Video Tutorials

Most links in the table below take you to a Pros Write post made up of (a) a brief motivation for learning about a writing topic, (b) a video tutorial, (c) the sample document used in the tutorial, and (d) related research. To hear the teaching philosophy behind these tutorials, check out Lectures in a writing class. Oh my! and Amateurs need explicit knowledge — not platitudes.

The video tutorials are between 9 and 15 minutes long. I hope to find time to update/shorten them in the future. Their content expands on the chapters in the 3rd and 4th editions of my co-authored workbook, Revising Professional Writing in Science and Technology, Business, and the Social Sciences (RPW). 

Main TopicBlog PostRPW Chapter 
All3 Lessons from Great Performers for Workplace Writers (or “Why do practice exercises?”)Any 
Analyzing Rhetorical ContextGet clear about your purpose before you write for workplace readersCh 1 (Purpose) 
 Learn to analyze a workplace audience to deliver an effective messageCh 2 (Audience) 
Developing ContentInsure readers understand your message with the right contentCh 3 (Informative Prose) 
 Persuade readers with an appeal to logosCh 4 (Persuasive Prose) 
 Help your readers see what you mean with informative graphicsCh 5 (Informative Graphics) 
Organizing ContentImprove your reader’s efficiency — and win their gratitude — with bottom line placementCh 6 (Bottom Line Placement) 
 Manage what your readers think you mean with effective paragraphsCh 7 (Paragraph Unity) 
 Create logical flow between sentences to promote accurate and efficient readingCh 8 (Cohesion) 
 Lead your reader through your content with transitionsCh 9 (Transitions) 
 Think long-term and be kind to readers with well-formatted documentsCh 10 (Format) 
Managing StyleLearn to identify needless words and promote clarityCh 11 (Conciseness) 
 Use parallel structure in lists to increase reading efficiencyCh 12 (Parallelism) 
 Choose active vs. passive voice strategicallyCh 13 (Voice) 
 Choose your words carefully — when it countsCh 14 (Word Choice) 
 Control your tone to avoid negative attention from your readerCh 15 (Tone) 
Mastering MechanicsPunctuation (Comma Splices & Sentence Fragments)Ch 16 & Ch 17 
 Subject-verb AgreementCh 19