A web page devoted to news and views on WordTask training courses and on good writing practices in general. FEEDBACK | PREVIOUS ISSUE | HOME PAGE INDEX OF ARTICLES | LIST OF WEBNOTES ISSUES February, 2000 IN THIS ISSUE-- NEWS BRIEF | COURSE NOTES | WORD PLAY | COURSE PROFILES NEWS BRIEF New course on writing RFPs now available Requests for Proposals (RFP) present unique challenges to the workplace writer. A new WordTask one-day course--Writing RFPs: Precision, Accuracy, Results!--addresses the tight deadlines and the task of specifying often elusive project requirements. RFPs can often be after-thought documents, the casualties of unforgiving deadlines. Combined with the time pressures, ill-defined project requirements can further undermine the best intentions. So out goes the RFP to the prospective suppliers, and in pour the requests for clarification. Recently, one of our clients lamented the submission of proposals, not one of which met the requirements laid out in their RFP! If this sounds familiar, WordTask has the remedy in its Writing RFPs: Precision, Accuracy, Results!. Beyond the grammar and style concerns, the course also looks at the organizational strategies for individual sections of the RFP. Participants learn to view the requirements from the reader's perspective. In addition to the course workbook, participants receive our laminated quick reference card, providing tips on writing process and style, for use at their desks after the course. To book your in-house session, contact us. [Course description] COURSE NOTES Taking Effective Minutes: A course whose time has come! In its short history, this one-day course has enjoyed instant popularity with both in-house groups and individuals. Taking Effective Minutes is a fast, economical, and practical way to brush up on minutes-taking techniques, before, during, and after the meeting. WordTask can run in-house sessions of the course with groups of four to 15 participants. As with all our writing courses, we encourage participants to bring their writing to the class, which allows us focus on the immediate application of the techniques. [Course description] WORD PLAY This is the third in our continuing series of sometimes vexing words that can lurk in everyday workplace writing. Visit the previous two issues of webNOTES for additional Word Play columns. may/can These are frequently confused modal verbs. "Can" expresses ability, as in "The system can record the previous night's data." By contrast, "may" expresses either likelihood or permission, depending on the context of the sentence. When we write "The system may record the previous night's data," we are declaring that, under certain conditions, the system might perform this action. Finally, the sense of permission is clear in this sentence: "Employees may enter the lab only when previously authorized." shall/will In modern English, particularly in North America, "shall" is used mainly to denote contractual obligation, as in "Contractors shall not disclose company secrets." To denote future, we use "will": "We will issue the press release next week." presently This word does not mean "now" or "currently," but, rather, "soon" or "eventually," as in this sentence: "Presently, we shipped the product, after numerous delays." nearly (and other single-word modifiers) "Nearly" is one of many single-word modifiers whose position in a sentence can radically alter the intended meaning. To avoid any unintended or confused meaning, always place words such as "nearly" as close as possible to the word being modified. Consider this sentence: "I nearly got a raise of ten percent." This statement means that you received no raise at all. What you mean to say is "I got a raise of nearly ten percent." Other words that can cause similar problems are "only," "scarcely," "merely," and "just." COURSE PROFILES THESE ARE ONLY THREE OF OUR MORE THAN 15 WRITING PROGRAMS TO CHOOSE FROM EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL MARKETING MATERIALS (2 days) Invaluable tips and tools for giving promotional impact to otherwise dense technical information. EDITOR'S TOOLKIT (2 days) The perfect blend of current editorial standards and practical suggestions for ensuring the buy-in of even the most reticent writers! PRESENTATION SKILLS (2 days) A comprehensive approach to the design and delivery of your presentation, with emphasis on summarizing complex information. FEEDBACK | PREVIOUS ISSUE | TOP OF PAGE | HOME PAGE | INDEX OF ARTICLES | LIST OF WEBNOTES ISSUES © 2000 WordTask Information Strategies