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Contents

CONTENTS

The sounds of success from the cave of silence 5.4Writers: born or made? 5.5

Process: what are you writing, and for whom? 5.5Writing: fail to plan, plan to fail 5.6

Games writers play, and how to stop playing them 5.7

I just can’t get started: busting those writer’s blocks 5.8

Point of view: the ‘you’ attitude 5.10Planning and structuring: creating shapes for

your ideas 5.11Indirect versus direct approach 5.11The 5W-H technique 5.12The AIDA technique 5.13

Question and answer technique 5.13The diagramming technique 5.14More structure: outlining techniques 5.18

Editing and proofreading 5.22Proofreading 5.23

Writing: plan to succeed 5.29

STUDENT STUDY GUIDE 5.30

SUMMARY 5.30KEY TERMS 5.30REVIEW QUESTIONS 5.30APPLIED ACTIVITIES 5.30WHAT WOULD YOU DO? 5.31References 5.31Suggested reading 5.31Acknowledgements 5.32

5 Writing skills 5: how to write

Writing skills 5: how to write

5

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

After reading this chapter you should be able to:■■ Determine the information/persuasion/entertainment mix of a document■■ Identify planning techniques for writing■■ Identify and neutralise games writers play■■ Overcome writer’s block more easily■■ Assess the ‘you’ attitude of documents■■ Apply planning and structuring techniques, such as the direct versus indirect approach, 5W-H, AIDA, question and answer, diagramming, and outlining

■■ Apply editing and proofreading techniques

Communicating in the 21st Century 5.4

The sounds of success from the cave of silenceBeing able to write well and reap the benefits (higher grades or scores, better salary, job promotion) means facing some unpleasant news. Here’s the news — writing is lonely.

If we are not happy with our own company, if we cannot stand silence, if we cannot stand loneliness and lack of stimulus, and if we bombard ourselves with every kind of technology to drive away that loneliness and lack of stimulus, then we will never fulfill our writing potential. It’s just you, surrounded by books, photocopies, PDFs, databases, rough notes, master plans, coffee cups, and a blank screen or blank sheet of paper. Oh, and your brain.

However, Johnson (2008) tentatively supports the argument for multitasking, espe-cially with the increasing use of technologically advanced gadgets: mobile phones, email, instant messaging, and the new generation of 3-, 4- and 5-G phones. These are, in fact, mini-computers that provide, among other things, dynamic video images, access to maps, texting, pornography, and gambling, not to mention MySpace, Facebook, music via head-phones, podcasts, chat rooms, computer games, television, DVDs, and split-screen TVs, and whatever else is around the corner. Johnson suggests that these gadgets are, in fact, evolutionary accelerators, expanding the ‘neuroplasticity’ of the brain:

. . . communications gave our ancestors the ability to survive and outlast Neanderthals — pretty powerful evidence that communications makes us smarter, not stupider. With the Internet, IM, social networking and mobility, the intensity and scope of communications increases dramatically. Obviously there’s a time and place for multitasking. It’s difficult to write War and Peace or practise brain surgery while simultaneously texting, Twittering, emailing and carrying on a phone conversation. For situations in which you need to maintain intense focus, I respectfully suggest making effective use of the ‘off’ switch. But overall, you can definitely say that your phone is making you smarter. Modern-day Neanderthals, your days are numbered. (Johnson 2008)

Provocative as Johnson’s views may be, however, research in the past few years has shown that the human brain processes tasks serially, or one at a time, if there is to be any learning taking place (Rosen 2008; Wallis 2006). Dr Edward Hallowell, a US psychiatrist, describes Multitasking as a ‘mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously’, and refers to a new condition ‘Attention Deficit Trait’ (ADT), as ‘purely a response to the hyperkinetic environment in which we live’ (Edward Hallowell in C Rosen, 2008, p. 106).

In response to this ‘information overload’, companies, such as Intel and Google, have introduced ‘no-email Fridays’, where people actually communicate face to face (see Shipman 2008; see also chapter 1).

Multitasking, it would then appear, leads to poorer performance, not better, greater levels of stress, and may be signs of addictive behaviour — not to mention exposing multitaskers to electronic equipment that is yet to be conclusively proven not to harm human health (Maisch, 2006; Oberfeld, 2005; Parker-Pope, 2008).

If, then, we are not multitaskers, we face a choice: to be mediocre and self-deluded multitaskers, or to be effective monotaskers — doing one thing at a time, and doing it well. In the world of writing, that means probably doing without our beautiful but distracting toys, or at least only intermittently rewarding ourselves with them after we have achieved a promising slab of ideas. A result that can only be achieved by becoming comfortable with a measure of silence, loneliness, and letting our brains get on with the task of taking in raw data, processing it, and avoiding the trap of letting our first draft be our last.

Multitasking: doing more than one thing at the one time

Monotasking: doing one thing at a time, and doing it well

Chapter 5 Writing skills 5: how to write 5.5

Consequently, there is only one type of ‘multitasking’ that an effective writer needs to know about, and that is how to communicate the message to the audience in the right language and style, using the right channels (see figure 5.1; see also chapter 1).

Audience

Language,style

Message

Channels

Thus, the language and style through the channel of an academic essay or paper will be different, as will the message, as will that of a business report and its message. This type of multitasking is versatility, and versatility + competence is praised by all. Make sure that you get more than your share of the praise going around.

Writers: born or made?Writing is a skill that can be learned. If you are a good writer now, then there is no reason why you should not become an excellent writer. If you consider yourself to be a not-so-good writer, then there is no reason why you should not become at least a good writer.

In this chapter we will consider different methods of planning and structuring your writing, overcoming writer’s block, and editing and proofreading your writing. Look at this chapter in conjunction with online chapters 1 to 4 and, from the book, chapter 2 ‘Document design and graphic communication’ and chapter 3, ‘Doing and using research’.

The research process that precedes writing is complex, but it eventually turns data into wisdom, that is, if you don’t get stuck on the initial and intermediate steps of collecting and analysing data, information or knowledge.

This sounds faintly depressing, particularly if you don’t like writing, and you like silence even less. But stick with it, otherwise you’ll continue to be looking at that blank sheet, in fact, a whole slab of blank sheets.

Process: what are you writing, and for whom?Different documents often have different audiences. Members of these audiences not only have different backgrounds and levels and types of knowledge, but also have different motivations. For example, sometimes people read to learn — that is, they want to extract

FIGURE 5.1: The best multitasking — matching language and style with message, channels and audience

Reading to learn: reading a document to extract information and use that information at a later time


information from a document and use that information at a later time. At other times, people read to do — that is, they want to extract information now, act on it immediately and then forget it. On other occasions, people read to be entertained or distracted All this means that you will need to write in different ways to meet the needs of different audi-ences (see chapters 4 and 5, and online chapter 6).

