This manual is an excellent resource for those new to writing documents in the world of business. It is clear, concise, and can be utilized by the beginner and the seasoned professional workforce. I will suggest to my students to use this as a reference tool.
Danyelle Reid
Lead Corporate Trainer - Creative Design Division
Global Computer Enterprises, Inc.
I like the organization of the book very much. Organizing around examples and best practices brings the student right to the point and shows relevance. I intend to use the book as the basis for my next class and to purchase a copy for the corporate library.
Dan Roberts
Technical Communicator
Software Simulation and E-learning Designer
PC-Doctor, Inc.
I found the book very helpful and useful. I teach business etiquette seminars and plan to recommend it as a resource.
Jackie Thornton
Director of Human Resources
National Flour Mills and Supply
Chester's International, LLC
It addresses a very important topic for many business professionals who are not fully confident (or competent) in their business writing. I like the many "best practice" examples. The Models of Explicit Business Writing chapter with the second column explaining the narrative is especially valuable and helpful. The content on purpose and creating a framework that guides the document were also very informative. Personally, I liked reading the brief section on Style Notes and reading about what trends are emerging in business writing.
Claudette Nowell-Philipp
Senior Development Consultant
College of American Pathologists
My overall impression is that it contains a lot of relevant and practical
information, I particularly found the section on writing e-mails very
useful. I will recommend the book to my fellow managers as an excellent
reference tool and will suggest that our Management Studies Program
faculty consider using this book in their business communication courses.
Linda Pemik
Director, Academic Affairs
Nunavut Arctic College
Your book practices what it preaches. I will be using it in consulting as a gift to my clients. It is a simple presentation of effective business writing. Short of writing one myself, I will be happy to promote your book as a sound writing tool. Your book reminds me in intent and quality of Richard Lanham’s landmark work from the 1980s, Revising Business Prose. So there you go. That’s the biggest compliment I can pay you.
Dana Loewy, PhD
Faculty, College of Business and Economics
Marketing / Business Communication
California State University, Fullerton
E-mail has taken over our lives largely because very few people have been taught how to use the medium effectively. Very few people have been taught how to write explicitly.
"The goal of explicit English writing is to have 100 percent comprehension by 100 percent of the readers 100 percent of the time." This point is reinforced throughout an excellent new "how-to" manual to get staff thinking about how and what they write: Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century.
The author, Robert Craig Hogan, approaches his subject with a missionary zeal. He insists on transparent English in e-mail, briefing documents, memos and letters. He suggests some easily understood principles as to how this can be achieved. As there are tips for each of us, there is an underlying emphasis that clear written English must become part of any corporate culture.
The book puts considerable flesh on the bones of new business writing thinking. These precepts include use of plain English, getting rid of deadwood phrases, insistence on short sentences, writing the way you speak, putting yourself in the mind of the reader, making it very clear what happens next. Dr Hogan also makes the point that layout matters.
It's hard to think of any other general business skill that will make you a more valuable and productive employee than having a reputation for being very clear (yet courteous) in all you write. This book will give you that.
David Price
Course Director
One-on-One Tutoring
Successful communication in e-mail, memos, letters, and reports is critical to businesses, but many in the workforce are unable to write clearly. Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century was published by The Business Writing Center in September 2005 to provide the solution to the problem. The book contains standards businesses can use to give employees the guidelines they need to write clear e-mail, memos, letters, and reports. It also has simple, easy-to-read explanations of the skills for managers and employees. The text can be provided as a self-contained training manual employees read on their own, or a trainer could use it as the basis for a workshop or for individualized training.
Mary Pille, CAE, SPHR
President & CEO
Employers' Association
We like it. It is very close to the guidance we put into our [plain English] correspondence manual. I
didn't find anything that conflicts with the advice we give. . . . It has lots of good examples. There is a lot of meat, not fluff. While you aimed it at the private sector, it has information that government writers
can use. We didn't find anything that conflicts with plain language. We liked the section on tone, which government writers often overlook. And we also liked the material on communicating technical subjects.
Annetta Cheek, Ph.D.
Co-chair, Center for Plain Language
Plain Language Coordinator, Federal Aviation Administration
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the clear, simple, and practical principles for effective business writing. I've listed the highlights below for your review.
What I Liked
I believe your book can be an excellent addition to our in-house course for better business writing. I'll recommend this to our department manager and keep you informed.
I particularly appreciate his emphasis on the need to dispense with outmoded styles (use of the passive voice) that are not applicable or practical in achieving today's business objectives. Additionally, I found the detailed guidelines on how to achieve the best practices very useful, as well as the step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate these into the writer's day-to-day written communication. I also welcome the emphasis on using simple language to produce clear, concise e-mails, letters, memos, and reports that produce the desired results without confusion or struggle.
I will definitely be incorporating these practices into our own training programs, and will not hesitate to recommend the book as a useful reference tool for anyone who needs or wants to write more effectively.
