5. What are the benefits and limitations of an electronic spell check and writing-analysis
software?
6. Explain the importance of creating a visually appealing document and provide four
guidelines for accomplishing this objective.
Writing visually appealing documents entices a reader to read rather than discard your message
7. How has instantaneous communication made possible by technology affected the
proofreading stage of the writing process?
8. What habits hinder your success or enjoyment of writing? Identify ways to overcome
them.
FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
1. The Price Companies Pay for Human Error: Use an online database or the Internet to
locate an example of an error in a printed document made by an actual company. Errors
might be caused by overreliance on spell check or poor proofreading for mechanical,
content, or style errors. Then prepare a brief report describing the error, specific
consequences experienced as a result of the error, and actions taken to overcome negative
effects.
Student responses may vary.
2. Improving Readability: Create a substitution list of easier words for 10 to 15 difficult words
and be prepared to share their lists with the class.
Responses will vary. Examples are shown below.
Difficult Word
Replacement
Omission
Error
Comprehend
Understand
Investment
Savings
Delegate
Assign
Commission
Fee
Additional
Extra
Gratuity
Perk
Responsibility
Task
3. Visual Enhancements: Access the Plain Language website at
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/index.cfm, a website designed to improve
communication from the federal government to the public. View a variety of documents
revised for easy reading following Plain English principles. Then choose the “Before and
After Comparisons” link and review carefully the three examples posted under the “Using
Visual Explanations to Convey Information More Clearly” section. After familiarizing
yourself with the examples, complete the following activities:
a. Prepare a brief paper explaining how applying plain English principles improved the
readability of these documents. Suggest revisions you believe would improve the
documents further.
b. Using a document that you have received or one that your instructor provides, develop a
new example that could be added to this website as a “before and after comparison.”
Place your two documents on a slide and be prepared to summarize your changes and
explain how they improved the impact of the document.
4. Examining Corporate Speak: Read the following scenario and complete exercises a and b.
Jon Warshawsky, coauthor of Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, was recently
interviewed by Martha Barnette, who is host of A Way with Words, a program that airs on
National Public Radio. Have students listen to the interview at
http://www.fightthebull.com/jwarshawskyinterview1.asp.
In the interview, Jon says that many executives might feel “it’s dangerous to have an
original thought,” which may lead to the use of a series of words they think they have to use
to be seen as smart. Martha refers to this tendency as corporate speak.
Exercises:
a. Conduct an interview in person, by phone, or online, with an executive in your chosen career
field. Ask him or her if corporate speak is a noticeable problem in the work environment and,
if so, to identify common examples of corporate speak. Ask the executive for advice related to
communicating effectively in your career field.
b. Make a short presentation to your class about how to avoid corporate speak and
communicate effectively in your career field. Alternately, you may video record your
presentation and post it electronically for class access.
Responses will vary. Students should pick someone to interview that is an executive in a local
5. The Emergence of Speech Technology: Divide into small groups and conduct an online
search related to recent developments in speech (voice-recognition) technology. Each group
should prepare a brief report providing information such as (1) current status of speech
technology as a viable business application, including challenges that have hampered past
developments; (2) examples of leading speech technology applications with related results;
and (3) projections for future development. Have groups share their ideas with the class.
Responses will vary. Students should focus on the shortcomings of the software and steps the
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
1. Professional Development Is Only a Click Away: Some companies, facing the reality that
poor writing is costly, are initiating training programs for effective writing. You can develop
your own program for improving your basic communication skills (e.g., listening, speaking,
and writing). Find useful communication on the following websites. Then, write a brief
description of at least five communication topics you will commit to study over the course of
the semester. Be prepared to share your “course of study” and progress reports in the format
requested by your instructor. As you prepare these assignments, bookmark useful websites for
future professional development.
http://www.the-writestuff.co.uk
2. FAQ: How Can Communication Skills Boost Career Skills? Read the scenario, then
complete activities a through d.
