Good business writing contributes substantially to a business success, yet so many struggle to master it. Luckily, writing is a skill that can be learned. This article covers a few writing practices that will improve the readability of any business document.
Welcome to Bucaro TecHelp!

Bucaro TecHelp
HTTPS Encryption not required because no account numbers or
personal information is ever requested or accepted by this site

About Bucaro TecHelp About BTH User Agreement User Agreement Privacy Policy Privacy Site Map Site Map Contact Bucaro TecHelp Contact RSS News Feeds News Feeds

Tips for Good Business Writing

You can contribute significantly to your business' success by developing your writing skills. If you're operating a business, eventually you will be required to write a business document. It could be a business letter, a business proposal, a business plan, a marketing strategy, copy for your web site, a white paper, a job description, an inter-office memo, a Board report, a press release, or?

There is good news if writing is not your strong point. Writing is a skill that can be learned. With practice, almost anyone can learn to write an acceptable document.

Why is good writing important? First, some people will judge you by your writing. Why risk losing customers or investors because of a poorly written document? Secondly, good business writing is easier to read and easier to comprehend than poor writing. Clarity is always a goal when writing business documents. Flowery prose is best left to those who write fine literature.

Many written documents show dramatic improvement when a few common writing errors are corrected. Try this test. Find a letter or document you have written, and go through it making the changes listed below. You could be surprised at the improvement when you follow these basic guidelines.

Use the Active Voice

Write in the active voice instead of the passive voice. That is, rather than writing, "The computer that belongs to my brother," say, "My brother's computer." Rather than writing, "The merchandise that was delivered yesterday," say, "Yesterday's merchandise delivery."

Many people find that by making this one change, they can improve their writing substantially.

Tip: Use MS Word's Spell and Grammar feature to help find the passive sentences. It's found in the Tool menu.

Use Tenses Consistently

Changing tenses through a document is a common mistake. Decide which tense you want to write in, then stick to it. "Tense" refers to the past, present, or future.

Past Tense: We did it this way.
Present Tense: We do it this way.
Future Tense: We will do it this way.

It is jarring to a reader to encounter tense changes such the ones in this paragraph:

"We started our business in 1995. We sold and serviced vacuum cleaners. My brother and I do everything ourselves."

The sentence would be better if written like this:

"We started our business in 1995. We sold and serviced vacuum cleaners. My brother and I did everything ourselves."

RSS Feed RSS Feed

Follow Stephen Bucaro Follow @Stephen Bucaro

Fire HD
[Site User Agreement] [Privacy Policy] [Site map] [Search This Site] [Contact Form]
Copyright©2001-2024 Bucaro TecHelp 13771 N Fountain Hills Blvd Suite 114-248 Fountain Hills, AZ 85268