Notes

10 C's of Business Writing
1. Complete: Provide enough information so that the reader does not have questions. Remember that the reader may not have the same data as you do. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How provide an excellent foundation to tighten up business writing.
2. Concise: Get to the point with the fewest words possible. Avoid redundant and unnecessary content. Do not waste the reader’s time.
3. Clear: The message needs to make sense to the reader, no interpretation required. What is the point of the document? What action is expected of the reader? Avoid jargon and organize the information in an easy-to-follow pattern. Utilize, “First, Second, Last” to be clear.
4. Concrete: Include specifics, no vague words. “These [vague words] are called hedges: about, kind of, sort of, -ish (suffix), stuff, things:” (Vague expressions – English Grammar Today – Cambridge Dictionary). Concrete words give exact information and removes doubt or the need to interpret the meaning. Concrete language has an obvious meaning.
5. Conversational: Use a conversational style of writing that is designed for a human being, not a robot. Do not use stiff mechanical or legal terms, but don’t be too informal. Ask yourself, “would I speak this way if I were talking face to face with someone?”
6. Courteous: Use positive tones and from the reader’s viewpoint. Positive words will produce a positive tone.
7. Correct: Does the message look professional and polished? Name spelling, mechanics, information, and format are important. Always double and triple check name spelling and gender correctness. Proofread to ensure that mechanics are correct and do not rely on spell and grammar checkers. Common mechanical mistakes are “you/your/you’re”, “then/than” and “it is/it’s/its”.
8. Coherent: Do all the parts tie together smoothly and make sense? Use transitional words and phrases to connect your ideas. For example: first/second/third, as well as, but, instead, in the event that, or, for example, are great transitional word choices.
9. Considerate: Be inviting and easy to follow. Your reader is busy so make sure that the document is easy to read, emphasizes the main purpose, and follows paragraph protocol.
10. Credible: Once your credibility is harmed you cannot recover your reader’s trust. Implement reliable facts, not opinions, with dependable sources provided in your business writing. Primary sources; questionnaires, surveys, focus groups, and experiments, and secondary sources; books, articles, reports, and academic databases, can be credible stock. Be sure to analyze the credibility of your sources and the date relevancy before trusting them.