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Business Correspondence - Modul 5

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PRATIWI BUDIARTI 121212064
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Business Correspondence - Modul 5

Uploaded by

PRATIWI BUDIARTI 121212064
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MODUL PELATIHAN BAHASA INGGRIS 2023-2024

PROGRAM: BUSINESS CORRESPONDANCE

TOPIK : Revising Business Messages


SESI : 5
TUTOR : Wahyu Budi

UNDIRA ENGLISH CENTER

2023
Objectives After studying this module, you should be able to
 Enhance readability by understanding document design including
the use of white space, margins, typefaces, fonts, numbered and
bulleted lists, and headings.
 Recognize proofreading problem areas, and apply effective
techniques to catch mistakes in both routine and complex
documents.
 Evaluate a message to judge its effectiveness.

Outcomes Achievement of these learning objectives should allow you to:


 Enhance the readability of a document
 Proofread a document correctly and effectively
 Judge the effectiveness of a document.

 Enhancing Readability Through Document Design


You have the opportunity to adjust formatting and make other changes during the
revision process so that readers grasp your main points quickly. Well-designed
documents improve your messages in two ways. First, they improve readability
and comprehension. Second, they give the impression that you are well-
organized and intelligent. Significant design techniques to improve readability
include the use of white space, margins, typefaces, fonts, numbered and bulleted
lists, and headings for visual impact.
- White space. A white space is an empty space in a page. It is can be
created by using headings, bulleted or numbered lists, or using effective
margins. By having white spaces in your page, it will improve readability
and comprehension since you will use less words.
- Margins and Text Alignment. In a block of type, the margins determine
the amount of white space that is present on the left, right, top, and bottom
of the block. In addition to providing essential visual relief, they define the
reading area.
- Typefaces. A typeface specifies the shape of text characters. Typefaces
are both decorative and functional for specific purposes. For most
business messages, however, you should select between serif and sans
serif fonts.

- Type Fonts and Sizes. A font is a distinct style within a typeface family.
Font styles are a mechanical way to emphasize your words. ALL CAPS,
Small Caps, and bold are appropriate for headings, subheadings, and
individual words or short phrases in the text. Boldface, italics, and
underlining are useful for drawing attention to key points and terms.

ALL CAPS SHOULD NEVER BE USED FOR LONG STRETCHES OF


TEXT BECAUSE ALL OF THE LETTERS ARE THE SAME HEIGHT. This
makes it difficult for readers to distinguish words. Furthermore, excessive
use of all caps irritates readers because it appears to be shouting.

- Numbering and Bulleting Lists. Numbered and bulleted lists improve


readability, comprehension, and retention of a text by breaking it down into
smaller chunks. Make your lists look professional by using these
techniques:
o Numbered lists: represent a sequence or a numbering system.
o Bulleted lists: highlight items that do not necessarily follow a
chronological order.
o Capitalization: capitalize the first word of each line.
o Punctuation: only use end punctuation if the listed items are complete
sentences.
o Parallelism: make all of the lines consistent; for example, begin each with
a verb.

(Guffey & Loewy, 2014)

- Headings for Visual Impact. Another way to highlight information and


improve readability is by using heading. It helps to separate major ideas
from details thus reader can skim for information which more relevant and
important to them.

Here is an example of document design improves readability.


(Guffey & Loewy, 2014)
 Proofreading to Catch Errors
You can check the following things when you proofread your writing:
- Spelling
o Success or Succes
The correct one is success.
o Affect or effect
Both words are written correctly. However, when you put use
them in a sentence, you need to know which one to use since
they are different in meaning.
- Grammar
o She are checking the document at this time yesterday.
The given sentence contains some errors, such as:
 Subject-verb agreement: pronoun “she” must use either “is”
or “was”
 Verb tenses: the time expression “yesterday” indicates that
the action is in the past. It does not match the verb used in
the sentence “are checking” which is in the present
continuous. Thus, to correct the sentence, we can either
change the verb into past verb or use present time
expression.
 She was checking the document at this time
yesterday. (past)
 She is checking the document at the moment.
(present)
- Punctuation
o When your request came, we responded immediately.
 When a dependent clause precedes an independent clause,
a comma is used to connect the dependent clause to the
independent clause.
o When did he write this report?
 A question mark (?) is always places at the end of an
interrogative sentence.

- Names and numbers. Verify the number or name you write in the
document is written correctly.

- Format. Make sure that your document looks balanced on the page.

When reviewing your document, you can use standard proofreading marks for
printed documents and word processing tools for digital documents. In this
process, you can look for misspellings, easily confused words, missing words, or
inconsistencies.

(Guffey & Loewy, 2014)


If you are reviewing a complex and important document, you must proofread it
carefully. Here are some suggestions when proofreading this type of document:
- Print the document with margin, font sized, spacing that are comfortable to
you to read.
- Allocate adequate time.
- Be prepared to find errors.
- Read the document several times. The first reading is for meaning, the
second reading is for grammar and mechanics, and the third reading is for
coherence and consistency.
- Have a partner to double check your work.

 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Message

As you apply finishing touches, take a moment to evaluate your writing whether it
attracts the reader’s attention, convinces the reader, conveys the ideas, and achieve
its purpose. Encourage feedback from the receiver so that you can determine
whether your communication achieved its goal. Feedback and advice will help you in
improving your communication skill.
References
Guffey , M. E., & Loewy, D. (2014). Essentials of Business Communication (10th ed.).
Boston: Cengage Learning.

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