7 Document Principles

Professional writing, while traditionally on paper, is an essential part of the online world as well.  However, there are specific differences between the paper and online readers, and writing for the online audience will be dealt with separately (see Chapter 8: Online – Blogs and Vlogs).  The channel choice of paper occurs for a couple of reasons:  documentation and formality (signing a contract, offer of employment, lease, mortgage, or other legal documents);  context of situation; and even audience’s preference.

Remember, your writing is always be someone’s first impression of you, and first impressions are very difficult to change.

Writing for the business audience means including goodwill or common courtesy in both the introduction and conclusion.  Goodwill is achieved through your word choice and the starting and ending information content.  Goodwill and common courtesy is the respect that fosters positive business relationships.  It can be as simple as “please” and “thank you”.  Mostly, goodwill seeks to make and maintain a respectful business relationship.  It can be recalling a recent event or exchange between the sender and receiver, or an expression looking forward to meeting them.

Whatever form your goodwill takes, it must be sincere.

Application of the Direct and Indirect strategies is essential in business writing and demonstrates your focus on the reader’s engagement and interests.

Use the Document Design to Inform

The physical design, layout, and spacing, of your document can be used to help the audience make sense of your document.  Avoid large blocks of text as they can discourage reading and encourage scanning.  White space is an important part of writing: use a line space after paragraphs and headings.

Headings

Heading are used to simplify the writing and reading of material.  When drafting a piece of writing, you can use headings to help organize the information you have collected and need to communicate.  Readers appreciate clear headings that allow them to skim to what material is most important and relevant for their purpose.  There are two main styles of headings : Functional and Descriptive.  It is important to be consistent when choosing a heading style to make it easier for the reader.

Functional headings are used to describe the purpose of that section of writing.  For example, Introduction, Discussion, or Conclusion clearly identify the following material’s purpose.

Descriptive or talkative headings provide the reader with a specific idea as to the type of information that will be found in the section.  Dyson’s Superior Mechanics,  Client Response, Next Steps, are example of descriptive headings which give the reader a clearer idea of the content to follow.  Talkative headings will often use action words or verbs.  Consistency in verb tense – all in the present tense, or all in the past, or future – is another way of increasing the readability through parallel structure.

Attention Line

After the receiver’s address block, you sometimes find “Attention:”.  When there is no person specified in the receiver’s address block, you can include “Attention:” with either a person’s name and title or the position for which your message is designed.

Subject or Re:

A subject line or Re: (short for “Regarding”) is used as a heading: short description of the information that follows.  Most frequently used in memos and emails, you need to keep this line short and clear: 5-12 words.  This may be what the reader uses to determine when it is necessary to read the document or email.

Make it easy on yourself as a writer and write the Subject or Re: line last.  It is very hard to describe a piece of writing you have yet to write.

Page Numbers

When creating a document with more than one page, make sure to include page numbers.  Traditionally found at the top right hand corner, follow your organization’s format for placement, and be consistent with number placement.  It’s not a bad idea to include the total number of pages as well; for example, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, etc. so the recipient can make sure they have all the pages and in the correct order.

Emails

Emails are in a grey zone: while it may not end up on ‘paper’, email writing should still follow the principles of professional business writing.

Emails are not texts and should not be written with text tone and language.  Unfortunately, because many of us access emails through the same device as our emails, there may be a tendency to use the less formal approach when writing an email on your phone.  Try to avoid this because you may leave an accidental impression of informality or worse, that you don’t care.

Format for emails is based on the paper memo and fortunately, email programs generate the format automatically.

When addressing or replying to an email, remember, to respect the recipient’s (s’) time.  Ask yourself the important channel questions and if you should call the person instead.  Does everyone on the “TO” need to see your reply?  Avoid using Reply All unless necessary.  Be respectful with people’s email addresses too and don’t share them carelessly.

Make sure your emails professional and respectful of the receiver: that way your emails are the ones read first.

Sometimes it is necessary to share documents.  Before you click send, check if there’s an attachment that should be there.  Many programs do this automatically; however, develop the habit to check yourself.  Also make sure the document you send is in a format the receiver can open.  PC and Mac integration is getting better; however, some files still don’t share easily across platforms.  The same is true for video files.  Whatever you are sending should not make the receiver track down a new program or contact you to request a re-send.  Be respectful of the receiver’s time: you will find your communication gets action faster.

The writing structure for email is more formal than text messages.  Follow the three-part structure of introduction, body, and conclusion and make sure to use paragraphs.  It it easier for the reader to scan and find the information they need.  Email tends to get a brief scan to determine when it should be read (now or later), so use the text structure clues available to make your information easy to access.

The introduction needs a clear, simple purpose statement or brief description of what you hope the reader will do.

Short body paragraphs should provide relevant materials, connections, and benefits and be organized how the reader needs the information.

