8. Team 5: How can writers improve readability? Consider for example the use of white space, bulleted items, headings, and other strategies. (Obj. 3)

The examples for this question all relate to document design strategies when it pertains to writing. On a personal note this has always proven to be the factor that determines the difficulty of reading. Think about the way our textbook itself is organized, it’s easy for us to read and understand because it demonstrates all of the following:

1). Employing White Space
Empty space on a page is called white space. To increase white space we would use headings, bulleted or numbered lists, and effective margins.

2). Margins and Text Alignment
Margins determine the white space on the left, right, top, and bottom of a block type. Business letters usually have side margins of 1 to 1.5 inches.

3). Choosing Appropriate Typefaces
There are two different typefaces. Serif have small features at the end of strokes and is used for body text in long documents. Examples are Times New Roman, Georgia, and Palatino. Sans serif are widely used for headings, signs, and material that doesn’t require continuous reading. Examples are Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica.

4). Capitalizing on Type Fonts and Sizes
CAPS, bold, underlining can be good but mainly for headings, subheadings, single words, or short phrases. Never type in all caps for long as it’s hard to read and feels like shouting. You will want the type size to be 10-12 for body text and possibly use larger sizes for headings.

5). Numbering and Bulleting Lists
As I did with my answer, numbering the different techniques has made this easier to distinguish information. They can browse quickly and understand the key points.

6). Headings
Headings help the reader separate the main idea from details. Without applying these techniques, then our textbook would be difficult to read as well as inefficient when it came to learning the material needed.

It should also be noted that document appearance isn’t the only important factor, as the content in the text must be easy to read and comprehend. Shorter sentences will also improve readability and comprehension. Avoiding use of slang or clichés will also help improve readability and would be unprofessional to use in business anyway.

Sources
Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2011). Intercultural Communication. In Business Communication (8th ed., p. 186-189). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning

2. Team 5: What's wrong with a message that begins, I am writing this announcement to let everyone know that . . . ? (Obj. 1)

In chapter 6 this is what was known as a long lead-in. What is wrong with the message is that it has unnecessary introductory words. Instead just say “The announcement let everyone know that…” In business you will hear time and time again that “time is money.” Therefore it is also repeated again that when it comes to writing always keep it short and simple. There are many different techniques that help you condense information and throw out all the unnecessary filler words such as eliminating flabby expressions, rejecting redundancies, purging empty words, etc.

Not only does sentences that start in this manner waste time because they are unnecessary words, but I also have known sentences that start with “I” to be vain or ego centric. You do not want to make what you have to say about you when it is factual information directed towards a group. Even in other classes, specifically science based labs, you would get points deducted for starting sentences with “I.”

Sources
Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2011). Intercultural Communication. In Business Communication (8th ed., p. 179). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning