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I n the workplace, people transact much of their business using short forms of com- munication that many of us use outside of work almost every day: e-mail, instant messages, blog entries, letters, and so on. At work people usually write these forms

in much different ways than they (or we) do in our social and personal lives. The goal of this chapter is to reintroduce you to the forms that are already familiar to you and to tell you about the workplace customs for those that are new to you.

Of course, the fundamental strategy for using any of these forms is to take a reader-centered approach. When defining your communication’s goals and se- lecting its content, follow all the advice you’ve read elsewhere in this book. This chapter will help you learn the additional, special set of reader-centered strategies for writing these forms of correspondence. As you read the chapter and discuss it with your instructor, focus on learning how to do the following while working on the current project your instructor has assigned.

WEB To see more sample letters, memos, e-mails, instant messages, and blog entries, go to your English CourseMate at www .cengagebrain.com.

23 | Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and Digital Exchanges

1. Use the appropriate level of formality. 2. Take a reader-centered “you attitude.” 3. Help your readers find what they want quickly. 4. Give your readers the background information they need. 5. Learn the customs of your readers’ culture. 6. Follow format conventions and other customs.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THIS CHAPTER

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Copyright 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

How to Take a Reader-Centered “You Attitude” 471

In addition to describing strategies related to each of these objectives, this chapter describes important specific advice for writing the following forms: letters, memos, e-mails, instant messages, and blog entries.

HOW TO USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF FORMALITY To your readers, the various short forms of correspondence that you write at work will usually feel very much like direct, personal statements from you, especially in comparison with the longer documents, such as proposals and reports, they receive from you or others. Consequently, the emotional impact of the short forms can be much greater.

To elicit a favorable reaction, tune your style to match your readers’ expectations and preferences. This would be a simple task if only all workplace readers desired the same level of formality. However, they don’t. In some organizations, employees fill their instant messages and e-mails with such abbreviations as u and instead of you and B4 rather than before. Other organizations forbid instant messages at work, and e-mails are written in full, formal sentences without abbreviations.

Preferences also vary among individuals in the same organization—just as they do among college instructors, some of whom want to be addressed in a formal manner, while others feel comfortable receiving e-mails that begin, “Hey Prof.”

Therefore, the most crucial step in achieving the appropriate level of formality is to find out what your readers want. Pay attention to the level used in the com- munications others have written to your readers, look over communications written by your readers, and ask co-workers or even the readers themselves.

Sometimes, though, you have to guess. In these cases, it’s almost always best to lean heavily toward formality, especially if you are writing to people who work for a different employer. When your readers respond, you can see how formal their writing is and match your style to theirs. It’s also helpful to know that letters are usually more formal than memos, which are usually more formal that e-mails— although the degrees of difference can be very small or very large, depending on the organization. Communications written to managers and persons in other parts of the organization are often more formal than ones addressed to co-workers with whom the writer interacts daily.

HOW TO TAkE A REAdER-CEnTEREd “YOU ATTITUdE” You can also significantly increase their positive emotional response to your mes- sages by adopting what specialists in business correspondence call the “you attitude.” This strategy involves focusing your sentences on your readers’ needs, desires, and situation rather than on you or your subject matter. By crafting sentences in this reader-centered way, you reinforce all of the other reader-centered work you perform when planning and drafting your letter or memo. The following examples show how to rephrase sentences to convey the “you attitude,” not the self-centered “me attitude.”

LEARn MORE For additional advice about using the appropriate level of formality, turn to page 231 in Chapter 10.

TRY THIS Find a letter or memo from an office or instructor at your school, or from a company or organization, that is written in an impersonal or writer- centered way. Create a new version using the “you attitude.”

472 ChaPtER 23 Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and digital Exchanges

● Focus your sentences on your reader, not yourself. Sentences that use I as the grammatical subject appear to show that the writer is more concerned with himself or herself than with the reader.

