Video Tutorials

The video tutorials linked in the table below are between 4 and 12 minutes long. Their content supports some of the chapters in the 4th edition of my co-authored workbook, Revising Professional Writing in Science and Technology, Business, and the Social Sciences (RPW) and the new e-learning course, The Expert’s Writing Toolkit: Principles and Practice. 

Links in the table take you to a Pros Write blog 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.

Main Topic	Video Tutorials	Blog Posts	RPW Chapters
All	Language Standards Style Guides as Standards Plain Language Writing Project Management Writing Processes Writing Collaboration	3 Lessons from Great Performers for Workplace Writers (or “Why do practice exercises?”)	Any
Analyzing Rhetorical Context	Purposes for Writing at Work	Get clear about your purpose before you write for workplace readers	Ch 1 (Purpose)
	Audience Analysis: Reader Readiness for a Message Audience Analysis: Writer-Reader Relationships	Learn to analyze a workplace audience to deliver an effective message	Ch 2 (Audience)
Developing Content	Developing Informative Prose	Insure readers understand your message with the right content	Ch 3 (Informative Prose)
	Developing Persuasive Prose	Persuade readers with an appeal to logos	Ch 4 (Persuasive Prose)
	Developing Informative Graphics	Help your readers see what you mean with informative graphics	Ch 5 (Informative Graphics)
Organizing Content	Clarifying the Bottom Line Message	Improve your reader’s efficiency — and win their gratitude — with bottom line placement	Ch 6 (Bottom Line Placement)
		Manage what your readers think you mean with effective paragraphs	Ch 7 (Paragraph Unity)
	Linking to Create Cohesion	Create logical flow between sentences to promote accurate and efficient reading	Ch 8 (Cohesion)
	Linking Information with Transitions	Lead your reader through your content with transitions	Ch 9 (Transitions)
	Making Structure Visible	Think long-term and be kind to readers with well-formatted documents	Ch 10 (Format)
Managing Style	Concise, High-Impact Sentences	Learn to identify needless words and promote clarity	Ch 11 (Conciseness)
		Use parallel structure in lists to increase reading efficiency	Ch 12 (Parallelism)
	Linking Information with Verb Voice	Choose active vs. passive voice strategically	Ch 13 (Voice)
	Style with Word Choice	Choose your words carefully — when it counts	Ch 14 (Word Choice)
	Tone with Word Choice	Control your tone to avoid negative attention from your reader	Ch 15 (Tone)
Mastering Mechanics	Critical Punctuation	Punctuation (Comma Splices & Sentence Fragments)	Ch 16 & Ch 17
	Other Mechanical Issues	Subject-verb Agreement	Ch 19