CH.7- Revising & Presenting Your Writing, Giving Feedback

Look for errors

Finally, check the document for proper format and for errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Word processing spell checkers do not catch all errors. Grammarly.com

Understand the assignment

First, review the instructions that were given to the writer. Make sure you understand the assignment and the target audience. What resources did the writer have access to, and how much time was allotted for completing the assignment? What purpose did the document need to fulfill?

Evaluate how well the writing carries out the assignment

Second, evaluate how well the document fulfills its stated goals. As a reader, do you see the goals carried out in the document?

Format

involves the design expectations of author and audience If is messy or fails to conform to the company style will reflect poorly on you before the reader even starts to read it. By presenting a document that is properly ___ according to the expectations of your organization and your readers, you will start off making a good impression.

Grammar

involves the written construction of meaning from words and involves customs that evolve and adapt to usage over time. is always evolving, none of us can sit back. Instead, it is important to write and revise with close attention to it, keeping in mind that these errors can undermine your credibility, reflect poorly on your employer, and cause misunderstandings.

independent verification

look up the fact in a different source from the one where you first got it

Commas

probably the most versatile of all punctuation marks. It also means that the possible errors involving are many. Careless writers often place a one in a sentence where it is simply not needed. 1) They are used to separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction like "but," "and," and "or." 2) They are used for introductory phrases and to offset clauses that are not essential to the sentence. 3) They are used to offset words that help create unity across a sentence like "however" and "therefore."

Six specific elements of every document to check for revision

1. Format 2. Facts 3. Names 4. Spelling 5. Punctuation 6. Grammar

Five Steps in Evalution

1.Understand the assignment. 2.Evaluate how well the writing carries out the assignment. 3.Evaluate assertions. 4.Check facts. 5.Look for errors.

Evaluate Long Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase is a phrase composed of a preposition (a "where" word; a word that indicates location) and its object, which may be a noun, a pronoun, or a clause. Examples: "with (where) Tom (object) ," "before me," and "inside the building security perimeter." Prepositional phrases are necessary—it would be difficult to write without them—but the effort usually has the undesirable dual effects of obscuring meaning and sounding pompous. Example: The 1040 Form will in all certainty serve the majority of our customers. => The 1040 Form will certainly serve the majority of our customers.

Content

Appropriate for the document Addresses the central questions ¤Who ¤What ¤When ¤Where ¤Why ¤How (5W and H questions)

Revise Big Words and Long Phrases

Big words can clutter your writing with needless jargon that may be a barrier to many readers. Even if you know your audience has significant education and training in a field, you may need to include definitions and examples as effective strategies to communicate meaning. Long noun sequences, often used as descriptive phrases, can be one example of how writing can reduce clarity. Ex. 'the extremely tall girl by the wall'

Writing Style Revisions

Break Up Long Sentences Revise Big Words and Long Phrases Evaluate Long Prepositional Phrases Delete Repetitious Words Avoid Fillers Eliminate Slang

Break Up Long Sentences

By revising long sentences you can often increase the overall clarity of your document. Count the number of conjunctions (and, but, etc.) in your document. Simple sentences often become compound and complex through the use of the word "and."

4 areas of revision

Content Organization Style Readability

Style

Content Organization Word Choice Grammatical Structures

Spelling

Correct ___ is another element essential for your credibility. The negative impact on your reputation as a writer, and its perception that you lack attention to detail or do not value your work, will be hard to overcome. This may lead you to click the "___ check" button in your word processing program, but computer ___-checking is not enough.They can and do make mistakes.

Facts (Checking your facts)

Did you know that news organizations and magazines employ professional ___-checkers? These workers are responsible for examining every article before it gets published and consulting original sources to make sure the information in the article is accurate. ___ checking also involves looking ___ up in encyclopedias, directories, atlases, and other standard reference works; and, increasingly, in online sources.

Evaluate assertions

Evaluate the assertions made in the document. An assertion is a declaration, statement, or claim of fact. Is the explanation/statements logical and sufficient?

Check facts

Evaluate the facts cited in the document. Does the writer credit the sources of facts, statistics, and numbers? Where did it come from? If you have access to sources where you can independently verify the accuracy of these details, look them up and note any discrepancies.

Apostrophes

Has 2 uses 1) it replaces letters omitted in a contraction. Because contractions are associated with an informal style, they may not be appropriate for some professional writing. 2) it often indicates the possessive.