I have arranged to have equipment needed for your fieldwork delivered to the Boise office.

You can pick up the equipment needed for your fieldwork at the Boise office.

● Phrase sentences so they create positive feelings in the reader. For instance, where the message is positive, use you.

We will reimburse you fully for the expenses resulting from this error.

You will receive full reimbursement for your expenses resulting from this error.

● Phrase sentences so they avoid creating negative feelings in the reader. For instance, avoid you when conveying criticism and other negative messages.

Your conclusions are inaccurate because you failed to account for all variables.

Because all variables were not accounted for, the conclusions are inaccurate.

HELP YOUR REAdERS FInd WHAT THEY WAnT QUICkLY When reading short communications, readers seem to be especially motivated to find quickly the information they want. The following guidelines describe ways you can help them locate it.

Guideline 1 | state your main point up front—unless you expect your readers to react negatively

What readers usually want most from a short communication is your main point. Do you have recommendations to make? Questions to ask? Important news to convey? Tell them right at the start.

By doing so, you not only satisfy your readers’ desire but also help them un- derstand the rest of your communication more quickly. When they learn your main point at the beginning, they can see more easily how the other parts of the communication fit together to form a coherent message.

When you lead off with your main point, you are using the direct pattern of organization. Knowing how much this pattern contributes to usefulness and per- suasiveness, some writers even include the heart of their message in the subject line of their memos: “Recommendation for Replacing the Afterburner,” “Phoenix Site Is the Best Location for Building Our New Factory.”

At times, however, you increase your chances of writing successfully by em- ploying a different pattern of organization, for example, when you expect the reader to have an immediate negative response to your main point, as might hap- pen when you are refusing a request or communicating some other decision or action that will not please the reader. In the vast majority of working situations, you can serve your readers best by stating your main point at the beginning of your letters and memos.

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Lacks you-attitude

Has you-attitude

Lacks you-attitude

Has you-attitude

LEARn MORE For more on the way that the direct pattern enhances usefulness and persuasiveness, go to pages 93–94 and 119–121.

Give Your Readers the Background Information They need 473

Guideline 2 | Keep it short Few things are as effective as brevity at helping readers find what they want. Without cutting substance, shorten your message in the following ways.

Guideline 3 | use headings and lists

Headings and bulleted lists, which enable readers to quickly grasp the organization and main points of long documents, are as helpful in short messages, including e-mail, as they are in long communications.

GIVE YOUR REAdERS THE BACkGROUnd InFORMATIOn THEY nEEd No matter which form of correspondence you use, your readers always want to know what your communication has to do with them. They want to be able to place it in the context of their job, their goals, and their areas of responsibility. There’s no shortcut for determining what background information you need to include in order to give this reader-centered context to your reader. However, it can be helpful to ask what part of a conversation your communication most closely resembles. If you are introducing a new topic, your communication will resemble the beginning of a conversation. Start by indicating how your message relates to your reader’s job, goals, and concerns. For instance, if you are making a recommendation, begin by stating the reader’s goal that it addresses: “To solve the quality control problem at the Charleston factory, I recommend . . .”

In contrast, if you are making a blog entry or sending an instant message, your communication may be like the middle of a conversation where you are responding to something the other person just said. No background will be needed: “Sorry that didn’t work. You might try . . .”

Much correspondence resembles a third situation, a conversation in which you want to return to a topic that was discussed a while ago. In this case, say something that brings your reader back to the issue you are writing about: “In response to your request, . . .” or “I have another idea about . . .”

As you write, think also about the information or explanation your reader will need to understand and act on your message. Various companies such as Microsoft

LEARn MORE For advice on using headings and bullets, turn to pages 189–194.

● Delete unnecessary words. You will find strategies for finding and deleting unnecessary words in Chapter 10’s advice for simplifying sentences (pages 237–238).

