Successful Writing at Work [With Smarthinking Password Cards] / Edition 7

by Philip C. Kolin

Overview

This best-selling text is more than a comprehensive introduction for the business writing course; it also serves as a post-college reference tool for students launching their careers. Successful Writing at Work is recognized for its abundance of realistic situations and problems, broad range of real-world examples, and detailed guidelines for drafting, editing, and producing professional documents and graphics.

• Technology coverage includes researching with electronic and online resources; writing for the web; creating visually effective web sites; using computer programs such as PowerPoint and Corel Draw to enhance oral presentations; and learning new technologies that continue to change the way people communicate in the workplace.
• Writing instruction covers how to prepare news releases in the chapter on Summarizing Material, and instructions for policies and regulations in the chapter on Writing Instructions. The Documenting Sources chapter features up-to-date coverage of MLA and APA documentation styles.
• Up-to-date, thought-provoking approaches to business writing include enhanced coverage of thinking globally and multiculturally when communicating in various business contexts and engaging new real-world examples that demonstrate the kinds of situations students will face on the job.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618404421
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Company College Division
Publication date:	07/28/2003
Edition description:	Older Edition
Product dimensions:	6.53(w) x 9.12(h) x 1.14(d)

About the Author

Philip C. Kolin (Ph.D., Northwestern University), a Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi for nearly 30 years, teaches courses in composition, business and technical writing, literature, and drama. He has served as editor of two major scholarly journals. As founding coeditor of Studies in American Drama (1945–Present), he received the Conference of Learned Journals award for the best new journal. He was named Southern Mississippi's first Distinguished Professor in the Humanities. Kolin has published nearly 30 books and 200 scholarly articles covering a variety of subjects, including writing, drama, linguistics, and folklore. He has also written a book and articles on professional writing for nurses and writing for lawyers and has conducted workshops on technical writing.

Table of Contents

Contents

Note: Each chapter concludes with a Revision Checklist and Exercises.

• I. Backgrounds
• 1. Getting Started: Writing and Your Career
  Writing—An Essential Job Skill
  Tech Note: Know Your Computer at Work
  Four Keys to Effective Writing
  Characteristics of Job-Related Writing
  Ethical Writing in the Workplace