Semicolons

Has 2 uses First, they indicate relationships among groups of items in a series when the individual items are separated by commas. Second, they can be used to join two independent clauses. Using ___ this way is often effective if the meaning of the two independent clauses is linked in some way, such as a cause-effect relationship.

Eliminate Slang

If your goal is to be professional, and the audience expectations do not include the use of slang, then it is inappropriate to include it in your document. Eliminate slang as you would a jargon term that serves as a barrier to understanding meaning.

Avoid Fillers

Like, you know, like, you know what I mean, ahh, umm, and all the fillers you may use or hear in oral communication have, well, little or no place in the written representation of the spoken word. Review your writing for extra words that serve the written equivalent of "like" and omit them. They do not serve you as an author, and do not serve the reading audience.

Readability

Reader comprehension ¤Use Grammarly ¤Quick check: What's the literacy rate in Texas?

Error: Verb Tense

Refers to the point in time where action occurs. The most common tenses are past, present, and future. There is nothing wrong with mixing tenses in a sentence if the action is intended to take place at different times. In faulty or careless writing, however, they are often mismatched illogically. Ex. The sales department holds a status meeting every week, and last week's meeting (should be the past tense) will be [was] at the Garden Inn.

Delete Repetitious Words

Some level of repetition is to be expected and can be beneficial. However, needless repetition can make your document less than vigorous and discourage readers. Synonyms are useful in avoiding the boredom of repetition.

Organization

Standard Elements ¤Introduction ¤Body ¤Conclusion Correct Approach ¤Direct ¤Indirect Clear pattern ¤Remember these from chapter 6?

List of common errors in grammar

Subject-Verb Agreement Verb Tense Split Infinitive Double Negative

Error: Subject-Verb Agreement

The subject and verb should agree on the number under consideration. In faulty writing, a singular subject is sometimes mismatched with a plural verb form, or vice versa. Ex. Sales have not been consistent and they [Plural] doesn't [do not] reflect your hard work and effort.

Names

There is no more embarrassing error in business writing than to misspell someone's ___. Incorrect spelling of ___ is a quick way to undermine your credibility; it can also have a negative impact on your organization's reputation, and in some cases it may even have legal ramifications.

Error: Split Infinitive

This form of verb is one without a reference to time, and in its standard form it includes the auxiliary word "to,"è ex. 'to write' , 'to revise' Definition: To place an adverb between them (to and verb) Some modern writers do this all the time. Ex. "to boldly go..." It's often best to avoid splitting an infinitive wherever you can do so without distorting the meaning of the sentence. Example: David pondered how to best revise [how best to revise] the sentence.

Delivering the Evaluation

Until you know the author and have an established relationship, it is best to use "I" statements, as in "Ifind this sentence difficult to understand." The sentence places the emphasis on the speaker rather than the sentence, and further distances the author from the sentence. Instead of ...just "This sentence is awful," which will make all the authors think "I am an awful writer" and fail to pay attention to your message. Avoid the use of the word you in your evaluation, oral or written, as it can put the recipient on the defensive. This will inhibit listening and decrease the probability of effective communication (McLean, 2005). "Why did you include this word here?" è personal attack. Anticipating and respecting this relationship and the anxiety it sometimes carries can help you serve as a better evaluator. Phrasing disagreement as a question is often an effective response strategy. Let's rephrase that previous question to, "What is this sentence intended to communicate?" This places the emphasis on the sentence, not the author, and allows for dialogue => To provides the author with space to respond in a collaborative fashion. Focus on the document as a product, an "it," Avoid associating the author or authors with it. By treating the document as a product, and focusing on ways to strengthen it, keeping in mind our goals of clear and concise as reference points, you can approach issues without involving personalities.

Error: Double Negative

Uses two negatives to communicate a single idea, duplicating the negation. Ex. John doesn't need no [any] assistance with his sales presentation. =John needs assistance with his sales presentation. In English, this is incorrect. Because in English it causes an error in logic, because two negatives cancel each other out and yield a positive.

Facts

When you revise a document, ask yourself the following: •Does my writing contain any statistics or references that need to be verified? •Where can I get reliable information to verify it? It is often useful to do independent verification—that is, look up the fact in a different source from the one where you first got it.

Punctuation

are the traffic signals, signs, and indications that allow us to navigate the written word. Correct signals will help your reader follow the thoughts through sentences and paragraphs, andenable you to communicate with maximum efficiency while reducing the probability of error (Strunk, 1979).