Luke C's Tips of Formatting Letters and Envelopes

We discussed this subject at length in Chapter 13 in the class textbook but it is a good idea to review the subject as it is very important. When searching for a job or communicating with peers in a current role, it is critical to use proper formatting for letters and envelopes to make a positive first impression.

There are a variety of types of letters that are used in the workplace. From thank you to rejection. Regardless of the type of letter a block style such as the letter above is an appropriate overall format. This includes an optional letterhead at the top, date, recipients address, salutation, body and closing phrase with signature. Everything should be aligned to the left as with the example above.

The body of the letter should include an introduction that sets up the point of the letter followed by supporting details. It is important as with any professional writing to stick to the point and avoid extra material that will distract the reader from the main point. Also, make sure to have a strong conclusion that reinforces the main topic!

I mentioned first impression earlier, and the aesthetic qualities of the letter and envelope can have a realizable impact on how the recipient views the content. Use media that is crisp, clean and consistent. Make sure the paper you use for the letter matches the envelope. For important documents that need signatures use a manila envelope so the document is not folded. The address on the envelope should be typed, not hand written for a formal document.

Although this video is a little on the boring side it is pretty good information on how to make a typed envelope on Word 2007. Enjoy!

Brennan H's Tips for Writing Rejection or Refusal Letters

I’m sure no one out there wants to get a refusal or rejection letter. Who wakes up in the morning and says, “I can’t wait to open my mail box and get bad new!” Well guess what? No one does. Rejection and refusal letters are all part of the business response cycle. If you send a request into a business you will probably get one of the two responses. You will either get a positive response or a negative response.

Positive response in letters that benefit the reader

Negative responses in letters give bad news and disappoint the reader

The only negative response letter I have written is a complaint letter. Complaint letters are the easiest to write. It lets others know what they did wrong and how they can fix it. If you would like some ideas on how to write an effective refusal or rejection letter, than follow these tip.

1. First prepare the reader for the negative response. Make sure that you provided them with some kind of a positive thought like “We were happy to receive your application and know that you have future interest with our company”.

2. Make sure you are clear on your negative response. This means that when you are giving the reader the bad news; make sure you back it with the reason why you had to reject them.

3. Give the reader alternatives or solutions. You should add a paragraph giving the reader some suggestions to improve what they did wrong so that they will have a better chance the next time they come in for an interview or submit a formal request for something.

4. End with a positive statement. Tell your reader that you look forward to hearing from them again and thank them for the time they put into your business.
All these tips helped me outline perfect letters and will give me an advantage in the business world. If all these tips can help me write better than I know they will help you.

Nicholas H's Tips on Becoming a Professional Writing Consultant

I personally have never thought of entering the professional writing consulting field in my life. After giving it some more thought, I still don't want to! But I have noticed all the opportunities and the diverse areas in professional writing consulting that one can enter. If you have ever thought of pursuing a career as a writing consultant here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Know your writing abilities. Obviously, if you're not good at writing yourself you probably won't be to good at fixing another person's writing.

2. Expand your learning experiences. As with anything in life, the more you learn the more you can do. If you know what specific field in writing consulting you want to pursue a degree or classes in that field will go a long way.

3. Decide an area in which you want to professionally consult.

4. Design a structure in how you will perform your job and your business.

5. Figure out how you will build your clientele, as this is obviously very important in being a professional writing consultant.

6. Go fix someone else's work!

Here is a video that will give you more general info on being a consultant. The points in this video can relate to professional writing consulting and many other consulting fields. Hopefully these tips and video have helped.

References:

http://www.askmen.com/money/career_150/166b_career.html

Carolina M's Visuals Express More Than Words!

Visuals are essential in our lives; they help us in our everyday life. Throughout this entire blog, we have been using visuals to make our readers more interested in our topics, but also to make sure they understand what they are riding about. Visuals guide people and one example are on the road, when you’re driving on the highway, and you want to rest, there will be some signs indicating where you can find a rest area, also the billboards that you and I see when driving, announcing the restaurants or shopping centers around that area.

If you think about it, visuals are better than words because you don't have to know the language to understand a visual. Visuals are use in the workplace, at school, and in many other places to orient other people. Furthermore, keep in mind when you are using a visual from the internet to give credit to the page and also don't cut the image to make it seems as something different as what it should be, that could lead to miss understandings and false information, and no one wants that. I always post the images the same way I find them, and I don't cut them to make them different.

I also have seen visuals every week posted on Angels in our course page, our professor always posts some visuals to illustrate and give some firsthand information about the topic for that week, I just open the page, and I found this visual that I posted below, and the first thing that came to my head before reading anything was "this is our last class," visuals like this one don't need any further explanation. That's why I love visuals!

If you want to give life to a blog or anything you are doing, so than just put some visuals but make sure that your visuals are allusive with what you are writing about and not random stuff. So I encourage everyone to use this wonderful tool.

Jason Fullen Memo writing

Memo Writing
There a several different type of memos. Which include Directive Memos, progress or status memos and Response memos. I think memo writing is important because with detailed information memos are way to go in the field of business. I had personal experiences with memos. The most common one I use is the Progress memo because while in school i had to give updates on certain projects and assignments.



Directive Memos
Provide information about policies or tasks.
Direct readers how to act or proceed on a situation.
Clear, concise statement of purpose of the memo.



Progress/Status Memos
Supply information about status of project.
Generally written to a Manager.
Describes what you done in a project up into that point.


Response Memos
Provides Audiences with information they have requested.
Clear specific answer to a question or request.
Explanation or details about the subject.


This shows how a memo should be written in the Statement,body and ending of a memo.

Adam Vaniska and Chelsie Maddox - Predraft Writing

Nicholas H's Note Taking Tips

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I myself have had the obligation of writing notes for both myself and others. At some points I would find myself looking over my notes asking myself "what the heck does that say" or "what does this mean." I'm sure you have also come to this conclusion at some point. Here are some helpful tips and suggestions to help avoid this from happening again to both you and I.

• Be prepared and make sure you have all the materials you will need to take well written notes
• Pay close attention. Try to listen to the presenter and avoid any possible distractions. If you are in a classroom setting sitting away from friends always helps in avoiding distractions.
• Establish the way in which your notes will be taken. Make sure it is something easy for you to understand and write.
• Use abbreviations to make sure you don't miss any key points. For example, you can abbreviate people by using "ppl."
• Review and edit your notes after you are done. If need be you might want to compare your notes with someone who sat next to you.

Hopefully these tips will prove to be helpful for you in your future note taking instances.

References
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic/notes-tips.htm