● Stick to the point. No matter how interesting a fact is to you or how proud you are of some accomplishment, don’t mention it unless your readers will find the information useful or persuasive.

● Provide only as much detail as your readers need. Offer to give them more information if they want it, but in your correspondence include only what readers really need.

STRATEGIES FOR KEEPING CORRESPONdENCE SHORT

474 ChaPtER 23 Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and digital Exchanges

and Apple have blogs called community forums where users of their products can post questions that other users or company employees can answer. One of the most frequent responses to questions is, “Please provide more details about what happened and what you did.” No matter what you are writing, it’s best to give your readers what they need at the start.

GLOBAL GUIdELInE: LEARn THE CUSTOMS OF YOUR REAdERS’ CULTURE Customs concerning correspondence vary from culture to culture—including not only regional and ethnic cultures, but also organizational cultures. With respect to organiza- tions, the differences can be relatively minor, though you should still learn and follow your employer’s conventions. For example, in most companies, employees initial memos by their names in the “From” line, while in others they sign at the bottom of the memo.

Some regional and ethnic differences are much more substantial. In Japan, let- ters customarily begin with a reference to the season. In some Spanish-speaking cultures, letters begin with statements that seem florid by the more straightforward conventions—for instance, in the United States.

Even paper sizes for letters differ from region to region. Word processing pro- grams let you choose between preparing documents for printing on 8½ 3 11 paper or the longer and narrower A4 paper. With the exceptions of the United States and Canada, A4 is the standard for letters around the world.

Some customs, though known, are better avoided because they hinder good communication. For example, at some workplaces writers are in the habit of pep- pering their correspondence with a variety of wordy and inelegant expressions that they do not use in conversation or other kinds of writing. Here are some examples of these correspondence clichés.

CorrespondenCe CliChé plain language

As per your request As you requested Prior to completion Before completing Contingent on Depending on Pursuant to According to In lieu of Instead of It has come to our attention We learned Enclosed please find We’ve enclosed; Here is Please be aware that Please note that

FOLLOW FORMAT COnVEnTIOnS And OTHER CUSTOMS One characteristic of reader-centered writing is that it conforms to the conventions with which your readers are familiar. You gain credibility by doing so because you demonstrate to your readers that you know “how things are done here,” that you belong. By following the conventions you also benefit from the many writers and readers in the past who have found that these conventions promote effective com- munication from the perspective of both groups.

LEARn MORE To learn how to identify background information your readers may need, turn to page 261.

Replacing correspondence clichés with plain language

Writing Reader-Centered Letters 475

Here, for instance, are three conventions that letters and memos share. All three also promote easy reading. ● Use single spacing. ● Separate paragraphs by a blank line. ● Use short paragraphs.

There are, of course, additional conventions specific to each of these forms of correspondence. Some concern format and some concern conventional ways to present your message within the formats. The rest of this chapter describes these conventions and highlights special considerations for each type of correspondence.

WRITInG REAdER-CEnTEREd LETTERS At work, you will usually use letters when writing relatively short messages to read- ers outside of your employer’s organization. These readers may include customers, clients, suppliers, and government agencies, among others.

Conventional Format for Letters Conventional formats for letters are described in the Writer’s Tutorial on pages 476–477.

special Considerations for Writing Letters The following considerations supplement the general guidelines for writing reader- centered correspondence given earlier in this chapter. ● Follow the conventions for opening and closing a letter. As noted on page 474,

conventions about the opening of letters vary considerably among cultures. In the United States and Canada, letters are generally more formal than memos and e-mails. Avoid slang and jargon. Choose a formal vocabulary—but avoid the correspondence clichés and bureaucratese described on page 474. ■ The introductory paragraph typically indicates the letter’s topic, explains

its purpose, and indicates, perhaps implicitly, its relevance to the reader. Often an introductory paragraph expresses gratitude or appreciation of the reader—for instance by thanking the reader for a letter to which the writer is responding.

