Wednesday, January 29, 2003
The Business Writer’s Handbook
Book Review
The Business Writer’s Handbook by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu. Published by St. Martin’s Press, February 2000 (6th edition). $35.95, 720 pp, hardcover.
[Note: The information provided here applies to the 6th edition, while the review that follows touches on the 4th, 5th, and 6th editions.]
The journalist goes to the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual or the stylebook of one of the big newspapers like the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. The graduate student consults The Chicago Manual of Style from the University of Chicago Press when writing his thesis or dissertation. But business writing is neither journalistic nor academic; that?s why it has a stylebook all its own.
The Business Writer?s Handbook (BWH) was put together by Charles T. Bursaw, a professional business writer who works for National Cash Register Corporation; Walter E. Oliu, who writes for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and Gerald J. Alred, a teacher of business and technical writing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
I have the fourth edition, which was released in 1982. Amazon lists a 6th edition in hardback and a 5th edition in paperback or spiral binding.
The BWH starts with a treatise on successful business writing that includes Five Steps for Successful Writing, and a Checklist of the Writing Process. According to the BWH, the five steps to success in business writing are 1) preparation, 2) research, 3) organization, 4) writing the draft, and 5) revision. The solid content of this section is both a tutorial for the writer just starting out in business writing and a checklist for the veteran. How many times have you tried this with your client (quoting from the BWH): Preparation for writing consists of 1) establishing your objective, 2) identifying your reader, and 3) determining the scope of your coverage. Good common sense, just try to get it done. Still, the information and instructions under the subjects of preparation are well worth review, perhaps especially by us jaded old writers.
The advice on writing the first draft is good, too. ?When you have established your objective, reader?s needs, and scope, and have completed your research and your outline, you will be prepared to write your first draft. To do so, simply expand the notes from your outline into paragraphs, without worrying about grammar, refinements of language, or such mechanical aspects of writing as spelling. Refinements come with revision.?
Finally, the BWH talks about revising. ?Chances are that the clearer a piece of writing seems to the reader, the more effort the writer has put into revision.? This is where many of us become mightily frustrated. After all the changes have been made by the client?s personnel, we are not allowed to revise. Everything has been ?approved? and is therefore untouchable…and the worse for it.
Some of the items to check for during revision, according to the BWH, are: coherence, transitions, point of view, emphasis and subordination, pace, clarity, defining terms, ambiguity, affection, jargon, abstract words (a no-no), word choice, style, conciseness, trite language, positive writing, sentence construction and variety, awkwardness, tone, connotations, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics such as spelling, abbreviations, capital letters, acronyms and initialisms.
The BWH even has a checklist of the writing process, so writers can make sure their work meets business writing standards.
In its alphabetical entries, the BWH gives you a look at the types of business writing, including abstracts to business correspondence, executive summaries, job descriptions, journal articles, minutes of meetings, newsletters, news releases, proposals, and more. There?s even a section called Finding a Job, which includes information on acceptance letters, application letters, job interviews, refusal letters, and resumes.
Then the Alphabetical Entries move into the five steps discussed above, and present sections on Planning and Research, Organization, Writing, and Revision, followed by formatting and illustrations. Other Alphabetical Entries cover Language, Style, and Usage; Paragraphs, Sentences, Clauses, and Phrases; Parts of Speech, Inflection, and Agreement; and finally, Punctuation and Mechanics.
My fourth edition is 722 pages long, not including the forward on the writing process or the comprehensive index at the back.
The authors have organized the BWH for easy access, to use a phrase in current vogue. First, the 500+ entries in the body of the book are all alphabetically arranged so you can go straight to them for the information you need. When you reach the entry you want, you will see a number of boldface words within the text. Each of these is a cross reference that may offer you important additional information. Also, if you don?t happen to find the term you want in the alphabetical entries, check the index before giving up. Or, check the topical key at the front of the book to find the subject you?d like to look up. That could help, too.
I?ve had the BWH on my desk for more than 10 years. I use my journalistic stylebooks when writing articles, but whenever I have a question about business writing, I pull out the ?handbook.? I?ve found it has another excellent usage as well. The dust jacket of my edition is dark maroon with white lettering. When I take this book to meetings to discuss the content of an annual report or a corporate newsletter, I refer to it as the ?final? authority in questions of usage. Before long, clients learn that my writing can usually be proved in the Business Writer?s Handbook, and if not, I will readily change the offending item so that it is in line with the BWH.