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Business Writing Style Guide

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business writing style guide pdf

John Morris, Oregon State University

Julie Zwart, Oregon State University

Copyright Year: 2020

Publisher: Oregon State University

Language: English

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Reviewed by April Asbury, Instructor, Radford University on 7/4/23

The "Table of Contents" is clear and easy to navigate. Key terms are boldfaced and clear, but a glossary and index would be helpful. (For example, the text mentions "SWOT" multiple times before actually defining the acronym.) read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The "Table of Contents" is clear and easy to navigate. Key terms are boldfaced and clear, but a glossary and index would be helpful. (For example, the text mentions "SWOT" multiple times before actually defining the acronym.)

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As an English instructor and editor, I am not experienced enough with some of the models and strategies for data analysis included to evaluate them thoroughly. I would appreciate seeing evaluations from more experienced business teachers and students.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Unlike some popular business writing textbooks, this style guide is stripped down the essentials. The writing process and assignments are usually treated in a more general way, without as many references to current events and brand names as textbooks I used in the past. Too much concern with keeping "hot" and "current" references can date a book quickly. (Just consider how much Twitter has changed as a business!) This text should be easy to keep current,

Clarity rating: 4

The authors' language is clear and accessible. Important terms are in boldface and usually defined or clarified with text and illustrations.

Consistency rating: 5

The language, voice, and framework seems to be consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

Titles, subtitles, and text-block sidebars should make this work easy to skim, assign sections, and highlight key information.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The "Introduction" lays out some important expectations, followed by sections on "The Writing Process," "Writing Essentials," and a selection of models. While this layout would still benefit from a glossary and index, the topics are clear and logically presented.

Interface rating: 4

I tested the online version, as well as the downloadable pdf. (The formatting looks more clean and consistent online.) Navigation is quick, easy, and clear, with embedded hyperlinks working as expected. A minimum of graphics should make this roll smoothly even on a small screen.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

Some "picky" grammatical issues include unclear references (a lot of "it happens" going on), periods outside quotation marks, occasional comma problems, and other issues. Take this quotation, for example: "Pronouns- 'it’s [sic] shares' refers to Apple’s shares" (70), A "Grammar" section is included.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Created as a guide for native- and non-native English speakers, this text stresses that conventions in business writing will change depending on culture and location. This distinction is an important one, and students should understand expectations will change, not just due to a corporation's culture, but within different countries and writing for different cultural audiences. While this element could be highlighted a bit more, possibly with additional examples, these differences are absolutely crucial for business writing students in a global market.

This text would be an excellent contender for an introductory text on writing business reports. Don't expect thorough guides to business letters, memos, or other forms of communication; expect a review of Bloom's Taxonomy, advice on prewriting, and the importance of analysis. For more advanced classes, you may need a more thorough text--for example, advanced writers in college are probably sick of the five-paragraph essay structure. However, if you need a clear, quick handbook for writing brief reports and essays, with attention to language and critical thinking skills, this could be a good place to start.

Reviewed by Susan Waldman, Associate Professor, English, Leeward Community College on 3/26/21

This text covers all aspects of the writing process from brainstorming to revision to formatting, with an emphasis on the writing specifically needed for business students in order to write business reports. The TOC is very complete, including... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text covers all aspects of the writing process from brainstorming to revision to formatting, with an emphasis on the writing specifically needed for business students in order to write business reports. The TOC is very complete, including links for every section so that the student can easily jump to whatever is needed or assigned. One aspect that I especially appreciated was making the connection between essay writing, which the student might already be familiar with, and business report writing, the subject at hand. In particular, there was a chart included with comparisons of style and formatting between academic writing and business writing. Although business writing includes many other types of products, such as memos and letters, the concepts and practices included in this text are applicable across the board. The examples offered will no doubt mirror concepts being included in their Management courses, making this text a good companion for those classes.

The text seemed error-free and unbiased to me.

This is an invaluable resource for today's business students who are making the writing transition into the specific style needs of their discipline. A revision history is included at the end of the text, indicating that the authors are continuously reviewing the text for errors and made revisions as of November 2020. The inclusion of business concepts in the examples section will directly connect the writing process to the students' business courses.

Clarity rating: 5

The writing style of the text reflects the authors' stand that business writing is clear and concise, with a directness not typically found in academic writing. Topic headings such as, "What is good writing?" or "What does this mean?" help guide the students to answers to frequently asked questions, including a thorough explanation of what a counterargument is, among many other relevant topics for the beginning business writer.

Terms are explained, reviewed, and referenced from section to section.

The thoroughness of the TOC allows for the assignment of specific sections, including exercises and writing samples.

Extremely well-organized.

Interface rating: 5

I found no interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammar errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The text uses examples I consider culturally neutral, focusing on process rather than content.

As a professor of Business Writing at a community college, I will select sections of this text appropriate to beginning writers, but I can also see how the more advanced sections would be appropriate for a 4-year program. At the freshman/sophomore level, all of the general writing process chapters will be very useful to guide my students from academic writing to business-appropriate writing for reports. The concepts of concision, persuasion and clarity can be applied to all types of writing assignments.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • The Writing Process
  • Writing Essentials
  • Writing and Business Models
  • Feedback and Grading

Ancillary Material

About the book.

It is the goal of this book to help students do the following: • Apply basic concepts for effective and concise business writing. • Compile a well written report acceptable within a business context. • Follow a writing process designed for business students. • Demonstrate critical thinking, reasoning, and persuasion. • Communicate in writing using a business model. • Apply resources for improving business writing skills.