■ Closing paragraphs often make a social gesture—for example by express - ing pleasure in working with the reader, offering to assist the reader, and the like.

● Use a formal greeting in the salutation. Consistent with the relative for- mality of letters, it is customary to use the reader’s last name in the saluta- tion: “Dear Mr. Takjeki:” “Dear Dr. Reynolds:” However, if you call the person by his or her first name in conversation or if the reader has signed a letter to you with only a first name, then it is acceptable (and expected) that you will use the person’s first name in the salutation.

● Create a formal signature block. At the end of the letter, writers usually end with a formal phrase, such as “Sincerely” or “Cordially,” and identify

WRITER’S TUTORIAL

Writing Letters

Superior Fabrication Company 176 Lafayette Court

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 517-235-9008

October 17, 2013

Mr. Anthony Fazio Capra Consultants, Incorporated 9223 Taft Street Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507

Subject: Request for Proposal

Dear Mr. Fazio:

We invite you to submit a proposal for the design and implementation of an inventory control system.

We manufacture conduit used to run electrical and computer cabling through walls, floors, and ceilings; some is used in outdoor applications, such as lighting systems in athletic stadiums. Our product inventory includes over 8,000 items. We use over 200 different materials. We wish to acquire a new inventory system because we too often discover that we don’t have materials needed to fill rush orders. Since our suppliers make most items specifically for us, we sometimes have to wait up to 30 days to obtain more if we have run out of a needed item.

We want the inventory system to tell us when to reorder commonly used materials. We also want it to help us deter- mine how many of our most frequently requested products to keep on hand.

The enclosed documents describe our current inventory system. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please call so I can send you additional information.

Sincerely,

Francis V. Sullivan

Francis V. Sullivan Project Engineer

Enclosures (2)

c. T. L. Klain FVS/tm

Letterhead (preprinted on the paper)

Date

Inside address

Subject line (optional)

Salutation (If you don’t have a person’s name, use the name of the department or company: “Dear Capra Consultants.”)

Complimentary closing

Enclosure notation

Distribution list

Writer’s and typist’s identification

Signature

Writer’s name Writer’s title

Address the reader formally (e.g., “Mr. Fazio”) unless the reader has invited you to use his or her first name.

Sign your name neatly. Readers can draw conclusions about writ- ers based on handwriting.

Include a subject line if it would be helpful to readers.

Use a colon in the salutation if you are addressing the reader by his or her last name, a comma if by his or her first name.

If it’s important to have a record of the items you enclosed, list them instead of giving the number of them.

If someone else typed your letter, include your initials followed by the typist’s initials in lower case.

● For letters that don't fill the page, place the content so its middle is slightly above the middle of the page.

● On letterhead paper, type your message with the same margins that the letterhead uses. Keep the same margins on subsequent pages.

TIPS

476 ChaPtER 23 Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and digital Exchanges

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Learn More at the Website To see additional sample letters, go to your English CourseMate at www.cengagebrain.com.

Also, go to pages 49, 76, 116, and 440.

Writing Reader-Centered Letters 477

Box 114, Bishop Hall Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056

December 10, 2013

Professor Thomas B. Weissman Department of English Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056

Dear Professor Weissman:

I am enclosing my final project for your technical writing course, a proposal for a crime prevention program directed to elderly citizens of Oxford. As you recall, I have

Letter Printed on Plain Paper (Not Letterhead) Place the return ad dress 1 inch below the top on either the right or left of the page.

Start the inside ad dress at least two returns below the date.

Type the date one return below the inside address.

WEB To see the full text of this letter, go to your English CourseMate at www .cengagebrain.com.

LEARn MORE For additional important advice about writing letters, go to pages 475 and 478.

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heading for second and subsequent Pages Place the header 1 inch from the top of the page.Helen Lostho 2 August 6, 2013

is the result we believe will be of most interest to your company. Should you have any questions about the report, please contact Anna Breslin, our new project leader, at (518) 776-1213.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with you on this project.

