TECHNICAL
WRITING
MC LIT 6
Tuesday & Thursday
PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
THE 7C’s
01 Be CLEAR.
Be clear about your message. Always be
guided by your purpose in communicating.
You should know by heart your objective in
communicating.
02 Be CONCISE.
Always stick to the point and do not
beat or run around the bush. Be brief
by focusing on your main point.
03 Be CONCRETE.
Support your claims with enough
facts. Your readers will easily know if you
are bluffing or deceiving them because
there is nothing to substantiate your
claims.
04 Be CORRECT.
It is important that you observe
grammatical correctness in your writing.
Always have time to revise and edit your
work. Even simple spelling errors may
easily distract your readers.
05 Be COHERENT.
Your writing becomes coherent only when you
convey a logical message. The ideas should be
connected to each other and related to the
topic. Use transitional or cohesive devices so
that the ideas cohere with one another.
06 Be COMPLETE.
Include all the necessary and relevant
information so that the audience will not be
left wanting of any information. Always place
yourself in the shoes of the audience, who is
always interested to receive new information.
07 Be COURTEOUS.
The tone of your writing should be
friendly. Avoid overtone/undertone or
insinuation to eliminate confusion and
misinterpretation.
Characteristics and Elements
of a Business Letter
Characteristics of a Business Letter
Business letter is one of the vital components
in the success of a business. To ensure that we
are writing an effective business letter, there
are “Ten (10) Cs” we should consider.
01 COMPLETENESS
Completeness refers to the inclusion of
complete information. The business letter
should answer the questions WHO, WHAT,
WHEN, WHERE, and HOW to produce a good
complete business letter.
02 CORRECTNESS
Correctness refers to the correct grammar,
punctuation, spacing, information, and
structure. It also refers to the correct format
of a business letter.
02 CORRECTNESS
To attain correctness, double check the
spelling of the names, address letters
properly, verify numbers and amounts,
always check the dictionary.
03 CONCISENESS
Conciseness refers to being direct and brief
without compromising the complete
idea. In writing a business letter, we should
not include unnecessary information which
might confuse the reader.
Examples CONCISENESS
Instead of saying: Say:
At the present time now
Prior to before
Pitch in join
Start from scratch make new from nothing
04 COHERENCE
It refers to the smooth flow of ideas in
a business letter. The content of the
business letter should be in order and
easy to follow.
COHERENCE
Some of the devices that you may use
to achieve coherence are synonyms,
use of transitional words, use of
pointers, use of repetition of words,
and use of sentence patterns.
05 CLARITY
It refers to readability of information
which is easy to understand. We should
bear in our minds that simple words are
more preferred than complex ones.
Doublespeak Language
It is a language that is intended to
deceive or confuse people by
hiding the truth or giving people the
wrong idea.
Doublespeak Language
Four Basic Types
✓ Euphemisms
✓ Jargons
✓ Gobbledygook
✓ Inflated language
Euphemism
A euphemism is a word or phrase that
is used to avoid speaking directly
about something that is unpleasant or
improper.
Euphemism Examples
correctional facility prison
suspect in crime person of interest
Truth-challenged liar
in a better place deceased
vertically challenged short in height
Jargons
Jargon usually means the specialized
language used by people in the same
work or profession. Jargon is the
complex language used by experts in a
certain discipline or field.
Gobbledygook
Gobbledygook is unintelligible nonsense,
often a bunch of big words that you can't
comprehend. The mechanic might try to
explain what's wrong with your car, but to
you it just sounds like gobbledygook.
Gobbledygook Example
When the party in the first part provides the
aforementioned goods to the party in the second
part, such party shall acknowledge receipt of said
item once the party of the first part hereby warrants
its condition as suitable for transfer and in light of
exchange of consideration.
Meaning “I will sell you this item for X dollars.”
Gobbledygook Example
When reflecting back over the intent of the founders
of this long successful entity, it seems the fiscal duty
of the officers is to maximize profit for those with a
financial stake in the organization, for they are the
ones with the most to lose or gain.
“We're going to stay focused on maximizing profit.”
Inflated Language
Inflated language uses over-the-top language
to make things seem better than they
are. Inflated language is designed to “...make
the ordinary seem extraordinary; to
make everyday things seem impressive.”
Inflated language Examples
really good food best meal ever
a great opportunity once in a lifetime
opportunity
I had a nice time It was a fantabulous
experience
06 CONCRETENESS
It refers to the use of specific words
not general words. Always support your
claims.
Examples CONCRETENESS
Instead of saying: Say:
Return of Investment profit
Market penetration successful selling
07 COURTEOUSNESS
It refers to the politeness of the tone of
the business letter. Being friendly by
showing positive approach is the key for a
successful communication in business.
08 CONSIDERATION
It refers to the use of professional tone to
show respect to the reader of the letter.
Also we need to anticipate the “YOU”
attitude in writing the letter.
Examples CONSIDERATION
Instead of saying: Say:
We are glad to offer You will be pleased to
you the best services find must-try services
in our branch near you
09 CONSISTENCY
Consistency refers to the uniformity of
the time and style of the writer of a
business letter.
10 CREDIBILITY
It refers to the personality of the writer
as himself which might reflect on his
writings.