Professional Writing Guide 9780367719074, 9780582871816, 036771907X

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Chapter 1 Writing in the Business Environment
What Can Go Wrong?
'Satisficing' as an Organisational Writer
Learning an Organisation's Communication Etiquette
The Etiquette of Communication Flows
Writing to Meet a Challenge
Improving Your Professional Writing
Conclusion
Chapter 2 Reading in the Business Environment
Your Readers and What They Want
Reading Strategies of Organisational Readers
Thinking Patterns of Readers
Testing Document 'Readability'
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Using Experimental Thinking
Understanding Your Thinking and Writing Style
Idea Generators and How They Work
How to Use Idea Generators
Other Ways to Promote Experimental Thinking
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Critical Thinking
What Does Critical Thinking Involve?
Selecting Information
Developing a Goal-Centred Message
Avoiding the Pitfalls in Critical Thinking
Evaluating Critical Thinking in Your Writing
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Choosing an Appropriate Document Framework
Why Construct a Document Framework?
Using Business Formats as Document Frameworks
Making Your Document Reader-Friendly
Checking Your Framework
Re-Organising Your Framework
Communication Etiquette and Common Formats
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Structuring Paragraphs
What is a Paragraph?
Make Paragraphs Complete
Create Unified Paragraphs
Make Paragraphs Ordered
Signal Relationships in Paragraphs
Conclusion
Chapter 7 Shaping Sentences
Writing Simply and Clearly
Common Sentence-Level Problems
Standard Sentence Patterns
Ineffective Sentences
Specific Sentence-Level Problems
Contested Elements of Usage
Writing Rules
Conclusion
Chapter 8 Considering Language
Words As Tools
Becoming Language Sensitive
How Words Work
Non-Discriminatory Language
Chapter 9 Choosing the Right Word
What is Jargon?
Overcoming Misuse of Jargon
Gobbledygook
Computerese
Legalese
Buzzwords
Cliches
Metaphors
Euphemisms
Colloquialisms
Coined Words
Acronyms
Archaisms
Wordiness
Negatives
Doublespeak
Foreign Words and Phrases
Confusable Words
Spelling
Conclusion
Chapter 10 Deciding How to Punctuate
Why Punctuate?
Punctuation Principles
The Apostrophe
Brackets
Bullets for Listed Items
Capitals
The Colon
The Comma
The Dash
The Ellipsis
The Exclamation Mark
The Full Stop
The Hyphen
Italics or Underlining
The Question Mark
Quotation Marks
The Semicolon
The Slash
Mastering Punctuation
Chapter 11 Revising and Editing Your Documents
Writing is Rewriting
What Do Revising and Editing Entail?
Writer-Based Writing
The Levels of Edit
Proofreading
Collaborative Writing and Editing
Chapter 12 Choosing Good Design
Research on Visual Communication
The Advent of Desktop Publishing
Design Decisions
Components of Graphic Design
Conclusion
Chapter 13 The Impact of Technology on Writing
New Technologies for Writers
Future Developments
Changing the Workplace with Electronic Messaging
Advantages of Electronic Messaging
Conclusion
Chapter 14 Future Directions for Professional Writing
New Directions
From Research to Practice
Selecting a Consultant
Conclusion
Index