Sincerely,

Include the name of the reader, page number, and date.

Place two returns between the heading and the first line of text.

If a paragraph continues from one page to the next, leave at least two lines on each page.

Print second and sub sequent pages on blank paper.

Envelopes

Address: down 2 inches

over 5 inches

Return address: down 1/2 inch over 1/2 inch

W. F. Minkler 3700 Yonge Street Burnaby, CT 01438

Edward Layton, Director College Recruiting Department Willingdon Corporation 532 Cochran Avenue Arlington, VA 22209

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478 ChaPtER 23 Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and digital Exchanges

themselves by typing their full names and their title. Between these formali- ties, they sign their name in ink.

Sincerely,

lbrahim Ettouney Process Engineer

● Sign neatly. Readers draw inferences about writers based on their hand- writing. Usually writers sign their full name when first addressing a reader. Afterwards, they may sign only their first name to signal that they would be comfortable being addressed by their first name in the future.

● List the people to whom you are sending copies. As a courtesy to your readers, let them know who else will be reading your letter. Sometimes the list assures readers that the writer has conveyed the letter’s information to all who should have it. It also lets the reader know who might ask them about the letter’s contents.

WRITInG REAdER-CEnTEREd MEMOS Like letters and e-mails, memos are used for almost any workplace purpose that can be accomplished in a relatively short space, generally between a few sentences and a few pages. Unlike letters, though, memos are usually addressed to people inside the writer’s organization.

Memo Format The conventional format for memos is described in the Writer’s Tutorial on page 480. The memo’s distinguishing feature is the heading, which looks like a form with slots for the writer’s name, reader’s name, date, and the memo’s subject. Memos don’t include return addresses because none is needed for correspondence sent within the same company or agency.

special Considerations for Writing Memos The following considerations supplement the general guidelines for writing reader- centered correspondence given earlier in this chapter. ● Provide a specific, informative subject line. A heading that says

“Results” doesn’t tell the reader what the results are from. One that says “Gallagher Project” doesn’t communicate whether the memo asks ques- tions, provides answers, makes a proposal, or reports progress. Much more informative for current readers and future readers looking for information about the completed project is “Results of Turbulence Tests for Gallagher Project.”

● State the purpose and main point in the opening sentences. Memos usually get off to a faster start than letters. Use the direct pattern of orga- nization, as described on page 472 of this chapter—unless you have a very strong reason for using the indirect pattern.

Complimentary close Writer’s signature Writer’s name Writer’s title

LEARn MORE For more on the direct and indirect patterns of organization, Turn to pages 93–94 and 119–121.

Writing Reader-Centered Instant Messages 479

● Initial the memo. In most organizations, a writer’s initials substitute for a full signature. Put your initials by your name in the “From” line.

● List the people to whom you are sending copies. As in a letter, you are treating your readers courteously when you let them know who else will be reading your letter. You assure your readers that you have given the letter’s information to all who should have it. You have also alerted them to the pos- sibility of receiving questions about your memo from the individuals listed.

WRITInG REAdER-CEnTEREd E-MAIL Even more than for letters and memos, customs for e-mail vary widely. In many organizations, e-mail is written in a formal manner—much like a formal memo that appears on screen rather than on paper. The Writer’s Tutorial on page 481 provides advice about writing this type of e-mail effectively. In other organizations, e-mail content can be very informal—more like a long tweet.

In the workplace, people also reply to e-mail in a variety of ways. Many click on “Reply” and then type their response at the top of the message they received. Others integrate their message into the original one, for instance by inserting comments at the end of each paragraph of the original message. In a variation of that method, some writers copy parts of the original message into their own, and they follow the copied parts with their comments. To help readers distinguish their comments from the original message, they change the color of what they’ve copied or of their comments or they put their comments in all capital letters.

