Back to: Writing Skills and Editing Principles
Learn how to manage the writing process with team members. We rarely write business documents from scratch or in complete isolation. Usually, we work with teams and redraft older versions.
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We offer specialised writing workshops for people who have to write reports, position papers and articles
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To manage the writing process you need to pay attention to the micro and macro level issues
| Micro level | Macro level |
| – Sentence structure / length – Word choice: technical – Grammar: verb tenses – Active and passive structure – Key verbs and nouns – Terminology, jargon – Linking words | – Organisation – executive summary, introduction, main body – Paragraphs and topic sentences – Key messages and proof – Consistent tone and style |
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Managing the writing process
| Section | Notes |
| What is the objective, the audience and the platform? | Agree on the management objectives 1. Objective: Raise awareness, update, persuade, for decisions 2. Audience: Eurosystem central banks, EU Institutions, managers 3. Platform: sent by PDF, published, print |
| Micro level – style of drafting, words, grammar, tone | Assess the overall writing style 1. Tone and register – technical vs. general 2. Consistent style (general, technical, etc.) 3. Clear writing – precision, impact |
| Macro level – structure and organisation | Organisation – sections, executive summary, introduction, main body Structure – Structure of sections and paragraphs Key messages – summarised with topic sentences |
| Readability | Appropriate levels of detail versus summary Technical vocabulary or general messages |
| Negotiation with team members | How to give feedback that focuses on our agreed approach How to influence (peers and managers) and coach (juniors) through feedback |