Good Business Writing

Good Business Writing

As the discussion of good writing evolved in class, I began to wonder what made good business writing. I thought about the purpose in writing both within a particular company and between different companies and organizations. I decided that most writing in business is meant to be either informative, persuasive, or a combination of both. Whether informative or persuasive in nature, I have decided that most good business writing is very similar to other good writing. I have chosen to focus on three elements that contribute to good usage in business. They are:

Simplicity

Jargon for the target audience

Grammar

Some business writers mistakenly believe that by adopting a lofty tone and utilizing complex sentences containing numerous subordinate clauses along with multiple polysyllabic words, they will be taken more seriously. The previous sentence contrasts directly with George Orwell's advice to cut out words if possible. I think Orwell means the writer is to get rid of the excess, the fluff that fails to really communicate an idea or concept. Orwell seems to advocate simplicity. Simplicity does not dilute the author's intended message. Simplicity actually clarifies the author's meaning since it is direct and uses common English words. This type of writing is also efficient. Readers can easily understand the content and can move along to the next task. Since many employees in business today suffer from information overload, given the choice, most people will read a shorter document first. If a writer can communicate the information in either three or twelve pages equally well, it is to better use the more tightly written three-page version. While both documents may have equal merit, it is simply co...

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...onventions. These conventions may vary slightly from business to business, but are basically the same across the United States. These devices include:

The use of bullets to emphasize particular points

Large amounts of white space

Gender neutral language

I have explored some of the elements I think are present in good business writing and result in good usage. Through this exploration, I see that there are other elements of good usage I could have examined, but chose not to. A variety of advice on writing is available, but there is not one definitive rule or even one handbook to which a writer must strictly adhere. There are guidelines a writer might consider, but ultimately, the writer must adapt his or her writing according to each writing situation. Rules are guidelines meant to be helpful. When rules cease to be helpful or become too dogmatic, disregard.