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- The Elements of Style
- Great guide for writers of all ages
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- Read it, Then Read It Again
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The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
William Strunk Jr. , and
E. B. White
Manufacturer: Longman
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ASIN: 020530902X |
Amazon.com
Composition teachers throughout the English-speaking world have been pushing this book on their students since it was first published in 1957. Co-author White later revised it, and it remains the most compact and lucid handbook we have for matters of basic principles of composition, grammar, word usage and misusage, and writing style.
Book Description
This is the braille version of the timeless reference book. According to the St. Louis Dispatch, this "excellent book, which should go off to college with every freshman, is recognized as the best book of its kind we have." It should be the ". . . daily companion of anyone who writes for a living and, for that matter, anyone who writes at all" (Greensboro Daily New). "No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume" (The Boston Globe). Two volumes in braille.
Customer Reviews:
A very good tool.......2007-10-17
This book is an excellent tool for those who want to learn in a practical way the essentials of writing. Whether you write for science, art, or any other area of investigation; this book will help you giving tips and showing with detailed examples the most common situations while you write. I recommend the book to those who want writing as a way of expressing their ideas and to those who are not conformists and like to go further in life.
This book is: Easy to read, practical, and helpful.
The Elements of Style.......2007-09-25
The book was in wonderful condition. It arrived in a timely manner. I would buy from you again.
Great guide for writers of all ages.......2007-09-25
My son's teacher recommended this book when he was in middle school. He still refers to it in college as he pursues his writing career. My daughter needed her own copy for school because her brother wouldn't give his up! You really can't go wrong with this book.
Good book........2007-09-07
It is good book, but you might find some styles are repeating with other books. It is good to learn from this author, but I also suggest learn more from other authors, too.
Read it, Then Read It Again.......2007-09-06
This itsy bitsy tome is an ageless classic. I read it for the first time 20 years ago. Despite having never found grammar interesting before, I became hooked on the sharp little lessons. I read it again, to both delight and edification. And I'll read it once more, to remind myself of the rules that make English what it is and to smile at Prof. Strunk, long gone but very much alive in these pugnacious 80 pages. He's somehow managed to boil down the bones of the language and give you the absolute essentials. If you haven't read it, you're in for a treat and a pleasant surprise, especially if you don't care for grammar. This is truly short and sweet.
Book Description
Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace reflects the wisdom and clear authorial voice of Williams best-selling book, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, while streamlining every chapter to create a very brief, yet powerfully direct guide to writing with style. The brevity and clarity of this book make it a quick and ideal read for freshman composition courses, as well as for writing courses across the disciplines. Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace covers the elemental principles of writing that will help students diagnose their prose quickly and revise it effectively. The ten lessons feature principles of effective prose written in William's hallmark conversational style, offering reason-based approaches, rather than hard and fast rules, for successful, effective writing.
Customer Reviews:
very clear.......2006-08-14
I am a non native speaker, and even though my grammar is not too bad, my writing style has always been a source of frustration. At work, when comparing the texts I would write with the one of good native writers, I could see that theirs were better, but could not find why.
I bought this book based on the high reviews it got on amazon, and I was not disappointed. After reading a few pages, I scanned the research proposal I was writing at the time, and could already make significant improvements on it. The advices that the author give are sometimes quite simple, especially at the beginning of the book (for example : the main character should be the subjects of the verbs, which themselves should correspond to the main action). But surprisingly, I realized that I was rarely applying these simple rules of clarity. The author is never dogmatic, and insists that the only thing that matters is that the reader easily understands what we're writing. All throughout the book, numerous examples illustrate the concepts just introduced so that it is quite easy to test whether one has really got the point.
a gem.......2006-07-21
I found an used copy of " The Basics of Clarity and Grace" at bookstore. After reading 3/4 of the book I ordered two more copies. One copy for my son who is a journalist major and the other for my eldest son who writes good comedy. I liked its size and its no nonesense approach.