About the Contributors

In 2009, John Morris transitioned from a three decades long career in private industry to teach at OSU; his first course incorporated the university’s Writing Intensive Course (WIC) requirement, for the College of Business. As a stipulation of its accreditation process, AAC&U requires that each college have a WIC that teaches students how  write in the profession . Having worked extensively with recent college graduates in private industry, John had some very specific ideas about what was needed to write for business, but he found little in existence in the way of universal business writing standards beyond academic writing guides. During the interim nine years of teaching WIC, a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, and collaborating with other business instructors and professors, he developed a variety of job aids to help students write for business.

Julie Zwart is an instructor in INTO Oregon State University’s Graduate Pathway program. The Pathway program was established in 2008 to provide language, culture, and academic support for international students as they transition into their masters programs at OSU. Julie began teaching at INTO OSU in 2014, and shortly after worked on a project to redesign a foundational MBA pathway course, which is how she met John. Later she worked with him as co-instructor in the MBA Pathway teaching writing and analysis. Over the course of working together and assessing the needs of students in terms written communication for business purposes, the two undertook creating this writing textbook.

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The Science of Strong Business Writing

  • Bill Birchard

business writing style guide pdf

Lessons from neurobiology

Brain scans are showing us in new detail exactly what entices readers. Scientists can see a group of midbrain neurons—the “reward circuit”—light up as people respond to everything from a simple metaphor to an unexpected story twist. The big takeaway? Whether you’re crafting an email to a colleague or an important report for the board, you can write in a way that delights readers on a primal level, releasing pleasure chemicals in their brains.

Bill Birchard is an author and writing coach who’s worked with many successful businesspeople. He’s drawn on that experience and his review of the scientific literature to identify eight features of satisfying writing: simplicity, specificity, surprise, stirring language, seductiveness, smart ideas, social content, and storytelling. In this article, he shares tips for using those eight S’s to captivate readers and help your message stick.

Strong writing skills are essential for anyone in business. You need them to effectively communicate with colleagues, employees, and bosses and to sell any ideas, products, or services you’re offering.

business writing style guide pdf

  • Bill Birchard is a business author and book-writing coach. His Writing for Impact: 8 Secrets from Science That Will Fire Up Your Reader’s Brain will be published by HarperCollins Leadership in April 2023. His previous books include Merchants of Virtue, Stairway to Earth, Nature’s Keepers, Counting What Counts, and others. For more writing tactics, see his website .  

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The business style handbook : an A-to-Z guide for effective writing on the job

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Writing Essentials

Never fall in love with your own writing. ~John Morris

This chapter is a close companion to the 3-part Writing Process introduced in Chapter 2. In fact, it was born of our desire to keep that process as tight as possible without compromising some of the specialized tasks students often find relevant to their assignments. Our intention was to keep Chapter 2 consistent with a generic process for business school that will fit the majority of assignments. To enable this focus on the overall process, we created this chapter of writing essentials to capture common one off items. We consider these as one off because 1) they support the basic writing process of analyze, compose, and finish; 2) all courses have unique skill requirements so the instructor may have varying interests in how you do these things; and 3) doing these things will not harm any student’s grade despite the individual expectations or tastes of the instructor.

Formatting a Business Report

The primary reason for writing is communication and this does not vary between disciplines. However, there are differences between academic and business writing styles. In business writing, we tend to be informal and use a perspective that matches the circumstances. In academic writing, the tone is more formal and we are biased toward a distant, third-person perspective as evidenced by the choice of pronouns and a clinical tone. Both academic and business writers emphasize facts, but business writers give opinions too. Academics use long sentences, but business readers see such writing as stilted and cumbersome. But note, while business writing is less formal than academic writing, it is not conversational. Avoid using slang!

Understanding Assignment Requirements

Bloom’s taxonomy is a framework with which to classify skills; it is based on the 1950s research of Benjamin Bloom and is sometimes referred to as levels of thinking . Because it’s useful in calibrating difficulty, many instructors employ Bloom’s taxonomy to write learning objectives and assignments. The lower level (easier) skills, such as remembering, set the stage for higher level (difficult) skills, such as analyzing or evaluating. In a given course, and indeed across the curriculum as a whole, students are asked to demonstrate lower level skills first and to progress to higher level thinking; the starting point is often referred to as foundational while the endpoint can be thought of as mastery . Sometimes mastery is called Critical Thinking. For the purposes of this guide, the levels will be explained as they relate to the ways they might be used in assignment descriptions or prompts.

Bloom's Levels of Thinking

As you read through each of the level descriptions below, recognize that the verbs your instructor chooses in an assignment prompt identify the levels of thinking they expect from you as a student. The common verbs we listed are representative, not exhaustive; your specific discipline may even have its own vocabulary around each of these levels of thinking.

Regardless of the discipline, the foundational level always starts with knowledge specific to the subject and then progresses to comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis and culminates in mastery as demonstrated through evaluation. Just like an artist must first learn about the variety of implements for placing paint on canvas (knowledge) before they actually dip their brush into a jar of paint, students of business must first understand the vocabulary they will need before trying to understand a theory or model. Likewise, the same student needs to comprehend the business theory before they can apply it to a case. Learning progresses along these levels of learning .

