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I have culled the following links on various types
of business writing from a variety of sources. They should provide
you with additional, up-to-date information on [American] business writing.
In some cases, I have found these links through the help of a wonderful
program called PointCast Network, which offered news, business reports
and PointCast Connections. In other cases, I stumbled on links through
discussion groups and through hour-long surfing bouts. A very useful
list of links on "Business Writing" per se is offered by miningco.com;
browse around this sight a bit--there is more information than any or all
of us could ever possibly digest. About.com
also has a very extensive list of business writing links.
Whenever possible, I provide more than one link per topic in the belief
that some of you will be able to deal better with one style than with another.
If you find another and/or better explanation for writing business
letters, memorandums, reports, proposals, please send me the URL.
Essays/Research Papers
Executive Summaries
Letters
| A good introduction is David A. McMurrey's "Business
Correspondence: Overview". He offers stylistic
and formatting examples as well as his Online Technical
Writing Course Guide. From the
ASU Writing Center comes "Business Letters: Ten
Tips."
"Rules
for Writing Good Letters/Memorandums", part of a tutorial on"Writing Good
Letters and Memos", is offered by Mississippi State.
Purdue's OWL [Online Writing
Lab] includes a handout in its Business Letters section on "Accentuating
the Positives". |
Memorandums
| Another OWL offering, Memo
Writing |
| Memos |
| From the University of Toronto's Engineering Writing Centre, Memo |
Non-Sexist or Gender-Fair Language
It is absolutely essential to use non-sexist language in the United
States of America, and it is becoming increasingly acceptable to use it
in other English-speaking countries. This is not a question of style
but of law, of political correctness, of the proper use of languages, of
fairness.
Presentations
Reports
Report Abstracts
Résumés
Résumé style changes constantly, depends on the position
being applied for, and is very country-oriented. For those reasons,
I am including an enormous number of examples from as many English-speaking
countries as I can find. Before adopting just any old style from
any old country, try to find examples which fit the kind of position you
are applying for according to country: Australia,
United
Kingdom, United States of America. An excellent
site not reflected below is ECO
(European Career Orientation), complete with information on "self
analysis", the "job
application process", and "labour
market knowledge."
 USA:
A good starting place is always Purdue's OWL, in this case their "Writing
in the Job Search" with sections on how to prepare a résumé,
how to write application AND acceptance letters and how to choose the best
verbs
"Preparing
a Resume," by Brea Barthel and Amanda Goldrick-Jones of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute as well as RPI's "Cover
Letters"
JobWeb offers "Catapult,
the springboard to career- and job-related sites"--including
more links for "Job
Search Guides" (resumes, application letters, job searches)
than any one person could possibly need.
Studienberatung USA in
der Fachhochschule Hannover
"Effective
Applications"
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From the Careers Service of the University of Technology, Sydney, "JOBSEARCH
INFORMATION," including application letters, résumés,
"words to use."...
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"Alec" offers "free CV writing advice & tips".
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Summaries
| Writing
Summaries -- click on "Tips and Techniques," and
then locate "Writing Summaries" under "General
Techniques." |
Books
| Karen H. Bartell, American Business English (Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 1995). |
| L. Sue Baugh, Maridell Fryar, and David Thomas, Handbook for Business
Writing, 2nd ed. (Lincolnwood: NTC Business Books, 1994). |
| Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product
(Cincinnati:
South-Western College Publishing). |
| Herta A. Murphy, Herbert W. Hildebrandt, and Jane P. Thomas, Effective
Business Communications, 7th ed. (Boston: McGraw Hill, 1997). |
| Dr. Joel Whalen, I See What You Mean: Persuasive Business
Communication (Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 1996). |
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