The document outlines principles for effective professional writing. It discusses two main objectives: to inform readers by communicating information efficiently, and to persuade readers through logical arguments. It emphasizes being precise, clear, forthright, familiar, and concise with language usage. Specific guidelines are provided, such as choosing accurate wording, avoiding ambiguity, and making writing fluid through sentence variety. The overall message is that professional writing should aim to clearly yet engagingly communicate essential information to readers.

1. Sound Writing Principles
PRINCIPLES OF WRITING IN CREATING
PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENTS
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2. Two Objectives
 Objectives of professional writing:
 To inform: To communicate the most
amount of information in the least amount
of reading time
 To persuade: To present logical arguments
in the most convincing manner
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3. Language Usage
 Effective language us is essential in
professional writing. This is done by :
 Being precise
 Being clear
 Being forthright
 Being familiar
 Being concise
 Being fluid
SLH1013 Professional English Friday, October 05, 2012

4. Being Precise
 This is the most important goal of language
in professional writing. Communicate
exactly what you did and what you learned.
 It is important to choose the right word
and the appropriate level of accuracy.
 Here are a few examples of similar words
that are often confused and have different
meanings:
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5. Errors in Word Choice (1)
 comprise = include; compose = make
up
 Theprocedure comprises treatment with an
acid composed of hydrogen and chlorine.
 continual = repeated; continuous =
without interruption
 The continual pulsing of pressure has less
effect than would continuous application of
the same level of pressure.
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6. Errors in Word Choice (2)
 affect = to influence; effect = result
 Exposing the samples to water affected
their moisture content, with the effect that
their elastic properties were reduced.
 principal = main, most important;
principle = law, rule
 The principal investigators in the project
are very familiar with the principles of
research procedure.
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7. Use a dictionary, not a thesaurus
 Avoid synonyms. They may have an inexact
meaning for the situation concerned. Their
meaning depends on situation in which they
are used.
 The word dense may mean compact or solid or
luxuriant, which have different connotations and
may be inappropriate for the situation.
 If one describes conditions as adequate, this means
a far different set of criteria for airplane safety than
for marking out a baseball field.
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8. Being Clear
 Avoid needless complexity in words, such
as in this paragraph:
 The objective of this study is to develop an
effective commercialization strategy for
solar energy systems by analyzing the
factors that are impeding early commercial
projects and by prioritizing the potential
government and industry actions that can
facilitate the viability of the projects.
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9. Keep it simple
 This could better be rewritten as :
 Thisstudy will consider why current solar
energy systems have not yet reached the
commercial stage and will evaluate the
steps that industry and government can
take to make these systems commercial.
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10. Unnecessary Complexity
 A sentence is needlessly complex when:
 The sentence seems too long.
 It contains many prepositional phrases.
 It presents more than one idea.
 It wanders from point to point.
 It contains participial phrases.
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11. Avoid Ambiguity
 Many English words have multiple
meanings. This can appear in many
ways.
 In the following examples, the
prepositions as and since may be
interpreted in different ways:
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12. Which Word is Correct?
 T cells, rather than B cells, appeared as the
lymphocytes migrated to the thymus gland.
 (because/while?) This could mean either that T cells
appeared because lymphocytes migrated to the thymus
bland or that T cells appeared at the same time that
lymphocytes migrated to the thymus gland.
 T cells appeared since they were migrating to the
thymus gland.
 (because/after?) This could mean either that T cells
appeared because they were migrating to the thymus
gland or that T cells appeared following their migration
to the thymus gland.
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13. Ambiguity in Syntax
 Ambiguity can also result from the way
words are arranged in a sentence
(syntax).
 In the following sentences, the same
words are arranged in different ways.
Each way produces a different meaning:
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14. Ambiguity in Syntax
 Only I tested the bell jar for leaks yesterday.
 Only I, no one else, tested the bell jar.
 I only tested the bell jar for leaks yesterday.
 The only thing I did yesterday was test the bell jar.
 I tested only the bell jar for leaks yesterday.
 The only thing I tested yesterday was the bell jar.
 I tested the bell jar only for leaks yesterday.
 The only test I made of the bell jar was for leaks.
 I tested the bell jar for leaks only yesterday.
 It was just yesterday that I tested the bell jar.
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15. Ambiguity in Pronouns
 There should be no doubt as to what a
pronoun refers. In the following
example, the pronoun it could mean
either the receiver or the radiometer:
 Because the receiver presented the
radiometer with a high flux environment,
it (?) was mounted in a silver plated
stainless steel container.
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16. Ambiguity in Punctuation
 Punctuation tells the reader when to
connect, slow down, or stop. It may also
have a major impact on the meaning.
 While other punctuation marks are
essential, the comma (,) is quite
important.
 In the following sentences a comma
makes a difference in the meaning:
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17. What’s the difference?
 In our study we examined neat methanol,
neat ethanol, methanol and 10 percent
water and ethanol and 10 percent water.
 In our study we examined neat methanol,
neat ethanol, methanol and 10 percent
water, and ethanol and 10 percent water.
 The panda eats shoots and leaves.
 The panda eats, shoots, and leaves.
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18. Being Forthright
 Professional writing should be sincere
and straightforward.
 Control the tone by avoiding
pretentious words, such as:
 facilitate
( cause, bring about)
 implement (put into effect, carry out)
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19. Be Careful…
 Avoid arrogant phrases, such as:
 as is well known; as we all know; it is said
that
 results clearly demonstrate; it is clear that
 Use strong nouns to provide a helpful
image of the subject. Reduce abstract
nouns, such as ability, factor, methods,
criteria.
 Use strong verbs to express action.
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20. Use Familiar Language
 Professional communication is designed to
inform, not to puzzle or to mystify.
 Use language your readers will understand.
 Avoid jargon, nicknames, initials, processes,
technical terms, or materials that might be
unclear to readers.
 Define unfamiliar terms.
 Use examples and analogies.
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21. Eliminate Redundancies
 No needless repetition of a word within
a sentence.
 Eliminate words with no real meaning:
o as a matter of fact
o it is noteworthy that
o that fact that
o it is significant that
o the presence of…
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22. Being Fluid
 All of this might give the impression
that professional writing becomes so
flat and dull that it is painful to read.
 Good professional writing does not
have to be dull.
 Several techniques may be used to
make professional writing interesting to
read.
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23. Variety
 Vary sentence rhythms by varying sentence
openers, lengths, or structure.
 Vary sentence openers by a clear subject-
verb connection.
o By using a prepositional phrase
o By using transitional words
o By using a participial phrase
 Vary sentence length
 Vary sentence structure
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24. The End
THANK YOU
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