Better than Strunk & White, better than Turabian.......2005-12-19
The longer version of Joseph Williams "Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace" has been justly praised for many years. But as a director of writing programs at NYU, Princeton, and Yale, I never felt right adopting that text: it was too expensive, and more than the average student needed. This "Basics" Style is the perfect solution. All the brilliance of the longer book at 1/3 the price, "Style" perfectly balances explanations of style rules with practical examples. The rules that Strunk and White encourage are good ones, and American prose would be leaner if their precepts were universal. The problem with that book is that the advice is not explained systematically. You can use their suggestions when you face similar cases, but only Williams' text breaks down topics like elegance, coherence, and cohesion in ways that will let you carry the ideas into every text you write. I would not recommend this book for the casual 10th grader; although it's clearly written, its ideas are somewhat advanced. But for professionals, college writers, and any teenager who takes writing seriously, "Style" is an indispensable tool, a book you'll use for the rest of your life. For learning to write good college papers, I also highly recommend his "Craft of Research."
How Style Ought to Be Taught.......2005-07-13
Teaching style is not an easy task. Just look at the number of books on the market that portend to do this task, and it becomes obvious that not all authors succeed in their efforts. Some manuals attempt to teach by rules, others by persuasion, and still others by example. This book takes all three approaches and illustrates that the art of stylistic writing is a matter of know-how. Unlike most books in the field, I find this one generally successful.
The book's method is heuristic. It begins with causes of bad writing, and progresses to clarity, cohesion, emphasis, coherence, concision, length, and elegance. Each principle is given a bad examples compared to a good one. Direct, subject-verb-object writing is extolled, and certain anathemas of other texts are approved under the right circumstances. While I disagree with one its principles: That it is acceptable to begin a sentence with "There" and "It," these are minor quibbles in an otherwise strongly argued case.
Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" now has a major competitor, and this book is it. Whether one writes in fiction or non-fiction, the principles and examples given throughout this book are to be commended. I know of one author, a philosopher, who took these principles to heart. What once was ambiguous and contorted writing is now lucid, clear, and vivid. If this book can make this kind of progress, I certainly recommend it to all writers.
While on the subject of good writing, I also recommend Corbett's "Classical Rhetoric" for those authors who want to write convincing arguments. One on style, the other on substance. While William's book on style will make prose more readable, Corbett's book will make it more intelligible.
Truly great, smaller but updated version of his bigger book.......2004-01-24
This smallish book summarizes and updates "Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (7th Edition)." I rank both books at least a "5 out of 5" ranking. I bought the "Style: Ten Lessons" book first and after reading his previous book, I wanted more from this author. This new book is a fitting treat; it is destined to be a classic in the field of writing.
This smaller 150 page book presents many easy-to-apply principles and, for me, were easier to understand.
The principles that I liked most were:
+ How nominalizations can be very good or very bad, depending on their purpose, or lack of it.
+ How to re-arrange sentences putting the new and most important ideas on the end; thus sometimes flipping the sentence around and making good use of the passive tense.
+ The importance of aligning the characters of your story with the subjects of your sentences, and using active verbs to make "interesting subjects do interesting things."
+ Why and how to keep the distance between subject, verb and object short.
There are many, many other writing principles that you will find very useful. Although this book is written for someone with writing experience, a beginner will also find it MOST helpful.
I recommend any budding writer to buy both books. The bigger, older book has more discussion. But I found this smaller, newer book easier to read and understand. I'm now reading his Craft of Research book, and it looks like a winner too.
This is an author whose books you should collect. He has become a highly recommended expert in the field of writing. Look at the reviews of the bigger book to see what others are saying. I am so happy that I found his books.
John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX
Book Description
Engaging and direct, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace is the guidebook for anyone who wants to write well.
Key Benefit
Engaging guidebook for anyone who wants to write well.
Key Topics
Style, Clarity, Grace, Form, Ethics Guidelines for writing.
