English 313, Project 1, Slidedoc 2, Spring 2020. Designed by Karen Thompson.

1. Business Writing Genres:
Format and Document Design

2. Table of Contents
About business writing genres 3-4
About standard formats and document design 5
Visual Hierarchy and CRAP Principles 10
Crap Principle 1: Contrast 7-9
Crap Principle 2: Proximity 10
Crap Principle 3: Alignment 11
Crap Principle 4: Repetition 12
Standard formatting conventions 13
Email 14-19
Business Letters 20-27
Memos /Memo Reports 28-29
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3. Genres are categories of business writing. Here are just a few
examples:
• Business Correspondence: letters, memos, emails, and texts.
• Reports, Proposals, and White Papers: informal and formal
reports; marketing white papers.
• Application Materials: cover letter, resume, Linked-In profile page.
• Multimedia and Visual Media: podcasts, slidecasts, screencasts,
infographics (static and interactive).
• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Website.
About business writing genres.
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4. Workplace readers do not read
linearly from start to finish as
they would a book.
Instead, they read like
newspaper readers do.
They look for the information
they need and may or may not
read an entire document or may
only skim other parts.
How workplace readers read.
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5. 1. Standard Formats evolved
over time in response to
common business writing
situations. Using standard
formatting conventions
allows the reader to discern
at-a-glance what the
document is – its genre (and
hence, what it’s for).
2. Document Design is the
practice of presenting
information in a way that
fosters efficient and effective
understanding of it.
About standard formats and document design.
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6. Effective Visual
Hierarchy provides
cues as to how the
information is
related.
Poor Visual
Hierarchy. Elements
are just scattered on
the page.
Visual hierarchy is the central
principle of document design. It
refers to how text and images are
arranged on a page that implies
how they are related
To achieve effective visual
hierarchy use the
CRAP PRINCIPLES of document
design (Contrast, Repetition,
Alignment, and Proximity).
Visual Hierarchy
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7. Contrast means difference and
using contrast helps to cue the
reader what information should
be read first.
To create contrast in documents
use:
Headings (and heading levels),
Bold Text of Headings,
White “Negative” Space.
If composing a document for an
external audience, consider using
color for headings and/or using a
different font style for headings.
Crap Principle 1: Contrast
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8. Avoid using more than three or
four levels of headings.
Try using the styles feature in
Word for headings.
Using heading levels.
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9. Just RightToo LittleToo Much
Use the right amount of white space.
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10. Proximity means grouping similar
elements together. It helps readers
by giving them an idea of what
information is subordinate to other
information.
To create proximity in
documents use:
Bullets,
Numbered Lists,
Indent Heading Levels
Crap Principle 2: Proximity
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11. Alignment means to align text
or other elements to a real or
imaginary vertical axis.
It tightens the design and
creates an ordered look.
Crap Principle 3: Alignment
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12. Repetition refers to formatting
the same type of information in
the same way to help readers
recognize patterns.
Repetition creates a consistent
look and feel to documents (or
web pages).
Crap Principle 4: Repetition
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13. • Emails
• Business Letters
• Memos / Memo Reports
Standard Formatting Conventions for
13