The tool that Bloom gave to teachers through his taxonomy makes describing this progression easier. And this progression works equally well whether moving through a subject or a discipline. That’s why BA 101 comes before BA 211. As you read assignments in your various courses, pay attention to the descriptors; they will help you understand how complex your responses should be.

Which of the levels an assignment falls into is not always clear or obvious, and it may not be possible to merely use the assignment’s verb choices to determine its category. Higher level assignments in particular build on and often use the terms from lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. So it may be helpful to fully understand each verb of the assignment and what level of thinking it demands, using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide.

Knowledge Level

Common verbs: arrange, define, describe, identify, label, list, name, order, recall, select, state

For example:

Identify the four parts of a SWOT analysis.

Name the three stages of the value chain.

These prompts are simple; they are asking you only to state the parts of something, either the parts of a SWOT analysis or the stages of the value chain. Therefore, these two examples do not require you to go beyond stating; that is, once you have replied “strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat” to the first prompt, you are done. Obviously, this type of question is very basic. If used at the beginning of the term or in a foundational course for a degree program, it may be a multiple choice or short answer type question. If it comes later in the term or curriculum, it is usually paired with a higher level question.

Comprehension Level

Common verbs: comprehend, classify, define, discuss, explain, summarize, paraphrase, restate

Explain the four parts of a SWOT analysis.

Summarize what happens at each stage of the value chain.

Note in the previous level, knowledge, you only had to identify or name the parts of SWOT or a value chain. Now at a comprehension level, you would be required to go beyond just stating the terms to explain what role each part plays. Comprehension involves a more in-depth knowledge of the process or model. So, if you stopped at “strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat” when responding to the prompt above, you would receive no or only partial credit for your answer. In other words, comprehending a model is a higher-level of thinking than just knowing what the parts are called.

Application Level

Common verbs: apply, chose, construct, compute, determine, develop, extend, predict, report, use

Use SWOT to describe the future prospects of Company X.

Construct a drawing of Company X’s major value chain activities.

With application, you are expected to demonstrate a higher level of thinking than comprehension. You must use what you know and understand about SWOT analysis or value chain within the context of a new situation. To do this, you also need to apply what you know about Company X’s business to the specific model. At the application level, you must still know and comprehend the SWOT model, but you must also apply its rules and principles to describe Company X’s specific future prospects.

Clearly, as you progress to this third level of thinking, if you had not yet mastered either of the previous ones, it will show up in how you describe those particular prospects. In other words, if you thought that “S” represented “strategies” instead of strengths, your answer will appear nonsensical to anyone who has mastered these three levels of thinking relative to SWOT analysis.

Analysis Level

Common verbs: analyze, break down, compose, contrast, differentiate, distinguish, examine

Distinguish between the unique strengths of Company X and Company Y.

Analyze Company X’s value chain to identify its primary vulnerabilities.

At the analysis level, you are able to split up a subject into component parts in order to examine how they relate to each other. As with the earlier levels, you are still expected to have mastered less complex thinking before being challenged to analyze; now you not only understand the context for using a model, you also understand the content being studied and how it is organized, making this a more complex and nuanced task than application.

Distinguishing between the strengths of two independent entities—Company X and Company Y—requires the student to use the appropriate language (knowledge), correctly (comprehension), within the context of each’s strengths (application), and compare the relationship correctly. So, if Company X is known for its market power and brand and Company Y is known for its market power and scale of operations, the student will need to explain what these distinctions mean to each company; that is, describe the implications of brand to market power in contrast to scale of operations to market power.

Synthesis Level

Common verbs: adapt, arrange, compare, categorize, formulate, integrate, organize, propose, write

Compare the likelihood of success of Company X if they spend money to improve their existing software (strength) versus if they streamline their production process (weakness).

Propose a revision to Company X’s supply chain organization.

Going beyond a break down exercise (analysis), these prompts are asking the student to generate a complete argument by combining their understanding of each of the parts. To demonstrate a mastery at the synthesis level, the student is expected to be able put the parts of a thing back together in order to create a new whole that is different than what existed before. Such comparisons or proposals rely on analysis using a properly applied framework, but the student is expected to be much more complete. For example, the instructor may expect a formal report or persuasive proposal.

Evaluation Level

Common verbs: appraise, assess, conclude, criticize, defend, justify, critique, persuade, predict

On which part of the SWOT analysis should Company X focus in order to ensure its future success? Defend your choice.

Describe the value chain activities for Company X and Company Y? Conclude which company operates more efficiently and suggest improvements for each.

In the first prompt, the student must first understand all parts of the SWOT analysis in order to determine which is most important. Then they apply what they know about both Company X and Company Y and the market in which they both operate. Not only will the student need in-depth knowledge about the models, companies and markets, but they must evaluate each in order to derive a conclusion. This involves extensive research, analysis and finally integration before arriving at a conclusion. But, the student is not yet done because they must also defend their choice . This involves appraising all of the previously mentioned information and prioritizing that information based on its merits, in order to create a persuasive defense!

Thesis statements

A thesis statement is a sentence that states the main idea of a report. Its purpose is to give direction to the report and let readers know its content. See the example, Thesis Option #1. Note how the thesis statement clearly responds to the prompt, but without going into detail; the specific information about how the company will ensure its future success will be addressed in the body paragraphs of the report.

A thesis statement can also contain a supporting point, if that point will be the central theme of the report. See the example, Thesis Option #2. Either thesis statement works and which one you choose depends on how you want to approach the prompt.

