Issue 8 2007 - North Metro Impact Printing

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Issue 8 2007

Issue 8 2007 - Let's Keep in Touch: Lessons for Business Writing

A fundamental task of every business is to communicate with customers and prospects. This may take the form of educational or sales information (newsletter, brochure, direct mail marketing material,

Advertising, sales letter) or may be central to the business’s products and services (technical manual, instructions for use, specifications sheet). In either case, the effectiveness of the writing is crucial in persuading people to buy or helping people understand.

In this issue of PrinTips we will present some methods for improving your business writing skills so your information will be read and kept. We’ll be emphasizing general writing skills, including grammar, punctuation, spelling and style, as this is applicable no matter what your writing task.

Expository Versus Persuasive Writing

Most businesses need to master two kinds of writing skills: expository, meaning writing that has as its primary goal to present information on a topic; and persuasive, writing that is intended to lead the audience to form an opinion and take an action. Educational and technical writing is an example of exposition; sales-related material is an example of persuasion.

PrinTips and Tricks - Nouns

A source of great confusion for many writers is how to correctly form plural and possessive nouns. (A noun is a part of speech that indicates a person, place, or thing.) Nouns can be either singular, meaning one, or plural, meaning more than one. The term possessive indicates ownership.

To form the plural of a noun, add an s at the end: birds. To form the possessive of most singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an s: the bird’s nest. To form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s, add only an apostrophe: the birds’ nest. To form the plural of a singular noun that ends in s, add either an apostrophe and s or only an s, depending on what sounds best: the boss’s desk; Mr. Jones’ car.

PrinTips Idea - Swipe File

No matter what your writing assignment – newsletter copy, brochure, display ad, sales presentation, direct marketing letter or technical literature – good writing begins with an idea. And a great source of ideas is a swipe

A swipe file is a collection of items that you find interesting or eye catching such as

creative, attention-getting ads
competitors printed materials
great promotional ideas

PrinTips Q and A - Exactly what will I find in the book, The Elements of Style?

I’m intrigued by Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Exactly what will I find in the Book?

The book contains a surprisingly small number of rules and principles, all of which are easy to understand. The charm of the book comes from its unique tone and the wittiness of the explanations and examples that accompany each rule and principle. Here are the eight elementary rules of usage: