1. Style as the way to express an idea

To have style the complete message should be readable, with clarified relationships among the sentences, concise, familiar language, and ideas presented in logical order. By style, we mean the way in which an idea is expressed. A written message with a good style is considered to be readable: it clarifies relationships among the sentences, uses concise and familiar language, presents ideas in logical order. While writing the first draft of a message, you should be more concerned with content than with style and mechanics – spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, capitalization, number expression, and word division.

Tone in writing refers to the writer’s attitude toward both the reader and the subject of the message. The overall tone of your written message affects your reader just as your tone of voice affects your listener in everyday exchanges.

The business writer should strive for an overall tone that is confident, courteous, and sincere; that uses emphasis and subordination appropriately; that contains nondiscriminatory language; that stresses the “you” attitude; and that is enhanced by effective design.

1. Write confidently. Confidence has a persuasive effect on your audience. If you believe in what you have written, write in such a way that your reader will also.

2. Use a courteous and sincere tone. It builds goodwill for you and your organization and increases the likelihood that your message will achieve its objective.

3. Use appropriate emphasis and subordination. Let your reader know which ideas you consider most important. To do so, use appropriate techniques.

4. Use nondiscriminatory language. Competent communicators make sure that their writing is free of sexist language and free of bias based on such factors as race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, and disability.

The style and tone must match the message and its reader. It is therefore important for you to be able to analyze your relationship with your reader(s) and then to choose the appropriate language and tone for your message.

Stress the “you” attitude. The “you” attitude emphasizes what the receiver (the listener or the reader) wants to know and how he or she will be affected by the message. Emphasize how the reader will benefit from doing as you ask. In some situations, however, you may want to avoid focusing on the reader; these situations all involve conveying negative information.

The physical appearance of your document also affects readability. Contemporary word processing software makes it easy for writers to design their documents for maximum impact and effectiveness. There is no denying that an attractively formatted document, with legible type and plenty of white space, will help you achieve your communication objectives.

Design your documents for readability. The term readability refers to the ease of understanding a passage based on its style of writing and physical appearance. The most important design guidelines can help you achieve impact and readability:

1. Keep it simple. Use a simple, clean, and consistent [последовательный] design.

2. Use white space to advantage.

3. Select a suitable line length and type size.

4. Determine an appropriate justification format /left margin/.

5. Format paragraphs correctly /single spacing – indenting the first line/.

6. Emphasize words and ideas appropriately /larger type size, boldface lettering, italic type, underlining, solid capitals/.

7. Format lists for readability /numbered or bulleted lists/.

8. Use graphics only when they help you achieve your report objectives.

The more familiar you are with basic stylistic principles, the easier it will be to write your first draft and the less editing you will need to do later.