While it is vital to know, or at least to speculate on, the motivations of your audience, it is also important to examine your own motivations. Just what is it that you are trying to achieve in the document you are writing? Is it a case of ‘just give ‘em the facts’ or is it more complex than that? To answer these questions, you need to be aware of the information/persuasion mix (see chapter 5, ‘Reports and proposals’).

Note that a largely persuasive document cannot do without some type of information basis, and even the most relentlessly factual specification for an item of equipment may be very persuasive to certain readers. In other words, writing is not simply a technical matter of grammar and format: there is a behavioural or communicative aspect to it as well. Writing, like all human communication, is not simply a matter of data transfer — it is also the transmission of ideas and values (see chapter 1).

Writing: fail to plan, plan to failGood writing is all about good time management, which also means good self- management. Consider the number of times you have finished a piece of work and delivered it to those you wrote it for, but have then experienced:

■■ regrets that the piece wasn’t as well developed as it should have been■■ concerns as you only now detect critical errors in typing and layout

■■ concerns that certain crucial issues were not even covered■■ flashes of insight and really good ideas about the topic — too late for inclusion, of course.Good writing is not simply about content and style, but about

the minimisation of regrets and hindsight. The best cure for hindsight is foresight, and the best way to ensure foresight is to plan.

Most of us plan our time pretty badly. Bad planning isn’t a crime, but it is annoying and wasteful. If you want others to see how good your work can be, it pays to plan a little.

For example, most of us, when writing, use our time in a way imilar to the pattern shown in figure 5.2. To become more effec-tive, we need to develop a time use pattern closer to that shown in figure 5.3.

Is it unrealistic to allocate one-third of your time to planning, one third of your time to editing, and only one-third of your time to writing? Not at all. In fact, if research is part of your planning process, you may well allocate more than one-third of your time to plan-ning (see chapter 3, ‘Doing and using research’).

The reality of all time planning is that:■■ there’s less time available than you think■■ you can do more with the time you have than you think.You also need to concentrate on the absolute size of the time pie that you have, as well

as the relative proportions of activities undertaken within the time. In other words, if one-third of your time allocated for a task is not enough to cover the writing phase, maybe you need a bigger time pie.

Reading to do: reading a document to extract information in order to act on that information nowReading to be entertained or distracted: reading a document not because of its practical payoff (as a means to an end) but because of the pleasure or diversion it provides (an end in itself)

FIGURE 5.2 Actual time use

PlanningWritingEditing andredrafting

FIGURE 5.3 Ideal time use

PlanningWritingEditing andredrafting


Games writers play, and how to stop playing themBe aware that we all play mind games with ourselves and others, and that if you wish to become more effective as a writer, you need to stop playing such games.

Table 5.1 shows us some of the games writers play, and some ways of challenging them.

TABLE 5.1 Games writers play

Game Analysis and ways to beat the game

Game no.1: I do my best work only under pressure.

Wrong. Adrenalin surfing is certainly exciting, but writing isn’t like stage acting or sprinting — it’s more like film or TV acting or a marathon. Don’t procrastinate on deadlines and rely on staying up all night on the day before the deadline. Yes, inspiration may strike, but you will almost certainly leave out crucial things, and you will certainly not have enough time to edit, clean up, rethink and recast. Don’t get locked into a crisis–procrastination–crisis loop — it’s exhausting, and utterly unnecessary.

Douglas Adams, the British writer and author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, once said: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by’ (cited in http://en.wikipedia.org). That’s amusing, but as a rule it’s really only relevant for superstar authors who have negotiating clout with their publishers, and not for most of us mere mortals..

Game no. 2: I’m a creative person, so I don’t need routine.

Wrong. Routine is the platform on which you can do all your best work; it is the prerequisite for creativity, not its enemy because it allows you to focus your energy and concentration on your work rather than on chaos control. Have a place set up where you can write regularly, with all your resources available and all things — paper, pens, computer — in the places where you expect them to be.

Game no. 3: I’m a creative person, so I don’t need a plan.

Wrong. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Sketch out an outline of the structure of what it is you are going to write. Revise it where necessary. Writing without a plan is like undertaking a big drive without a map: if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? (Consider also the planning techniques looked at later in this chapter.)

Game no. 4: That reference is somewhere buried under this paper on my desk, but I don’t have time to clean up.

Wrong. Cleaning up is real work, not an avoidance of work. Take time to assemble all your resources in sequence. Have all your work laid out tidily. Don’t waste your time by looking for things or losing things. Remember, at least one-third of the time you need to spend is in planning. The less irritation you experience in putting all of your material together, the easier it will be to concentrate, excel and be rewarded for excellence.

Game no. 5: I’m a twenty-first century kind of person, so I do everything on a computer. Working by hand is so twentieth century.

Wrong. Typing/word processing can sometimes give a writer some ‘distance’ or objectivity that handwriting cannot, but be aware that some writers are positively hostile to ‘mechanical writing’, either on a typewriter or on a computer, because they feel that the tactile experience of handwriting (and editing and revising) helps trigger flows of thought more effectively. Consider Wendell Berry’s views:

In using computers writers are flirting with a radical separation of mind and body, the elimination of the work of the body from the work of the mind. The text on the computer screen, and the computer printout too, has a sterile, untouched, factorymade look . . . The body does not do work like that. The body characterises everything it touches. What it makes it traces over with the marks of its pulses and breathings, its excitements, hesitations, flaws and mistakes . . . And to those of us who love and honour the life of the body in this world, these marks are precious things, necessities of life. (quoted in Chandler 1992)

(continued)

Games writers play: mind games writers play that get in the way of good writing


TABLE 5.1 (continued)

Game Analysis and ways to beat the game

Game no. 6: I’m going to sit down and knock this project off, and I’m not getting up until I do.

Wrong. Such mock heroics get us nowhere. It’s really just the crisis–procrastination mindset combined with desperation and stubbornness. You should be able to alternate blocks of work with blocks of leisure, creating a rhythm that is motivating and dynamic. Reward yourself when a section or phase is finished — get up and walk around, eat and drink, listen to some music, watch a program, play a game (don’t forget to go back, of course . . . ).

You don’t have to punish yourself. In fact, it makes sense not to do all of a project at the one time. The brain stews on a problem over a period of time, and you usually get the best insights into what you are writing about only when you allow yourself time. Get your best insights down on paper before the deadline, not after. Time is not your enemy, but you have to work at it to make it your friend.

Game no. 7: I do my best work when listening to music.

Wrong. There is no such thing as background noise. All noise — music, TV, people talking, traffic — places a cognitive load on your brain that pre-empts real concentration (see, e.g., Ransdell & Gilroy 2001). We tend to want music and other distractions because we get bored and/or lonely. Writing by definition is a lonely task, but it’s a type of loneliness that can actually be helpful, because:

■■ it may be the only silence you can get in a noise-polluted world■■ it can actually help you expand your concentration span, and that can’t be bad (why exactly do

you need so much ‘ear candy’ anyway?)■■ it can help you focus on the real ‘conversation’: the analytical conversation that goes on

inside your head as you solve the problems you are writing about (and that may be the best conversation you’re going to have all day, or week or . . .)