  2. The Writing Process at Work

  What Writing Is and Is Not

  Researching

  Tech Note: Research: Sources and Strategies

  Case Study: The Writing Process

  Planning

  Tech Note: Generating Text

  Case Study: Outline

  Drafting

  Case Study: Drafting

  Tech Note: Drafting on Your Computer

  Revising

  Tech Note: Revising On-Line

  Case Study: The Revision Process

  Editing

  Tech Note: On-Line Editing

  Tech Note: Computers as Writing Tools

  3. Collaborative Writing and Meetings at Work

  Teamwork Is Crucial to Business Success

  Advantages of Collaborative (Group) Writing

  Tech Note: Instant Messaging

  Collaborative Writing and the Writing Process

  Tech Note: In-House Research

  A Case Study in Collaborative Editing

  Guidelines for Successful Group Writing

  Tech Note: Make the Meeting

  Sources of Conflict in Group Dynamics and How to Solve Them

  Tech Note: Good and Poor Negotiators

  Tech Note: Two Valuable Institute Seminars

  Models for Collaboration

  The Evolution of a Collaboratively Written Document

  Collaborating On-Line

  Tech Note: Software That Helps You Write Collaboratively

  Tech Note: WebCT

  Tech Note: Handheld Computers

  Case Study: Collaborating viaE-Mail

  Meetings

  Tech Note: Scheduling with Lotus Organizer

  II. Correspondence

  4. Writing Memos, Faxes, and E-Mail

  What Memos, Faxes, and E-Mail Have in Common

  Memos

  Faxes

  Tech Note: E-Mail and Your Faxes

  Tech Note: Fax vs. E-Mail

  E-Mail

  Tech Note: Computer Viruses

  Tech Note: E-Mail Security

  Tech Note: Sending an E-Mail Attachment

  Tech Note: Using and E-Mail Address Book

  5. Letter Writing: Some Basics

  The Importance of Letters

  The Process of Writing a Letter

  Preparing Letters

  Tech Note: Use Your Spell-Checker with Care

  Letter Formats

  Tech Note: Formatting Letters Using Software Programs

  Parts of a Letter

  Addressing an Evelope

  Tech Note: Finding ZIP Codes

  Making a Good Impression on Your Reader

  Using the Most Effective Language in Your Letters

  Writing for International Readers

  Tech Note: Some Guides to Cultural Diversity

  Case Study: Writing to a Client from a Different Culture

  6. Types of Business Letters

  Letters in the Age of the Internet

  Writing Effective Letters

  Types of Letters

  Tech Note: Designing Your Letters

  Inquiry Letters

  Special Request Letters

  Sales Letters: Some Preliminary Guidelines

  Tech Note: Finding a Target Audience

  The Four A's of Sales Letters

  Customer Relations Letters

  Tech Note: Help in Registering Complaints

  Sending Letter-Quality Messages: Final Advice to Seal Your Success

  7. How to Get a Job: Résumés, Letters, Applications, and Interviews

  Steps the Employer Takes to Hire

  Steps to Follow to Get Hired

  Analyzing Your Strengths and Restricting Your Job Search

  Prepare a Dossier

  Tech Note: Electronic Résumés and Files at Placement Centers

  Looking in the Right Places for a Job

  Preparing a Résumé

  Tech Note: How Employers Sort Through Résumés

  Tech Note: Developing Your Own Web Site for Your Job Search

  Tech Note: Résumé Database Services

  Writing a Letter of Application

  Tech Note: Privacy and On-Line Résumés: Some Precautions

  Tech Note: Visits Counter

  Filling Out a Job Application

  Going to an Interview

  Accepting or Declining a Job Offer

  III. Gathering and Summarizing Information

  8. Doing Research: Finding and Using Print, On-Line, and Internet Information Sources

  The Importance of Research

  The Process of Doing Research

  Tech Note: Intranets

  Tools and Strategies

  The Library and the Internet

  The Library and Its Services

  Tech Note: CD-ROMs

  Tech Note: Libraries On-Line

  Tech Note: CD-ROM Encyclopedias

  Tech Note: Using the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

  The Internet: The Virtual Library

  The World Wide Web

  Tech Note: Guide to Internet Journals

  Tech Note: Newsgroups

  Tech Note: Punctuation and Structure of a URL

  Tech Note: Using Bookmarks

  Tech Note: Using Delimiters

  Note-Taking

  Tech Note: Software to Prepare Bibliographic References

  Tech Note: Electronic Note-Taking

  Conclusion

  9. Documenting Sources

  The Whys and Hows of Documentation

  Tech Note: The Ethics of Documentation: Some Dos and Don'ts

  Documentation in the Writing Process

  Parenthetical Documentation

  Tech Note: Recording and Transferring Bibliographic Information

  Tech Note: How to Alphabetize the Works in Your Works Cited or Reference List

  Preparing an MLA Works Cited List

  Using MLA In-Text Documentation

  Sample Entries for an MLA Works Cited List

  Tech Note: How Documentation of an Internet Source Differs from a Print Source

  Preparing an APA Reference List

  Using APA In-Text Documentation

  Sample Entries for an APA Reference List

  The Chicago Numbered Note Style of Documentation

  Other Ways to Document in Scientific and Technical Writing

  Sample Research Paper Using MLA In-Text Documentation

  10. Summarizing Material

  The Importance of Summaries

  Tech Note: Web Site Summaries

  Contents of a Summary

  Tech Note: Using Your Computer to Summarize Existing documents

  Preparing a Summary

  Executive Summaries

  Evaluative Summaries

  Abstracts

  Writing Successful News Releases

  IV. Preparing Documents and Visuals

  11. Designing Visuals

  Tech Note: Graphic Arts Technology

  The Purpose of Visuals

  Tech Note: Computer-Generated Visuals

  Two Categories of Visuals

  Tech Note: Creating Tables

  Tables

  Figures

  Tech Note: Using MapQuest

  Tech Note: Digital Cameras

  Computer Graphics

  Tech Note: Downloading and Uploading Images

  Glossary

  12. Designing Successful Documents and Web Sites

  Organizing Information Visually

  Characteristics of Effective Design

  Tools for Designing Print Documents

  Tech Note: Desktop Publishing Programs

  Desktop Publishing

  Before Choosing a Design

  The ABCs of Print Document Design

  Tech Note: Typeface and Type Style

  Poor Document Design: What Not to Do

  Tech Note: Using Color

  Four Rules of Effective Page Design

  Designing Web Sites

  Tech Note: The Internet: Some Basic Facts

  Tech Note: HTML and XHTML

  Tech Note: The Basic Elements of HTML Tables

  Tech Note: Writing for Search Engines

  13. Writing Instructions and Procedures

  Instructions and Your Job

  Tech Note: On-Line Instructions

  Why Instructions Are Important

  The Variety of Instructions: A Brief Overview

  Assessing and Meeting Your Audience's Needs

  The Process of Writing Instructions

  Using the Right Style

  Using Visuals Effectively

  A Portfolio of Instructional Visuals

  The Four Parts of Instructions

  Tech Note: Using Icons

  Model of Full Set of Instructions

  Writing Procedures for Policies and Regulations

  Some Final Advice

  14. Writing Winning Proposals

  Writing Successful Proposals

  Proposals Are Persuasive Plans

  Proposals Frequently Are Collaborative Efforts

  Types of Proposals

  Guidelines for Writing a Successful Proposal

  Tech Note: On-Line RFPs

  Tech Note: Document Design and Your Proposal

  Internal Proposals

  Tech Note: "Best Demonstrated Practices"

  Sales Proposals

  Proposals for Research Papers and Reports

  A Final Reminder

  15. Writing Effective Short Reports

  Why Short Reports Are Important

  Types of Short Reports

  Guidelines for Writing Short Reports

  Tech Note: Using the Web to Write Short Reports

  Periodic Reports

  Sales Reports

  Progress Reports

  Tech Note: Lateral and Vertical Reports

  Trip/Travel Reports

  Tech Note: Benchmarking

  Test Reports

  Incident Reports

  Tech Note: Firewalls

  16. Writing Careful Long Reports

  How a Long Report Differs from a Short Report

  Tech Note: The Internet as "Virtual Library"

  The Process of Writing a Long Report

  Parts of a Long Report

  A Model Long Report

  Final Words of Advice About Long Reports

  17. Making Successful Presentations at Work

  Types of Presentations at Work

  Tech Note: New Communication Technologies

  Using the Telephone

  Informal Briefings

  Tech Note: Cell Phone Courtesy

  Formal Presentations

  Analyzing Your Audience

  Speaking for the Occasion

  Ways to Make a Formal Presentation

  Tech Note: Toastmasters

  The Parts of a Presentation

  Tech Note: Using Effective Body Language

  The Outline for a Formal Presentation

  Using Visuals

  Tech Note: Creating Computer-Generated Visuals

  Rehearsing Your Presentation

  Delivering Your Presentation

  Tech Note: Using the Correct Pronunciation

  Evaluating Your Presentation

  A Writer's Brief Guide to Paragraphs, Sentences, and Words

  Paragraphs

  Sentences

  Words

  Proofreading Marks