Course Catalog / BMU 060 / Glossary
Glossary
Keep this page open while you study, or print it. See also the job aid.
- ask
- The action you want the reader to take.
- bottom line
- Another name for the main point.
- channel
- The way you send a message, like text, email, or a school app.
- complaint
- A message that tells a company about a problem and asks for a fix.
- courteous
- Polite and respectful.
- follow up
- A second message when you have not heard back.
- greeting
- The opening line, like Dear Ms. Reed.
- main point
- The one thing you want the reader to know or do.
- plain language
- Writing your reader can understand the first time.
- proof
- Papers that show what happened, like a receipt or bill.
- proofread
- Check writing for mistakes before you send it.
- read aloud
- Say the words out loud, or have a tool read them to you.
- remedy
- The fix you want, like a refund, repair, or exchange.
- signature
- Your name and contact details at the end.
- specific request
- An ask that says exactly what, and by when.
- spelling and grammar check
- A tool that marks words that may be wrong.
- subject line
- The short line people see in their inbox before they open your email.
- suggestion
- A change the tool offers, which you can accept or ignore.
- tone
- The feeling your words give the reader.
- you attitude
- Writing from the reader's side: what they need to know.