■■ given the cognitive penalty of irrelevant noise, silence can actually help you get through the task quicker, so that you can relax, return to the real world and indulge your senses.

ASSESS YOURSELF

Discuss with at least one other person whether you play any of the games writers play. Do you? Do they? If so, what can be done about it?

Can you think of any other games writers play?

I just can’t get started: busting those writer’s blocksWe have all had times when we know we really should have written something by now, but the muse of inspiration stubbornly refuses to descend. The page stays blank, the screen stays blank and the deadline stomps on towards us. There are numerous approaches that can be taken to overcome writer’s block, but consider trying one or some of these the next time you are blocked:

■■ Make lists of key concepts and words. It doesn’t matter about the sequence — just get words down. Later, when you have a fair-size list, or lists, begin to organise the words into categories.

■■ Write anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s garbage or not, just break the ice by beginning to get something on the screen or on paper

■■ Make mini-posters of key concepts on sheets of paper, and stick them on walls. Walk around and look at them.

writer’s block: state of mind writers get into when they feel they cannot write


■■ Talk to someone about it. As you talk, take notes. Sometimes simply talking about something gets the juices flowing.

■■ Tape yourself talking about the topic, and then go back and transcribe those bits that seem to make sense.

■■ Begin in the middle, rather than at the beginning. Write about things you know about rather than things you don’t know about — yet.

■■ Do something else: give your brain a break by working on something else. Once the ideas are in your brain it keeps working on problems, even when you are not con-sciously thinking about them.

■■ Analyse your own procrastination behaviour: why are you putting this off?■■ Attempt to overcome procrastination by tackling the part of the task that repels you most and thereafter everything else should be easier (known sometimes as the ‘eat a live toad in the morning, and everything else throughout the day suddenly becomes easier’ principle).

■■ Sleep on it. Read as much as you can in the area, and then put the problem away for at least a day. Think about the problems before going to sleep, and then return to them the following day. Again, your ever-reliable brain may have been processing the problem, and may deliver the goods.

■■ Use some of the structuring techniques covered later in this chapter, such as mind map-ping and 5W-H.

■■ Start to research, and think of it as a game or a hunt. What’s the newest journal article can you get from a database? What is the oldest reference you can get from the rare books room or from Internet archives?

■■ Use the ‘Search Inside’ feature on books at amazon.com to find content, quotations and data that may not be on your bookshelves for several years.

■■ Build up a collection of journal articles in hard copy and/or as PDFs, texts with pictures, or HTML pages on your computer. Scan them as you collect them, and use an overliner (yellow and fluorescent light is not a great combination) to pick up key points. Skim-ming for ideas like this may trigger some enthusiasm.

■■ Know when to stop researching. Too much researching is just another form of procrasti-nation. There is no point in spending eighty per cent of your time researching but only having a few hours to put it together.

■■ Buy a wall calendar and a diary and fill in both to keep track of when assignments are due. Coordinating both will help to keep the due date in your mind.

■■ Set aside time, and defend it to the death.■■ Set aside a work space, and be disciplined.■■ Organise your material, write it up (see online chapter 6), and build on it at a later stage of you career, when new insights and inputs will produce an even mightier piece.

■■ If you are not a morning person, set the next day up with ‘idiot tasks’ — typing up the bibliography, doing online searches for interlibrary loans. This will warm you up and wake you up, and perhaps trigger interest in doing something with your hoard of material.

■■ Work with someone else to relieve the loneliness, and discuss/argue over the key ideas. This satisfies your need for company, and gives your adrenalin a workout. Unless it is a team or joint assignment, however, write it yourself, otherwise you may be accused of plagiarism or collusion.

■■ Give up and go and exercise. Sometimes the blood flow through the brain will stimulate new ideas. Sometimes ‘turning off your brain’ is in fact a form of turning it on.

■■ Beware of perfectionism: you might look at a mountain of books and articles and say, ‘what’s the use? It’s all been said before’. There is a hidden motivation for perfectionism: it means that you don’t have to do a thing, and have the bonus of wallowing in being a victim.


■■ Don’t be a dopamine dope: dopamine and serotonin in the brain are critical for focus, energy and concentration. They can be quickly triggered by sugar, chocolate, white flour, caffeine, cigarettes, and more chocolate. All of these give a quick hit for an hour or two, but then may dump you into energy deficit, where you become worse off than you were before.

■■ Play: use diagrams or mind maps to form a visual plan from your idea. It’s more fun than writing, it’s quicker, you can make interconnections with the stroke of a pen that may give you a lateral thinking breakthrough.

■■ Jot down notes over several days and use adhesive notes, cards or sheets to fasten them to a wall. Make a point of rearranging them often.

■■ Consider how you intuitively feel about a topic, and then begin to plan a counter-stance by developing an argument for something you wouldn’t normally believe in. It may not change your mind, but you may gain insight into the weaknesses of your initial position.

■■ Carry a notebook with you at all times, and at least two reliable leak-proof pens. Ideas arrive when you least expect them, so capture them.

■■ Read books on the area. It won’t kill you, and it will increase your attention span. Use indexes and table of contents to get what you want, but don’t hunt and peck so much that you miss the main point. When was the last time you read a complete book?

■■ Join commercial libraries that provide you with searchable resources, or use free services to kick-start ideas.

ASSESS YOURSELF

Using print and online resources, research writer’s block. Make up a list of at least five strategies that make sense to you. If you are working with a group or class, share your thoughts with others, and find out what they have discovered and what works for them.

Point of view: the ‘you’ attitudeLet’s consider your audience, or audiences, again. One of the mistakes writers often make is forgetting the needs and preoccupations of their audience, and instead concentrating on their own needs and preoccupations.

Change your mindset to that of thinking from the audience’s point of view (see online chapter 4) and developing a ‘you’ attitude. When you are writing, ask yourself the most basic motivational question: what’s in it for them?

Members of your audience are just like you:■■ They have a point of view.■■ They empathise most directly with people who share or at least are aware of that point of view.