Market:
General Interest: Improving writing
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Guide and Workbook.......2007-08-26
Even a brief browsing of STYLE: LESSONS IN CLARITY AND GRACE would persuade most readers that it makes the much touted Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" look simplistic. If the seductively slender "Elements"--no exercises to do, easily read in a day--could deliver its claim, by the end of the day there'd be millions of excellent writers.
In contrast, the author of the 286-page STYLE urges in his preface: "If you read this book on your own, go slowly. It is not an amiable essay to read in a sitting or two. Take the lessons a few pages at a time, up to the exercises. Do the exercises, edit someone else's writing, then some of your own written a few weeks ago, then something you wrote that day."
I have used STYLE as the main textbook in Advanced Editorial Workshop, a ten-week course, I taught at the University of California. Each term, the students rated the book as excellent. (The prerequisite to the workshop was a ten-week review course, using "The Harbrace College Handbook" as the main textbook. Although STYLE includes a 32-page appendix summarizing punctuation rules and grammar, most readers would be well-advised to review a standard college handbook, such as Harbrace or Bedford. See my review of Bedford, seventh edition on Amazon.)
I've read all of the 42 Amazon reviews of STYLE published so far. The one-star reviews criticized the author's own writing in the book as lacking grace. Well, this is a comprehensive workbook; understandably, the tone tends to be pedagogic. I hear the author's voice not as lacking in grace but as earnest and refreshingly honest. For example, commenting on what's new in the ninth edition, the author says in the preface: "Finally, I've also done a lot of line editing. After twenty-five years of revising this book, you'd think by this time I'd have it right, but there always seem to be sentences that make me slap my forehead, wondering how I could have written them."
Moreover, I wholly agree with the author's insight: "I know that many who do see clearly, feel deeply, and think carefully can't write sentences that make their thoughts, feelings, and visions clear to others. I also know that the more clearly we write, the more clearly we see and feel and think."
Good writing emerges only from rewriting. This five-star workbook teaches the exacting--and joyously rewarding--craft of rewriting.
-- C J Singh
Simple and Concise writing Guide line.......2007-08-07
Although the price is little bit high, this book contains good recommendations of good writing such as KISS(Keep It Short and Simple).
I highly recommend this book for whoever wants to wrige concisely.
Nicely written and useful for everyone.......2007-07-05
This is one of the nicely written text book on English writing. I recommend everyone to read this if you are doubtful how to write.
Write for the People.......2007-06-20
Some style guides are highly respected in the writing community, but others are just vanity operations by literary snobs who think they're important enough to tell the rest of us how to write. There's a reason this guide by Williams has made it through nine editions, and that's because he has gained respect while debunking the condescending language snobs. Williams presents fairly standard recommendations on word choice and sentence construction, but the key to this book is its organization. Constructing this guide around the maters of clarity, grace, and ethics leads to a great amount of illumination on the opportunities and responsibilities of writing. Williams is not afraid to cut down style tyrants and academic obfuscators, with bodacious convictions like "it's a language of exclusion that a democracy can't tolerate" and "what is at stake is the ethical foundations of a literate society." But unlike his opponents, Williams can back up such convictions with serious tips for avoiding language that will make you look like an obtuse egghead, a shifty demagogue, or any other villain who talks down to the reader. And while you can get basic style tips anywhere, Williams has the edge in making you realize why you should care about strong style, besides pleasing your instructor. You can also write for yourself and for the people.
(Note: this rather skinny book just barely avoids being docked one star for its excessive retail price. Find a cheap used copy of an older edition, which would not really be "outdated" as you'll only be missing a few minor updates.) [~doomsdayer520~]
IS THIS A JOKE? .......2007-06-19
Before I attempted to read this book I was opposed to book banning, however, I'm rethinking that now. This book is like a parody of a book on clarity. His attempts to communicate contain vast amounts of wasted words and confusing passages and once you finally figure out the concept then the quotes used to illustrate them take forever to wade through. No one writes this kind of gobbledygook. Waste of time and money. Great torture device though.
