About the class How do you set a tone with emails and memos?  How does sentence structure impact your message?  How can I make my written correspondence more effective?

Participants will learn to setting tones to persuade or inspire by choosing the best words. Textured structure that blends short, impactful sentences with long, flowing ones will make even an email something to admire.  Memos sent out with unified, coherent paragraphs will impress your co-workers to no end.

Much of the desire to write comes from wanting to have a voice in the world.  The basics of writing is also a system of logic, and mastering the basics like grammar, sentence structure and word choices that gives the confidence and the skill set to express your message.

Syllabus

- Purpose and intention of written communication: Why are you writing this and who is your audience
- What your punctuation says about you. The rules and -nuances of commas, periods and semi-colons.
- Sentence structure basics. Use sentence structure to create texture and rhythm.  Class participation 15 mins.
- Brainstorm/Setting Tone. We’ll do an exercise to choose the perfect words to set our tone. Work in pairs 15 mins
- Creating the perfect paragraph: A paragraph is a microcosm of the entire idea or proposal. It needs a beginning, a detailed middle and a conclusion. Class participation. 20 mins.

(Approximate times-1.5 hours for the class)

About Maria Finn

Maria Finn is a regular contributor to Sunset Magazine and she also writes for The Wall Street Journal, Afar, The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Saveur, and Gastronomica, among others. She is the author of The Whole Fish, How Adventurous Eating of Seafood Will Make Your Healthier, Sexier and Help Save the Ocean” (TED Books 2012) Hold Me Tight and Tango Me Home (Algonquin 2010) and A Little Piece of Earth: How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Spaces (Rizzoli 2010). Her essays have been anthologized in The Best Food Writing 2006 and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2007. She also develops content for websites and social media marketing campaigns. She currently teaches Feature Writing at Stanford University.