■■ They have scarce time.■■ They are already suffering from information overload.To keep in mind the ‘you’ attitude, hunt out and destroy, or at least play down, the I/we

attitude (what’s in it for me/us?). The I/we attitude can be seen in people who:■■ write documents that are full of jargon — the writer and the writer’s colleagues know what it means, but the reader certainly doesn’t (see online chapter 4)

■■ write documents that are more notable for what is not there than what is — the writer has so many blind spots that he or she has simply assumed that the reader shares a background of knowledge and familiarity with process

‘you’ attitude: attitude focusing on the reader’s needs and motivations rather than the writer’s


■■ write documents that stress company policy, rather than addressing the needs of the reader

■■ write documents that emphasise problems instead of solutions■■ write documents about systems that emphasise features (what this system can do) rather than benefits (what this system can do for you)

■■ deal with customers in an off-hand or rude manner, or ignore them completely, while giving full attention to in-house mattersThe ‘you’ attitude is often accompanied by a personal and less abstract style (see online

chapter 4). This style is not always appropriate for all documents, but it is very effective for a wide range of them. Experiment with your writing style, so that you can vary it for maximum impact with different audiences (e.g. consider the range of ‘you’ attitude to non-‘you’ attitude passages in figure 5.4).

least‘you’-oriented 1.1. For the convenience of regular parking-lot users like yourself, a new roof

covering the parking lot will be built. To offset the cost of construction of this facility, a nominal extra monthly charge of $5 will be necessary.

1.2. In order to protect your vehicle better from the effects of rain and snow, we have decided to cover the parking lot. To offset the cost of construction, we regretfully must increase the monthly rental from $10 to $15.

1.3. We are covering the parking lot so that your car will be protected against the seasonal elements. We regret that in order to offset the costs of construction, the monthly rental will be increased from $10 to $15.

most‘you’-oriented

1.4. We have decided to improve our service by covering the parking lot and we would appreciate it if you could contribute to this construction by paying $15 instead of $10.

FIGURE 5.4 Most ‘you’-oriented wording to least ‘you’-oriented wordingSource: Adapted from Rodman (2001, p. 25).

Planning and structuring: creating shapes for your ideasClarity of purpose can be created by eliminating or modifying certain words and groups of words, and also by using correct punctuation. Words and punctuation can do only so much to create clarity, however. The simplest words and punctuation are not of much use unless your documents have a clear and logical structure, and unless the sentences within those documents also have a clear and logical structure. Let’s now turn our atten-tion to techniques for creating structure for your ideas. In creating documents, you may decide to mix and match these techniques or models, according to your message and your audience.

Indirect versus direct approachYou will use a direct or indirect approach, depending on whether you think your audience wants to hear what you have to say — whether you have good news for them or bad news (see online chapters 4 and 5).

If you have bad news, you will probably use an indirect approach — that is, you will try to convey some good or neutral news first. This is not hypocritical or procrastinating: it is merely placing bad news in a positive or neutral context so that the reader does not give up after the first few words.

If you have good news use the direct style.

Direct approach: structuring documents so that the main message is given at the beginningIndirect approach: structuring documents so that the main message is delayed until later in the document


An abuse of the indirect style is when writers beat about the bush, even when they have good news to convey. (The direct/indirect technique has something in common with the media writing techniques of news versus feature style writing (see online chapter 8).

Some examples of direct versus indirect approaches are shown in table 5.2.

Direct technique Indirect technique

Letters, memos, emails ‘Yes, we can give you what you want’ message placed at the beginning of document

‘No, we can’t give you what you want’ message placed in middle of document after rationales and buffers

Reports, proposals Conclusions and recommendations likely to be favourably received by audience if placed at beginning of document

Conclusions and recommendations likely to be unfavourably received by audience if placed throughout document or at the end

Website, brochure Attractive price details prominently displayed

Unattractive price details downplayed

The 5W-H techniqueThe 5W-H technique is a very simple one learned by all journalists: when writing a story, answer these questions:

■■ Who?■■ What?■■ Where?■■ Why?■■ When?■■ How?It is a useful model to follow for ensuring that all aspects of a topic are covered (see

online chapter 8). While all six aspects are not always appropriate, it is surprising just how often they are (note also the expanded formula 5W2H [Who? What? Where? Why? When? How? How much?]; see online chapter 6). When composing a document, you may find it useful to take a copy of figure 5.5, and use it not only as a planning tool, but also, as with all of these techniques, as a writer’s block buster.

TOPIC

Question Answer

Who?

What?

Where?

Why?

When?

How? FIGURE 5.5 The 5W-H plan for writing

TABLE 5.2 Direct versus indirect structuring of documents

5W-H technique: structuring a document so that it answers the questions Who? What? Why? When? Where? And How?


The AIDA techniqueAIDA is simply an acronym for:A AttentionI InterestD DesireA Action

When readers start reading your document, you want them to finish reading it. To make that outcome more likely, you need to take them through a sequence of behavioural phases, each phase flowing on from the previous one. The AIDA model is just such a sequence (table 4.3), which can be effective, particularly for persuasive communications such as persuasive letters, memos and emails.

TABLE 5.3 The AIDA model of document structuring

Phase number Phase name EmphasisHow the writer wants the reader to react

1 Attention Attention of the reader needs to be gained at the outset. If the document is slow-moving, the indirect approach is employed and the language is lifeless, the document is probably doomed. No matter what pearls of wisdom await the patient (or masochistic) reader, such pearls will remain undiscovered in the majority of cases — they will languish with the rest of the text in the wastebasket.

Attention can be gained by throwing unusual openings at the reader — for example, a telling quotation, a startling statistic or an anecdote.

What? Oh that’s interesting . . . tell me more . . .

2 Interest Interest can be awakened in the reader by showing the features of the product, process, system or idea being talked about, and giving objective proof of its excellence such as guarantees or samples. This is an objective appeal to the logical side of the reader.

Hmm . . . so it can do that?

3 Desire Desire can be created by stressing the personal benefits of the product, process, system or idea for the reader, and tapping into deeper motivational patterns. This is a subjective appeal to the emotional side of the reader.

Hey, I’ve got to get that . . .

4 Action Action can be triggered by showing the reader what he or she can do: respond, telephone, fax, mail a card or letter, request that a sample be sent, attend a demonstration, endorse a recommendation or click a button.

How do I get it? What do I do now?

Question and answer techniqueThe question and answer technique of getting ideas across can also be very useful. Most human learning takes place using questions and answers, and thus this model works through sequences most people are already familiar with. See, for example, figure 5.6.

Question and answer format allows a dialogue to take place between the writer and the reader. The reader is drawn into the process. Questions mean that verbs will be used, which always adds vigour to writing (see online chapter 4).

The only drawbacks to question and answer writing are:■■ the writer may not be able to anticipate all the reader’s questions■■ the approach can become boring and irritating (and perhaps patronising) when sustained over a long document.

AIDA: acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. An approach to structuring documents that reflects this sequence

Question and answer technique: an approach to structuring documents so that the content is presented in the form of a dialogue


Do I need to re-register a second-hand car I want to buy?

Yes, you need to tell the Vehicle Licencing Authority (VLA) that you have bought the vehicle. You need to do this within 24 hours.You need to fill out the green Change of Ownership (L6) form. You can do this online or in person.