All reports should include a thesis statement, but the length and content will be determined by both the assignment and author’s preference. When crafting a thesis statement, consider your response to the prompt, your personal opinion on the topic, or what you believe is the strongest argument. The thesis should be drafted at the beginning of the writing process to serve as your guide and then revisited (and probably rewritten) during the polishing phase to ensure it is still in alignment with the theme of the report.

Prompt: On which part of the SWOT analysis should Company X focus in order to ensure its future success? Defend your choice.

Thesis Option #1: To meet their long-term objectives, Company X should pay the most attention to their strengths, specifically the development of AppX.

Thesis Option #2: To meet their long-term objectives, Company X should focus on their strengths, specifically the development of AppX technology, because they are currently the only company that uses this highly innovative technology.

Keeping writing honest and avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism and how to prevent it.

Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines plagiarism as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own or use (another’s production) without crediting the source”. Examples of this could include copying someone else’s work and calling it your own or improperly citing portions of another’s work. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is a serious offense and will be dealt with in a serious manner by university officials. However, students’ desire to maintain honesty in writing should be driven not by the fear of consequences associated with plagiarism, but rather the knowledge that they have acted in an ethical manner, and their writing reflects that.

Maintaining honesty in writing requires continuous commitment from the writer. The responsibility for avoiding both intentional and accidental plagiarism falls completely on the writer and anytime a writer attaches their name to an assignment, it must be completely their own. Identifying the common causes of plagiarism will help you understand the best ways to prevent it.

Common Causes

There are a few common causes for plagiarism.

Inexperience. Students do not know how to properly cite works. Citing properly according to a style guide requires a lot of attention to detail. There are many online resources that can help with this and you will get better with practice.

Misunderstanding. Students may not understand the necessity of citations. Especially students from cultures where borrowing someone’s work is considered as giving them honor, rather than stealing as it is in American culture, the concept of citing work may be unfamiliar. Knowing the norms of the culture and system you are living and working in and the standards that universities hold students to is key to preventing plagiarism.

Carelessness. Students are unsure of how to approach the assignment or lack confidence in their own work. However, learning is a process, and by copying someone else’s work rather than engaging in the process of learning, students are only selling themselves short. When unsure about how to complete an assignment, it’s best to ask for help, a process which you will learn from.

Procrastination. Poor time management and procrastination can also lead to plagiarism. When students feel they are unable to complete an assignment on time, they may feel their only choice is to plagiarize. Staying on top of deadlines and being realistic about the amount of time assignments require can help with this.

Oversight. When participating in group work, students rely on others to correctly cite. With group assignments, all members of the group are responsible for the content, so if there is an improper or missing citation, each member will face the consequences. It’s a good idea for all members on a group assignment to be responsible for proofing the document and looking for potential problems.

What and How to Cite

Citing means giving proper credit to the creator of the intellectual property that you are using in your research. Citations generally require the author’s last name, date, title, source and link to the source, though these items and their sequence vary among the citation styles.

There are three main styles of citations. The style of citation is just that—it’s the way a citation is displayed both in the text and in the reference list. The style of citation used depends on both the academic discipline and professor’s preference. Some professors don’t mind if students use whatever citation style they are comfortable with, while others are more particular and require students to cite in one particular style.

Regardless of citation style, sources need to be cited in two ways.

In-text citations. These citations appear in the text, after the information that you are referencing and are in either parenthetical or footnote form, depending on which style of citation you are using. Both paraphrased and directly quoted information need to be cited (though in different ways) and a general rule is that a phrase of more than 4-5 consecutive words taken from any source needs to be cited. The way to cite directly quoted and paraphrased material depends on the citation style. No matter which citation style you’re using, the author’s last name needs to be shown in-text or in the footnote, and the full citation must appear in the reference list.

Reference list (also called Works Cited). This is a list of sources which needs to be included at the end of your report. The list must contain all the sources you used in your report and will either be in alphabetical order or the order in which they appear in your report. Chicago, APA, and MLA styles have very particular rules about what information needs to be included from each source and how it is displayed, so consult the manual for details on how to compile a reference list.

As mentioned, citing properly in a given style is best done using a manual of that particular style. Manuals are widely available online. One comprehensive and well-known website with these manuals is Purdue OWL, the online writing lab run by Purdue University. Chicago , APA , and MLA manuals of style can be found there. This video and this Citations 101 website will provide further explanation. By the way, although you might like to include an impressively long list at the end of your report, avoid the temptation of including sources that you did not cite; that is a bibliography. In a bibliography, you list all material you read or reviewed when preparing your report. Unless specifically requested, most instructors are not interested in a bibliography.

Because citation style is generally determined by the course instructor, it’s best to follow their instructions. Although we are using a Chicago style, this textbook specifically avoids promoting one style of citation over another. If your instructor doesn’t specify a style, you should be sure to ask.

Writing for Persuasion

Persuasion is selling and business is all about selling. Whether selling your idea to investors, persuading a client to buy your proposal, or persuading your boss to take your suggestions, there are elements of persuasion in nearly all aspects of business. Indeed, even in school, there is an element of persuasion in getting the scores on assignments you deserve and the grades you desire.

There are several elements to persuasion that are important to keep in mind which were addressed generically in the 3-part Writing Process . But let’s put those in the context of writing to persuade. First, you need to understand your audience and what they want. The elements in the Analyze portion of the 3-part Writing Process address this task from several angles, but importantly, they help you put your words into words that your audience will absorb.