You are certain that your ability to write and speak well has been a career boost to you. You
have earned favorable ratings on your written and spoken communication component of your
performance appraisal and received more than your share of sincere compliments from your
supervisor and coworkers for well-written documents and presentations that led to new
business for the company. Your supervisor has assigned you to a company-wide work team to
design an intranet site for business communication training. Complete the following activities
as directed by your instructor
Activities:
a. Before the first meeting, you are assigned to develop a list of suggestions that you believe
would help an employee prepare a clear, understandable business message.
b. Interview a person you perceive to be an effective communicator and write a 100-word
spotlight on this person’s success and advice for others wanting to become a better
communicator.
c. In small groups, compile your suggestions into a short list of frequently asked questions that
will appear in a FAQ section of the website. Phrase your questions so that employees
recognize the content as something they need to read. Each member of the team will write a
brief answer to assigned questions and provide useful websites for learning more.
d. Using the information you’ve gained from preparing the FAQs write a 200- to 300-word
article encouraging employees to improve writing skills and showcasing the contents of your
website. The article will be featured on the opening page of the intranet site. Have one person
design the web page (including the article, FAQs, and graphics), one person write the
opening article, and two members write the spotlights on two effective communicators,
including photographs.
Student responses will vary. Consider using this exercise as an end-of-unit activity to emphasize
3. Document for Analysis: Readability Assessment: In teams, complete the following tasks a
through e as assigned by your instructor.
a. Key or scan the following document into your word processing program.
Worldwide Enterprises is preparing to initiate a program whereby employees may participate
in telecommuting. We anticipate that implementation of the program will begin sometime
next quarter. To qualify for this program, an employee must secure the approval of his
superior and also meet specific criteria. It has been learned that companies can realize
substantial savings through the implementation of telecommuting, such as savings from
reduced use of energy and other office resources, reduced need for office space and
employees have less absenteeism. In order to qualify for the telecommuting program,
employees must meet the following criteria: must own or be able to lease a computer
compatible with those currently used in the office, complete with modem, must purchase or
lease a fax machine if it is not included in computer package, must agree to work in the office
a minimum of three days per week, must submit time and expense reports daily instead of
weekly, and personnel must be within job grades 6 or above. Technical and administrative
personnel obviously cannot participate due to the nature of their employment. Please see your
supervisor if you are interested in this program. He will assist you in assessing whether
telecommuting is a good option for you. Worldwide Enterprises is pleased to offer this new
program to its employees who qualify and will continue to be supportive of innovation in the
workplace.
b. Complete a readability analysis using a grammar and style checker. Download the free
download of Bullfighter at http://fightthebull.com for additional advice. Note the
readability index and other statistics provided.
Students’ results will vary somewhat, depending on the word processing program used. The
c. Revise the document incorporating relevant suggestions provided by the grammar
checker and the readability statistics to guide in revising for easy reading. Use the track
changes feature to mark revisions.
d. Complete a readability analysis for your revision and compare with the original
readability analysis. Write a brief summary that notes the areas where improvements
were made.
e. Send your instructor an email message with the revised document attached. Print a copy
so that you can quickly verify the accuracy of your team’s work when your instructor
reviews the corrections during class.
4. Addressing Multiple Audiences: Using the internet, identify an organization that was faced
with a problem and needed to communicate how it was going to deal with that problem to
various audiences who held difference interests or concerns.
a. Identify each audience that held an interest in the situation.
b. Identify each audience’s interests, expectations, beliefs, and concerns about the situation.
c. Assess the effectiveness of the organization’s message in addressing those interests and
concerns.
d. In cases where the organization might have done a better job in addressing audience
interests and needs, explain how it might have better accomplished this task.
Student responses will vary depending upon the organization and the problem it is addressing.
5. Revise the following message so that it is more logically ordered. You may also discover that
some of the content is irrelevant and thus can be eliminated, and that the message is missing
some critical information that needs to be added to fulfill the customer’s request.
Patricia Williams
Director of Customer Service
Flash Software, Inc.
8403 Kentucky Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 55003
Dear Ms. Williams:
I recently purchased your new accounting software at Big Box Office Products. When I got
the product home, I was unable to install the product on my Apple brand computer. I am a
Sincerely,
Tim Jeffreys
902 Oak Street
St. Louis, MI 60042
Tim Jeffreys
902 Oak Street
St. Louis, MI 60042
Correct date
Patricia Williams
Director of Customer Service
Flash Software, Inc.
8403 Kentucky Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 55003
Dear Ms. Williams:
I am writing to exchange the Flash PC software that I recently purchased for the Flash Apple
6. Rewrite the following letter, paying particular attention to tone.
Chris Lyons, Manager
Lyons Family Restaurant
356 Copper Road
Butte, Montana 84001
Dear Mr. Lyons:
Your restaurant has the worst service and food of any place I have ever eaten. How you can
call yourself a restaurateur is beyond me!