Note: If there is more than one month’s registration left on the registration sticker on the vehicle’s windscreen, you do not have to pay for any more registration.

Do I need to tell the VLA if I have modified or changed my vehicle?

Yes, you do. You need to record any major changes (such as engine modification, suspension modification), as well as some minor changes such as colour change.

You need to fill out the green Changes in Vehicle (L9) form. You can do this online or in person. FIGURE 5.6 Question and answer document structuring

The diagramming techniqueWe will consider two types of diagram in this section: the pattern diagram and the outline or tree diagram. Ideally the pattern diagram is the basis of the outline or tree diagram.

Pattern diagramming, also known as mind mapping (Buzan 2003), is a simple technique for visualising ideas you wish to convey, without imposing a premature and possibly lim-iting structure on them.

Diagramming can be a good way of breaking writer’s block, and of developing a fuller treatment of a topic you are working on. Diagramming allows you to:

■■ combine drawing with writing, and thus tap into the right (inductive, spatial, non-linear) side of the brain as well as the left (deductive, sequential, linear) side

■■ use senses of play and brainstorming■■ take advantage of the tactile nature of drawing as opposed to the more disconnected processes of writing using a word processor

■■ keep options open by sketching, modifying and interconnecting concepts rather than prematurely locking in to a limited frame of concepts.Take, for example, a simple concept: cycling. If we were to write a passage about cycling

for someone who is thinking about taking it up, we might be able to use the diagramming technique to produce a document that is more thorough and useful than if we simply sat down and wrote the first thoughts that came into our heads.

Here’s how it works:1. Start with a clean sheet of paper and coloured pens.2. Use printing, not cursive writing.3. Write your central concept in a circle drawn in the centre of the page.4. As related sub-concepts or related ideas occur to you draw lines away from the central

concept, and identify those lines as sub-concepts.5. If the main concept is a tree trunk, and the sub-concepts are branches, what about

twigs? Develop these twigs, or sub-sub-concepts, that flow out of the branches, or sub-concepts.Sketching your thoughts on a diagram, you might come up with something like

figure 5.7. This pattern diagram could also be turned into an outline or tree diagram (see

figure 5.8).

Pattern diagramming: approach to planning documents that uses diagrams to visualise the structure of ideas


FIGURE 5.7 A pattern diagram


FIGURE 5.8: A tree diagram


Once you have done this, you could turn it into a text sequence (see figure 5.9). This block of text is not particularly appealing to the eye in its current form, and could benefit from some more creative layout and formatting (see chapter 2), but for the moment, that’s not a problem. We have solved the problem of trying to fill up a page on words about cycling, and the chances are that the solution has been arrived at fairly painlessly thanks to the concept and word generation that becomes possible with diagramming techniques.

Cycling is an interesting travel option, with possible health benefits. If you are thinking of taking it up, there are a number of aspects you might need to consider.

Firstly, the bicycle itself. You will need to make some decisions about what type of bike you get, particularly in terms of frame, suspension and tyres.

Frames can be made of titanium, aluminium and steel.Traditionally, bikes haven’t had much suspension at all, but now you can get suspension springs

built into the wheel forks, as is already the case for motorcycles.When choosing tyres, you will need to choose between street, mountain and racing tyres.Next, you will need to consider what equipment you need.Important types of equipment include helmets, jackets and lights. Helmets for bicycling are usually

lighter than motorcycle helmets, and you will need to consider various features of lightweight helmets. Do you want a rear-view mirror attached, for example? Do you require a model with a chin-strap, which may mean that the helmet is more secure?

Given that you can work quite hard on a bike, and thus sweat, what about the question of ventilation? When choosing a jacket, you will have a wide variety to choose from, so choose one that meets your needs. Do you want a lightweight jacket or a heavier one? Do you want a waterproof jacket in case the weather turns bad? Do you want a jacket with a reflective surface that will help make you more visible to other road users?

Lights on a bike are essential, and not only for night-time riding. You should consider whether you want lights at both the front and the rear. On the front lights, do you want the light to be static, or flashing? The same options apply to the back lights. You should also consider what type of power system you want to drive your lights. You can have a battery system or a generator system.

If you are going out on a bike, consider some planning. Do you need maps to navigate your way around? You can now get maps for most cities in the world, and these are not only traditional print-format maps but also online versions. Try to find out if the route you propose to take has bike pathways that are separate from main roads, or if the roads you need to travel on have designated bike lanes that will keep you protected from motorised traffic.

The experience of riding a bike can be pleasant, but you need to know that in some circumstances it can also be unpleasant. The pleasant side of bike riding is all about being out in the weather, and breathing fresh air for a change. Riding a bike can also be a form of exercise, which is no bad thing. Also, simply riding a bike through an area you may have driven through for years may change your perception of that environment: you notice things that you have never noticed before.

The downside of riding a bike cannot be ignored, of course. To state the obvious, you are exposed to the elements, and this can be sometimes unpleasant. Windy weather can make it difficult to stay on a bike, and wet weather may mean that you will get soaked to the skin unless you are wearing protective clothing. Hot weather may sound like fun on a bike, but it can prove to be exhausting because you need to work so hard. There is also a danger element involved in bike riding. There is always the threat of being knocked off your bike by cars or trucks, and the road surfaces can sometimes be tricky.

The future of bike riding may well be quite interesting. In the future, bikes may be made of new materials, which may mean that they will be not only cheaper but also lighter and more robust. New systems of energy storage may mean that when you coast down a hill, energy will be stored, and this could be released to make going up hills easier. Some futurists have dreamed up the idea of bike trains, which would be multi-station vehicles made of ultra-light materials, with recumbent bike cavities or cockpits. The theory is that these would run on tracks, and you would ‘catch’ such a train and sit in a cavity, combining your cycling efforts with those of others. Another blue-sky idea is that of overhead bike tunnels, so that bike riders could completely escape sharing roads with dangerous and polluting motor vehicles. It has also been suggested that riders in such tunnels could get a speed boost from solar-powered fans on top of the tunnels. FIGURE 5.9 Sample text

about cycling


ASSESS YOURSELF

There are numerous aspects of the particular topic of cycling that have not appeared in the diagrams above, such as costs, folding bikes, mountain bikes, tricycles, tandem bikes, recumbent/prone bike frames, car racks, health aspects of breathing in pollution, injuries sustained by cyclists and government policy. The bigger the list, the better it is for us as brainstormers and writer’s block busters.

Create your own pattern diagram and tree diagram for a passage of text about cycling. Compare your efforts with those of others.

Use large sheets of paper, and stick these onto walls. Make adjustments or changes to your originals as you think about them over a period of hours or days. If necessary, do multiple versions.

