Writing
                Consultants: Training with Jane Griesdorf


 




Core Courses     Specialized Courses     Legal  Writing    
On Site
Core Courses

from The Writing Consultants

Effective Writing for Professionals    Grammar Booster
Report and Proposal Writing
Effective Writing for Professionals

Customized for the progressive work environment, this core course will give your staff the essential writing and communication skills to produce quality work in the millennium.
 
Improve Your
  • Memos & Email 
  • Letters 
  • Proposals 
  • Reports 
  • Journal articles
  • Presentations and Speeches
Topic Highlights
  • Know your target audience 
  • Outline before writing 
  • Draft on a roll
  • Edit for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation 
  • "Defog" your writing
  • Write in clear, concise, jargon-free language 


This course is designed for six to twelve participants with post-course follow-up for each person. Curriculum copies of WRITE THIS WAY: A Guide to Effective Writing are provided with the course. ESL tutoring is available for staff for whom English is a second language.

Ask about Note Taking. We've developed an exciting module to teach your staff this important "thinking" skill.


Grammar Booster

Grammar can be fun! This is a "refresher" course for staff who wish to improve their proofreading and editing skills and gain confidence in their everyday use of the English language.  

Learn to
  • Identify the parts of speech and know how they work 
  • Recognize and correct sentence fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences 
  • Spot incorrect pronouns, faulty parallelism, dangling participles, and other grammar gremlins 
  • Use correct punctuation and all that "jazz" 
  • Understand sophisticated style to make it happen
This workshop-style course is designed for six to twelve participants. Curriculum copies of WRITE THIS WAY: A Grammar Booster are provided with the course. Participants should expect homework! 

Be Brave! Try "Test!" in the links on the home page.


Report and Proposal Writing

The Business Report or Proposal is the most tangible way for your clients to assess the value of your work. This course will help your staff design expert reports and winning proposals that are reader-oriented, well-structured, and concisely written. 

Learn to
  • Avoid the three most deadly errors in report and proposal writing
  • Match the document to your clients' needs 
  • Outline and structure the document before writing 
  • Develop a bottom line format to produce a point-first document 
  • Use appropriate language, correct grammar, and effective punctuation 
  • Include charts, graphs, citations, and appendices appropriately 
  • Present your report or proposal with aplomb
This workshop is designed for six to twelve participants and includes the curriculum WRITE THIS WAY: A Guide to Effective Report and Proposal Writing.There will be ample opportunity to share ideas, practise new skills, and develop sample documents. 


Specialized Courses

Email & Brief Letters
Proofreading    Writing with Style
Private Coaching    Lit & Lunch
University Prep
Email & Brief Letters 

Email, brief letters, and other short messages form the backbone of office communication in the millennium. But all too frequently such correspondence is the source of ambiguity and misunderstanding. This course will teach both the novice and experienced writer how to structure and compose clear, concise, polite, short messages.

Learn to

  • Understand the psychology and etiquette of quick messaging
  • Adapt a friendly and personable tone
  • Pre-plan and draft for even the shortest note
  • Edit quickly but accurately
  • Use concise and accessible language
This workshop is designed for six to twelve participants. It includes curriculum copies of a specially designed module of WRITE THIS WAY: A Guide to Effective Writing.

Proofreading for Accuracy & Clarity          return to top                                                                                        
Although the grammar tools in our word-processing programs are designed to help us, often the confusing terms make these tools useless. 

Learn how to understand your grammar checker and to spot and correct such gremlins as

  • commonly confused words
  • double negatives
  • format errors
  • jargon mania
  • passive/active verb usage
  • pronoun errors
  • punctuation errors
  • readability or "fog" problems
  • sentence structure errors
  • spelling beyond the spell checker
  • verb-tense inconsistency
Writing with Style & Pizzazz          return to top                                                                
Sophisticated writing begins at the sentence level! This is an advanced course designed to help professionals write with clarity and pizzazz. Conducted as a single writing workshop or a series of workshops, it will include writing and editing exercises that concentrate on the attributes of uncluttered, emphatic, and graceful style. 

Participants should submit a writing sample for evaluation prior to the course. Individual consultations with the instructor about work in progress will be welcomed. 

Private Executive Coaching 

The Writing Consultants' one-on-one executive tuition can give you the personalized attention you require! These private consultations, held at your convenience and based very specifically on the material you write, will teach you to articulate your professional expertise with confidence and to sell your ideas with aplomb.

Lit & Lunch: Literature-Appreciation Seminars

Do something special for your staff! Lit & Lunch is a chance for your staff to stretch their minds and invigorate their souls through the triple pleasure of beautiful literature, stimulating discussion, and good lunch!

University Prep                      return to top

If you are a student applying to universities in the US, to specialized undergraduate programs in Canada, or to professional schools, let our expert coaches help you articulate your strengths in powerful application essays and letters.

• target your desired universities                      • structure your essays coherently

• identify your strengths                         
            • revise your drafts effectively

• focus your critical messages              
            • create a lasting, positive impression


Legal Writing

Legal Writing with Aplomb    Effective Writing for Law Clerks

Legal  Writing with Aplomb 

Lawyers in the millennium must be responsible from start to finish for their own writing tasks. No longer can they be certain that someone else will research, write, or edit important documents for them.

Learn how to write with power, precision, and pizzazz! This course will focus on upbeat writing suitable for today’s busy readers of the law. The hands-on session will include practical models, effective exercises, and editing pointers. Refresh and polish your writing style so that it becomes light, bright, and persuasive — writing that will allow you to present your ideas and your firm with aplomb!


Effective Writing for Law Clerks and Paralegals

Do something special for your Law Clerks and Paralegals! This course will teach the essentials of writing, proof-reading, and editing work from start to finish. It is a must course for the professional and personal development of your staff.

At least once a year, a course for paralegals is offered through the Law Society of Ontario.