Writing Skills

This course focuses on how to harness the power of the written word. It will equip you with the tools and the confidence to produce convincing, persuasive and powerful documents that help you to achieve your objectives.

On the course you will cover the accepted rules of writing in plain and professional English; learning how to avoid the most common mistakes in punctuation, spelling and grammar, and how to keep your documents succinct and focused on the needs of the reader – rather than the writer. You will use various techniques to organise your key ideas and topics and ensure that your documents follow a logical flow and structure. You will also learn how to use persuasive writing to motivate your readers to take action. Throughout the course your learning will be supported through guided practice; written and oral exercises, analysis of different kinds of writing and examples of business documents.

This course is aimed at anyone whose work requires them to produce professional written communications and who wants to improve their accuracy, develop their writing style and sharpen their impact.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Follow the rules of grammar that matter, knowing which are obligatory, optional or defunct
• Get your point across clearly, using plain and professional English
• Use the appropriate vocabulary, style and tone to satisfy your reader‘s needs and expectations
• Follow a logical structure and sequence when producing written documents
• Edit and proofread to eliminate errors and streamline content

• The rules of grammar that you need to know and apply; those to question and use with discretion, and those to ignore
• Explanations of common grammatical terms
• The most misunderstood punctuation marks and how to use them properly; using punctuation to optimize clarity and brevity
• The most commonly misspelt and misused words, spelling rules, exceptions and pitfalls
• Building sentences and paragraphs that guide your reader through the document and give your writing rhythm and pace
• The virtues of simplicity and the principles of ‘plain English‘
• Selecting a style and tone that is appropriate to the audience and the content
• Planning your document and structuring the key points into a logical flow
• Editing and streamlining your writing for maximum readability
• Proofing techniques to catch stylistic, grammatical and related errors
• Techniques to persuade the reader to your way of thinking and to take appropriate action

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