Business Writing

Lesson 3: Presentation and Format

Other Methods of Writing

Despite the preponderance of computers in the modern workplace, some businesses still prefer to produce documents using typewriters. This gives the impression of being slightly old-fashioned and of having traditional values, which can be useful for some politicians, lawyers, design companies and even publishers. For other businesses, it's important to come across as modern and up to the minute, in which case using a typewriter is a bad idea.

In general, using a typewriter will reduce the speed at which you can produce documents. It means that all your proof reading has to be done manually, and it makes error-correction more difficult. It is still acceptable to use white-out (tippex) to cover mistakes, provided it is done neatly, but excessive use of white-out (more than twice on a single page) creates a bad impression. If you make a lot of errors, it's better to re-type the document.

Use of hand-written documents should be kept to a minimum, as it is not considered to be very professional in most circumstances. Writing by hand is suitable for memos and for internal communication with colleagues and staff who clearly do not have difficulty reading your handwriting. It may also be used to add a personal touch to outgoing material, especially when gifts or compensatory packages are dispatched. We'll cover this further in lesson six.

Although it can be tempting to make documents look more elegant by using an elaborate handwriting style, this is usually a mistake, as it may make them difficult for people to read. A simple style, neatly written, usually creates a better impression. Most of you will have learned appropriate handwriting in school. If you want to make your handwriting look elegant, invest in a good quality pen. Biros are perfectly adequate for internal memos, but do not convey a good impression to clients and customers. Using a good quality pen is also advisable when you are signing typed or printed documents.

Use of pencils should be avoided, because it looks overly casual and leaves your documents more vulnerable to alteration and forgery. Unless you are a design company producing an informal, deliberately quirky note, use of metallic pens should also be avoided. In most cases, it is best to use blue or black ink. Red ink should never be used on the outside of envelopes and packages which are due to travel through the post, as this is the color which most post offices use to mark corrections.

When filling in forms, it's important to use blue or black ink. These days, many forms are read by computers which cannot properly interpret other colors. Unless advised otherwise, you should fill in forms using small, neat capital letters. Avoid any personal flourishes or non-standard styles, like ones with tails on them or struck-through sevens. Do not add the accents to foreign words. The more easily a computer can read your writing, the faster your submissions will be processed.

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