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(631) 927-3541E-Mail
businesswriting@hrtraininguniversity.com50
Fairview Ave. Port Washington, NY 11050.
|
Certification
of Competence to Train
the Explicit Business Writing Skills |
Dr. Craig Hogan,
director of the Business Writing Center and author of Explicit
Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century
oversees training for corporate trainers, professors, and
others who want to be certified to teach the skills employees
need to write clear, explicit e-mail, memos, letters, and
reports. The skills are based on the 39 best practices explained
in Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First
Century. The trainer will receive the certification with
our gold seal on it, for framing.
The training is in the semester-long course BWC225
Explicit Business Writing Skills with Additional Training
with special guidance for the trainer or professor to prepare
for training employees and students. |
| Online,
Interactive Training Materials for Colleges and Corporate Trainers
|
 |
The training materials for the comprehensive, semester-length
course, BWC225
Explicit Business Writing Skills with Additional Training,
are available to college professors and corporate trainers
for use with students and trainees. Cost of the interactive
training materials is $79 per student or trainee.
A professor may assign the materials and have students purchase
a user name and password from our online bookstore just as
they purchase a textbook from the university bookstore. For
corporate trainers, the Business Writing Center provides the
trainer with a user name and password for the group of trainees
so the trainees do not have to purchase the materials.
Professors and corporate trainers may review the online
training materials and receive a complimentary review copy
of the text, Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices
for the Twenty-First Century by sending an e-mail containing
the request to the Center at businesswriting@hrtraininguniversity.com.
|
|
Explicit
Business Writing: Best Practices
for the Twenty-First Century |
| Since 1997, The
Business Writing Center has trained thousands of business writers
from around the world. During that time, we have identified
and refined the best practices businesses are using today that
create clear, concise, correct business writing.
R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D., director of The Business Writing Center,
with 35 years of experience in teaching writing, has compiled
the best practices into a valuable guide for business people:
Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First
Century. |
| Corporate
Standards for Business Writing |
| Companies have perennial problems with their business writing
because they have no corporate standards for business writing.
Having a set of clear standards all employees are to follow
results in
- a corporate culture that expects effective communication,
so clear writing becomes the norm
- modelling of the standards in all communication so new
employees learn the skills quickly after a short training
course
Once employees all have the skills and follow the standards,
clear writing will become the norm. |
|
| What
Is Competency-Based Training? |
| Competency-based training requires that trainees demonstrate
competence in every skill taught before they are permitted to
progress to training in the next skill. To be certified as having
completed the training successfully, the trainee must demonstrate
competence in all of the skills individually and in the entire
process that is the focus of the training. The final evaluation
requires demonstration of mastery of the skills in either (1)
documents written during a simulation of on-the-job writing
activities or (2) documents written during actual work activities.
Competency-based training contrasts sharply with training
that is judged to be successful if the trainee logs time in
a workshop or classroom. Writing skills can be learned only
over time with feedback from readers or a trainer and practice
of the skills. Workshops alone are too short to teach writing
skills, so The Business Writing Center requires follow up
activities and certification of competence before participants
can graduate from the workshop. |
|
Using
the Book for
Competency-Based Training |
|
The book, Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the
Twenty-First Century is set up to be used for competency-based
training. It contains standards for explicit business writing
and explanations of the best practices that attain the standards.
Each standard has the page number of the matching best practice
so a trainer can have trainees read the explanations of the best
practices that will help them meet the standards. Discounts for
volume purchases are available.
The Business Writing Center will make the Microsoft Word files
of the book available to businesses to customize for their use.
The cover can also be altered to include the company's name.
These are some of the arrangements that are possible, although
the Center will consider other arrangements that fit a company's
interests.
- A company might alter the Microsoft Word files as desired
and print copies of the book in-house.
- A company might alter the Microsoft Word files and have
the Center do a final edit and proofread before the company
prints the copies in-house.
- The Business Writing Center can alter the book using text
the company provides, then edit, proofread, and print a run
of the altered books for the company.
- The Business Writing Center can provide the name and address
of the printer we use so the company can change the document,
produce a camera-ready .pdf master, and arrange with the printer
to have the book printed.
The Business Writing Center is open to other alternatives.
Fees will depend on the arrangements. Contact The Business Writing
Center at businesswriting@hrtraininguniversity.com
to have us help you explore alternatives. |
| Competency-Based
Online Courses |
|
| BWC220 Explicit Business
Writing is a comprehensive, competency-based, online training
course teaching trainees the best practices explained in the
book, Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First
Century. The focus is on writing e-mails, memos, letters,
and reports that are so clear they cannot be misunderstood.