More structure: outlining techniquesPattern diagrams and tree diagrams help to progressively refine ideas and impose a structure on them. If we need to go further, it’s time to consider structured outlining. For example, if you were to create a report on cycling, you could do it as an essay, where the text has a very basic information structure: initial heading, paragraphs and nothing more. There is nothing wrong with that — some of the world’s great non-fiction writing has made do quite nicely with only this degree of structure — but you may decide that your audience needs more structure to help them navigate an extensive text. (See the comparison of essay and report genres in chapter 5. See also chapter 6, ‘Online writing’.)

In such cases, you might consider an alphanumeric or decimal structure. This simply means that sections and subsections of your writing are identified with labelled headings and subheadings. Figure 5.10 shows some of the differences between Arabic and Roman numerals, while Figure 5.11 shows how different levels of text (in diminishing sequence) are identified. Figure 5.12 shows the alphanumeric and decimal structure or outline of the text on cycling — in effect, the tree diagram of figure 5.8, but this time with an identified structure.

Arabic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 11 12 20

Roman upper case I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XX

Roman lower case i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii xx FIGURE 5.10 Arabic and

Roman numerals

Level type Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Roman upper-case numeral I

Alphabetical: upper case B

Arabic numeral 3

Alphabetical: lower case d

Roman lower-case numeral v FIGURE 5.11 Typical ordering in alphanumeric outlines.

So which system is best? There is no correct answer to this question, because some disciplines (e.g. science, technology and law) prefer decimal, while other disciplines prefer

Outlining: approach to structuring ideas through headings


alphanumeric. Some of these preferences are rational, and some have simply evolved over time. (There are similar differences in citation or referencing styles; see chapter 3.) Some readers find the decimal style cleaner, although the pure numbering can irritate some readers after moving beyond the third level.

Note that these outline sequences could also work as tables of contents in complex documents.

Note also that the sequence Future>Overhead tunnels>Solar fans has only one sub-concept, Solar fans, coming out of the point at the higher level, as opposed to all other sub-points, which tend to come in groups. Some readers prefer to see multiple sub-points coming out of points, so it might pay to brainstorm a little in situations like this to see whether you could identify (at least) a second sub-point. Then again, it will always be better to have only one real sub-point rather than one real and other bogus sub-points just for the sake of aesthetics.

CYCLINGI. BICYCLE

A. Frame1. Titanium2. Aluminium3. Steel

B. Suspension1. None2. Sprung

C. Tyres1. Street2. Mountain3. Racing

II. EQUIPMENTA. Helmet

1. Mirror2. Chin-strap3. Ventilation

B. Jacket1. Weight2. Weatherproof3. Reflective

C. Lights1. Position

a. Reari. Static

ii. Flashingb. Front

i. Staticii. Flashing

2. Systema. Batteryb. Dynamo

III. PLANNINGA. Maps

1. Print2. Online

B. PathwaysC. Designated lanes

CYCLING1.0. BICYCLE

1.1. Frame1.1.1. Titanium1.1.2. Aluminium1.1.3. Steel

1.2. Suspension1.2.1. None1.2.2. Sprung

1.3. Tyres1.3.1. Street1.3.2. Mountain1.3.3. Racing

2.0. EQUIPMENT2.1 Helmet

2.1.1. Mirror2.1.2. Chin-strap2.1.3. Ventilation

2.2 Jacket2.2.1. Weight2.2.2. Weatherproof2.2.3. Reflective

2.3 Lights2.3.1. Position

2.3.1.1. Rear2.3.1.2. Static2.3.1.3. Flashing2.3.1.4. Front2.3.1.5. Static2.3.1.6. Flashing

2.3.2. System2.3.2.1. Battery2.3.2.2. Dynamo

3.0. PLANNING3.1. Maps

3.1.1. Print3.1.2. Online

3.2. Pathways3.3. Designated lanes

(continued)

FIGURE 5.12 Alphanumeric and decimal hierarchies


IV. EXPERIENCEA. Pleasant

1. Weather2. Fresh air3. Exercise4. Environmental perception

B. Unpleasant1. Weather

a. Windyb. Wetc. Hot

2. Dangera. Vehiclesb. Road surfaces

V. FUTUREA. New materialsB. Energy storageC. Bike trainsD. Overhead tunnels

1. Solar fans

4.0. EXPERIENCE4.1. Pleasant

4.1.1. Weather4.1.2. Fresh air4.1.3. Exercise4.1.4. Environmental perception

4.2. Unpleasant4.2.1. Weather

4.2.1.1. Windy4.2.1.2. Wet4.2.1.3. Hot

4.2.2. Danger4.2.2.1. Vehicles4.2.2.2. Road surfaces

5.0. FUTURE5.1. New materials5.2. Energy storage5.3. Bike trains5.4. Overhead tunnels

5.4.1. Solar fans

Software toolsIf you are working with complex documents, it may be to your advantage to become skilled in using outliner functions in word processors, such as Microsoft Word or Corel Word Perfect. For example, Figure 5.13 shows part of the text on cycling set out using the MS Word outliner function.

FIGURE 5.12 (continued)

FIGURE 5.13 Using a software outliner to structure text


Another software tool that you can use to track the structure of your ideas is the document map (see figure 5.14). Document maps are, in effect, snapshots of the structure of your document, as shown through the heading and subheading structure. You can use document maps to monitor the structure of your ideas, checking to see whether the struc-ture is truly reflecting your intent, or whether changes need to be made.

Whether you use computer outliners or document maps, or simply have outline plans and tables of contents on paper, treat them as tools and not as straitjackets. Be flexible enough to re-edit the structure of your text if you feel:

■■ ‘this section here is growing fast. I really should promote it to a higher level, or even give it its own section, with its own subsections’

■■ ‘that sequence isn’t really panning out. It’s quite thin. I think I’ll demote it to a sub-section on the next page . . . or maybe it’s just a footnote’

■■ ‘that sequence doesn’t make as much sense now that I’ve added that new information. That part really needs to be ripped out of there and given much more prominence near the front’.When you start thinking like this, you are really beginning to think about editing and

proofreading, so let’s defer consideration of more of these issues until that section.

ASSESS YOURSELF

Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of six different approaches to structuring documents — namely, direct/indirect pattern, 5W-H, AIDA, question and answer, diagramming and outlining. Use the attached table. How might it be possible to combine various approaches?

FIGURE 5.14 View of a document map


Approach Strengths Weaknesses

Direct versus indirect

5W-H

AIDA

Question and answer

Diagramming

Outlining

Editing and proofreadingWhy do we need to edit our writing? We edit because human beings are not perfect. Editing comprises a series of techniques that helps to clarify, unify and streamline your document. Redrafting is a form of editing, and the final edit is the final chance to get it right. The editing phase also presents opportunities to rework material based on any usability testing you might have done on ‘reading to do’ documents, such as manuals or instructions (see online chapter 6).

Remember what was said earlier about the amount of time you need to set aside for editing, redrafting and proofreading. These are not trivial tasks that can be squeezed in at the end of the writing process or perhaps ignored altogether. On the contrary, they are processes that can make or break your document.

