Product Description

Businessese, academese, legalese--these painful eses appear all too often in memos, letters, reports, and papers. You have probably fallen victim to them yourself, writing "commence" and "prior to" instead of "begin" and "before," burying your main point somewhere in the last paragraph. Now Edward Bailey offers help in The Plain English Approach to Business Writing. Bailey has spent twenty years working in bastions of bureaucratese, helping businessmen and government workers write in direct, effective plain English. This no-nonsense guide is an indispensable office companion.

Bailey's approach is suprisingly straightforward: just write as you would talk. Plain English is not only easier to read, it's also easier to write. And it's so effective that many large organizations are endorsing, if not demanding its use in the workplace. Pithy and entertaining, Bailey clearly lays out the dos and don'ts of plain English, illustrating them with examples drawn from such sources as business documents, technical manuals, trade publications, and the works of such writers as Russell Baker and John D. MacDonald. From the basics to the fine tuning, he offers practical advice on clarity, precision, organization, layout, and a host of other topics. This is a book that can be read in an hour--and used for the rest of your life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #405514 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780195115659
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Memos, letters, reports--for a business world supposedly going paperless, we're writing quite a lot these days. Nonetheless, argues business communications professor Edward P. Bailey Jr., reliance on industry terminology and "business-ese" is ruining many of these attempts to exchange information. His practical guide to reversing that unfortunate situation, The Plain English Approach to Business Writing, shows how to "write as you would talk," which he contends is actually easier than penning convoluted sentences filled with obscure jargon. A basic overview of organization and layout (including typefaces, headings, and graphics) is provided along with advice on proper constructions and style.

From Library Journal
Writing consultant/business professor Bailey has written extensively on writing. His book Writing Clearly: A Contemporary Approach (Charles E. Merrill, 1984) covered the psycholinguistic study of reading and writing, ideas that lead into this undemanding work. The author tells how he once realized that much writing, even his own, is too formal and obscure. Stressing the value of using plain (i.e., similar-to-spoken) English, he presents a simple model for organizing most business writing and supplies tips on style, punctuation, layout, and writing methods for oneself or one's staff. Although the book is directed to business readers, this mild slant should not put off others. Most likely of value to those concerned with short memos and reports, it might serve as an alternative to fuller works.
- William A. Donovan, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Its handiness and brevity recommend themselves well to the busy professional."--Issues in Writing
"Anyone who has ever had to read through a memo 'verbalizing an operative proposal with viable alternatives and appropriate linkages' will appreciate this concise book of writing tips."--Booklist

Customer Reviews

A great little book on writing
This is the best little book I've read and used on business writing. As a teacher I'm always looking for simple, practical guides that will improve my students' and my own business skills. This book gives useful, practical advice and practices exactly what it preaches. Its even clear enough and well written enough for me to use with my Japanese students. This is the kind of guide that should be available on-line and in various language versions. Highly recommended.

Short, smart, sensible guide to English writing
Much of what passes for business writing today is so convoluted and pompous that it is difficult to understand. Here's an example: "Subsequent to the adoption of the latest employee policy regulations-cum-guidelines, it is incumbent upon (said) employees to rigorously review the current documentation; and to then advise (or at the minimum, contact) management regarding any perceived, needed exceptions...." How about this instead: "Please review the proposed guideline changes, and let us know if they make sense and support current policies. If not, we'll change them." Far too many people think they need to write business prose with grandiose words and phrases, passive voice, third person and past tense, when actually such practices muddle their messages. Into the business-writing breach comes Edward P. Bailey Jr., a master of composition, and an expert at teaching people to write and speak plainly and simply. Although even the professor lapses into dullness now and then, getAbstract thinks that anyone who wants to write - and thus communicate - more effectively can learn a lot from reading this short, sensible book.

Great review of writing fundamentals
Coaches in sports often speak of the importance of fundamentals. Players who forget fundamentals often fail. Most top players drill every day. They want to make sure that the basics of the game never need to be thought about -- their bodies do them automatically.

Writing may be the same as sports. Fundamentals should not be forgotten. Bailey's book helps with that. You won't find anything really new here. The points he emphasizes are points you will see in most books of this type.

But Bailey's book gives clear, concise coaching on how to write well, in plain English that gets a point across powerfully. It's a book that I turn to often, to make sure that I don't forget the fundamentals.