Once you know the objective of your writing (referred to in the 3-part Writing Process as “assignment purpose”) you must dive into the data. Mark Twain famously popularized the saying “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The headlines in the popular press are full of business executives going to jail over some kind of deception or act of omission. Your boss (and your professor) do not want you to make up facts in order to create a persuasive argument; this is the literary equivalent to putting lipstick on a pig , because no matter how nice you try to make the pig look, it is still a pig!

Digging into the data means getting answers that will support your stance. As the Twain quote implies, however, sometimes this means looking at the data from a variety of perspectives. If you come to a conclusion that is obviously questionable, be prepared to explain your assumptions. Knowing why a stance is not convincing is often as important as having a strong set of arguments in support (see the next section on counterarguments). But, let’s stick with crafting your position persuasively for just a bit longer.

Using data is powerful in defending a position. How many times have you debated with your buddies over the merits of some particular figure or event only to have someone pull out their phone and ask Google for an answer? If you are arguing which city is bigger, census data provides a sufficient comparison and debate concluded . Likewise, comparing the wisdom of one approach over another relative to a marketing problem can be furthered or hindered through the application of data.

Data, when used in conjunction with an appropriate business model, is even more persuasive. When professionals look at problems, they are generally assessing an appropriate framework to understand what is happening, which will then yield a path forward. When an investor is asked about a stock, they examine its historical records, its current 10-K, and may determine its price-to-earnings ratio before providing a recommendation. When an attorney examines the liability for a consumer product, they will examine the evidence, look at previous case law, and apply a standard of probable cause. Both the financial ratios and legal precedents are business models that provide a framework for a decision. As a student of business, it behooves you to act in an equally professional manner by looking for an appropriate business model to frame your arguments.

When making your case, ask yourself if you have an effective position that is supported by the facts; you are not ready to transition from analysis to composition until you do. Then look for a good “hook” to grab the attention of your reader and encapsulate your position by speaking directly to a need of your audience. Use effective editing to get all unnecessary words out of the way. Look for graphics or figures that will support your position. And, look at the most convincing argument in opposition to your position and decide how you can most convincingly refute it.

Writing a Counterargument

In order to be persuasive in writing (and in presentations), counter argumentation can be used. A well crafted counterargument takes place in two steps and will enhance the persuasive ability of a report or presentation.

A counterargument is a statement that goes against your claim, which is then followed by a statement that proves your claim is still logical or sound. When trying to persuade your audience, either in written form or through a presentation, you first make a claim and support it with reasoning, evidence, and data. Then you adopt a skeptical tone from the perspective of those who might resist your argument (first step). You point out a convincing conclusion or a key assumption that goes contrary to your initial stance. Think of this as a turn against your own argument. Finally, you turn back to your original argument (second step) using a “but”, “yet”, “however”, or something similar to highlight the logic or evidence that outweighs the possible opposition. You show that you have considered the strongest counterargument and that your argument prevails. A more detailed description of how to construct a counter argument is given in the next section.

Always consider your audience, and the objections they may have to your opinion or proposal. Brainstorm why your audience would disagree with you, and the support they would use to disagree with you. The turn against should contain: drawbacks to your claim, an alternative conclusion drawn from the same data, or a different conclusion that makes sense within the context of your argument. It is key to both present the argument against your thesis and elaborate on why others would support that argument. The elaboration does not have to be lengthy (1-2 sentences is fine), but does need to succinctly and clearly support the opposing view.

Including a counterargument in writing is a method of persuasion with two primary benefits. First, it shows that you have considered and are willing to acknowledge multiple points of view before settling on one. In business, there is rarely one clear-cut solution to a problem and all viable options need to be carefully weighed. Showing that you, as a writer, have approached the issue from two or more perspectives enhances the credibility of your final opinion. Secondly, it also allows you to address possible objections to your opinion and refute them (prove them wrong), which shows readers who may object initially that there is a better option.

Skillfully writing a counter argument requires higher level thinking, the ability to understand multiple perspectives, and good planning. But, be careful using counterarguments. If your logic is trite or your approach obviously feeble, you will do more harm than good to your report.

Counterarguments will not enhance all reports, so consider whether the assignment calls for one. If the purpose of the assignment is anything other than persuasion, a counterargument is not appropriate. For instance, in the previous section on levels of thinking , you learned that responding to the prompt “Explain the four parts of a SWOT analysis” is a low level (comprehension) in Bloom’s Taxonomy. When answering this question, it’s not useful to include a counterargument because there is no argument in the first place. However, in the question “On which part of the SWOT analysis should Company X focus in order to ensure its future success? Defend your choice” you are required to give an opinion and it is your goal to persuade your audience to agree. By presenting your opinion, proposing a counterargument (in this case, the suggestion that another element of SWOT is more important), and then refuting that opposition, your argument is made stronger.

Constructing the Counterargument

The counterargument is generally positioned in one of two parts of the paper, either immediately after the introduction paragraph or right before the conclusion paragraph. The counterargument should be contained in one complete paragraph, not interspersed throughout multiple paragraphs.