Your conclusion includes your respect and clearly states the action you need, with a deadline when necessary.

Use bold and italics to draw attention to the most important elements.  Avoid underlining as it can make the text look crowded, or “dirty’ and not easy to read.  Remember how you feel when you are faced with huge blocks of text: avoid padding your writing to make the content more appealing and accessible.

Memos

Memos are sent between people within the same organization.  There is no sender or receiver address block.  You will find much of the memo similar in writing structure to that of the email: in many cases, emails have taken the place of memos.  As online work increases, it is even more the case in the 2020s.

Situations that still require a paper memo are determined by the information, purpose, and audience.  You may receive a memo from your employer confirming your salary, vacation time, or performance review.  You may send a memo to inform everyone in your work group about a corporate event or recent seminar experience.

Memos are as short or long as the person writing them decides is necessary.  If a paper document needs more than one page, use page numbers.  If there are attachments, list what is included:  it is easier for you to put the materials together and the receiver to check they have everything.

Short internal reports (eight pages or less) are usually delivered in memo format.

Memo writing follows the usual three part structure and utilizes the Direct and Indirect strategies approach for delivering information.

Memos, unlike emails, do not have a salutation (Dear…:) and you don’t include a signature block (Sincerely,  your name).

A full sample memo format is in Appendix B. Memo Format

Letters

Letters are external documents from one person to another outside of the company, or group.  Letter writing is a lost art and part of the courtesy and goodwill that can foster solid personal and professional relationships.  Most people prefer email or text for the speed of being able to request, resolve, and respond immediately.  However, letters are still useful in a number of situations.  Take the time to craft a letter well: most organizations know that only one in a hundred sends an email and one in a thousand take the time to write a letter.

Follow the three-part structure principle (Introduction, Body, Conclusion) and after conducting an audience analysis, chose a Direct or Indirect strategy (see Chapter 5).

Informal reports delivered to or received from people outside of your organization frequently use the letter format.

Most companies or organizations have their own word processing template for creating letters.  There are slight variations in punctuation after the salutation or whether or not to indent the first line of a paragraph.  Many businesses follow the Block format (justified to the left side with no indentation on the first line of paragraphs) with Closed Punctuation (a colon after the salutation).

You will find a sample of the Block Closed Punctuation letter format in Appendix B. Letter Format

Reports

Reports cover a variety of subject areas and come in different formats.  Your resume is a report outlining your skills, how you developed them, and where you used them.  Progress reports, performance reviews, business plans, annual reports, recommendation reports, and even a pros versus cons list are essential tools when making personal or professional decisions.

While there are many different types, there are some key similarities in style:

• audience focus
• clear purpose
• accessible facts
• headings
• objective language

As always, the organization of the material must be in the audience interest and have a clear purpose.  Reports, like any other communication, can be in either the Direct or Indirect strategy.

Accessible facts refers to how the information is presented.  Think of the power of visuals (Create: Chapter 3) when including statistics to make the material easier to understand and apply.  Remember, whenever research or material other than your own is used in communication, it is essential you document where you found the original information using in-text citations and References in the IEEE format (Information Literacy: Chapter 6).

Headings for your information are a great tool for the audience (and the writer) as they provide guidance on content location.

Objective language requires the writer to step outside personal preferences and become a reporter of events rather than provide an interpretation or evaluation.  It’s the difference between stating a fact: “There are 10 chocolate chips in a cookie,” and providing a personal opinion or judgement: “There were tons of chocolate chips in that cookie.”  If you aren’t sure if you are being objective, check your word choice  (Word Choice: Chapter 20).

Informal or Formal, External or Internal

Informal or Formal reports are decided by the length or number of pages in the report.  A general rule of thumb is eight (8) pages or less qualifies as an Informal Report.  Informal Reports may still have a summary or abstract, and a References page when outside materials are used.  A Formal Report usually contains a cover page, a Table of Contents, an Abstract or Executive Summary, then the body of the report divided with appropriate headings, and a Conclusion, followed by a References, and Appendix or Appendices, and perhaps a glossary and/or index

External reports are those that are written by people outside an organization or delivered to those outside of the business or company.  Internal Reports are those generated by people working within the organization and if short enough (eight pages or less), can frequently be in a memo format.

Form Reports

Accident or Incident Reports are most frequently completed online.  It is essential you provide an account of what you witnessed.  You provide an first-hand account of what you saw, not what you heard happened from someone else, and not what you think happened.  It must be what you saw: if you didn’t see it yourself, do not include it.  You are taking a verbal snapshot of the event so it includes only your perspective.

Be as specific as possible.  Describe the event by using identifying terms such as left, right, front, back, and be clear.

