CHAPTER 4 - 3X3 WRITING PROCESS
DRAFT
PREPARE A FIRST DRAFT, USUALLY QUICKLY FOCUS ON SHORT, CLEAR SENTENCES USING THE ACTIVE VOICE. BUILD PARAGRAPH COHERENCE BY REPEATING KEY IDEAS, USING PRONOUNS, AND INCORPORATING APPROPRIATE TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSIONS
3 STEP WRITING PROCESS
PREWRITING, DRAFTING, REVISING
ANTICIPATE
PROFILE THE AUDIENCE WHAT DOES THE RECEIVER ALREADY KNOW? WILL THE RECEIVERS RESPONSE BE NEUTRAL, POSITIVE, OR NEGATIVE? HOW WILL THIS AFFECT YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY?
DRAFTING
RESEARCH, ORGANIZE, DRAFT
PREWRITING
ANALYZE, ANTICIPATE, ADAPT
EDIT
EDIT YOUR MESSAGE TO BE SURE IT IS CLEAR, CONCISE, CONVERSATIONAL, READABLE REVISE TO ELIMINATE WORDY FILLERS, LONG LEAD-INS, REDUNDANCIES, AND TRITE BUSINESS PHRASES. DEVELOP PARALLELISM CONSIDER USING HEADINGS & NUMBERED & BULLETED LISTS FOR QUICK READING.
REVISING
EDIT, PROOFREAD, EVALUATE
RESEARCH
GATHER DATA TO PROVIDE FACTS SEARCH COMPANY FILES, PREVIOUS CORRESPONDENCE, & THE INTERNET. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW TO WRITE THIS MESSAGE? HOW MUCH DOES THE AUDIENCE ALREADY KNOW?
ORGANIZE
ORGANIZE DIRECT MESSAGES WITH THE BIG IDEA FIRST, FOLLOWED BY AN EXPLANATION IN THE BODY AND AN ACTION REQUEST IN THE CLOSING. FOR PERSUASIVE OR NEGATIVE MESSAGES, USE AN INDIRECT, PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY
PROOFREAD
TAKE THE TIME TO READ EVERY MESSAGE CAREFULLY. LOOK FOR ERRORS IN SPELLING, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, NAMES, & NUMBERS CHECK TO BE SURE THE FORMAT IS CONSISTENT
ANALYZE
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE? WHAT DO YOU WANT THE RECEIVER TO DO OR BELIEVE? WHAT CHANEL SHOULD YOU USE?
ADAPT
WHAT TECHNIQUES CAN YOU USE TO ADAPT YOUR MESSAGE TO ITS AUDIENCE? HOW CAN YOU PROMOTE FEEDBACK? STRIVE TO USE POSITIVE, CONVERSATIONAL, & COURTEOUS LANGUAGE
EVALUATE
WILL THIS MESSAGE ACHIEVE YOUR PURPOSE? DOES THE TONE SOUND PLEASANT & FRIENDLY RATHER THAN CURT? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ENOUGH ABOUT THE AUDIENCE TO BE SURE THIS MESSAGE IS APPEALING? DID YOU ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK?