Writing-A Survival Guide

By Joyce Kupsh and Rhonda Rhodes

Book Summary (Min 200 to Max 4000 bytes):

Everyone writes! Your writing may be a blog, text message, report, essay, resume, letter, email, completion of forms, as well as all types of social media. Writing is a skill that can be improved with some practice and Writing—A Survival Guide

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Jul 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781949502329

Joyce Kupsh

Joyce Kupsh, Ed.D., a Professor Emerita, has published books and articles and conducted seminars throughout the US and seven other countries. Joyce has served on several boards and owned her own company. ([e-mail])

Book preview

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Writing A Survival Guide

Bonus Section

Designing and Delivering Presentations

Joyce Kupsh and Rhonda Rhodes

Copyright © 2018 by Joyce Kupsh and Rhonda Rhodes.

Paperback: 978-1-949502-31-2           $11.99

eBook: 978-1-949502-32-9           $2.99

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Ordering Information:

For orders and inquiries, please contact:

1-888-375-9818

www.toplinkpublishing.com

[e-mail]

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Acknowledgement

About the Authors

Introduction

Chapter 1—Organizing

Purposes

Inform

Interpret

Recommend

Persuade

Types of Writing

Essay

Research Report

Resume

Cover Letter

Case Study Analysis

Case Study

Feasibility Study

Strategic Plan

Business Plan

Business Proposal

Evaluation Report

Synthesis Report

Assessment/Audit Report

Technical Report

Follow-up Report

Press Release

Miscellaneous

Format Styles

E-mail, Memo, Letter

Form

Report

Newsletter

Brochure

Magazine, Booklet, or Manual

Social Media

Blogs

Parts of a Written Communication

Executive Summary/Abstract

Contents

Introduction

Body

Bibliography/References/Resources

Appendices

Chapter 2—Starting

Planning

Purposes or Objectives

Target Audience

Time Schedule

Overall Plan

Researching

Secondary Data

Primary Data

Outlining

Preparation

Evaluation

Chapter 3—Referencing

Plagiarism

Common Forms of Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism

References

Quoting

Paraphrasing

Summarizing

Technology-Based Tools

Reference Management Software

Reference Checkers

Citation Creators

Word Processing Software

References

Parenthetical

Endnotes

Footnotes

Using Style Manuals

Chapter 4—Writing

Objectivity

Informal

Formal

Conciseness

Irrelevant Information

Redundancy

Clutter and Clichés

Extra Phrases

Implied Ideas

Abstract or General Words

Coherence

Repetition

Transition

Tone

Positive versus Negative

Active versus Passive

Expletives

Pronouns

Bias-Free Language

Emphasis

Variety

Comprehensiveness

Chapter 5—Polishing

Abbreviations

Acronyms

Capitalization

Italics

Numbers

Punctuation

Apostrophe

Colon

Comma

Dash

Diagonal

Ellipsis

Exclamation Point

Hyphen

Parentheses

Period

Question Mark

Quotation Marks

Semicolon

Spelling

Word Division

Chapter 6—Producing

Fonts

Classifications

Variations

Sizes

Line Spacing

Alignment

Color

Paper

Type

Weight

Size

Layout

Page Orientation

Margins

Column Size

Blank Space

Headings and Subheadings

Page Numbers

Headers and Footers

Binding

Cover

Graphics

Chapter 7—Finishing

Editing

Substance

Style

Consistency

Proofreading

Techniques

Tips

Bonus Section—Designing and Delivering Presentations

Designing Slides

Template Choice

Two Parts—Title & Body

Color

Font Choice

Big Is Better

Less Is Better

Parallel Construction

Graphics

Music/Sounds/Videos

Animations

Transitions

Speaker Notes

Delivering Presentations

Practice/Rehearse/Timing

Equipment Setup

Speaker Position

Speaking Essentials

Checklists

Bibliography

Acknowledgement

A special thank you to Joe Cruz for his artwork!

About the Authors

Joyce Kupsh

[e-mail]

Joyce is a Professor Emerita in the Technology and Operations Management Department in the College of Business at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Her doctoral work was completed at Arizona State University in business, education, and instructional technology. Her teaching includes high school, community college, adult education, and university levels. She was founder of the Multimedia Design Center (a triad of three multimedia labs, all serving different purposes) at California State Polytechnic University and served as director for eight years. She raised approximately a million and a half dollars to fund these labs.

For many years, she owned her own company—Golden Visuals later named National Instructional Systems—which published audio-visual materials for instructors. Joyce has published many articles and books. She has been a speaker at many conferences/conventions as well as conducted seminars and workshops throughout the United States and in seven different countries—Russia, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, France, and Swaziland. Currently, she is retired and living in Nevada with her husband (Paul), enjoying traveling, and her four grandchildren (Taylor, Dylan, Sydney, and Ryan) and great granddaughter (Tessa).

Rhonda Rhodes

[e-mail]

Rhonda has dedicated her career to educating the future leaders of our country. After completing her PhD from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, she and her partner opened a computer facility, Info Center. Their clients included the Arizona Supreme Court and most of the county seats in Arizona. Rhonda went on to teach at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) as a Professor in the Technology and Operations Management Department. She served as Director of Graduate Business Programs for nine years before returning to her true passion, teaching.

She is among the leaders in implementing engaged learning strategies. Her classes are hybrid, flipped, and incorporate digital learning platforms from course design, delivery, and assessment. She has published several books and numerous journal articles. Her current stream of research is Engaged Learning and Creating Engaged Learning Environments. Dr. Rhodes regularly presents her research at national and international conferences while implementing the results in her ever-popular graduate and undergraduate classes at Cal Poly Pomona. She lives on her family’s ranch in Northern Arizona with her husband Joe Cruz, who is a professional musician.

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Introduction

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Many methods of communicating are used in the twenty-first century. Telephones, letters, reports, and faxes are still used; but now we also use things such as blogging, texting, instant messaging, e-mail, voicemail, Facebook, and Twitter. These new methods have a language entirely different from the established communication language of the working world.

However, to succeed in college, on the job, and in life, you must be able to produce top-notch written communications. Effective writing is planned, researched, and outlined; and in some cases, referencing is required. Different formats for special purposes and audiences can help make your writing more attractive. Written communications can be one page or numerous pages. But all writing should include correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling, as well as objectivity, conciseness, thoroughness, coherence, and an eye-catching format. You must be aware of the types, format choices, and the parts of written communications.

Writing—A Survival Guide will help you with the essentials of producing effective written communications. Whether you are writing a blog, essay, resume, case study, research report, or strategic plan, the Checklists at the end of the book will help ensure your written communication is successful for its intended purpose. The material appears in an orderly arrangement. However, you may choose to refer to a particular section as needed.

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Chapter 1

Organizing

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Organizing means to arrange or order things so that they can be found or used easily and quickly, according to most dictionaries.

The time you spend thinking and arranging—organizing—will pay off throughout the completion of your writing. When organizing your written communication, you need to think about the following:

Purpose of the writing

Type of writing that works best

Format styles that will be the most effective.

Purposes

Written communication must have a reason. The reason may be to inform, interpret, recommend, persuade, or some combination of these reasons.

Inform

Written communications that inform may tell the status or progress of a situation. Blogs and social media are popular means of informing in today’s technological world. Examples of social media are Facebook, which informs friends of our status, LinkedIn, which is used by people in the business world, or Twitter, which shares an opinion in 144 characters or less. Even though the various types of social media inform, they require special care in their organization and writing.

Examples of various types of communications that inform are as follows:

Blogs—provide information on every topic imaginable.

Resume—provides information about a person, as well as skills, education, experience,