Introduction

In this module, you will begin the revision stage of the report writing process. This is the stage where you will consider what improvements you need to make before your report is complete.

In the first module, you thought about what makes writing effective and what causes barriers to effective writing. At that time, you were introduced to the four core assumptions about effective writing espoused in this course. Effective writing is

• Well organized and concise
• Analytically sound
• Reader focused
• Written with good style and mechanics.

This module focuses primarily on the last assumption—good style and mechanics. You will concentrate on writing at the sentence level, analyzing sentences that follow principles of effective writing and those that do not. Along the way, you will get ample practice in revising sentences. You will also gain familiarity with some resources available from the World Bank regarding rules of style and punctuation.