Paperback: 140 pages
Publisher: Pearson; 1 edition (August 11, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0020080956
ISBN-13: 978-0020080954
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #216,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #105 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Technical #200 in Books > Business & Money > Skills > Business Writing #1107 in Books > Business & Money > Skills > Communications
Remarkably concise and informative, The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly is more than just a tool for business people. Taking a common sensical approach, as opposed to a lofty educated tone, Messrs. Blake and Bly do not restrict themselves to business writing, in spite of the title. For the most part, The Elements of Business Writing is a valuable writing guide for just about all forms of writing. The book is strong on: knowing your audience; clarity; precision; and persuasion. When you think about those four elements, you're thinking about effective communication in general. This is something everyone--not just business people--can use in their daily lives.
If you write letters, emails, business proposals or marketing plans, this book will be useful to you. It is very easy to follow. The book offers a number of suggestions for writing clearly and with style, and explains each point in detail. I used this book for a graduate level class, but it would be useful to anyone!
This book, with an obvious nod to Strunk and White (which it surpasses), lists 67 principles of good writing, with about two pages each of details and examples. It's on the short list of recommended resources in my book The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Business Writing and Communication.
Being a non-native English speaker with an ambition to become better at writing, I found this book absolutely superb. It's short, roughly 120 pages, and yet it's able to host six chapters and 67 writing rules. The length and nature of the rules depends on the chapter they appear in. For example, in chapter one the rules may be "use the active voice" or "use short sentences", whereas they treat details of punctuation in chapter six. (By the way, I've broken one of them in this sentence.) The middle part contains some rules that are about actual business writing; i.e. how to organize text so that it becomes persuasive.When I read this book, I didn't care about business writing at all. I was after concrete writing rules. This book sure delivers in this field. I'm not a seasoned reader of books on writing, so I can't tell whether this is norm or not, but I really liked the concrete examples and tables containing familiar phrases; how to write them and how not to write them. I was painfully familiar with many of the violations and improper uses, but at the same time I felt I could blame the fact that English is my third language.I'd say that this book really sticks to the core; it's not full of fluff and lengthy explanations. It can more or less be used as a checklist when writing; it's that concise. Its many examples feel realistic and familiar, and serve very well in explaining the rules. The last chapter, on punctuation, is something I'm sure to reread several times.Now, I don't know how good "The Elements of Style" and how much has been borrowed from it, but regardless, this is a good book.
If you feel unsure about your business writing, pick up a copy of this book. It is easy to read and find the information you are looking for. It has a bit of humor in it. If you work with someone who cannot tell an Oxford comma from a comet, then accidentally leave this in their cubicle. I had a thorough English teacher in high school, so the book is full of review for me. However, it is a required textbook for my graduate writing class.
I use this as a reference book for the college course I teach which includes a lot of business writing. Know what this book contains and you will be respected as a true businss writer.Doc
I need to create a class on biz writing. This book was great as it didn't get involved too deeply into the boring grammatical aspects. It instead focuses on general rules to write solid biz documents. It's useful. It's to the point.
The Elements of Business Writing is clearly modeled after Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style", and it is a worthy addition. Authors Blake and Bly essentially have re-written the classic "Elements", and transformed it into "Business Elements". Lots of specific usage and style pointers, which I found very helpful. A quick read, may be somewhat of a review if you have written on the job for years, but this book also makes an excellent refresher for all the nuances that make writing go from good to great.
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