Prepare to write an Accident or Incident Report by making notes as soon as possible after the event and before 12 hours have passed.  Your memory starts to forget or fill in the blanks quickly.   Think in terms of who, what, when, where.   Who  did what?  When did things happen and in what order?  The goal is to think about and report the details, not the reasons (why).

If you have to complete a paper copy form, draft your entries first and then complete the form in ink.  Pencil is traditionally not used because entries could be erased and replaced.   Changes to text in the form should be made only by the person submitting the form.  When a change is made, place your initials next to the change to indicate you made the amendment.

These are legal documents and accurate spelling is important so there is no confusion about what your words.  Proofread carefully before submitting.

Field or Site Report

The Field or Site Report provides the audience an opportunity to witness an event or visit a location (usually without an incident).  Where the Accident or Incident Report attempts to capture everything, a Field or Site Report goes into the experience with a specific list to ‘report’ upon.  The areas to examine should be established prior to the visit.  That allows the person completing the report to focus on the task rather than trying to complete everything at once.  Creating a checklist prior to the visit is also valuable as it can prevent forgetting to review an element requested.

Following the standard three part approach (Introduction, Body, and Conclusion), the essential parts of the Field or Site Report introduction include a clear purpose for the report and the day, time, and specific location involved.  This can be a report of a seminar, or procedure, or even the first look at a potential business site.

There is traditionally a second introductory paragraph where the criteria or factors to be examined are identified.  Sometimes that can include a description of how the criteria was developed or why those elements are important to the report’s purpose.

Objective language is essential for the Field or Site Report as the writer’s role is not to provide a personal opinion, unless requested.  When an evaluation is included, it is frequently listed under a sub-heading to make sure it is clear that it is an opinion.

The Conclusion in this type of report is a valid place to include any general personal evaluations.  Next steps, if there are any, and follow-up can be important to include as it demonstrates the importance of the information and how it can be used.

At the end of any report, on a separate page, will be the References (IEEE format).

Recommendation Report

Building on the objectivity of the Site/Field Report, a Recommendation Report is designed to use the criteria for an evaluation.  This can be as simple as a Pros versus Cons exercise and can be as complicated as the purpose it identifies.   The goal of this report is to provide objective analysis of elements and make recommendations based on the purpose defined in the introduction.

Recommendation Reports can be the result of long or short term projects deciding upon capital expenses such as hardware, furniture, products, or other high-cost and essential items.  It is a way for organizations to conduct an objective evaluation and provides guidance in the decision making process.

The report is laid out in the standard three parts (Introduction, Body, Conclusion) with variations in how the data is reported and analyzed in the Body.

A clear purpose or objective is included in the Introduction followed by an explanation of the process and criteria used for the report.  These need to be clearly established as it forms the basis for the report.  Sometimes it is necessary to explain how and why the criteria was developed, and the steps of the process along with the time-frame.  The final part of the introduction elements is the identification of the options being examined.  It is a good opportunity to double check the items belong in the same category.  Separate paragraphs for each introductory element enables you to keep the content separate and clear for the reader.

When it comes to the Body of the report,  two main organization methods can be used to discuss the options and each can be enhanced with visuals such as tables and charts to make the data more accessible.

Point-by-Point method of development focuses on the criteria used for each discussion.  The Block method focuses on the products or items and reports on the product and how it meets the criteria.  Each of these methods can be presented in table of chart format where the use of point-form writing is acceptable.  You may find it useful to provide a weight to the evaluation criteria – numerical or otherwise – to indicate the importance of each.  This will also assist in creating and explaining the recommendation.

After the objective presentation of the data, the analysis or Recommendation follows.  Drawing on the material discussed, the Recommendation explains which option is best and why.

A separate Conclusion can provide direction for the next steps to enact the recommendation, and usually includes time frames and and action plan.  In large reports, this will appear as a separate paragraph.

Progress Report

Any time you are asked to reflect on a goal, the work completed (or not) towards completing that goal, and the work remaining (including any actions necessary to correct problems), you are completing a Progress Report.  Unofficially, we do this internally when we check our progress on our New Year’s resolutions.   In the workplace, this is a performance review, or how your team stays on track to complete a project.

Part of the introduction of a Progress Report will include a clear description of the project or end goal, perhaps with identification of key dates for either follow-ups or check-ins.

Within the body of the report, you will find the material divided into current status, yet to be completed, and problems and corrective measures.  Utilize your objective language skills to report on where things are, where they are going, and any potential difficulties.  An important feature of the Progress Report is the identification of problems – real or potential – and developing actions to correct or adapt to the situation.  It takes problem solving and creative thinking and demonstrates to the reader, your ability to do both.

Whether you are writing an email or report, a letter or a text, identify your purpose and audience to be focused and clear.  Develop a reputation for that, and your writing will be read.

References

Chapter 6: Information Literacy, IEEE Format, Communicate with Style: A Handbook