Course Overview

Many people are defeated by the attitude that writing is an awesome task. These people do not trust themselves with the language. They go to the files to see what has been done in the past. To overcome their insecurity, they try to write to impress. They hunt for big words to sound like an authority on the subject. They pad their reports to indicate thoroughness. That is not the path to confident, effective writing. This two-day workshop will help you teach participants the habits of good writing.

Workshop objectives include:

• Learn the value of good written communications.
• Develop paragraphs that introduce, connect, develop, and conclude some part of an idea.
• Prepare reports and proposals that inform, persuade, and provide information.
• Learn how to proofread your work so you are confident it is clear, concise, complete, and correct.
• Provide an opportunity to apply these skills in real work applications.

Detailed Course Outline

Introduction and Course Overview You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

Becoming a Good Writer To begin, participants will learn ways to become a good writer. Participants will also learn the four C’s of good writing.

The Rules of Writing Next, participants will learn the nine rules of report writing.

The Readability Index This session will teach participants how to use the Gunning Fog Index.

Paragraphs Next, participants will learn how to create topic sentences for paragraphs.

Emphasis During this session, participants will explore ways to create emphasis.

Unity and Coherence This session will teach participants how to create unity in their report.

Active and Passive Voice Next, participants will look at the differences between the active and passive voice.

The Stages of Report Writing The bulk of the second day will be spent exploring the four stages of report writing: investigation, planning, writing, and revising.

Formal Reports During this session, participants will look at the additional components of a formal report.

How to Use Headings This session will provide a brief introduction to laying out a report.

Charts and Graphs Next, participants will learn the right way to add charts and graphs to their report.

Writing Proposals During this session, participants will learn how writing a proposal is different from writing a report.

The Finishing Touches This session will look at finishing touches for a report, including steps in the persuasion process, how to design your message, and how to deal with tough questions.

Practical Application To wrap up the workshop, participants will peer edit each others’ work.

Workshop Wrap-Up At the end of the workshop, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.