Product Description
Get the reference that defines standards and best practices for technical writers, editors, and content managers who work with Microsoft technologies. Developed by the Microsoft Editorial Standards Group, the newest edition of the computer industry's lead
Amazon.com
With so many software products to its credit, Microsoft can't help but have an opinion on computer terms and usage. Many topnotch technical companies, writers, and editors consider the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications to be a standard in the industry. Technical writers and editors often refer to it when they can't find an answer in The Chicago Manual of Style or when researching appropriate style issues to include in their company's in-house style manual.
While this manual of style can't possibly list everything that is created by Microsoft, it does advise how to use and spell both general and computer-related terms and takes a stand on sticky style, technical writing, and design and interface issues. This second edition has been updated to include significant changes in Internet terminology and usage. Alphabetically tabbed pages make it easy to locate topics of interest. A useful appendix defines acronyms and abbreviations and shares any special style rules associated with them. Another appendix lists keyboard characters and the correct names that should be used to describe each one. The enclosed CD-ROM contains an electronic version of the book along with a copy of the Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary. --Cristina Vaamonde
Customer Reviews:
MS Manual of style JFO Review.......2007-06-02
Book is excellent, delivery was ok, even if a little bit longer than expected.
Typical Microsoft.......2007-05-08
Like most of Microsoft products, it's not great, but it's ok. Some of their standards are pretty out of date.
If you are a software tech writer, check out the Sun Technical Publications, Read me First, A Style Guide for the Computer Industry. Also there's a free Apple style guide you can download in PDF.
Excellent document standards resource.......2007-02-19
We're using this one at work to help us write doc standards. It's invaluable! Thanks to Microsoft for recognizing that the term is "Web site" and that there is no such word as "website." Hooray!!
Serves a Specific Purpose.......2006-12-17
Honestly...I have been a technical writer for over 20 years and only recently even looked at this book. Granted, I found that how I learned to write was right on target. However, I think following this book to the letter is not a good idea. This book should be nothing more than a high-level reference for any "wannabe" tech writer. Technical writing is far more than proper capitalization (internet vs. Internet) or how you refer to something (dialog vs. dialog box). It's about your target audience, the message you're trying to convey, and the benefit to the end user. This book does not cover that: that comes from real world experience, training, and mentoring. I've seen too many people use this as their "bible" for technical writing when it shouldn't be.
As long as you keep in mind that this book will not teach you to be technical writer - only help bring continuity to your work allowing it to fall in line with others - then buy it.
Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications.......2006-07-16
I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at how soon I received my book. I received it in 2 days from the time I placed my order. I have never received an item so fast from any other place that I have purchased anything from. Thank you so much for being so prompt as this is used in my place of business.
Customer Reviews:
Incredible style guide with CDROM.......2007-05-07
I'm an instructor / developer with a large midwest insurance company. In that role, I teach writing skills to our employees. While I have many other style guides, this book by FranklinCovey is a delightful surprise. It has 440 magazine quality pages with vivid color illustrations, side bars, explanations, definitions, descriptions, and examples. If you're looking for a comprehensive style guide that you'll be happy with on your first purchase, make this book your first choice.
Franklin-Covey Style Guide Review.......2007-01-04
Since purchase in September, I have used my style guide almost daily and find it extremely useful in job as a technical/proposal editor.
Franklin Covey Style Guide for Business and Technical Communication.......2005-09-29
This was great just what I expected.
Unfortunate.......2005-07-21
This is a wonderful reference book. Unfortunately, it embodies a politically correct communication philosophy that makes it worthless. Don't waste your money. There are better reference books out there and they don't promote a polical/social philosoply.
This Style Guide Has Everything!.......2003-01-07
This book tells you how to do everything! It can be used by both students and professionals. This book has everything from how to properly use a comma to writing bibliographies; from how to use photographs in presentations and documents to writing resumes. This guide gives you hints on how to manage meetings effectively. I use this book at both work and home. People come to me to borrow this fantasic book constantly. I have the CD installed on my computer and love using the program - it is very user-friendly. I don't think any student or office should be without this wonderful tool.