Your counterargument will make up the first part of its own paragraph. Start your counterargument paragraph with terms that allow your reader to know you are presenting the opposing point. Possible phrases to use are:

Some may argue that…

Others may hold the belief that…

It might seem that…

It is true that…

Admittedly,…

Opposing views claim that…

In the second half of the paragraph, following the presentation of the other side in support of it, signal to the reader that you will now turn back to your original thesis and refute your opponent’s claims by stating why they are wrong. This step also will involve the skillful use of transitions. For example:

Nevertheless…

This rebuttal (the turn back to your original position) needs to directly disagree with opposing argument stated in the first sentence of this paragraph and contain elaboration. Be sure to consider an explanation for why the counterargument is problematic or why it is less important than your argument.

Finally, write a conclusion sentence at the end of the paragraph to sum up your idea and link back to your thesis.

Here is an example of a counter argument paragraph which could be found in a report responding to this prompt we have seen before: On which part of the SWOT analysis should Company X focus in order to ensure its future success? Defend your choice.

Thesis: Company X should pay the most attention to their strengths, specifically the development of AppX technology, because they are currently the only company that uses this highly innovative technology.

Some may argue that Company X should focus on the opportunity to expand into the Asian market. This market has over 2 billion young consumers, which is a huge potential market for Company X’s products. By taking advantage of this opportunity, Company X could open the door to a global market and a large consumer base. However , this new potential market is currently saturated with Company X’s competitors, many of them whom failed to make a profit last year. Focusing on AppX technology, a proven strength of Company X, in a space with no current competitors is a far less risky move than seeking an opportunity elsewhere where the competition is stiff. Thus, investing in a current strength, is the wisest choice for Company X.

Note that the thesis, or writer’s opinion, is in support of focusing on strengths, while the counterargument paragraph begins by presenting the argument that Company X should pay most attention to opportunities. The transition words in bold signal the turn away from and turn back to the thesis, and the conclusion of the writer.

Writing a counter argument is a skill that takes time to develop. With careful thought and planning, writers will become more adept at it, and therefore enhance their persuasion skills.

English grammar is complex and filled with rules and exceptions to those rules. When thinking about learning or improving your grammar there are, of course, many aspects to consider, far more than can fit in this writing guide. Therefore, this guide focuses primarily on those most critical for writing clarity, based on our experience.

Agreement and Referencing

There are two types of agreement in the English language: subject-verb and pronoun.

In English, subjects and verbs must agree, meaning that if you use a singular subject a singular verb must go with it. For example:

He goes to the store.

They go to the store.

Generally, this is pretty straight-forward for native speakers of English, yet in some instances it can be hard to know whether a subject is plural or singular. In the instances below, the subject of each sentence is singular and therefore takes a singular verb.

One of the members is absent.

The team leader , as well as his interns, is well-prepared.

The group with all the posters presents first.

Remembering whether a subject is singular or plural is a matter of memorization. The following words all require a singular verb: either, neither, each, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, someone, somebody. For example:

Each of the members contributes to the team.

Nobody was prepared for the emergency.

While incorrect subject-verb agreement will be noticeable to your reader, it likely won’t confuse them. Lack of pronoun agreement or unclear pronoun referencing, on the other hand, has the possibility to cause confusion to the reader. Each pronoun must agree with the noun (antecedent) it represents and must clearly refer back to the noun it is meant to represent, as in the example below.

It is clear that both “his” and “he” mean “Mohammed”.

There are two main problems which can occur with pronoun referencing. The first is that there is more than one noun the pronoun could refer to. For example:

Nora and Maria worked diligently, and after more than a week she finished the project.

Not long after the company set up the subsidiary, it went bankrupt.

In the first sentence it is unclear who “she” is because “she” could mean either Nora or Maria. If they both finished the project, the pronoun “they” should be used. In the second sentence, the pronoun “it” could represent both the company and the subsidiary, which leaves the reader wondering exactly who went bankrupt.

The second potential problem with pronoun referencing is when the pronoun refers to a word that is implied, but not specifically stated. For example:

It can be inferred that “they” means the company, but it could also mean the supervisors, managers, or human resource department at ABC, Inc.

Remember, pronouns need to clearly refer back to a noun and be in the same (singular or plural) form as the noun they are representing. In the case of referencing, if there is a doubt whether the pronoun does this, it is better to use the proper noun. In written work, being diligent about checking that each verb agrees with the subject of the sentence and that each pronoun correctly represents the noun it is intended to, is the best way to identify these errors.

While there are more than 15 verb tenses in the English language. In academic writing, the most commonly used tenses are present simple, past simple and present perfect. Below are common situations when each tense is used:

Present Simple

To introduce a topic

To make general statements that are still true

To state proven facts

A SWOT analysis is done to assess a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Kellogg’s is a leading producer of breakfast cereals.

Americans eat more organic food than ever before.

Past Simple

To introduce past research

To describe how data were gathered

Chen and Li found that employer satisfaction with job performance was related to benefits the company offered.

To understand the market better, researchers interviewed 150 participants.

Present Perfect

To connect the past to what is still relevant in the present

Modals for making recommendations

As a business professional, you will often be asked to make recommendations to your boss colleagues, and/or clients, either in writing or through a presentation. It’s key to know which modal verbs to use that are both appropriate to the audience and the strength of the suggestion. First, consider your audience. If your audience is a superior, it’s necessary to show respect to them by using a softer and less forceful tone.

You must invest in new equipment in order to increase profits.

You should invest in new equipment in order to increase profits.

The first example is very direct, too direct for a recommendation to a superior. The second example is a recommendation with the correct tone. In addition to using “should”, the following words are in the appropriate tone to make a recommendation: suggest, propose, urge, advise.

