Home / Non-Accredited / Communication & Business Writing / Business Writing Skills for Function and Purpose (1 day)
Quick Look Course Summary:Business Writing Skills for Function and Purpose (1 day)
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Length: 1 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 5,654 EX VAT 3 Person R 3,982 EX VAT 10 Person R 2,954 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
Business Writing – self-paced online, 6 months’ access: R750 per learner (ex VAT); teams of 10 or more pay less.
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Business Writing Skills for Function and Purpose (1 day)
In one day, staff learn to write emails, letters and short documents that are correct, clear and get the response they need.
Every email, letter and report a staff member sends speaks for your organisation. Spelling slips, long-winded sentences and documents without a clear structure slow readers down and leave a poor impression on clients and managers. This one-day business writing course is a focused refresher in the essentials for staff who write every day and want to do it faster and better.
The morning covers the building blocks – words, grammar, punctuation, sentences and paragraphs – with short exercises built on typical workplace errors. The afternoon applies them to the documents people actually write: emails, meeting agendas, business letters and the basic structure of a proposal and a report, finishing with a quick proofreading routine. Delegates leave with a personal checklist of their own common errors and a set of templates to work from.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Fewer errors in documents that go to clients and senior management
- Less time spent correcting and re-sending staff writing
- A common standard for emails and letters across the team
- A quick, low-disruption way to lift writing standards – one day away from the desk
For your delegates
- A practical refresher on grammar, punctuation and spelling
- Templates for emails, agendas, letters, proposals and reports
- A proofreading routine you can use on every document
- A personal checklist of your own recurring errors
What delegates will be able to do
- Correct the grammar, spelling and punctuation errors that appear most often in business writing
- Write short, clear sentences and organised paragraphs
- Structure an email with a clear subject line, purpose and request
- Prepare a meeting agenda in a suitable format
- Lay out a business letter in a professional format
- Outline a short proposal and a short report
- Proofread a document before it is sent
Who should attend
Administrators, PAs, receptionists, officers, supervisors and any employee who writes emails, letters or short documents as part of the job and wants a one-day refresher. It works well for new staff, people moving into an office role, and staff writing in a second or third language.
Course outline
Day 1 – Business writing essentials
Words, spelling and grammar
- The grammar mistakes seen most often at work
- Easily confused words: their and there, affect and effect, and others
- South African and British spelling conventions
- Making your own quick-reference sheet
Sentences and paragraphs
- What makes a complete sentence
- Punctuation that changes the meaning
- Four kinds of sentence and when to use each
- Building a paragraph around one main point
- Putting paragraphs in a logical order
Emails and agendas
- Subject lines that tell the reader what to do
- Addressing, greetings and sign-offs
- Tone, abbreviations and acronyms
- Laying out a meeting agenda
- Exercise: rewrite a real email
Business letters
- Standard business letter layout
- Formal and less formal formats
- Writing the opening, body and close
Proposals, reports and other documents
- The basic shape of a proposal
- The basic shape of a report
- Executive summaries and business cases
- Replying to a request for proposal
Proofreading and wrap-up
- A simple proofreading routine
- Getting a colleague to check your work
- Formatting for print and screen
- Personal action plan
How it is delivered
One day, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20. Workbook, document templates and exercises included; delegates may bring their own documents to rework. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
What our clients say
“The training was well executed and of a high quality … We would like to recommend BOTI for future trainings.”
“The course was efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training, as well as the experience of the facilitator”
“We have been very impressed with their service and rollout of the training.”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. We train at your premises anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Can delegates bring their own documents?
Yes, and we encourage it. Reworking a real email, letter or report makes the day more useful; send samples beforehand if you would like them built into the exercises.
Is there a longer version?
Yes. The two-day course adds a day on team writing – planning, style guides and editing shared documents – and the three-day Business Writing Skills for Function and Purpose course also adds proposal writing. For proposals only, see Proposal Writing Training.
Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?
Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.
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Get your price – the more delegates, the less each pays
Change the options to see your price per person, then email yourself the quote and course outline.
Contact us now – we reply within 15 minutes during office hours
Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00. After hours, we reply on the next working day – or call 011 882 8853.