Note that there is a difference between a structural edit and a copy edit of a docu-ment, and a difference between editing and proofreading. Structural editing is a process wherein the structure of the argument of the document is challenged: Does it make sense? What is missing? What is there too much of? Copy editing, in contrast, does not challenge content but process, and is used to check mechanical details such as spelling, punctua-tion, grammar, consistent use of terminology and other matters. Proofreading is primarily a quality control process, and not a substitute for copy editing (Snooks & Co. 2002). It is a process of checking the final copy in printed form and attempting to pick up mistakes that have escaped the structural and copyediting processes.

Edit to ensure consistency and unity. What we need to achieve when editing is objectivity. This is quite difficult if you are editing your own work: we tend to be too involved with our own productions, and can be reluctant to make the ruthless deci-sions sometimes necessary to make a document work. As the great eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson advised, ‘Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out’ (cited in Boswell 1791 [1998]).

There are a number of ways you can bring some objectivity to the process:■■ Get someone else to do it. Empower the other person with the right to challenge con-tent and process; don’t become precious and oversensitive about this (at the very least, you can get revenge by returning the favour). It sometimes helps if the person helping you knows absolutely nothing about the content of the area in which you are writing. Let your friends point out the weaknesses in your writing before your enemies do.

■■ Use software tools such as document maps and Autosummarise to help you get a grip on the structure. Print out the document in reduced form (e.g. 2–4 pages per normal

Structural editing: a process wherein the structure and content of a document is examined and where necessary reworkedCopy editing: a process wherein the mechanical aspects of a document (spelling, grammar, punctuation) are examined and, where necessary, correctedProofreading: a quality control process used to remove all errors from the final document


size page) for a new perspective. Temporarily reformat the document in different fonts and layouts to ‘make it strange’ so that you are able to see your work with new eyes.

■■ Attach the document page by page, in sequence, to a wall (laying it out on the floor will do, but a wall display is better). Walk along in front of the document and read it.

■■ Use time. Put the document away, and then come back to it afresh. This is perhaps the most difficult approach to use, because usually there are deadline pressures that make it impossible. But you need to make it possible if you want to make sure your ideas are delivered to the world in a perfect condition. Time is the greatest editing tool of all.So what should we be looking for when editing? Here are some key points to consider:

■■ Does the text flow smoothly, or does it look like a series of ill-digested chunks loosely connected? Is there unity of function?

■■ Are there differences in style between sections (sentence length, word length, vocabu-lary, rhythm, formality/informality, concreteness/abstraction)? This can be particularly important if other writers have contributed to the document.

■■ Are there stylistic tics that may irritate some readers (e.g. overused words, phrases and abbreviations)?

■■ Are there repetitions in the text (unless the repetition is deliberate, for emphasis)?■■ Is there a lack of transitional words or phrases (see online chapter 3) at the end and beginning of paragraphs and sections?

■■ Is there a lack of visual unity in graphics, fonts or general layout?■■ Are there problems with structure and process? For example, in a large document like a report, it may be that the title is inaccurate, the table of contents and body structure are different or the conclusions and recommendations do not emerge log-ically from the body of the text. Conversely, in a fiction piece, it may be that the plot has gaps, the characters behave in ways that seem problematic or the dialogue is unrealistic.

■■ If you are editing a document for an organisation and there is a prescribed house style, does the document match that house style?

ProofreadingProofreading comprises a series of techniques that were originally devised for the correction of proofs — trial sheets of printed material, such as pages of text from a book or an article in a journal. Proofreading is a specialised skill, but you are able to make use of some of the techniques to edit some of the more mechanical mistakes in your document.

Proofreaders use specialised marks to highlight the errors in the text they are examining. A list of such proofreading marks is given in figure 5.15 and a sample of marked-up text and the corrected version of the same text is shown in figure 5.16.

How does the proofreader pick up such errors? It’s amazing how many errors you can miss, even when you have read your document through several times. Some proofreading techniques are:

■■ proofreading the text backwards (reading each word, but starting with the last word in the document, and working backwards to the first word)

■■ having someone else read the text to you while you check it (ensuring that everything, including punctuation, is read out)

■■ placing a piece of card under the text line as you read it.All these techniques are designed to help you get some distance from the text you have

written.


FIGURE 5.15 Common proofreading marksSource: Snooks & Co. (2002, pp. 523–5).


FIGURE 5.16 Sample of marked-up copy and corrected proofSource: Snooks & Co. (2002, pp. 526–7).


Writing: plan to succeedLook again at figure 5.2 (p. 5.6). This diagram suggests that good writing is, to use the language of film and television, not only about production but also about pre-production and post-production. Each of these three can reinforce, or weaken, the other two.

When you write, you usually have specific goals in mind — high marks for an essay, implementation of recommendations in a report, empathy in the minds of readers in a novel. To achieve any of these goals you need to plan. Don’t have your success spoiled by mind games, writer’s blocks, sloppy preparation or inadequate editing. As we saw earlier:

■■ Writing is a skill that can be learnt.■■ Good writing is all about good time management, which means self-management.Most people could write well if they tried, but don’t. If you’re the only person in a group

or workplace who can write — if, for example, you can apply the content of these online writing chapters — then that has to be good for your reputation, your résumé, your career and your own sense of achievement and self-worth. Write now.


STUDENT STUDY GUIDESUMMARY

In this chapter we saw that documents can be classified according to the mix of information, persuasion and entertainment values present. We identified planning techniques, noting along the way the games writers play. We investigated the concept of writer’s block, and considered ways of overcoming it. We saw that the ‘you’ attitude is critical in the com-position of some documents and in general processes of communication. We looked at a number of document planning and structuring approaches, such as direct versus indirect method, 5W-H, AIDA, question and answer, diagramming and outlining. Finally, we looked at a number of editing and proofreading techniques.

KEY TERMS

5W-H technique p. 5.12AIDA p. 5.13copy editing p. 5.22direct approach p. 5.11games writers play p. 5.7indirect approach p. 5.11monotasking p. 5.4

multitasking p. 5.4outlining p. 5.18pattern diagramming p. 5.14proofreading p. 5.22question and answer technique p. 5.13

reading to be entertained or distracted p. 5.6reading to do p. 5.6reading to learn p. 5.6structural editing p. 5.22writer’s block p. 5.8‘you’ attitude p. 5.10

REV IEW QUEST IONS1. ‘Writer’s block is a myth. Anyone who wants to write can write.’ Discuss.2. What is the difference between reading to do and reading to learn?3. Name at least three games writers play.4. Identify at least two strategies for overcoming writer’s block.5. What is the point of considering the ‘you’ attitude in documents?6. When would you consider using the indirect approach when writing a document?7. What are the disadvantages of the question and answer mode of structuring?8. Why does it make sense to create a pattern diagram before a tree diagram?9. Name three ways in which we can get some objectivity when editing our own text.