Word Choice

Deciding which words to use can be a tough choice, but in all cases, prioritize clarity. If your reader is not able to understand precisely what you mean, there will be a breakdown in communication.

Collocations

Collocations are word that commonly go together in English, and are known to “fit” together. A simple example is:

However, if we switched the verbs in the two sentences and said “We solved the question”, this isn’t correct because “solve” and “question” don’t collocate well together.

While varying your word choice by using synonyms can make your writing more interesting to read, if you do not have a keen awareness of the contextual uses of the word, you run the risk of error or incorrect meaning. For example:

While “increase” and “addition” are synonyms according to Merriam Webster’s thesaurus, the meaning of the two words is not precisely the same; “addition” sounds awkward in the sentence and even slightly changes the meaning, whereas “increase” is the correct word to describe a rise or fall in sales.

Awareness of words that fit well together is something native speakers of English often have because they’ve been exposed to the English language since childhood, while non-native speakers need to learn subtle uses of words. There are rarely strict rules that govern collocations, which also makes collocations challenging for non-native speakers. The best way to improve your knowledge of collocations is to expose yourself to English as much as possible, and to pay attention to which words are often used together.

Set phrases

Like collocations, idioms, including the proper use of phrasal verbs and prepositions, are something that is learned with time and practice. For example:

Both phrases are understandable, yet many native English speakers would say the second example just “sounds better”, without really knowing why. There are some grammar rules surrounding these set phrases, but the majority of phrases have developed over time and are now considered standard usage. As with collocations, learning set phrases takes time and practice.

Prepositions

Prepositions are also a matter of memorization, which follow some, but not many predictable rules. Below are examples of correct usage of prepositions:

Incorrect usage, for example, using “spending in materials increased over the period” can still be understood, but is not grammatically correct. Using the correct phrase is necessary for writing and speaking in a professional way, as in the case “spending on materials”.

Parallel Construction

When listing items in a series, parallel grammatical construction must be used. Take the simple example:

The first sentence is not grammatically parallel because the third verb “washing” is not in the same form as the previous two; in the second sentence all three verbs are in the same form, present simple, so this sentence is parallel.

Parallel construction must be used in a series or list which is separated by commas, and uses the conjunctions “and” or “or”, as in the above example.

Parallel construction also must be used within phrases. For example:

The first sentence is incorrect because the third phrase is not parallel to the others, while in the second sentence the correct parallel construction is used.

Additionally, you can remove unnecessary words, and let “should” be the modal for all three verbs. For example:

Parallel construction must also be used in the patterns of: between/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also. For example:

The management had to decide between investing in new equipment and buying back shares.They were advised to not only focus on the company’s strengths, but also cut costs.

In the first sentence, “investing” and “buying” are parallel. In the second, “focus” and “cut” are parallel. Both of these sentences are grammatically correct.

Tip: The best way to ensure your sentences are parallel is to pick out all the conjunctions in your writing and look at the series before and after the conjunctions. Each item in a series must be in the same grammatical form.

Transition Words

Transition words are conjunctions, or connecting words, that establish connections between sentences and between paragraphs. The purpose of transition words is to guide your reader through your report to reach your intended conclusion. Transition words do this by showing the logical connection and the relationships between ideas. For example, if you want to contrast two ideas, the word “however” can be used, while in comparing ideas the word “likewise” can be used. Using the correct transition clarifies your meaning, but using the wrong transition can confuse your reader. For example:

In the example above, the transition “likewise” is incorrect because it signals to the reader that what comes both before and after the transition word will be the same or similar. This isn’t the case however, because profits increased yet revenue declined. The correct transition here would be “however”.

This site link provides a comprehensive list of transitions and their uses.

Use of transition words does not necessarily mean that a report will be easy to follow. In fact, transitions used incorrectly or overused can make the organization of a report less clear and leave the reader confused, as in the example above. Transitions themselves cannot replace good organization, rather proper organization needs to come first and transitions then enhance the organization.

Transition words can also be overused, and if they are, they can be a distraction to the reader. Transition words are often encouraged among immature writers because they mark ideas, yet when writers develop, it is no longer necessary to mark each sentence with “first…second…third” In some cases, very few if any, transitions are needed to make a report flow well. If you read publications like the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, you will notice how few transition words are used. Instead of using transition words to connect ideas, strong writers use other methods. Note that in the excerpt from The New York Times below, only one transition phrase is used, which is “for example”.

On Thursday, Apple became the first publicly traded American company to be worth more than $1 trillion when its shares climbed 3 percent to end the day at $207.39. The gains came two days after the company announced the latest in a series of remarkably profitable quarters. Apple’s ascent from the brink of bankruptcy to the world’s most valuable public company has been a business tour de force, marked by rapid innovation, a series of smash-hit products and the creation of a sophisticated, globe-spanning supply chain that keeps costs down while producing enormous volumes of cutting-edge devices. That ascent has also been marked by controversy, tragedy and challenges. Apple’s aggressive use of outside manufacturers in China, for example, has led to criticism that it is taking advantage of poorly paid workers in other countries and robbing Americans of good manufacturing jobs. The company faces numerous questions about how it can continue to grow.

The following are additional ways of connecting ideas, as highlighted in red in the example:

Pronouns- “it’s shares” refers to Apple’s shares; “that ascent” means “the ascent from the brink of bankruptcy”.