Tuition is $295. The course begins as soon as you register
because you work individually with the trainer. You may register
for the course by filling out the
registration form.
A company engaging The Business Writing Center for courses
or workshops must agree to allow us to certify participant
competence in explicit business writing within three months
after the workshop or course through a written competency
examination.
Contents:
Trainees master all of the following skills and demonstrate
their competence in writing examinations the trainer evaluates
carefully. They must demonstrate mastery of each skill before
advancing to the next skill:
Plan and organize.
- Have clear objectives.
- Provide information that suits the reader's knowledge
of the subject, educational background, technical expertise,
need for concrete explanations, and need for depth of knowledge.
- Include everything every intended reader needs to achieve
your objectives.
- Respond to requests by providing precisely what the person
asked for under the conditions specified.
- Give readers the information they need at the specific
points where they need it for maximum understanding.
- When readers have differing needs or abilities, write
different versions or sections of the document to match
the readers' needs and abilities.
- Present topics in the same order throughout and link all
the contents in each part.
Build the communication infrastructure.
- In e-mails, letters, and memos, write thanks, commendations,
and genuine statements of good will that build teams and
partnerships with clients.
- Present the information with consideration for the reader's
possible reaction to the subject and you.
- Use the tone and level of formality that fit the objectives
and the reader.
- Ask for and give feedback on the clarity and relevance
of documents and writing.
Prepare readers to understand and act.
- Write e-mail subject lines using words that alert the
reader to the contents, required action, or critical information
in the e-mail.
- In the introduction, explain everything readers need to
know to understand fully why they are receiving the document.
- In the introduction, describe all actions the reader is
expected to perform and any critical information the reader
must know.
- Summarize conclusions and recommendations at the beginning.
- Write a clear statement of the contents at the end of
the introduction so readers know what to expect and can
prepare for reading.
Provide a clear framework that guides readers.
- Put the information into clearly defined blocks that the
reader can read, understand, and remember, one block at
a time.
- For each information block, write an explicit opening
statement the reader can use to begin putting the block's
details into a framework.
- For lists with items that are each several paragraphs
or pages long, open the lists with statements of the contents
and open each list item with a description of the item's
contents.
- For lists with items that are a few lines long, break
out the lists with numbers and bullets.
- Present information in a clear visual blueprint so readers
can see the organization as they read.
- Use tables to organize the information so readers can
place the details into a clear framework.
- End the document with a conclusion that helps readers
achieve your objectives.
- Include feedback loops that reflect the importance of
the content and your assessment of the likelihood this reader
will understand or act as expected.
Use explicitly clear explanations.
- Write concrete, detailed descriptions of problems and
issues.
- Write requests that state directly, unambiguously, and
completely what you are requesting.
- Use key terms consistently.
- Fully explain the concept behind every new key term as
the reader encounters it.
- Have a clear focus for the document and for each part.
- Communicate technical subjects clearly to non-technical
readers.
- Write instructions and procedures that are complete and
concrete.
- Provide sufficient, relevant evidence for statements.
Write clear, concise paragraphs, sentences,
and words.
- Write concisely.
- Write clear, focused, organized paragraphs that help readers
identify, understand, and remember concepts.
- Write sentences that are complete, simple, clear, and
straightforward.
- Use only simple punctuation.
- Use words every intended reader will understand.
Write a final draft that has correct usage
(grammar, punctuation, and spelling) and uses clear formatting.
- Polish and proofread all documents.
- Use formatting that makes the text easy to read.
|
| Competency-Based
Usage Training |
Training in language
usage require a very different set of skills from those required
for structuring clear e-mails, memos, letters, and reports.
Usage training comprises grammar, punctuation, spelling, and
syntax. Language usage is more difficult to teach because
the use of language is deeply ingrained from learning the
language in childhood or from learning another language in
childhood that influences the adult's use of English.
Training in usage must occur over time in the context of
the trainee's own writing, with a focus on language, not structure.
Competency-based training that brings the trainee to mastery
of the skills may require months or years of training. The
courses that teach usage are BWC110
Basic Writing Skills Tutorial, BWC130
Individualized Writing for Nonnative Speakers of English,
and BWC85
Basic Grammar Essentials. Two additional individualized
courses focusing on language are available for executives
and managers: Writing
Coaching for Managers and Executives and Writing
Coaching for Nonnative Speaking Managers and Executives
Tuition for each course is $295. The course begins as soon
as you register because you work individually with the trainer.
