Revising has to do with “looking over” what you have already drafted. It somewhat goes hand-in-hand with proofreading, but in this stage you are searching out parts you may not like as much or parts that wouldn’t fit in with the message you want to convey. Rather than quickly looking over it as you would a text message, revision in the business world involves time and much attention. Not doing so can possibly cause frustration, confusion, and even delays due to the perception of your audience. More importantly, what your message comes out to be could reflect your character, and your way of thinking.
It is easier to revise as you write, making it easier to revise later in your writing. You would also want to understand the purpose of your writing and sum up your audience by determining their needs. You’d also want to determine if you would be taking a direct or indirect approach, but you do not want to sound passive.
Producing is the more creative part of the writing process. Depending on the medium you choose, a number of things can be done in order to produce or enliven your message. Whether you are formatting or wanting to add visual effects, these tasks would be considered part of the producing step. This involves graphs/tables, captions, fonts, margins, proper spacing, etc.
Similar to revising, the main purpose of proofreading is to check for errors such as grammar, spelling, punctuation, missing sources, missing visuals, etc. It’s also good to make sure you’re following traditional writing methods if your company does not state otherwise.
You can choose to distribute your message either through mail, email, CD’s, or the newly common flash drive. The most important factor in this step is making sure your recipient has the proper tools to be able to access your message.
Sources:
Bovée, C. L., Thill John V. (2005) Excellence in Business Communication (6th