Writing, Rhetoric & Persuasion, Week One

Writing Exercises for…

Q1:

I am writing to offer multi-faceted employable skills to meet your well-reputed organisation's needs. My strong interest in your organisation is based on long-term involvement with people. I have equal interest in the field of publishing based on data.

Q2:

Marie and Jaryk attended the conference but Charles decided to stay at home.

Q3:

Would the main clause be Collingwood sports jumper and the subordinate clause be Cousin?

Q4:

Like many other ways of writing, a piece of persuasive writing uses a number of different strategies. Some of the ways to persuade the reader include gaining the reader's attention, interest or desire for the product or service and the willingness to take action. Two general strategies underlying any type of writing would be that an effective piece of writing will consider its purpose and the needs of the receiver. In any one of the arrangements above or when it is needed, persuasive writing also uses these two strategies.

Q5:

Different seating arrangements can affect communication between members in a meeting. Round or oval tables are ideal as people see one another's actions and reactions. Rectangular tables are less ideal, because they give power to the people at the other end of the table. No tables give informality but if you sit above the rest, you have more power whereas if you sit below other people, then they have the power. In any one of the arrangements above, it is shown how seating arrangements can affect communication depending on what style of table is used or when no table is used.

Professional Writing Exercises for…

1a:

Mobile, Costly, Schedule, Routine, Reliability, Strike

1b:

"The Reliability of Local Transport."

1c:

The drivers are planing to STRIKE due to the inflexible SCHEDULE of the local transport system. In order to keep the system MOBILE, the ROUTINE will need to be made more flexible but at the same time keeping the ticket prices fair so that it doesn't become too COSTLY for the passengers.

1d:

The drivers are planing to STRIKE due to the inflexible SCHEDULE of the local transport system. To maintain the RELIABILITY of local transport and keep the system MOBILE, the ROUTINE will need to be made more flexible, but at the same time keeping the ticket prices fair so that it doesn't become too COSTLY for the passengers.

2:

Skin cancer is one of the biggest killers in today's world. The best preventative is to cover up completely. It is important to always remember to wear a hat and clothing so as to cover all vital areas. You should apply sunscreen liberally to any area remaining exposed to the sun. To avoid or minimise your risk of skin cancer, always remember these simple rules.

3:

There are four sub-clubs to choose from at our social centre. One of our more popular clubs is the fishing club. Members meet up on the third Saturday of every month at dawn. Locations vary depending on how many members are attending.

Another popular club is the chess club. Members meet on the second and fourth friday of every month. There is a small joining fee, then the rest of the meetings are free, however if you wish to participate in competitions, you will need to pay the entry fee which varies depending on the competition itself. Trophies are awarded to the best players at the end of the financial year.

The Archery club meets only twice a year. Reason for this is members must travel to our country estate to participate. Membership for this costs $250 annually, but this also covers the cost of coach plus two nights, breakfast and dinner also inclusive. Members must book six months in advance to ensure they get a seat on the coach.

Our final activity is swimming which is available daily. There is no fee as the swimming pool is located in the roof of this company, however, if you wish to use the pool, you must add your name to the sign sheet 25 hours in advance to ensure you book a lane to use. There are a maximum of four swimmers per lane in our twelve lane pool, and with over two hundred employees, the lanes get filled up very quickly. As with all the other sub-clubs, it is essential you follow all these rules when it comes to booking as they are all very popular, and if you don't book in advance, you can and will miss out.

4:

Two different strategies for making a paragraph easier to read would be to include shorter sentences.  Varying the lengths of the sentences and keeping to a rhythm in writing so that it's easy for the reader to follow also makes reading a paragraph a much easier read.  Including a topic sentence, and preferably a conclusive sentence also helps the readers in staying focus on the subject, this also helps prevent the paragraph jumping around from one topic to the next thereby confusing the reader.

5:

a) The sentences and paragraphs organise the information by offering a topic sentence in the beginning of the paragraph and following it through with comment sentences.  Sentences help if they each have a clause and an adjective/verb (hope I'm saying this right), it doesn't really matter if it's written in passive or active voice, although active voice is the better alternative of the two, and it helps too to keep the sentences on a positive note.

b) Two techniques that help to organise the information into a paragraph would be to include a topic sentence so that the reader knows what they are reading about, and also by keeping the sentences relatively short and simple.  If it can be broken up into two independent sentences that aren't too short, then it should be done to save confusion.

c) Three techniques that could be used to emphasise a point could be to use a different font style or use italics to highlight certain words.  Continue using keywords throughout the paragraph to bring home a key point, include a conclusive sentence that echos the topic sentence in a paragraph.

d) An appropriate tone to use in a set of instructions to employees would be a firm, but crisp tone used in a positive manner, but excluding all personal feelings from it and excluding any sexist words like he/she or derogatory words.

e) The difference between a negative and positive tone would be the choice of words used.  "You're not qualified to file these papers" (negative) could perhaps be rephrased to, "Once your security clearance has been approved, we can include filing secure documents as part of your duties".  Another example would be a notice that may include the following sentence:  "All overweight personnel will be required to do a fitness test" could perhaps be rephrased to "Annual fitness checks are now due for personnel with any health issues."

f) Layout is how words are arranged in text on screen or in print.  It's the first thing that people see when they view a document and gives a hint of professionalism if the correct layout for the subject has been used.

TO BE CONTINUED