How to write concisely by Stephen Sherburne

Writing Concisely requires you to get straight to the point when writing, not dancing around the idea or point you are trying to make. Just because writing concisely means to be shorter to the point does mean it requires less time. In fact, it requires more time because generally a good idea is getting your idea on the paper then, go through it with a fine comb and see what you can take out, to make it more conscise, more specfic but in few words. Writing Concisely should alsio be clear, meaning the point you are making should be short be the reading should be able to clearly understand what you are trying to get across to them. In this case, think of your audience, sometimes you have to use less complex words, and sometimes its easier then trying to use more advance word usage. But, generally when writing concisely your generally using the more advance word usage that gives your writing more meaning but, in less time and making your writing more concise.

Technical Writing in Major by Justo Almodovar

Technical Writing can be done in many different types of work when it comes to anyone’s specific major. Technical Writing can be collaborative projects, in formal reports, and in proposals.

Any team project that you may do in a class can be considered as technical writing collaborative works. Collaborative works are usually used in three occasions, 1) If the project requires expertise or specialization in more than one subject area. 2) The project will benefit from merging different perspectives into a unified perspective. 3) The size of the project, time constraints, or the importance of the project to your organization requires a team effort.

Another way that technical writing is used in different majors is in formal reports. Formal reports are written accounts of major projects. Since formal reports serve a different variety of purposes to serve they can be known by many different names such as feasibility study, annual report, investigative report, research report, and an analytical report. Formal reports are organized to address the needs of more than one audience, which have a variety of positions in the organization.

Last but certainly not least, technical writing can be found in proposals. People use technical writing to write proposals when a primary reader may be an expert in the subject that you are speaking about but their supervisor is not, you would provide an executive summary for the supervisor.

To sum everything up, every major uses technical writing. Every major has their students either working on a group project or doing formal reports and that is all that technical writing is. Technical writing is something that every college student does and may not even know that they are doing technical writing themselves.

Source:

Writing That works(Oliu, Brusaw, Alred) p129-30, 372,376, 435

Team Projects By Meg Bostick

When working on team projects, the most important thing to remember is everyone must work together! No single team member should be contributing more than anyone else in the group. A team project is a group effort.




Here are some advantages to team projects:

There is more brain power, therefore more ideas are brought to the table which makes for a more interesting and successful outcome to the project.

• Others within the group are able to provide feedback, whereas an individual project is simply done with only the individuals judgement.



• Each group member is able to put in their opinions, and give comments and concerns on the project, making it easier to make for an almost flawless



• Team members provide reassurance with helps the other team members through the stress, frustrations and lack of confidence.

On the other hand, some disadvantages to team projects include:

• The demand it places on the writers.



• Your work is subject to criticism from the other team members, based on their opinions, especially if they have a different style of writing.



• With the collaboration of everyone's input and styles of writing, the final project can be difficult to read and could very well be completely incorrect.

The writing process of a team project includes planning, researching, reviewing and revising.

Planning is the teams collaborative finding to the purpose of the project, in which the team works together to put together an outline, and divide and assign the work evenly to each member.

Researching is the planning stage in which information is gathered and used within the outline to complete the first draft.

Reviewing is the process in which each team member reviews the work of the other team members and gives their input on the piece of writing.

Revising is the writers responsibility in taking into consideration the inputs given by the other team members, and fusing these inputs to finalize the piece of writing into something close to perfect (hopefully).

Preparing for a Job Search by Heather Zappacosta

Finding a job is one of the most important tasks you will ever do so it is important to be prepared and to make the most your search. One important tip to remember is to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. Once you have done that, you can search for jobs that you think you be good at. Also, always research possible employers to see if their company can offer you what you want. Some more important things to remember are:

1. Make sure your resume is up to date. Even if you're not actively searching for a job at the moment, you never know when an opportunity may arise.
2. Work on building a portfolio of your work. It can hold past work or even letters of recommendation.

3. Visit college career centers that offer services such as career advising, practice interviews, résumé critiques, and more.
4. Go to job fairs. Many colleges and organizations offer job fairs that have employees present. Job fairs can be a great place to network and to get advice and information from people who work in your field.
5. Take the time to look at each of the jobs you are applying for in depth. Do not apply for jobs without any knowledge on the company or position. It would look really bad if the employer called you to discuss a position and you did not know what you were talking about. Be able to ask questions and have a good discussion with them.

Reference:http://www.collegeview.com/articles/CV/careers/preparing_early.html

Writing Effective Emails By Jonathen Peck

E-mail messages are very helpful and quick ways to send information, elicit decisions, collect opinions, and send or receive files of all types. E-mails allow an organization to send important documents within the organization and to various places around the world rapidly. E-mails can be very handy but can also sound very unprofessional if not properly revised and set up. You need to think carefully about your reader and the appropriate level of
detail of the information you send.

Main points when writing E-mails is to remain and keep a high level of professionalism while composing an e-mail. Grammar is a huge detail that should never be overlooked. This is over the Internet and some thing you may type could be ambiguous and unintended so be careful of what you say. Always review your message thoroughly before sending to minimize the degree of risk.

These are some tips to maintain a high level of professionalism:

-Only use company e-mail for appropriate business. (No Jokes/cartoons and use appropriate language)
-Respond to incoming messages quickly and always give notice if projects will take longer.
-ALWAYS make sure your sending your e-mail to the right people you want to receive the message.
-Send mass mailings with care.
-Make sure files you are sending are accepted and able to be used on the recipients computer.
-Consider allowing your recipient to download the files being sent.
-Do not write in all uppercase or all lowercase letters. It is considered shouting, lazy, and unprofessional.
-Avoid abbreviations.
-Do not use emoticons for professional messages.

A few tips on the design of the e-mail would be:

-Do not Overwhelm your reader. By breaking the text into brief paragraphs the reader does not have to read through giant blocks of text on their computer screen.
-Always send documents with lists and tables in and attachment, but make sure your recipients computer can accept these kinds of files beforehand.
-Put your response at the beginning. Don't make them scroll down.
-Always fill the subject line with a concise phrase that describes the message.

Salutation and Closing Design:

When using an e-mail as a memo your are able to omit the salutation and closing because it is in the To and From parts of the memo format.When the e-mail goes outside the organization your closing would end with either Best Wishes or Sincerely and begin with Dear. E-mails can also serve as personal notes to a friend where your entry and closing can vary to what is acceptable.

E-mails should be taken just as serious as letters and memos. All tips and rules that apply to other writing apply to writing e-mails. Writing effective e-mails take time and review to make sure everything is professional. For a bigger list of tips and rules readers can visit http://www.emailreplies.com/#top


Source:

Writing That works(Oliu, Brusaw, Alred) p291-297
http://www.emailreplies.com/#top