Book Description
Scientific Style and Format: the CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, Sixth Edition, is a detailed and authoritative manual recommending both general and scientific publication styles and formats for journals, books, and other forms of publication. It covers all sciences, not just biology and the medical sciences, and both American and British preferences are recognised. Every author of a scientific paper or book will profit from this essential resource. Editors and publishers engaged in the sciences, students in the sciences, and translators of scientific papers destined for English-language publication will also find this manual an invaluable resource. It is far more up-to-date, more specific, more authoritative, and easier to use than any other reference to scientific style and format.
Customer Reviews:
Old edition.......2007-05-12
The 7th edition (2006) is named The CSE Manual (note the new acronym).
Book Description
With this new edition, Science and Technical Writing confirms its position as the definitive style resource for thousands of established and aspiring technical writers. Here are just a few comments from reviews of the first edition:
"If you are a technical or science writer or editor, you should own this book."
--AMWA Journal, American Medical Writers Association
"A must for all scientific and technical writers, editors, educators and students."
--American Library Book Review
"Authoritative, exhaustive and well-organized."
--Library Journal
Editor Philip Rubens has fully revised and updated his popular 1994 edition, with full, authoritative coverage of the techniques and technologies that have revolutionized electronic communications over the past eight years. His new Manual provides both professionals and would-be professionals with the latest style guidelines for the field - including information on the more complex issues facing the sci-tech writer:
Designing on-screen information
Working with linked and archived web sources
Selecting infographics
Writing Global English and using illustrations for non-native-speaking audiences
And much more
This is the most up-to-date guide to cover the entire range of scientific and technical writing in virtually every medium - an essential for writers, editors, publishers and anyone associated with the field!
Customer Reviews:
just view the excerpt.......2005-01-18
I encourage you to view the excerpt of this book; it will help you, more than any customer review, to see if this book is what you expect or imagine. In the excerpt, I found that chapter 2 starts with a bulleted list of items, without any introduction, any motivation, any explanation, nor comment, exactly like a table of contents. Next, using the same style (bulleted list or table of contents), "develops" each item of the bulleted list. I feel that this type of book would not give much help to write anything. To buy this book is like buying a power point presentation.
One of the four essential books for the technical writer.......2002-03-11
This is the best style guide for technical writing I have ever found. It gives more every day practical information than any of the other technical writing books and gives that information in a highly usable format.
My only complaint--my standard complaint about my reference books--is that the index is far less comprehensive than it ought to be. Given modern computer indexing capabilities, one would think authors and publishers could do a better job.
However, with this is one of the four essential books: 1. Strunk and White, Elements of Style, 2. Prentice Hall, Words Into Type, 3. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (for the British tech writer, Fowler's Modern English Usage) and 4. Ruebens, Science and Technical Writing. With these four, a technical writer can handle almost any situation that arises. There are other books covering special fields that can be added, but these four will always be the bedrock.
If you are a professional technical writer or only an occasional one, you can't go wrong having this book handy on your desktop.
Very useful.......2000-09-08
While Robert A. Day's How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper gives a good overview of the writing and publishing process on a macro level regarding organization and presentation of material, Science and Technical Writing provides great detailed advice on a micro level. Philip Rubens gives very clear instruction on paragraphing, grammar, punctuation and spelling as well as the intricacies of how to present numbers, mathematical symbols and scientific notation. In addition, there are illustrated guidelines on how to design a variety documents such as brochures, manuals and newsletters right down to the page-level including representing information in charts, tables and diagrams. The book itself is well-designed and well-organized giving testament to its own advice. This is a good general reference for both writers and editors of science and technical documentation.
