The pen and the sword: how to make the writing process work for you - Focus on Communications - business writing techniques

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, Feb, 2003 by Julie R. Linkins

For the most part, grammar-checking programs perform even more poorly than spell-checking applications. While they can highlight areas for the writer to examine more closely, such programs often misunderstand the writer's meaning and offer bad advice for corrections. Writers should invest in a good grammar book and take time to learn the basic rules of grammar and punctuation. Continuing education courses or in-service training can help employees refresh their skills.

When in doubt about the correct punctuation, writers should revise the sentence until they know for certain how to punctuate it. This frequently requires breaking a complex sentence into two or more simple ones.

Managing Time

This time-tested writing process divides a writing task into manageable steps. Some writers, however, tend to get stuck along the way and run out of time before completing all of the steps. To avoid such problems, writers can follow this general guide for dividing the time they have to complete a document: (2)

1) Prewriting              12.5%
2) Brainstorming           25.0%
3) Writing and organizing  25.0%
4) Revising for style      25.0%
5) Proofreading            12.5%

Thus, if a letter needed to go out in an hour, the writer would spend about 7 minutes answering the prewriting questions and developing a bottom line, 15 minutes brainstorming, 15 minutes writing and organizing, 15 minutes revising for style, and 7 minutes proofreading. These times are flexible, so 10 minutes brainstorming and 20 minutes writing would probably work well, too. The objective is to leave enough time to complete all five steps.

Conclusion

For most people, writing well requires study and practice. Law enforcement officers at all levels should approach learning this skill just like they learned marksmanship or investigative techniques: begin with the basics, split the task into steps, practice with feedback, and requalify regularly. With time and practice, the steps outlined here will become second nature.

Writing matters. It can help spend or save money, win or lose a case, and cause or avert danger. Members of the public expect their law enforcement officers to use all available tools to protect them and keep the peace; members of the department expect their leaders to do the same. Law enforcement executives must arm themselves with both the pen and the sword.

Endnotes

(1.) William J. Weightman, FBINA 206. Thc FBI hosts four 10-week sessions each year during which law enforcement executives from around the world come together to attend classes in various criminal justice subjects, including effective writing.

(2.) Ginny Field, "Time Management for the Writing Process," Lesson Plan, 1998.

Writing Resources

Stephen D. Gladis, Process Writing: A Systematic Writing Strategy (Amherst, MA: HRD Press, 1989).

Hodges' Harbrace College Handbook, 13th ed. (New York, NY: Harcourt Brace, 1998).

Online Writing Lab, Tidewater Community College, http://www.tc.cc.va.us/writcent/

William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1979)