How does business communication compare to other forms of written communication? (creative writing, journalism, academic writing).

Activity: Compare!

 

In the following activity, you will read two compare written documents in order to answer the following question:

 

·      How does business communication compare to other forms of written communication? (creative writing, journalism, academic writing).

 

 

Document 1: Poem

 

The Second Coming, First Stanza by William Butler Yeats

 

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity

 

 

 

Document 2: Business Document

 

A Workplace Email (adapted from Essentials pg 101).

 

Subject: Should we revamp our casual-dress policy?

 

Dear Mrs. Smith,

 

Please answer the question below about starting a casual dress day program for our office.

 

Many managers and some program coordinators have inquired about the possibility of dressing casually on Fridays. In my own opinion, casual attire may make people feel more at ease in the office. On the other hand, casual dress may negatively affect our productivity. Your answer to the following question will help determine a course of action.

 

Would you like to see one day a week set aside as a “casual dress” day?

 

I’d appreciate your response by May 5 so that we can discuss the matter at the next meeting, set for May 8.

 

Best wishes,

 

Alex

 

 

 

Compare the two documents based on the following criteria. Please feel free to ask me questions for clarification.

 

 

Creative Writing

(e.g. poems, novels, plays)

Business Writing

(e.g. memos, reports, resumes)

Purpose:

 

What is the purpose of this type of writing?

 

To inform? To persuade? To entertain? To solve problems?

 

 

 

-to entertain -to inform

 

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary and style:

 

What vocabulary and style of writing is acceptable?

 

Slang? Casual / Everyday? Abstract or technical terms?

 

 

 

Sentence and Paragraph Structure:

 

Are sentences and paragraphs short and simple or long and complex?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tone:

 

Informal? Causal/ Conversational? Impersonal, and serious?

 

 

 

Audience:

 

Who is the audience for this type of writing?

 

Does the audience play an important role in this type of writing?

 

 

 

Other:

 

List any other unique traits of this type of writing.

 

 

 

 

 

Activity: Compare!

 

In the following activity, you and your group will read two compare written documents in order to answer the following question:

 

·      How does business communication compare to other forms of written communication? (creative writing, journalism, academic writing).

 

 

Document 1: Newspaper Article

 

West Kelowna wildfire forces evacuations (Georgia Straight Online)

 

Publish Date: September 6, 2011

 

Around 550 people have been forced to flee from a wildfire burning in West Kelowna, B.C.

 

The 35-hectare fire in Bear Creek Provincial Park started at around 10 p.m. Monday (September 5), fire information officer Travis Abbey told the Straight by phone.

 

Bear Creek Provincial Park and more than 100 homes in the lakeside Traders Cove neighbourhood have been evacuated, Abbey said.

 

No injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire has not been determined, the Canadian Press reports.

 

 

 

Document 2: Business Document

 

Subject: Should we revamp our casual-dress policy?

 

Dear Mrs. Smith,

 

Please answer the question below about starting a casual dress day program for our office.

 

Many managers and some program coordinators have inquired about the possibility of dressing casually on Fridays. In my own opinion, casual attire may make people feel more at ease in the office. On the other hand, casual dress may negatively affect our productivity. Your answer to the following question will help determine a course of action.

 

Would you like to see one day a week set aside as a “casual dress” day?

 

I’d appreciate your response by May 5 so that we can discuss the matter at the next meeting, set for May 8.

 

Best wishes,

 

Alex

 

 

Compare the two documents based on the following criteria. Please feel free to ask me questions for clarification.

 

 

 

Journalistic Writing e.g. newspaper, magazine articles Business Writing(e.g. memos, reports, resumes)

Purpose:

 

What is the purpose of this type of writing?

 

To inform? To persuade? To entertain? To solve problems?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary and style:

 

What vocabulary and style of writing is acceptable?

 

Slang? Casual / Everyday? Abstract or technical terms?

 

 

 

Sentence and Paragraph Structure:

 

Are sentences and paragraphs short and simple or long and complex?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tone:

 

Informal? Casual/ Conversational? Impersonal, and serious?

 

 

 

Audience:

 

Who is the audience for this type of writing?

 

Does the audience play an important role in this type of writing?

 

 

 

Other:

 

List any other unique traits of this type of writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activity: Compare!

 

In the following activity, you and your group will read two compare written documents in order to answer the following question:

 

·      How does business communication compare to other forms of written communication? (creative writing, journalism, academic writing).

 

 

Document 1: Academic Article

Narrative Subjects Meet Their Limits: John Barth’s “Click” and the Remediation
of Hypertext by Laura Shecklford

 

In this analysis, I return to one of the initial strains of new-media theory, the “first-generation” hypertext theory of J. David Bolter, George P. Landow, and Richard A. Lanham, to examine the theoretical assumptions that led to an overestimation of hypertext and its effects on subjectivity. In relying on a constructivist theory of sociotechnological mediation, adapted from poststructuralism and deconstruction, to explain new media, their work runs up against and evidences important limits to this theoretical framework. Most notably, this constructivist approach leads these theorists to extend a print-narrative framework to explain digital hypertext.

 

Document 2: Business Document

 

Subject: Should we revamp our casual-dress policy?

 

Dear Mrs. Smith,

 

Please answer the question below about starting a casual dress day program for our office.

 

Many managers and some program coordinators have inquired about the possibility of dressing casually on Fridays. In my own opinion, casual attire may make people feel more at ease in the office. On the other hand, casual dress may negatively affect our productivity. Your answer to the following question will help determine a course of action.

 

Would you like to see one day a week set aside as a “casual dress” day?

 

I’d appreciate your response by May 5 so that we can discuss the matter at the next meeting, set for May 8.

 

Best wishes,

 

Alex

 

Compare the two documents based on the following criteria. Please feel free to ask me questions for clarification.

 

 

Academic Writing(e.g. journal article, essay) Business Writing(e.g. memos, reports, resumes)

Purpose:

 

What is the purpose of this type of writing?

 

To inform? To persuade? To entertain? To solve problems?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary and style:

 

What vocabulary and style of writing is acceptable?

 

Slang? Casual / Everyday? Abstract or technical terms?

 

 

 

Sentence and Paragraph Structure:

 

Are sentences and paragraphs short and simple or long and complex?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tone:

 

Informal? Causal/ Conversational? Impersonal, and serious?

 

 

 

Audience:

 

Who is the audience for this type of writing?

 

Does the audience play an important role in this type of writing?

 

 

 

Other:

 

List any other unique traits of this type of writing.