Book Description
This book is essential for anyone who needs to write clear, concise letters, memos, reports, proposals or other business documents. A complete self-study program in a handy workbook format, it provides the same practical techniques and strategies Advanced Communication Designs instructors have taught to business and professional people since 1980. PROFESSIONAL WRITING SKILLS includes techniques for getting started, conveying the main point clearly, selecting and organizing information, using the right tone, using active, jargon-free language, and eliminating unnecessary words. Filled with practice exercises with immediate feedback, the book can be used for self-study or as the text for a class.
Customer Reviews:
Value-Add Resource.......2004-11-10
I manage a training and development "University" for a large corporation and have, over the years, purchased many different types of training resources including on-line classes, workshops, tutorials, and self-paced training manuals. I think that self-paced manuals work best because they save money, time, and get the best results. Instead of flying a trainer (or my employees) all over the country to meet together, they can work on the manual at their own desks. Also, instead of pulling our employees away from their clients or potential clients,they can work on a self-paced manual when they have some down time. In terms of results, I have found that when people complete a manual like this, they are more invested in their own learning and tend to retain more of what they have learned for longer. I have seen many other self-paced training manuals but have recommended this one because I think that the format is very user-friendly.
Writing Skills Matter.......2004-11-10
I am a scientific consultant and most of my work involves precise medical writing. It is essential that I display outstanding professional writing skills at all times. I focus on organizing and presenting information in a clear and consice manner. I am delighted with this professional writing skills book because it is an outstanding guide to improving written (and verbal) communication skills. Since I am continually trying to improve my written presentations, this book serves as an important learning and resource guide.
A Trained Thought.......2003-07-14
Professional Writing Skills is a step-by-step self-paced training program to improve business and professional writing skills. It trains you to organize your unclear thoughts and to arrange information in logical units. It guides you to develop your thoughts into a writing plan, and to compose a clear and effective writing plan. The book has numerous exercises. Let that not scare you! Only when you solve the exercises will you realize the common errors that you commit in business and professional writing.
Janis Fisher Chan and Diane Lutovich have trained people in business and professional writing skills. They are an integral part of Advanced Communication Designs, Inc., a training company that specializes in customized training courses in business and technical writing. They have also authored, "Grammar for Grownups", "Writing Performance Documentation", and "How to Write Reports and Proposals".
Business writing is unique by its content, style and purpose. It may include letters and reports to the clients, memos to the employees, request for information, product descriptions and so on. The authors warn, "Errors in grammar, or spelling conveys negative image of the company." Imagine the devastating effects of an incomplete report, misunderstood memo, or confusing information?
The book is neatly divided into six lessons. Each lesson begins with an introduction, an objective and what you need section. The core of each lesson discusses errors in professional writing by quoting a few examples. The authors provide easy to understand and implement guidelines to improve quality of professional writing. At the end of each lesson, extensive practice exercises and writing assignments are furnished.
The first training lesson educates you about effects of unclear communication caused due to ignoring the needs and interests of the audience. You need to decide whether you want to influence or inform the audience. The authors advise, "One of the most important steps you can take to increase the chances of readers getting your message is to look at what you're writing from the reader's point of view." A key sentence that expresses your most important message should be incorporated.
The next lesson teaches you to select the information and to organize them logically. Prepare a list of facts and ideas to accomplish the purpose for writing, and group them into key points. A summary sentence for each key point should be written effectively. The lesson also includes guidelines for composing clear and effective email messages.
In the third lesson, the authors guide you to write the first draft. Reviewing and revising your writing plan to overcome inconsistencies, and eliminating unnecessary information are discussed. An effective opening, simple and direct language always attracts the audience. Above all, writing becomes more readable when thoughts are connected.
The fourth lesson emphasizes on using language that communicates clearly and accurately. Pompous words and phrases, and jargons do not impress the audience. Hence, there is a need to use plain English. The authors opine, "The more precise and specific your language, the more information you give to readers and the easier it is for them to understand your message."
