Strategies for Business and Technical Writing (5th Edition) [Paperback]

Kevin J. Harty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0321241959 | ISBN-13: 978-0321241955 | Edition: 5

sHORT RETAIL DESCRIPTION: A must-have reference book for business and technical writers of any level, Strategies for Business and Technical Writing will help you plan, organize, create, and polish your writing. You know the ability to communicate effectively both in person and on paper will help you advance in your career—the selections in this book will help you write effective letters, reports, memos, resumes, and other professional documents. The new edition features helpful models, tips, and advice from top experts, including David V. Lewis, Making Your Correspondence Get Results, The Royal Bank of Canada, Letters That Sell, Vincent Vinci, Ten Report Writing Pitfalls: How to Avoid Them, and Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts, Ten Ways to Make Your Technical Documents Shout “Read Me!” Whether you are a student, or seasoned professional, this book will help you plan, create, and improve your business and technical writing. Readings, advice, and models from top experts to help writers improve their technical and business writing skills. Correspondence, ethics, proposals, email, reports, memos, letters, resumes, business writing, technical writing, business communication, technical communication. Business writing/Technical writing.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

For anyone who has written a resume and cover letter to apply for a job, a proposal to land an account, an e-mail to a colleague or a memo his or her co-workers, this book is for you. These everyday business documents may seem simple to write, but in reality are quite difficult to do well. This book will provide the instruction, advice, and necessary examples of how to compose effective business and technical writing. This book teaches effective writing for the work world, offering great advice from the best sources. The reading selections, written by seasoned professionals in the business world, teach professional writing as well. Covering topics including s the revision process, non-biased word choice, and audience analysis, the book is based on the premise that all successful writing consists of clear and effective prose. Yet, it points out the ways in which business and technical writing differs from the expository prose most readers have learned. Also included are discussion of specific documents, including resumes, letters of application, letters that sell, memos, e-mail, reports and proposals. Anyone who engages in business or technical writing. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 5 edition (July 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321241959
• ISBN-13: 978-0321241955
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,538,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars New Edition is Not Really New, July 26, 2008

By 

G. Lagodsky - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strategies for Business and Technical Writing (6th Edition) (Paperback)

This book is supposed to be a new edition but there are only a few articles that have changed. Some outdated ones still remain. Unfortunately, there aren't any standards for what constitutes a new edition. This is a shame because students pay more for books that are almost identical to previous editions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dated Material, Some over 40 Years Old, July 28, 2009

By 

Bob "Mr. Hi-Fi Stereo" (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strategies for Business and Technical Writing (6th Edition) (Paperback)

If you are looking for a topical discussion of technical and business writing, I think you can do better.

That said, the book is a quick, informal, benign read. Though it purports to be updated, some of the essays go back to the early 60s.

Some of the techniques discussed don't quite agree with the methods discussed in Mike Markel's "Technical Communication" or Carolyn Rude's "Technical Editing."

If your instructor requires it for a course, buy it used. You'll likely sell it to someone else when you're done, as I will. It makes no sense to lose that much value on the resale.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An adequate reference, a good starter, October 13, 2000

By 

Rini "rini-chan" (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strategies for Business and Technical Writing (4th Edition) (Paperback)

I'm an instructor of Business Communication and this is the textbook we utilize for the class. I find that most of the articles in this book are good ones; however, there is a lot of repetition, especially when they are referring to the writing process. YAWN. Boring. How many ways can you reiterate "clear, precise, and to the point" as the main idea?

Otherwise, some of the other articles in there are great for those beginning in the world of business writing.