10. What relationships might there be between the content of this chapter and chapter 2, ‘Document design and graphic communication’?

APPL I ED ACT IV I T I ES1. Follow the example of figure 5.3 and write a series of passages, ranging from a style

that shows a strong ‘you’ attitude to a style that shows a weak or non-existent ‘you’ attitude.

2. Analyse a number of documents (letters, brochures, website text) to see to what extent they follow a direct or indirect style of exposition.

3. Analyse a number of documents to see to what extent they follow the AIDA pattern of exposition.

4. Take a document that you or someone else has already written. Do a diagram analysis of the document to analyse its structure. Does this analysis suggest any changes that you might consider making?

5. Take a document that you or someone else has already written. Open up the document in a word processor, and then analyse its structure via the document map function. Does this suggest any potential changes you might consider making?


6. Working with at least one other person, write a passage of text that is full of errors. Exchange texts, and correct them, using proofreading marks. Produce a finished copy of the text.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?You have been asked to edit the monthly newsletter by the Head of Human Resources, Joanna. You have received copy from a number of contributors, including Manny, Tai and Joe. All three write in a unique style that very much reflects the way they talk. People throughout the organisation sometimes remark, not unkindly, on the differences in the styles of these people (usually along the lines of ‘Manny is so assertive: he really punches his points home with such skill!’; ‘Tai always seems to come up with a quirky take on things that no-one else has thought about’; ‘Joe is so quiet, but so methodical: he builds up an argument piece by piece, until you realise that you have become completely con-vinced by him). You decide that, in these three cases in particular, each person’s style is important, and only give their writing a light copy edit. You have just shown the draft of the newsletter to Joanna, and she is not happy. She said, ‘Look, we have a house style manual, and I want all contributions to conform to that. We can’t just run the words of every weirdo around just the way they sent it in. I mean, what are we paying you for as an editor if you can’t clean this rubbish up?’

How can you best respond to Joanna?

REFERENCESBuzan, Tony 2003, How to mind map: make the most of your

mind and learn to create, organize and plan, Thorson’s Publishing, London.

Boswell, James 1791 [1998], Life of Johnson, Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford.

Chandler, Daniel 1992, ‘The phenomenology of writing by hand’, Intelligent Tutoring Media, vol. 3, nos. 2–3, pp. 65–74.

Johnson, Johna Till 2008, ‘Does your phone make you smarter?’ Network World, 26 June www.networkworld.com.

Maisch, Don 2006, ‘Medical warnings needed on DECT cordless phone use’, Journal of the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, vol. 25, no. 6.

Mundis, Jerrold 1991, Break writer’s block now! St Martins Press, New York.

Nelson, Victoria 1993, On writer’s block, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston/New York.

Oberfeld, Gerd 2005, ‘WLAN and DECT in Schools and Kindergardens’, Salzburg Region Public Health Department, December 5, www.mastsanity.org.

Parker-Pope, Tara 2008, ‘Experts revive debate over cellphones and cancer’, The New York Times, June 3, www.nytimes.com.

Peterson, Karen E. 2006, Write. 10 Days to overcome writer’s block. Period. Adams Media, Avon MA.

Randsell, SE & Gilroy, L 2001, The effects of background music on word processed writing’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 17, pp. 141–8.

Rodman, Lilita 2001, ‘You-attitude: a linguistic perspective’, Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 9–25.

Rosen, Christine 2008, ‘The myth of multitasking’, The New Atlantis.com, www.thenewatlantis.com.

Shipman, Tim 2008, ‘New lifeline for staff drowning in emails’, Telegraph Co.UK, 29 June, www.telegraph.co.uk.

Snooks & Co. 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane.

Wallis, Claudia 2006, ‘The multitasking generation’, Time, March 27, www.time.com.

SUGGESTED READ INGBaty, Chris 2004, No plot? No problem!: a low-stress,

high-velocity guide to writing a novel in 30 days, Chronicle Books, San Francisco.

Bazerman, Charles 1999, ‘Changing regularities of genre’, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 1–2.

Billingham, Jo & Seely, John 2002, Editing and revising text, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Bridges, Judy 2011, Shut up & write! Redbird Studio Press, Milwaukee, WI.

D’Vari, Marisa 2000, Script magic: subconscious techniques to conquer writer’s block, Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA.

Dettenreider, Marc & Hlawati, Adam 2010, Incipio — the essential handbook of 2000 sentence starters for every writer, www.lulu.com.


DeVoss, Danielle & Rosati, Annette C 2002, “‘It wasn’t me, was it?” Plagiarism and the web’, Computers and Composition, vol. 19, pp. 191–203.

Gilad, Suzanne 2007, Copyediting and proofreading for dummies, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Glatzer, Jenna 2003, Outwitting writer’s block, and other problems of the pen, The Lyons Press, Guildford CT.

Houston, Velina Hasu 2009, ‘Writer’s block’ busters: 101 exercises to clear the deadwood and make room for flights of fancy, Smith and Kraus, Lyme, NH.

Hunter, Rik 2011, ‘Erasing “property lines”: a collaborative notion of authorship and textual ownership on a fan wiki’, Computers and Composition, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 40–56.

Kleidermacher, Kathy 2007, The pocket idiot’s guide to beating writer’s block, Alpha Books, New York.

McGee, Tim & Ericsson, Patricia 2002, ‘The politics of the program: MS Word as the invisible grammarian’, Computers and Composition, vol. 19, pp. 453–70.

Rabin, Stanton 2008, ‘How to get past writers’ block’, The Writer, vol. 121, no. 4, pp. 42–45.

Shaw, Fran 2001, 50 Ways to help you write: tips, techniques, and shortcuts to help you write like a pro, iUniverse, Lincoln, NE.

Sibbett, David 2010, Visual meetings: how graphics, sticky notes and idea mapping can transform group productivity, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Surhone, Lambert M, Tennoe, Mariam T & Henssonow (eds.) 2010, Writer’s block, Beau Bassin, Mauritius.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFigure 5.4, p. 5.11: Lilita Rodman, Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 4, p. 25, © 2001. Reproduced with the permission of

Sage Publications via Copyright Clearance CenterFigure 5.13, Figure 5.14, pp. 5.20–21: Screen shots reprinted by permission from Microsoft Corporation. Text © Baden Eunson Figure 5.15, pp. 5.24–26: Style Manual 6th Edition, 2002, pp. 523–525, Australian Government Information Management Office,

Department of Finance and Deregulation, © Commonwealth of Australia, reproduced by permissionFigure 5.16, pp. 5.27–28: Style Manual 6th Edition, 2002, p. 527, Australian Government Information Management Office, Department

of Finance and Deregulation, © Commonwealth of Australia, reproduced by permission.

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