Last Sunday, I took my family to your restaurant for my oldest son’s birthday. Even though it
was clearly a special occasion for our family, we had to wait in the cold entryway of your
restaurant for over 20 minutes until a table large enough for our party was available. When
The sample letter that follows is an example that pays attention to tone. Students may take
different approaches to the letter; they might see it as an opportunity to make a direct request (a
free dinner or reimbursement for the meal that is the topic of the letter) or they might take an
informative approach (informing the manager of poor service so that the problem can be resolved
in the future). After the assignment has been graded and returned, a follow-up discussion about
these two different approaches might be useful in introducing or reinforcing the notion that there
is not always just one correct solution in communication situations.
Susan Roberts
415 Anaconda Avenue
Butte, Montana 84001
January 21, 2020
Chris Lyons, Manager
Lyons Family Restaurant
356 Copper Road
Butte, Montana 84001
Dear Mr. Lyons:
I am writing to inform you about a problem with the service we received during a recent visit
to your restaurant.
7. Cultural Barriers to Communication: Generate a list of phrases and nonverbal expressions
Responses will vary. Some examples are shown below.
Verbal phrases
✓ It’s raining cats and dogs.
✓ This bear market is killing me.
Nonverbal expressions
✓ Direct eye contact when speaking with someone (not accepted in Asian countries
because conveys aggressiveness).
CASE ASSIGNMENT
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION PROMOTES READER-FRIENDLY
DISCLOSURES
When deciding how to invest one’s money, being able to accurately interpret information
in a company’s financial prospectus is critical. This task has not always been easy, since the
concepts discussed can be complex and the language complicated. In 1998, the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) took a giant step toward assuring readability of the all-important
financial prospectus.
The SEC requirements specify the use of reader-friendly plain English, also known as
plain language, in companies’ investment prospectuses. An issuing company is directed to draft
the prospectus with the uninformed shareholder in mind. Guidelines include the use of shorter
sentences and paragraphs; concrete, everyday language; active voice; and tabular presentation of
complicated information whenever possible. Bullet lists are recommended when information is
embedded in paragraphs, and wider margins are specified to aid in visual appeal. The guidelines
also specify the avoidance of obscure business jargon and multiple negatives. Risk factors must
be presented concretely and concisely and provide enough information to allow an investor to
assess the degree of risk.
Mastering the simplification of technical documents can present a significant learning
curve. While the SEC’s plain language requirements initially caused developmental delays for
some companies, subsequent filings have typically gone more smoothly. The general response
Cynthia Glassman, acting chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, says
that as a nonlawyer she does not speak legalese—and neither do most investors. She believes
disclosures to investors must be clear to be effective. Recipients of financial disclosures want
timely, complete, and useful information that is readily understandable. To make a point of the
importance of clear disclosures, Glassman offers the following example:
Disclosure regarding a mutual fund: No salesperson, dealer, or any other person
Translation: You should rely only on the information contained in this document. We
have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information.
complexity of SEC rules, Glassman has called on the film and TV industries to help educate the
public on investment rules. She said TV shows such as The West Wing often convey important
civics lessons.
Glassman recognizes that often the goals of the disclosing party and the recipients differ.
Disclosing parties often view their disclosure obligations with an eye toward limiting their
potential liability, resulting in reports that are large but not necessarily helpful and informative.
quickly and easily accessed, analyzed, and compared.”
Glassman emphasizes that it is not only the choice of words that is critical in clear
disclosure, but also a document’s format and placement of information on the page. “It is
incumbent on us to make sure that investors have the information they need, in an easily
understandable format, to enable them to make informed decisions.”
Financial institutions are not the only organizations being required to give people the
information they need in an easily understandable format. Health care providers are required by
law to provide privacy notices that inform patients about how their personal information is used
and how they can control their medical records. The problem, however, has been how to convey
Activities
1. Visit the HIPA Advisory website at http://www.hipaadvisory.com and search “plain
language” to read about how to effectively use plain language in the privacy notice.
2. Compare the plain language issues faced by health care providers in writing privacy
disclosures with those faced by the SEC in promoting clear financial disclosures. Prepare a
short report about the challenges involved in developing clear disclosures, whether a health
care professional or a company.
3. How can movies and television be used to communicate business and government messages?
4. Read the script of a speech given by Cynthia Glassman that addresses the need for plain
language: http://www.sec.gov and search for “Cynthia Glassman plain” under the news tab.
Discuss the value of using a focus group to provide input on document content and design.
5. Glassman said that it is not only the choice of words that is critical in clear disclosure, but
also the document’s format and placement of information on the page. Discuss online or in
class how these elements are important to other types of business documents.