No matter how you construct your e-mails, provide informative subject lines. Many readers use subject lines to determine whether to even open messages in their overstuffed in-boxes. Your subject line can also help your reader find your earlier e-mails that they now want to review.

E-mail also has limitations. When you and another person exchange several messages on a topic, the relevant information may be scattered in multiple e-mails. When you and three or more people are corresponding, the exchanges can become very confusing.

WRITInG REAdER-CEnTEREd InSTAnT MESSAGES As fast as e-mail can be, instant messaging can be even faster. To read an e-mail, people must open their e-mail programs, pick the e-mail out from the other mes- sages in their in-boxes, and then open the message itself. This process can create a long delay between sending a message and readers reading it. In contrast, instant messages appear instantly on the computer, cell phone, or other screen of the intended reader. Consequently, they are noticed immediately and may receive an immediate reply. The exchange of instant messages can be so rapid that IM com- munication is called a chat.

Instant messages resemble the middle of a conversation, as described earlier in this chapter. As a result, very little introductory information is needed—often none at all. On the other hand, be careful that the speed of the interchange doesn't cause you to omit needed details that your reader will have to take time to request.

Brevity is important in online correspondence because so many of these communications are read on very small screens.

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WRITER’S TUTORIAL

Writing MeMos

second and subsequent Pages

Hasim K. Lederer 2 November 15, 2013

with many benefits for our company and our customers. These improvements can be made with minimal disruption to our employees, suppliers, and technical sales force if we schedule the transition carefully. The most important factors will be notifying our

If a paragraph continues from one page to the next, leave at least two lines on each page.

Place the header 1 inch from the top of the page.

Include the name of the reader, page number, and date.

Place two returns between the heading and the first line of text.

Print second and subsequent pages on blank paper.

LEARn MORE For additional important advice about writing memos, go to pages 478–479.

Learn More at the Website To see additional sample memos, go to your English CourseMate at www.cengagebrain.com.

Also, go to pages 11, 120, 190, 278, 499, and 547.

480 ChaPtER 23 Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and digital Exchanges

Rentscheller Company Interoffice Memorandum

To Dwight Levy From Natalie Sebastian Date June 17, 2013

Subject Results of Radon Testing at Worthington Warehouse

I’ve completed the radon testing in our Worthington warehouse. Results show slightly elevated, but not dangerous radon concentrations.

Test Results Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is present through out the envi- ronment. It can accumulate, sometimes to dangerous concentrations, in enclosed places, such as the basements of houses and other underground structures. The normal, or “background,” level of radon in our region is 0.40 ± 0.13 pCi/L (picocuries per liter of air). On all four above-ground floors of the warehouse, radon concentra- tions were within this range. However, our tests showed somewhat elevated concen- trations on the two underground floors. On Floor A, the readings were 0.63 pCi/L, and on Floor B, they were 0.70 pCi/L.

Recommendation Although the levels on Floors A and B are well below the levels considered danger- ous, it does seem advisable to reduce them, especially since radon concentrations can vary and may be higher at other times of the year. The easiest way to reduce radon concentrations on these floors is to increase the volume of outside air that circulates through them. We can detach the ventilation ducts for these two floors from the ventilation system used for the rest of the building. We can then re- route the ducts to two new, high-capacity blowers.

I can prepare cost estimates, if you wish.

The heading and these words are printed on the company’s memo paper.

Natalie provides a very specific subject line.

Her opening states the major finding of the tests.

Natalie provides background information she knows her reader will desire.

Natalie provides specific data from the tests, together with other information needed to interpret the results.

Natalie answers the major question she an ticipates her reader will have after reading the test results: “What should we do?”

If your employer’s memo paper doesn’t include a space for a subject line, help your readers by typing in the subject yourself.

Natalie’s closing suggests a next step but leaves the decision to her reader.

Headings help readers even in a short memo.

Writers initial memos in most organizations.

