Overview
This seminar refreshes ways to correct the mistakes you see and hear in everyday communication. It focuses on how to recognize and avoid the most frequent writing errors so you can present your ideas in the most professional way possible. Through lecture, class discussion, and examples, attendees will diagnose their weaknesses and learn and appreciate the benefits of precise language. Participants learn to improve their communication skills immediately by applying the standards of good writing in a relaxed atmosphere. Students should be prepared to take class notes.
This course can be a half day or full day class.
Audience
Participants should have a fundamental understanding of the English language.
Length
1 day
Outline
Some of the planned writing topics include:
• Active vs. passive voice
• Agreement (subject-verb, pronoun antecedent)
• Confronting contractions
• Confused and misused words
• Consistency and style
• Double negatives and redundancies
• Effective sentences and paragraphs
• Generic writing
• Parallel construction
• Parts of speech
• Power of clear familiar words
• Proofreading techniques
• Punctuation
• Readability
• Tense, mood, and person
• The case for pronouns
• Wandering “Only”
• Word sensitivity
• Wordiness
• Writing taboos
At the end of the class, students will be able to:
• Present information in a clear, accurate, and concise way
• Increase their awareness of poor or ineffective writing
• Define the essentials and principles of good writing
• Review and edit the writings of others.