Unit 3: Polishing Your Writing
In this age of instant communication, we have become accustomed to writing rapidly and reading documents filled with typographical errors, slang or abbreviations, and other common errors. While this may be the standard practice when text-messaging, it is not standard practice in the business world. Every piece of writing, no matter how brief, must be edited. In this unit, you will learn how to revise your writing so that it commands respect and attention.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 30 minutes.
Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- edit documents to remove common errors;
- revise documents for different media and audiences; and
- describe how to maintain a professional tone when writing, especially in social media.
3.1: Editing
Carefully read through the information in this section.
The goal of the editorial process is to eliminate any distractions and red flags. Proofreading will help make you look as careful and professional as possible. No matter how convincing your point is, your reader will not take you seriously if you have glaring errors in your document. Although grammar and spell checking programs are useful, they can sometimes create additional errors or overlook existing mistakes. Therefore, it is important to manually edit all important business documents before you send them to your intended audience.
3.1.1: Share with a Friend
It is virtually impossible to edit one's own writing. Why? Because we think we know what we wrote, and we tend to see and hear what we think we wrote rather than the words on the page. Therefore, it is very important to edit your work with fresh eyes.
Ask a friend to make a note of any times when he or she got confused or lost the flow of your argument. If your friend finds a lot of typos, do not be embarrassed; it is better that a trusted friend or colleague sees these errors rather than your boss or potential boss.
3.1.2: Self-Editing
If you do not have someone readily available, then there are several tricks for looking at your own writing with fresh eyes. Set your writing aside for a few hours, or if the document is extremely important, such as a cover letter for your dream job, then set it aside for a day or two. When you read it again, you will likely notice errors or areas for improvement that you did not see before. Read your writing out loud. Grammatical errors or awkward phrasing should sound wrong to your ear. Print out your document and edit with a pen; sometimes a different medium will reveal mistakes you did not see on the screen.
Watch this video, then use one of the techniques to quickly proofread your draft document.
3.1.3: Inconsistent Formatting: Common Problems, Especially in Resumes
When you proofread a resume, pay close attention to your formatting. Make sure that your job titles, descriptions, and dates all use the same formatting and punctuation.
3.1.4: Extraneous Information and Words
Make sure that your sentences are not unnecessarily complicated or confusing; instead, try to write succinctly and clearly. As much as possible, keep your subjects and verbs close together and near the beginning of your sentences.
Read this article, then edit the sentence patterns in your document.
3.1.5: Information Intended for a Different Audience
If you are conducting a job search, it is extremely important to customize everything (e.g. your cover letter and resume) for each job. Make sure to use the words that the employer uses in the job description. Also, make sure you do not leave in the name of another company. Even if you have the most amazing resume in the world, if you say "I am interested in the position of project manager" when you are applying for a position called a "project coordinator," chances are good that you will not be called for an interview.
3.1.6: Incorrect Electronic File Names
Very frequently, employers receive a resume for a job that has a file name of some other company or university. Hiring managers know you are applying for many jobs; however, you must make them think you want their job and no others.
3.1.7: Maintain Professionalism
Remember that maintaining professionalism can impact employment decisions. Potential employers may easily find information about you on Facebook and LinkedIn, so make sure you educate yourself about your privacy settings and your public profiles. Even if you are confident that your messages are private, be wary of posting anything that could compromise your future employment prospects. Also, make sure that your posts are clearly written and error-free. Although Facebook and other social media sites tend to encourage a more informal writing style, do not allow spelling and grammatical errors to raise red flags for your current and future employers and colleagues.
3.2: Final Review
Now, we will review what we have learned in the Professional Writing course.
Download and print this document. Read through the Editorial Checklist as you edit your document. Ideally, you will read through your document looking for just one or two items on the checklist at a time. This means you will read through your document several times. Keep this document as a resource as you edit professional documents in the future.
Unit 3 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.