Memos always begin one or two returns below the subject line, regardless of how much blank space is left at the bottom of the page.

Writing e-MaiL

To: Elena Gambaro From: Armin Weiss Subject: New Security System Needed for Research Labs Cc: Fazil Naja� Attachments:

Dear Elena,

I strongly recommend that we install a new security system for all research labs.

Last week a technician from the Plastics Lab entered the Enzyme Lab without security authorization. This event resulted from an innocent mistake. However, it indicates that we need a greatly improved means of regulating entry into labs.

We are vulnerable to the loss of company secrets.

Untrained persons could accidentally expose themselves to very harmful sub- stances in the Enzyme Lab and several others.

My quick research suggests that �ngerprint-recognition systems are far superior to the keypad-and-password system we now have. No one can steal a �ngerprint. In addition, �ngerprint systems retain �ngerprints of unauthorized people who try to use them. Let me know if you'd like more information.

I also have concerns about safety in some labs. I'll explain them in a separate e-mail. _________________________________________________________________ Armin Weiss, Director Enzyme Laboratory Abcast Research 3700 Alcalá Parkway San Diego, CA 92110-3429 619-267-6408

Provide an informative, specific subject line. Readers use this line to decide whether to open an e-mail and to find e-mails they want to review after reading them the first time.

Highlight main points and make reading easier by using bullets.

Use short paragraphs and place blank lines between them to promote reading ease.

Tell readers how to contact you by using your e-mail system's "signature" feature.

Keep your e-mail to one topic. If you have a second topic, present it in a second e-mail.

Even as a student, create a signature that is business- like when contacting employers.

State your topic in the first sentence. If you have a recommendation, state it there as well, just as Armin does in this example.

In some organizations, writers include a greeting inside the e-mail. In others, writers don’t. Observe the custom where you work.

For headings, use all caps and underlining. Otherwise they may not stand out in your reader’s e-mail program. Don’t use all caps for an entire sentence or paragraph. All caps are difficult to read when they are used for more than several words together. The more briefly you write, the more forcefully your points will come across to your readers.

Writing Reader-Centered Instant Messages 481

WRITER’S TUTORIAL

482 ChaPtER 23 Writing Reader-Centered Letters, Memos, E-mails, and digital Exchanges

WRITInG REAdER-CEnTEREd BLOG EnTRIES A blog is a website that can be updated continuously. Its main feature is a list of messages organized with the most recent one at the top. Blogs are most familiar as personal online journals, social networking sites such as Facebook, or websites where readers can add their comments to ongoing discussions of politics, sports, science, knitting, and just about anything else. Messages may be accompanied by pictures, links, documents, and other digital items. Many blog websites have several lists of messages organized around different topics, all with the most recent mes- sage appearing at the top. Because the messages are posted at the website, they are all open at once, enabling people to read the original message, read other people’s responses to the original message, and send their own responses much more ef- ficiently than with e-mail, where people must open messages one by one.

Although blogs are extensively used for personal and social purposes, they were originally created for workplace use by teams of web designers and software engineers who wanted a way to keep track of their work in a single, easily acces- sible, online location (Starke-Meyerring, 2007). When blogs are used for workplace correspondence, access is usually restricted to a specific group of people who share a common goal. Because blogs are designed to be updated continuously, they are ideal ways for working teams to brainstorm, share progress, raise questions, and gather information related to their projects. Companies such as Dell Computer, Best Buy, and General Electric use blogs. For some workplace needs, miniblogs, which allow only very short messages, provide a convenient means of correspond- ing. Twitter, which limits messages to 140 characters, is an example of a miniblog.

Like all the technologies described in this chapter, blogs and miniblogs are easy for you to set up for free and use for group projects or other purposes at school.

TRY THIS Create a blog that you and a few classmates can use to work on a collaborative homework assignment or project. Go to www.blogspot.com, www.wordpress.com, or your English CourseMate at www.cengagebrain.com.