Strategies for Business and Technical Writing

Strategies for Business and Technical Writing teaches effective writing for the world of work, offering advice from reputable sources about the most important issues in business and technical writing. The reading selections, written by seasoned professionals in the business world, teach professional writing, simultaneously illustrating the genre. Covering such topics as audience analysis, non-biased word choice, the revision process, and the dynamics of written communications within business, this book will appeal to practical-minded instructors, students, and professionals already working in business and technical occupations. In addition to touching on broad problems of writing, this book includes comprehensive discussions of specific documents, including chronological and functional résumés, letters of application, letters that sell, memos, e-mail, reports, and proposals. Students learn the specific techniques used by successful executives in business and industry who communicate information as part of their jobs.

Table of Contents:
* Denotes selections new to this edition. Preface. Introduction. I.PROCESS AS WELL AS PRODUCT. John Keenan, Using PAFEO Planning. Michael E. Adelstein, The Writing Process. Peter Elbow, The Direct Writing Process for Getting Words on Paper. *Linda Flower and John Ackerman, Evaluating and Testing as You Revise. * John S. Harris, The Project Worksheet for Efficient Writing Management. * Dorothy A. Winsor, Communication Failures Contributing to the Challenger Accident: An Example for Technical Communicators. II.PROBLEMS WITH LANGUAGE. Stuart Chase, Gobbledygook. William Zinsser, Writing in Your Job. Alan Siegel, The Plain English Revolution. * The University of Wisconsin-Extension Equal Opportunities Program Office and Department of Agricultural Journalism, Guide to Nonsexist Language. * Rosalie Maggio, Bias Free Language: Some Guidelines. III.BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL CORRESPONDENCE. Malcolm Forbes, How to Write a Business Letter. David V. Lewis, Making Your Correspondence Get Results. The Royal Bank of Canada, Letters That Sell. Allan A. Glatthorn, “I Have Some Bad News For You.” Harold K. Mintz, How to Write Better Memos. Marvin H. Swift, Clear Writing Means Clear Thinking Means. . . * Lee Clark Johns, The File Cabinet Has a Sex Life: Insights of a Professional Writing Consultant. * John S. Fielden and Ronald E. Dulek, How to Use Bottom-Line Writing in Corporate Communications. * M. Jimmie Killingsworth, E-mail: A New Medium for Technical Correspondence. IV.REPORTS AND OTHER LONGER DOCUMENTS. J.C. Mathes and Dwight W. Stevenson, Audience Analysis: The Problem and a Solution. Richard W. Dodge, What to Report. Christian K. Arnold, The Writing of Abstracts. Vincent Vinci, Ten Report Writing Pitfalls: How to Avoid Them. Walter E. Oliu, Charles T. Brusaw, and Gerald J. Alred, Creating Tables and Illustrations. Darrell Huff, How to Lie with Statistics. David W. Ewing, Strategies of Persuasion. * Philip C. Kolin, Proposals. V.RÉSUMÉS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS FOR A JOB SEARCH. John L. Munschauer, Writing Résumés and Letters in the Language of Employers. * Blythe Camenson, The Self Assessment. Marcia R. Fox, The Style and Appearance of the Cover Letter. * Richard H. Beatty, The Functional Résumé. Index.