John Mercer Writing Skills   Home Guidelines Services Clients  Background e-mail	Writing in a Day
	Description A narrowly focused program in business writing. Audience Those who have considerable experience in business writing and need to brush up on their skills or those who have considerable experience in business writing and whose audience has recently changed. Class Time 7 hours Class frequency One day Coaching One-half hour per person, on a separate day from the class sessions; can be done by mail, if need be. Outside work Assigned pre-course readings in Writing at Work by John Mercer and in The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White Approach Several weeks before the program begins, the instructor receives each participant's writing samples, the participant's self-assessment, and the assessment of one of the participant's readers. The instructor uses these samples to design the program and to assign pre-class work to the participant. The classroom approach is supportive but intense. The instructor uses the participants' everyday writing samples for instruction on the topics covered in the readings. Class size 12 maximum Outcome After the program, the participants should be able to produce writing that is more clear, persuasive, and efficient than the pre-class work. Such writing would have to be in a tone appropriate for the situation and be concise, well-organized, purposeful, and forceful.