Category Archives: Grammar

6 Key Points for Relevant Document Design

Posted in Grammar, Punctuation, Visual Design by

Many professional writers are expected to know how to both write documents as well as design them with the use of visuals to support the text. Designing and writing a document goes hand in hand. In my Visual Document and Design class, I learned 6 important points pertaining to visual rhetoric that writers and designers must consider when designing documents:

 

  1. Arrangement

This refers to the order of the document. The document designer must make sure that the visual elements are organized in such a way that they relate to the text. The arrangement of a document can be sequential, which has paragraphs of text, or hierarchical, which contains text with levels of headings. Arrangement also considers the spatial orientation of the visual elements and it allows the writer to maintain objectivity in their content.

  1. Emphasis

Certain text and visual elements will stand out more than others. Designers and writers must identify what content they want to emphasize in their documents for audiences to notice. This is achieved simply by bolding or italicizing words or phrases or by using larger font types, adding colour to images and text, and using headings or bullet points. Arrangement and emphasis often work together as they pertain to the organization and visual structure of the overall document.

  1. Clarity

Clarity strategies help the receiver decode the message, which allows them to understand it quickly and completely. In text, clarity must be addressed from word to phrase, from sentence to paragraph and from a section to the entire document. For visual elements, clarity must be considered when choosing typefaces, creating charts and using illustrations. Clarity can often be achieved by ensuring that your content is concise and straight to the point, which is the next key point in document design.

  1. Conciseness

In visual terms, conciseness refers to the complexity of the design. This includes the number of headings and lists, lines and boxes, colors and gray scales, the detail of the drawings and data displays, the variations in the size, and the spacing of the text. Conciseness does not mean that visual elements should be minimally designed. It simply means that writers and designers should always consider how their content speaks rhetorically. You must ask yourself: Does my content help the audience understand the purpose of my work or does it misguide them?

  1. Tone

Your tone can indicate whether your document is professional or informal, humorous or serious and academic or nonacademic. You can also reveal tone through your selection of visual elements, which includes typefaces, use of space, pictures, icons and countless other design elements. Additionally, your tone plays a crucial role in building ethos because your tone of voice—verbally or visually—tells readers a lot about your character.

 

  1. Ethos

Tone and ethos both coincide with one another when designing documents. In any communication, the speaker or writer tries to establish a trusting relationship with the listener or reader. To accomplish this, the sender of the message must present a type of character that will appeal to the audience. This will enhance the writer’s credibility. Visual language also needs to build trust to respond adequately to the rhetorical situation. For example, a formal tone can be achieved by using letterheads or logos in your document.

11 Copyediting Tips

To become a strong professional writer, you must remember that editing and proofreading is a very important part of the process. But this does not mean that you should quickly scan your work. You must consider specific details with regard to grammar and punctuation to ensure that your writing highlights exactly what you are conveying to your audience.

Remember that when searching for grammar and punctuation errors, you must be certain about the key points and facts that pertain to your writing piece, whether it is an essay, article or short story. This is all essential during the copyediting process after you write your first draft.

I learned many copyediting tips from my Fundamentals of Editing class, which specifically focused on grammar, punctuation and a few areas of substantive editing to help progressing professional writers identify common errors in their writing before publication. The following 11 copyediting tips from the class are important to keep in mind when writing any professional documents (articles, government documents, speeches, etc.):

  1. Always use the spelling format that pertains to your locations. For example: Canadians spell colour, while Americans spell color.
  2. Make sure to appropriately use common words that sound alike. This includes:
    • Than/Then Example: I have less than $50 in my bank account. First, I want to get dinner and then, we can watch a movie.
    • Their/There/They’reExample: I have their cat (refers to someone’s possession/belongings).We went to France and stayed there for a week (refers being in a place or position).

      Sam and Alex said that they’re coming to the party as well (a contraction of they and are).

  1. Insert commas between the components of a series but NOT before the final and, or or nor. For example: Jane is responsible for pension investments, accounting, governance and compliance.
  2. Always attempt to write in present tense, unless you are speaking about an event in the past. For example, Barack Obama is the president of the United States. George Bush was the president of America years ago.
  3. Remain consistent when referring to a person by their first name while writing. Do not switch to referring to them by their surname.
  4. Spell out whole numbers before 10 (for example, one, two three). Use figures for numbers that are 10 and above (for example, 10, 11, 12).
  5. If you refer to an organization several times, bracketed abbreviations can be used. For example, York Federation of Students or YFS.
  6. Always capitalize the first letters of the names of educational institutions. For example, York University, Seneca College.
  7. For academic degrees, try to follow the original style for abbreviations in your writing. For example, BA, MBA, BsC.
  8. Always use the full forms of words. For example, department, NOT dept.
  9. Spell out the names of all places. For example, United States NOT US. For Canadian provinces and territories, use the following abbreviations after the name of a community:
    ·      Alta. ·      N.B. ·      N.S. ·      Que.
    ·      B.C. ·      N.L. ·      Ont. ·      Sask.
    ·      Man. ·      N.W.T. ·      P.E.I.