2. What can Ben Affleck teach you
about strategic communication
writing?
3. OVERVIEW
HOW DID I GRADE THIS?
• If you handed the assignment in on time,
you received full credit.
• Remember formatting.
• Farkas-something
• Your name on every page of the document
itself.
• Sending me a word file vs. PDF or direct
email
5. Two other things to
think about
• Passive
• Look for forms of “to be.”
• Look for “by.”
• Jargon
6. THINGS TO THINK
ABOUT
• Remember the notes I talked about in
class. I mentioned them for a reason.
• Read copy aloud
• Diet Coke break
7. HOW I WOULD WRITE
THIS STORY
A suspected bank robber is in jail after an early morning
heist in Smithville.
Police believe Ronnie Jones, 38, of Springdale walked into
the First State Bank, told the teller he had a weapon and
demanded money.
The suspect left with about $10,000 and fled to a
neighborhood north of the bank.
An hour later, police found Jones and a sack containing
the money.
A judge set his bail at $100,000.
8. HOW I WOULD WRITE
THIS STORY
• I wrote 71 words.
• The copy I have you was 141 words.
• SVO writing, passive voice and critical thinking cut the
copy nearly 50% without sacrificing critical content.
9. Proofing theory
• When you review a document, look
for one thing.
•Spelling
•Grammar
•Punctuation
•Passive voice/SVO
10. Mark ragan
comma rules
1. If you combine two full
sentences with a conjunction,
you need a comma. Example:
John writes press releases, and Jill
writes business blogs.
11. Mark ragan
comma rules
2. If you begin your sentence with an
introductory phrase, you need a
comma. Example: Although I am
adept at writing press releases, I need
assistance in sending them out to
news outlets.
12. Mark ragan
comma rules
3. If you include a series of nouns in
your sentence, set them off with
commas. Example: Press releases,
blogs and Web content are all useful
for your small business.
13. Mark ragan
comma rules
4. If you include extra information, set
it off with commas. Example: Bill,
who is a pretty decent writer, handles
all my business blogging needs.
14. Mark ragan
comma rules
5. If you have a quotation in a sentence,
you need a comma.
Example A: Bill told his friend, "Business
blogging is all about thinking outside the
box."
Example B: "I really need to get this press
release sent out," Bill said.
15. midterm details
• The midterm will be a week from today in class.
• There will be 8 short answer/listing questions.
Four points each (32)
• It will be 14 multiple choice or true false
questions. Two points each (28)
• There will be 15 sentences to correct for passive
voice and comma issues. Two points each (30)
• The final 10 points are doing the bank robbery
assignment (10)
• Every #OUJ3700 hashtag article, PP and article
in BB is fair game.