Further, the fifth lesson discusses the need to eliminate unnecessary words that slows down reading, and makes writing tedious and boring. The last lesson speaks about the importance of using correct sentence structures, punctuations and grammar. The authors suggest, "As a general rule, keep the average length of your sentences to 17-24 words, with only one or two thoughts per sentence. If you are using technical or unusual terms, drop the count to 15-18 words." Usually, a long sentence is difficult to comprehend.
Communication is a two-way channel. The receiver should receive and understand the message conveyed. It is important to write to suit needs and interests of the audience. The language for communication should be direct, jargon-free, plain and simple. It is also necessary to be able to organize tangled thoughts into clear logical units. On completing the book, I realized that I had improved my professional writing skills.
I recommend you work out the practice exercises and writing assignments at the end of each lesson. It reflects your weaknesses and highlights your strengths in business or professional writing. It increases your confidence in developing and writing any document - business or casual, formal or informal. Remember the saying, "Practice makes you perfect."
In all, this self-paced training program was fun!
A Trained Thought.......2003-07-14
Professional Writing Skills is a step-by-step self-paced training program to improve business and professional writing skills. It trains you to organize your unclear thoughts and to arrange information in logical units. It guides you to develop your thoughts into a writing plan, and to compose a clear and effective writing plan. The book has numerous exercises. Let that not scare you! Only when you solve the exercises will you realize the common errors that you commit in business and professional writing.
Janis Fisher Chan and Diane Lutovich have trained people in business and professional writing skills. They are an integral part of Advanced Communication Designs, Inc., a training company that specializes in customized training courses in business and technical writing. They have also authored, "Grammar for Grownups", "Writing Performance Documentation", and "How to Write Reports and Proposals".
Business writing is unique by its content, style and purpose. It may include letters and reports to the clients, memos to the employees, request for information, product descriptions and so on. The authors warn, "Errors in grammar, or spelling conveys negative image of the company." Imagine the devastating effects of an incomplete report, misunderstood memo, or confusing information?
The book is neatly divided into six lessons. Each lesson begins with an introduction, an objective and what you need section. The core of each lesson discusses errors in professional writing by quoting a few examples. The authors provide easy to understand and implement guidelines to improve quality of professional writing. At the end of each lesson, extensive practice exercises and writing assignments are furnished.
The first training lesson educates you about effects of unclear communication caused due to ignoring the needs and interests of the audience. You need to decide whether you want to influence or inform the audience. The authors advise, "One of the most important steps you can take to increase the chances of readers getting your message is to look at what you're writing from the reader's point of view." A key sentence that expresses your most important message should be incorporated.
The next lesson teaches you to select the information and to organize them logically. Prepare a list of facts and ideas to accomplish the purpose for writing, and group them into key points. A summary sentence for each key point should be written effectively. The lesson also includes guidelines for composing clear and effective email messages.
In the third lesson, the authors guide you to write the first draft. Reviewing and revising your writing plan to overcome inconsistencies, and eliminating unnecessary information are discussed. An effective opening, simple and direct language always attracts the audience. Above all, writing becomes more readable when thoughts are connected.
The fourth lesson emphasizes on using language that communicates clearly and accurately. Pompous words and phrases, and jargons do not impress the audience. Hence, there is a need to use plain English. The authors opine, "The more precise and specific your language, the more information you give to readers and the easier it is for them to understand your message."
Further, the fifth lesson discusses the need to eliminate unnecessary words that slows down reading, and makes writing tedious and boring. The last lesson speaks about the importance of using correct sentence structures, punctuations and grammar. The authors suggest, "As a general rule, keep the average length of your sentences to 17-24 words, with only one or two thoughts per sentence. If you are using technical or unusual terms, drop the count to 15-18 words." Usually, a long sentence is difficult to comprehend.
Communication is a two-way channel. The receiver should receive and understand the message conveyed. It is important to write to suit needs and interests of the audience. The language for communication should be direct, jargon-free, plain and simple. It is also necessary to be able to organize tangled thoughts into clear logical units. On completing the book, I realized that I had improved my professional writing skills.
