Effective Writing and Correspondence

Now, let’s combine what you know about responsive and initiative documents with what you know about good writing in general. Do you remember those core assumptions about effective writing from Module 1? Both responsive and initiative documents should exhibit the general characteristics of a good e-mail or letter:

Good organization

• The purpose must be clear.
• The main message must be stated explicitly.
• Information must be arranged logically.

Reader focus

• The subject line (if any) should be informative.
• Responsive documents must have a responsive reminder.

Good mechanics

• Mechanics (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) must be correct.
• Visual elements (such as bullets and headings) must emphasize or make obvious the logical structure of a document.