Contents
Business Writing Basics
How to Prepare to Write a Business Document
How to Draft a Business Document
How to Revise Your Document
How to Write a Business Memo
How to Write a Sales Letter
How to Write a Press Release
How to Write a Business Email
How to Write a Business Thank-You Note
How to Write a Business Proposal
How to Write a Business Report
Learn more with these titles from Barnes & Noble
|
 |
 |
 |
|
How to Revise Your Document
Once you’ve written a draft of your document, reread and revise it until you believe it has accomplished its main objective. The revision process involves three steps:
- Assess the document’s content.
- Check your punctuation.
- Proofread for spelling, grammar, and subtler errors.
Assess the Document’s Content
When reviewing your document, use the following questions as a checklist to confirm that it contains all the elements of good business writing:
- Is the objective of the document clear?
- Does the style help the document meet its objective?
- Are the document’s main points convincing?
- Is the language clear, professional, and results-oriented?
- Is the tone appropriate?
Get Input from Colleagues
If you’re unsure of the answer to any of the questions above, consider soliciting feedback on your draft from a colleague you trust. Often, a fresh set of eyes can uncover flaws that you might not have detected on your own.
Check Your Punctuation
Checking punctuation is a very important part of the revision process. Subpar punctuation can make readers lose confidence in your work, even if your ideas are sensible and well supported. The following tables list the main types of punctuation and the instances in which they are most commonly used in business writing. As you review your draft, confirm that your document follows these guidelines.
Commas
Use when . . . |
Example |
|
Connecting two independent clauses—clauses with a subject and verb that could stand alone as sentences—with and, but, for, nor, so, or yet |
Bill is considered a tough contract negotiator, and he enjoys having that reputation. |
|
Listing three or more items |
The office needs staples, pens, and coffee cups. |
|
Including an introductory phrase, such as for example, in addition, or on the contrary.
|
In addition, employees will receive free health screenings. |
|
Writing appositives, nouns that follow and clarify other nouns |
Our CEO, a golf enthusiast, will give a presentation on teeing off. |
|
Separating cities and states in addresses |
The new plant is in Elmira, Iowa. |
|
Writing clauses that begin with “which” |
The meeting room, which is very tiny, holds at most 10 people. |
|
Setting up a quotation |
The executive said, “We need to boost sales by 10% this year.” |
Colons
Use when . . . |
Example |
|
Setting up an emphatic statement |
This is the key: we must hire talented recent graduates. |
|
Beginning a business letter, such as a sales letter |
Dear Mr. Smith: |
|
Introducing a list |
You need just three supplies: a pen, a pad, and an eraser. |
Semicolons
Use when... |
Example |
|
Connecting two closely related sentences without a conjunction (or, and, or but) |
The employee was fired; our division was not informed. |
|
Listing a series of items when each item is itself separated by commas (such as place names) |
The key accounts are in Miami, Florida; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California. |
Dashes
Use when . . . |
Example |
|
Emphasizing a portion of a sentence that interrupts the flow of the rest of the sentence |
Our best salesperson—who brought in 15% of sales—just left the company. |
Parentheses
Use when . . . |
Example |
|
Indicating an abbreviation or an acronym |
The American Marketing Association (AMA) is a good resource. |
|
Interjecting a phrase into a sentence to provide clarification or add emphasis |
The account executive (Annie Eckhardt) works on my floor. |
|
Including a reference at the end of a sentence to another section of your document |
The stock’s sudden rise is impressive (see chart on page 2). |
|
Adding a complete sentence that doesn’t fit within the flow of the current paragraph but nonetheless needs to be included |
One challenge we face is figuring out how to boost sales. (The past two strategies have failed.) |
Hyphens
Use when . . . |
Example |
|
Writing compound nouns or adjectives |
The revised five-year budget looks like a win-win proposition for management and employees. |
Proofread the Entire Document
Proofreading is the process of reading a document closely to check for errors in punctuation, spelling, and grammar, as well as other imperfections such as improper spacing. Proofreading a document “closely” means reading every line word by word with the goal of uncovering errors not in the message or meaning of the content but in the language itself. Consider your document final and ready for sharing with others only after you’ve proofread it. Here are some tips to make proofreading as effective as possible:
- Take a break: Allow some time between making your final revisions and proofreading—that way, you can approach the document with a fresh perspective. If you rush straight from revising into proofreading, you risk missing errors and introducing new ones.
- Double-check your work: Proofread a document at least twice in order to catch errors you may have missed during your first pass.
- Print it out: Proofreading onscreen is never a good idea. Print a hard copy, mark corrections, then enter those changes onto the electronic version of the document.
- Read your work aloud: Read the document out loud to give your ears a chance to detect mistakes that your eyes might have missed.
- Start at the end: It’s easy to overlook spelling or punctuation errors when reading your document straight through from beginning to end. If you read your document from end to beginning, you’re forced to focus on each word and all punctuation.
| Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
Tags
No one has tagged this page yet... Be the first.. Log in using the link below and return to add your tag
