized on how to do those things and really refreshed my memory and techniques.
I think knowing how to correctly write emails, letters, memos, etc. is so important. It is sometimes difficult to know how exactly to format these various types of correspondence. I am one of the youth directors for my church. I send out letters and emails on a weekly basis to our youth and their parents to let them know upcoming events or thank them for coming to previous events. I think it especially hard to send correspondence to teenagers because they have such a short attention span. I really need to make sure I am writing these things for that specific audience. This chapter gave some great examples on how to do that.
Chapter 18 is very helpful and is useful because I write emails every day. The way I address myself in the email depends on whom I am writing to. For example if I am writing to my parents I will be more laid back and just saying whatever is on my mind. If I am writing to a teacher, I am more direct and to the point and professional. If I am writing to my boss at my job, I always am friendly and leaving a friendly comment like it says in chapter 18 to do. This chapter is put together very well with the bold face text.
This chapter goes into great depth of how to correctly inform or talk to people through emails letters or memos. Everyday we go through different times that we communicate with others whether it is through facebook or trying to get a hold of our professors, or getting together with a group for a class proeject. We need to be able to get the message through clearly in order for the recipient to understand.
I think that these type of skills are very mandatory to use especially in the workplace. We even use these skills every day when we text or email eachother. Its also very nice to use bullets when trying to organize information, but makes a valid point that it shows clarity or how important information is. I use correspondence all the time, but never really understood the impact it would have on my work life. Keeping things in perspective to the audience is probably the most important when using correspondence.
Correspondence is used in everyday life. I connected with the chapter because I have been e-mailing a woman that might be my future employer. I had to change how I spoke to her via email, it was much different that when I talk to my mom. This chapter gives a good outline on how to present and prepare yourself for future careers. This chapter even helps when you are preparing for an interview because it helps you organize all of your information that you want your employer to know about your skills and capabilities.
This chapter is about writing letters, email, memos, etc. Correspondence is part of our everyday life. Everyday I used email to communicate with friends, professors, and family members. For me, even though I am emailing someone I know, I tried to be use correct grammar and mechanic. I don't usually write informal emails. I want to prepare myself for the future because I know that in the business side, there are email etiquettes and one has to follow them. Most email that I write I try to format it so that it will easier for other to read. I like to paragraph my email after every three or four sentences to keep it clean and structure.
After reading this chapter, I realized many important things about writing proper emails and proper letters. Now-a-days email has simply become apart of life and it has taken the place of the old letter. Emails definitely need to be written in a professional manner because really it is just like a letter. In my line of work, emails will likely be needed to be sent to other programmers that may ask for assistance
In my field, I have to know how to communicate with other, whether it be fellow workers or with customer service people at other companies. I will need to make the information available to the correct audience and present the correct information that will not be confusing to understand or be mis-interpreted. This can be very informal and be very formal at the same time. I will need to keep each type seperate and make sure i use the right type each time i communicate.
With chapter 18 I was reminded of when I email my supervisor in White Bear about work. At first I was real professional about how the emails looked. Now after working for her for awhile the emails have become less professional looking but still laid out nicely. But at first you have to be very professional then after that, if it permits, you can become less professional.
As an editor and a writer for newspapers, I can easily identify with one of the objectives that says that the most important news goes toward the front of the story and goes in direct, or descending order while less important news goes towards the bottom. We call this an'inverted pyramid'. Some poor news stories are written in chronological order putting the important news later in the story.
A lot of this chapter felt like common sense kind of things but at the same time it seems a lot of people forgot them. I always try and pay attention to who I'm emailing and keep the emails in the right tones and attitude. When emailing professors my messages are more formated and formal and brief but when I'm emailing my friends or family the messages are more free and less formal.
Correspondence are important part of communication and they include, e-mail, memos and letters. When writing a correspondence it important to use corret formart that is easily read and understood and also when writing a correspondence we should watch our tone. I never new this was important untill i read this chapter.
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