You may register for the course by filling out the
registration form. |
| Competency-Based
Workshops |
| Competency-Based
Writing-Skills Training
The Business Writing Center will present a writing workshop
if the company agrees to have participants engage in follow
up activities to learn the skills to a mastery level and agrees
to allow us to certify participant competence in explicit business
writing within three months after the workshop or course. Participants
cannot learn the skills and demonstrate mastery solely from
training in a one-day to three-day workshop. The workshop simply
begins the process through which they will learn the skills
to gain competence. Participants must use the book, Explicit
Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century,
over time to learn the skills introduced during the workshop.
This is the certification process:
- During a one-day to three-day workshop, our trainers will
train participants in the basic skills involved in writing
e-mails, memos, letters, and reports.
- Participants must then practice the skills over time after
the workshop until they are able to demonstrate competence.
They may use one of these four methods:
- Using the book, Explicit Business Writing: Best
Practices for the Twenty-First Century, as a training
resource, participants practice the skills in their
normal business writing and evaluate the results in
their readers' responses to their writing.
- Having regularly scheduled sessions with one of the
trainee's company's in-house trainers who reviews the
participant's writing samples, explains problems to
the person, and prescribes reading from the text, Explicit
Business Writing.
- Enrolling in the one-on-one tutorial, BWC225 Explicit
Business Writing Competency Preparation (tuition $175),
in which one of The Business Writing Center's trainers
evaluates writing samples and coaches the trainee through
additional learning in preparation for the competency
examination. Enrollment requires that the trainee has
participated in a workshop.
- Enrolling in the online, individualized training course,
BWC220 Explicit Business Writing(tuition $295), in
which The Business Writing Center's trainers teach all
of the best practices and evaluate progress through
written samples. BWC220 is a complete course, so it
duplicates the training in the workshop, then guides
the trainee through additional practice activities and
written examinations to ensure that the trainee masters
the skills. However, BWC220 is so complete that trainees
who miss the workshop or who choose not to attend the
workshop can learn the skills from the online course
alone. The Business Writing Center will certify competence
at the end of the course.
- Group peer-training, in which the participants meet
regularly to evaluate one-another's writing samples
and ensure that all are gaining competence
- Within three months after the workshop, each participant
must submit a writing sample demonstrating the explicit
business writing skills. The writing must be supervised
and completed without assistance over a limited time. If
the trainee does not demonstrate mastery in the sample,
he or she must submit another case study sample. Cost of
additional case-study samples is $50 per sample.
- The Business Writing Center will certify the participant's
competence and graduate the person from the course. Each
participant will receive a graduation certificate for framing.
|
| Competency-Based
Language-Usage Training |
Language usage
(grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax) can similarly be
taught through a workshop and follow up training to help the
person achieve a higher level of proficiency. If The Business
Writing Center determines that a trainee's language usage requires
more work than we can provide in the follow up activities described
below, we reserve the option of requiring that the person enroll
in one of our individualized language usage courses to gain
as much competence as the person is capable of attaining. However,
because becoming competent in language usage is so dependent
on the trainee's efforts and requires long hours of study and
practice, The Business Writing Center cannot guarantee that
the workshop and follow up activities will result in the trainee's
attainment of language mastery.
This is the certification process:
- During a one-day to three-day workshop, our trainers will
train participants in basic language skills (grammar, punctuation,
spelling, and syntax).
- Participants must then practice the skills over time after
the workshop until they are able to demonstrate competence.
They may use one of these three methods:
- Regularly scheduled sessions with one of the company's
in-house trainers who reviews the participant's writing
samples, talks with the trainee or writes detailed notes
for the trainee, and prescribes reading from the text,
The Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers
- Enrolling in BWC226 Language Usage Competency Preparation
(tuition $175) in which one of The Business Writing Center's
trainers evaluates writing samples and coaches the trainee
through additional learning in preparation for the competency
examination
- Enrolling in BWC110 Basic Writing Skills Tutorial (tuition
$295) or BWC130 Individualized Writing for Nonnative Speakers
of English (tuition $295) in which The Business Writing
Center's trainers train the person in language usage to
the level of proficiency the person is willing and able
to attain during either course
- Group peer-training, in which the participants meet
regularly after the workshop to evaluate one-another's
writing samples and ensure that all are gaining competence
in language usage
- Within three months after the workshop, each participant
must write a response to a case study demonstrating correct
language usage. The writing must be supervised, over a limited
time. If the trainee does not demonstrate correct language
usage in the sample, he or she must submit another case study
sample. Cost of additional case-study samples is $50 per sample.
- The Business Writing Center will certify the participant's
competence and graduate the person from the course. Each participant
will receive a graduation certificate for framing.
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