Workplace Communications » (4th Edition)

George Searles, Mohawk Valley Community College

Workplace Communications: The Basics is the first text specifically intended for applied writing courses in community college and other settings where many students are academically under-prepared and therefore intimidated by lengthy, theory-intensive tests.

Preface     ix
Introduction     1
The Keys to Successful Communication: Purpose, Audience, and Tone     3
Purpose     4
Audience     5
Tone     8
Exercises     20
Memos and E-mail     33
Memos     34
E-mail     35
Exercises     44
Checklist: Evaluating a Memo or E-mail     45
Business Letters     51
Letters     52
Formats     52
Checklist: Evaluating a Letter     71
Exercises     72
Effective Visuals: Tables, Graphs, Charts, and Illustrations     77
Principles of Effective Visuals     78
Tables     80
Graphs     81
Line Graphs     82
Bar Graphs     83
Charts     84
Flowcharts     84
Organizational Charts     84
Gantt Charts     85
Circle Charts     85
Illustrations     88
Photographs     88
Drawings     89
Diagrams     94
Checklist: Evaluating a Visual     96
Exercises     96
Short Reports: Page Design, Formats, and Types     99
Page Design     100
Report Formats: Memo, Letter, and Booklet     107
Types of Reports     120
Incident Report     120
Progress Report     124
Recommendation Report     129
Travel Report     130
Exercises     135
Checklist: Evaluating a Memo Report     135
Checklist: Evaluating a Letter Report     136
Checklist: Evaluating a Booklet Report     138
Summaries     141
Types of Summaries: Descriptive, Informative, and Evaluative     142
Summarizing Print Sources     145
Summarizing Nonprint Sources     145
Checklist: Evaluating a Summary     153
Exercises     153
Mechanism and Process/Procedure Descriptions     157
Mechanism Description     158
Checklist: Evaluating a Mechanism Description     161
Exercises     168
Process/Procedure Description     170
Checklist: Evaluating a Process/Procedure Description     172
Exercises     177
Instructions     179
Instructions     180
Avoiding Liability     184
Checklist: Evaluating Instructions     186
Exercises     192
Job Application Process: Letter, Resume, Interview, and Follow-Up     195
Application Letter     196
Resume     202
Traditional Resume     209
Scannable Resume     213
Interview     218
Follow-up     220
Checklist: Evaluating an Application Letter, Resume, and Follow-Up     222
Exercises     223
Oral Presentations: Preparation and Delivery     233
Preparation     234
Preliminaries     234
Rehearsal     238
Delivery     239
Introductions and Conclusions     239
Vocal Factors     241
Physical Factors     242
Eye Contact     242
Audiovisuals     243
Enthusiasm     253
Checklist: Evaluating a Public Speaker     252
Exercises     253
Proposals     257
Solicited Proposals     258
Unsolicited Proposals     258
Internal and External Proposals     261
Formats of Proposals     261
Objectives of Proposals     261
Checklist: Evaluating Proposal     286
Exercises     286
Long Reports: Format, Collaboration, and Documentation     289
Format     290
Transmittal Document     290
Title Page     290
Abstract     292
Table of Contents     292
List of Illustrations     292
Glossary     292
Text     298
Visuals     298
Pagination     298
Collaboration     298
Documentation     303
Bibliography     305
Parenthetical Citations     310
Checklist: Evaluating a Long Report     313
Exercises     330
A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism     331
Index     339