Improving Technical Writing Skills

Vocabulary flashcards based on the lecture notes provided, covering topics from technical writing skills improvement, including business letters, memoranda, minutes of meetings, incident reports, and letters of inquiry and request.

Minutes of Meeting

Written or recorded documentation that informs people of what happened during a meeting and defines the next steps planned.

Heading (Minutes of Meeting)

Complete name and address of the company.

Title of the Meeting

Includes the date, day and the starting time of the meeting.

Attendance (Minutes of Meeting)

Complete list of names of all the attendees of the meeting.

Call to Order

Consists of exact time of the scheduled meeting.

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting; attendees may correct or revise previous minutes.

Business Arising

Agenda from the previous meeting that are needed to be reviewed and acted upon.

New Business

Heart of the minutes, includes specific details.

Adjournment

Exact time the meeting was ended.

Signature (Minutes of Meeting)

Signature over complete minutes of the meeting.

Memoranda

Brief and formal letters used to communicate important policies, activities and reminders in an office setting

Enclosure

An optional part of a memo which includes attachments.

Subject (Memorandum)

The topic or title of the memo.

Parts of a Memo

Typically contains four parts: Heading, Opening, Body, and Closing

Business Letters

Professional communication sent from a company or individuals to another, or from customers, personnel and stakeholders.

Letterhead

Company name, address and contact number

Dateline

Month, day, and year when the letter was written.

Inside Address

Complete name, job title, position, department/division and complete address of the company

Salutation

Composed of "Dear" followed by the last name of the receiver.

Body of the Letter

Message to the reader.

Complimentary Close

Standard closing remarks.

Signature (Business Letter)

Signature of the sender of the letter.

Full Block Style

All parts start at the left margin.

Modified Block Style

All paragraphs and inside address start at the left margin while heading, dateline and complimentary close start at the right margin of the paper.

Simplified Style

Heading is placed at the center upper part of the letter.

Semi-block style

Like full block but with indention to its paragraph and use standard punctuation

Application Letter

Composed persuasively whenever you are applying for your target job.

Letter of Inquiry

Letter that asks for particular information or assistance

Letter of Reply or Response

Written in response to a letter of inquiry which directly answers all the inquiries regarding the company’s products or services.

Letter of Request

Main purpose of using this letter is to request for something you need.

Incident Report

Narrates incidents prior to, during and after a situation suddenly occurred.