Plain English at Work: A Guide to Writing and Speaking (Hardcover)

~ Edward P. Bailey Jr. (Author)
Key Phrases: basic lower case letters, presenting visual aids, designing visual aids, Desk Editor, Tip Use, Times New Roman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Another splendid book. Ed has exactly the right touch for blending the academic with the practical."--James C. Gaston, President, Word One Associates, Inc.

"Brilliant! Bailey cuts to the heart of the problem time and again in this book. His advice eliminates the fog from business memos and the pain of composing them."--James S. O'Rourke, University of Notre Dame

Product Description

Everyday we write countless memos, letters, and reports without a second thought. Likewise, we give presentations, both formal and informal. Often this writing and speaking gets criticized for being jargon-ridden, obscure, or long-winded--in short, for not being in "plain English." But what is plain English, and how do we go about writing and speaking it? In Plain English at Work, Edward Bailey gives the answer, with down-to-earth tips and practical advice. Bailey, an expert in business communication, gives us a simple model for writing:

* Style: write more the way you talk.

* Organization: make your point easy to find.

* Layout: use headings, lists, and other white space so readers can see the structure of your writing.

Psycholinguists, Bailey points out, have proven that the techniques of plain English writing are far easier on your readers; experience has proven that writing in plain English is easier on you--the writer, too. Bailey also gives you a wealth of practical advice for presentations including:

* How to remember your talk.

* How to design visual aids.

* How to design computer presentations.

* How to set up the room you'll be speaking in.

* How to develop a successful delivery style.

Perhaps most impressive are the many detailed tips he gives here. For instance, when using a pointer, hold it in the hand closer to the screen (otherwise, you turn your back on the audience, making it harder to hear you). When designing a visual aid, use at least 28-point type, and seldom use all capital letters (which are harder to read). And when presenting a bar chart during a computer presentation, build it--a bar at a time--to focus your audience's attention.

Drawing on two earlier and popular books, The Plain English Approach to Business Writing and A Practical Guide for Business Speaking, this new volume has been significantly updated. It includes up-to-the-minute information on using computers, computer graphics, typography for your writing, and on using the same technology for designing your presentations. The result is an authoritative and comprehensive single volume that will be the essential guide for everyone wishing to communicate more easily and effectively at work.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195104498
• ISBN-13: 978-0195104493
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #631,639 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its all in simplicity, May 24, 2001

By	"amalim" (Karachi, Pakistan) - See all my reviews

'Write the way you talk' is the main idea behind this book. Bailey identifies the common problems in written english:People just don't write the way they speak. The book is all about writing and speaking in plain english. You don't need *impressive* words all the time to be effective.

The book is divided into two parts: Writing clearly and easily and Speaking clearly and easily.

The first part starts off with comparison between spoken and written english (In speech if you use the word 'help', you tend to use 'assist' in writing.)

Then the writer moves on to common pitfalls in written style such as excessive use of passive voice and lack of punctuation.

Later chapters are about organization and the layout of written work and that includes selection of typefaces, use of heading, bullets, graphics etc.

In lot of places, the writer disagrees with the common myths of writing, for example: * Never begin a sentence with 'and' or 'but'. * Never end a sentence with a preposition * Never use first and second person pronouns

Now you can begin a sentence with 'and' and 'but' and still can be professional speaker/writer.

The second part is on speaking that covers: selection and design of visual aids, organization of presentation, speech style, rehearsing, setting up the room and handling the audience.

In all the chapters, for clarity purpose, a specific point is explained using examples and illustrations.

A good book for those who wants to improve good writing and speaking skills. And in my opinion a valuable resource if you are a techie and can only speak in jargon or just go blank when it comes to public speaking (well...that was the case with me)

5.0 out of 5 stars Plain English at Work is Plainly Great, June 24, 2008

By	Glenn Gallagher "scholarly bureaucrat" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been relying upon Edward Bailey's "Plain English at Work" since 1996, and it has been absolutely indispensable in helping me write and present in my daily work as an environmental scientist. As another reviewer noted "It's all in the simplicity".

The first half of the book is "Writing Clearly and Easily", and the second half is "Presenting Clearly and Easily". Both have been very useful.

The author presents simple, yet useful guidelines on the appearance and formatting of written papers, as well as presentations. Great advice on clearing out the dense, cluttered look that has hampered professional business writing for so long. Bailey recommends ample usage of bullets, tables, headings, and lots of white space. The best piece of advice he gives is to just write the "main point" up front, in the executive summary. Don't set it up with the all the background, don't get into explanations of how you got there, just write it.

Very useful, very easy to read, highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reference for today's written business English, June 26, 2000

By A Customer

This book's simply the very best reference there is on the subject of using plain and simple English to communicate effectively in writing.

Bailey's suggestions are so simple, straight forward and full of common sense that you find yourself thinking, "Of course I should write this way! Everybody should write like this!" The world would be a better place--and be so much more productive--if everyone followed Bailey's suggestions.

Some of Bailey's suggestions include:

* Write like you speak

* Don't be afraid to use contractions * Avoid the passive voice

* Forget jargon and "business-ese"

* Use lists

I teach business writing to non-native English speakers and have depended on Bailey's text as a reference for all of my classes. Without fail, my students report increased productivity and increased efficiency in their written communications after applying his suggestions to their writing.