Writing Program: November Newsletter Writing Plenary Session: Key Takeaways from Tuesday ▪ Write with your audience in mind. Address your audience a

Writing Program: November Newsletter

Writing Plenary Session: Key Takeaways from Tuesday

▪ Write with your audience in mind. Address your audience at the start of your piece with a header, and keep them in mind throughout the rest of your piece. What key takeaway do you want to leave them with?
▪ Writing is iterative. Write a draft, sleep on it, and take a look at your piece again with a fresh set of eyes.

Policy Memo Tips of the Month

▪ Round decimal points. It's easier for your reader to interpret 51.5% than 51.4555%, and it saves you space. Check out this article we passed out during the Plenary for some Advice on Communicating Statistics to a Lay Audience.

▪ Speaking of percents, you might be wondering: “Should I write “percent” or use the % sign?” Style guides disagree on this, but you will probably find that your workplace has its own preferences. For policy memos at Harris, choose one style, and keep it consistent throughout your piece.

Policy Memos in the Real World

Check out this recent memo from the University of Chicago Crime Lab, analyzing the costs and benefits of Illinois sentence enhancements for unlawful weapon use offenses.

Grammar Refresher

Want to know how and why to use whom in a sentence?
Or, what about that versus which?
Learn more about 11 Common Grammatical Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

Have questions? Email us!

Director of the Writing Program –

Felicity Vabulas fvabulas@uchicago.edu

Writing TAs –

Emily Modlin emilymodlin@uchicago.edu
Sarah Sibley ssibley@uchicago.edu
Matt Smith matthewrsmith@uchicago.edu
Meagan Smith meagans@uchicago.edu
Brielle Treece btreece@uchicago.edu

Students in Professor Keys' Class -

You have all been assigned a Writing TA. You can see your Writing TA assignment listed in a column in the Chalk gradebook.

Write on!

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