14. Use a formal salutation when you do not know the recipient followed
by the person's full name.
Dear John Doe
Hello John Doe
Use a formal closing.
Sincerely
Best regards
I look forward to hearing from you
If you have one, add a digital signature.
These greetings and closing statements help establish a connection
with a reader you do not know.
Email Salutation and Closing
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15. Formal greetings and closings are usually not needed when you
know the recipient such as a co-worker.
In this case, an informal greeting followed by the person's first
name is used and the closing is usually just your name or initials or
the word thanks if appropriate.
Hi John
[email text]
Thanks
Jane
Email Salutation and Closing continued
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16. In formal email salutations that use "Dear," place a colon after the
recipient's name because it sets a formal tone.
Dear John Doe: (formal)
Much ink has been spent by grammatical purists who insist a
comma should be be used in a direct address greeting: one that
uses "Hello" or "Hi." They rest their case on the fact that "Hi" is an
interjection while "Dear" is an adjective.
Hello, John Doe:
Hi, John
BUT.....
Punctuating email salutations.
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17. Well, I'll leave it out then.
Writer's ignore the "comma rule" with such regularity that only the
grammar geeks fret over it. Here's a quote from Grammar Girl on the
email comma:
I’m always torn about whether to use the comma. It is correct, but it
seems a bit pedantic given the widespread use of the incorrect
alternative — especially when you are replying to someone who has
already done it the wrong way. Use your own judgment. I usually put
it in, but you’ll be in good company if you leave it out.
Writers frequently ignore this advice..
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18. I'm so happy to
know that.
Follow the closing word or phrase with a comma. There seems to be
less of a concern about this from grammar geeks.
Sincerely,
Thanks,
Best regards,
Punctuating email closings.
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19. Typically a signature section
will include the writer's name,
title, business or organization
name, snail mail address,
phone number and office
location if applicable.
For students, it’s a good idea
to include your major.
Email signature information.
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20. Date
Inside Address which is the Recipient's
Name
Title if Applicable
Address
Subject (not always used)
Salutation
Body
Closing
Signature Information
Enclosures (if applicable)
Standard format for business letters.
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21. Use a formal salutation followed by the recipients full name and
ending with a colon.
Dear John Doe:
Hello John Doe:
Use a formal closing followed by a comma.
Sincerely,
Best regards,
I look forward to hearing from you,
If sending as an attachment, add a digital signature.
If sending through snail mail, sign the letter.
Business letter salutation and closing.
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22. Subject lines immediately cue the reader as to
what your business letter is about.
In American English, the subject line is
commonly placed above the salutation.
In British English, the subject line is commonly
placed below the salutation.
To distinguish your subject line from the rest of
the letter use “Subject:” or ”Re:” (which is an
abbreviation for “regarding.”
Using a subject line.
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23. 1. Block
2. Modified Block
3. Semi Block
Three standard layouts for business letters.
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24. Block Business Letter Format
Company Name and/or Logo
8223 South Third St.
Fort Myers, FL 33905
Today’s Date (i.e. October 14, 2016)
Recipient Business or Organization Name
Recipient Name and Title
892 Redwood St.
Warwick, RI 02886
Subject:
Dear Recipient Full Name:
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vitae nunc non, vestibulum cursus massa. Suspendisse aliquam justo volutpat, dignissim
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ante, a egestas tortor feugiat lacinia. Pellentesque ultricies volutpat ante. Sed posuere
purus nibh, eget tincidunt nisi interdum non. Donec rhoncus laoreet dignissim. Etiam ac
lorem felis. Cras condimentum tempus massa, quis tincidunt neque congue malesuada.
Pellentesque congue efficitur nibh ac volutpat.
Aliquam cursus dolor dignissim, tincidunt dolor in, accumsan justo. Aenean dictum, leo
in sodales eleifend, est justo porta metus, at molestie neque erat eu orci. Maecenas vel
magna sed purus blandit tincidunt. Suspendisse ac quam cursus, fringilla ipsum vulputate,
tincidunt erat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Class aptent taciti
sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Aenean et nisi
velit. Nam tempor risus in metus interdum, nec consectetur dui vehicula. Donec eget nibh
et nunc tristique tempor vel ac diam. Aenean metus eros, vehicula vel tortor eu, euismod
sollicitudin lacus.
Closing (Sincerely etc.)
Sender Name
Position in Company (i.e. Business Partner Relationship Manager)
Company Name
Most common format for
business letters.
All elements of the letter are
aligned to the left margin of
the page.
It has a neat and simple
appearance and is
considered the most formal of
the three layouts.
Block Format
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25. In the modified block style
the sender's address (if not
using letterhead)
date, closing and signature
information are slightly to the
right of the center of the
paper.
This format is considered less
formal.
Modified Block Format
25

26. In the semi block style is the
same as block format but
paragraphs are indented.
Again, this format is
considered less formal.
Semi Modified Block Format
26

27. For all documents that are over one page, the pages after the first
one, need information in the header area and page numbers.
The information should cue the reader to know which document they
are reading and the page numbers alert them to where they are at in
the document.
Learning how to use the heading templates in Word with the field
feature (Mac) or quick parts (PC) to add page numbers is useful
because once the header is set up, you don't have to type it again.
Standard format for secondary pages (all print documents).
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28. The title “memo” or
"memorandum" signals the reader
is getting an internal document.
The section below the title creates
a record of who received the
document, who wrote it, when,
and why (conveyed by the subject
line).
Use single-spaced, left-justified
text, and add a line of white space
to separate paragraphs.
Typically, a memo or memo report
does not use a closing line.
Standard format for memos and memo reports.
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29. When someone requests information from you, remind them in an
introductory paragraph that they requested it and add a forecasting
statement about what is in the document.
Here is the information you requested about X. Included in the
sections that follow are A, B, and C.
This memo contains the information you requested about X. The
following sections explain A, B, and C.
When readers didn’t request the information, make it clear why you
are writing in the first sentence.
This memo explains problems we are having with X. The extent
of the problems are . . .
Standard rhetorical moves for introductions.
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