I recommend you work out the practice exercises and writing assignments at the end of each lesson. It reflects your weaknesses and highlights your strengths in business or professional writing. It increases your confidence in developing and writing any document - business or casual, formal or informal. Remember the saying, "Practice makes you perfect."
In all, this self-paced training program was fun!
great tool.......2002-08-13
I found this book to be extremely helpful to me when I started my career in public relations. Reading Guerrilla PR Wired in conjunction to this book really gave me all the tools I needed. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in an industry where writing is a key component.
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive Style Guide for Software Documentation.......2006-12-25
This is a great book that tackles every aspect of software documentation with enough detail to get you started. Read Me First gives the push you need to begin laying down your own styles. It also reviews some basic grammatical issues that you as a Technical Writer must be aware of. I would recommend using several style guides if your company doesn't already have one. The Microsoft Style Guide is another great reference to consider. I gave this book 5 stars because of its easy to read format.
Good book, poor binding.......2006-11-02
This book has a lot of useful information. It's a good companion for The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications. I like to underline and make margin notes but this book won't lie flat enough for these activities without ripping the binding. It has already fallen apart and I'm not even halfway through it. I tried to find a way to contact the publisher but searching for a few minutes found nothing.
excellent chapter about documents with links.......2005-09-13
Sun offers a style sheet for technical writers. These suggestions are used by Sun in its documents and are a very clean and internally consistent guide. Of course, it is not restricted to descriptions of Sun's products. A lot of care has gone into the guide.
Plus, the suggestions are not just for printed documents. Nowadays, a lot is expressed in languages with links, like HTML or PDF, and the advice pertains here too.
For illustrations, you are shown how to display interactable icons differently from non-interactable images. Subtleties, to be sure. But taking these into consideration makes for a clean document.
On the subject of documents with links, a chapter has cogent suggestions on the proper usage. Like avoiding overlinking, which is a common flaw amongst writers new to this. Also avoid linking with anchor text that is generic, like "click this". Instead, use more descriptive strings to help search engines classify the document that is pointed to. Assuming that both documents will be on the Web. But even if not, they might still be in your internal corporate web, and you might have an internal search engine spidering these. The strings will help the engine better classify both documents. This chapter may be the most vital of the book.
A good book gets even better in 2nd edition.......2003-08-01
The first edition of this style guide was good, especially if you wanted an alternative to the Microsoft Manual of Style, but this edition is even better. It covers a wider range of issues (for example, adding much information about writing online material), and covers them very well. In fact, the book goes a bit beyond style in an appendix on developing a publications department, but the topics covered are certainly relevant and valuable, so I'm glad they were included. I don't always agree with the style choices, but that's irrelevant; I've never seen any style guide I completely agree with. Overall, I'm so impressed with this book, I'm likely to use it as a textbook for teaching technical editors. As you can tell, I'm giving it the "highly recommended" stamp.
Super Reference Book for Creating a Company Writing Style.......2000-12-10
This is an excellent book to read if you are in the position of having to create any kind of writing style guides for the company you work for. The book's sections include one on writing style itself and why it is important, working with an editor, working wit illustrations, writing for an international audience, legal guidelines, the "mechanics of writing," creating an index, among others. The book makes some good points and provides an informative reference for writing style questions.
Two small points against it. The CD is difficult at times to use and the Recommended Reading section lists some books that are out of print. Time for an update perhaps?
However, it's still an excellent book to have when having to make decisions about your own company's writing style. When I had to write a Writing Style Guide as a class assignment, this book was one of the ones I used as a reference.
Product Description
Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers is a detailed and authoritative manual recommending both general and scientific publication style and format for scientific papers, journal articles, books, and other forms of publication. The seventh edition of this essential resource has been fully updated and expanded to reflect changes in recommendations from authoritative international bodies, to keep pace with the interdisciplinary approach to science, and to provide updated recommendations in the world of electronic publication and resources.
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