Please note there is a worksheet below the video. Please print this out for the task.

Writing sends a message to others about who we are. That means if your writing has a clear objective, your reader will consider you or your organization to be someone who is focused on action. And let's remember that often we may only have written contact with our audience, we may never have met them. So a clear objective tells them that we are focused on action.

If the writing is well-organized, it says that we ourselves are able to organize our thoughts and our actions.

And if it's concise, that means the right amount of information to support the objective. And if it's written clearly, what does that tell others about who we are? Clear and concise writing says that we are efficient. Obviously, if it takes you 50 words to say something when you only need 20, well, maybe you're going to need $50,000 for your project, but you could do it with $20,000. So it tells our audience that we are efficient.

Our choice of language, by using easy to understand, clear, commonly used words, and not using unnecessary terminology, shows that we are transparent, that we want to be understood.

And if our style keeps our readers' interest, keeps them alert and engaged. It shows that we are approachable.

And if we are accurate, the grammar, the spelling, the punctuation, if they are all in order, it shows that we are paying attention to detail.

So our writing can tell others that we are:

• Action-focused.
• Organized.
• Efficient.
• Transparent.
• Approachable.
• Have attention to detail.

That's a great message to send.

But if your writing is all over the place, if the objective comes at the end, if it has too much information, and unnecessary, unclear language, and if it's dull and old-fashioned, and it's full of errors - what does that say to readers about you? That you don't know what you're doing, you're all 'over the place', you're indirect, you're not trying to be transparent, you're old-fashioned, and you're careless, too.

We're going to illustrate that with an exercise. In this task, I'm going to ask you to look at the printout, the handouts, and you're going to see two pieces of writing. One is called Corruption in Cameroon, Example A, and Example B has the title Protecting Children Through Birth Registration in Rural Nepal.

Your task is not a comprehension task. I'm not going to be asking you questions afterwards, and I don't want you to read either of them more than once, because a busy reader should only need to read whatever you write just one time.

So read through each, read through Corruption in Cameroon, and then look at the different aspects, and then look at Birth Registration in Nepal, and do the same.

And what you're looking for is as follows.

1. Does that writing have a clear objective? Yes, no, or marks out of 10, or any thoughts about that.
2. Do you feel that it's well organized?
3. Was it clear, brief and concise?
4. Was the language easy to understand and appropriate?
5. Was the style interesting? Would you like to read more?
6. And did you notice any errors or not?

And then do the same for the second one. So what you need to do is to open the document, pause the video, and in a few moments we'll look at those together and discuss.

EVALUATION OF THE TEXTS

In the case of "Corruption in Cameroon," several issues arise, notably:

• Lack of clarity regarding the objective, which is buried within a long paragraph.
• Poor organization suffers due to the paragraph's length and the scattering of essential information.
• Sentences are overly long , hindering comprehension.
• There's an abundance of abstract ideas and repeated words, leading to a dull reading experience.

Overall, the text's structure and language complexity make it challenging for readers to engage with.

The second text:

• Demonstrates better organization.
• Demonstrates better clarity.
• Has a clear subject title is clear.
• Has a structure guides readers effectively through problem analysis and supporting information.
• Features shorter sentences, facilitating comprehension.
• Has a logical flow of ideas.

While there is room for improvement in making the text more engaging, it is overall well-structured, clear, and correct, making it a superior example of professional writing compared to Example A.

So having looked at those, take a look at your own writing, something you've written recently, and evaluate that too. Ask yourself:

• Does the objective come through clearly and quickly?
• Is it well organized? Can the reader easily follow your argument?
• Is it concise? Is it clear?
• What about the language? Are you trying to show off your language knowledge or are you trying to let your ideas show themselves?
• And do you think it's interesting?
• And is it correct?