Substitution- “the gains” refers back to “shares climbed 3 percent”; “the company” is used twice, both times to reference Apple.

Using transition words in moderation, along with substitution and pronouns, make a report flow logically, rather than make the reader bored or confused. As you develop as a writer, be intentional about balancing your transition words with the other methods of organization.

Writing Concisely

Well-known author, George Orwell said, “If it’s possible to cut a word out, always cut it out”. This doesn’t mean never write the word, rather in the editing process, search for and cut out words which don’t add value to your work.

Good writers are able to express their intended meaning without using unnecessary words. In business writing in particular, being clear and concise needs to be prioritized over being fancy and wordy. Busy executives have no time to mull over long, complex sentences when a short version is clearer and provides the same meaning.

Many writers find it easier to initially write from stream of conscience, including many transition phrases such as “I intend to tell you…”, “My first claim is…”, “The second thing is…”, and “My final analysis shows”. However, as stated in the revising section , these extra words and phrases should eventually be eliminated. Most often, they can be deleted without any other modification to the sentence. For example:

I intend to show you why good writing is always worth the effort.

I intend to show you why G ood writing is always worth the effort.

In this fashion, we’ve reduced the sentence by six words (24 characters or 45% including spaces), without changing its meaning, and the sentence is more powerful in the process.

Whereas writing every word that comes to mind is fairly easy to do, writing concisely is more challenging and takes considerably more time and effort. You must be intentional about each word you write and ask yourself whether it serves a purpose. Consider whether one word could replace several and if a shorter word could replace an unnecessarily long word. Consider whether entire sentences, paragraphs, or even sections could be eliminated. However, you must find a balance between being concise and eliminating too much. Cutting out too many words could leave your reader confused about the connections between ideas or unable to follow your logic.

Use the following steps to help you write more concisely:

1. Eliminate redundancy. If one word has a similar meaning to another in the same sentence, delete one. It’s not necessary to say the same thing twice. For example:

Carrots contain a wide range of various nutrients.

Carrots contain various nutrients.

The meaning of “wide range of” and “various” is the same, so using both is redundant. Similarly, in the example below, “some of the various methods” does not add value to the sentence and should be removed.

She explained some of the various methods of doing an analysis.

She explained the methods of analysis.

2. Be specific with qualifiers . Qualifiers are almost always vague in nature. For example:

What does “several” mean? It could mean 3 or 6 changes. How many is “most of”? These words adds no value to the sentence because they are too vague.

In business writing, before using any vague qualifier, consider whether a qualifier could be replaced with data. For example:

The word “somewhat” could easily be removed because it is not essential to expressing the author’s intended meaning and could not be replaced by any concrete data. By removing this and quantifying the other words, the sentence becomes less wordy and the meaning is clearer.

3. Reduce prepositional phrases. Too many prepositional phrases in the same sentence can make the sentence hard to read. The word “of” is commonly overused, and can often be replaced by an adjective and noun or by making a noun possessive. For example:

Original: The collection of data was a process that consumed a lot of time.Revised: The data collection was time consuming.

Original: The reason for the failure of the new system was lack of knowledge of users.

Revised: The new system failed because the users lacked knowledge.

The prepositions “in”, “for”, “at”, “on”, and “over” should also be examined to determine whether they are necessary. For example:

The reason for the failure was that the team didn’t address the needs of the customers.

The failure was caused by overlooking the customer’s needs.

4. Use verbs to show action. To best emphasize the importance of the action, it is best to use strong, rather than weak verbs. The verbs “do”, “is” and “have” are considered weak because though they have a purpose in the sentence, they don’t convey an action. In the example below, the verb “do” should be replaced by the verb “evaluate”, which is stronger. This also eliminates a preposition and does not change the meaning of the sentence. Use strong verbs, whenever possible.

We need to do an evaluation of the candidates. We need to evaluate the candidates.

5. Reconsider the use of vague nouns. Words like “factor”, “aspect”, “situation”, and “area” are often vague. For example:

Original: In the areas of business related to finance, an understanding of mathematics is key.Revised: In finance, understanding mathematics is key.

Original: Salary is an important factor to consider when choosing a job.

Revised: Salary is important to consider when choosing a job.

Vague nouns can often be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence. If it is possible to remove a vague noun, do so.

Throughout the writing process and especially before submitting a report, check every word to make sure it adds value to the sentence; if it does not, remove it. Writing concisely takes dedication. It does not come naturally to many people, but is a skill that must be practiced and refined over time.

Active Voice

The essential needs in business writing are communication and action. In active voice, the emphasis is on the doer of the action so the subject that performs the action typically comes before the verb. The object that receives the action typically comes after the verb, and therefore has less emphasis. By using passive voice the writer is conveying that the object is more important than the subject or that the subject is not known. In business writing, because it is generally necessary to know clearly who (subject) is doing what (verb), using active voice is preferable.

Additionally, it takes more words to write passively than actively so writing in an active voice will make you write concisely. For example, the following two sentences express the same meaning, but active voice uses 25% fewer words than passive voice.

Passive Voice: The quarterly earnings for XYZ Corp were announced.

Active Voice: XYZ Corp announced its quarterly earnings.

Thus, avoid passive construction unless it is absolutely necessary.

However, there are few situations when passive voice is necessary. One is if the doer of the action is not known. For example:

In this case, we do not know who performed the action, so passive voice is appropriate.

In the majority of business writing situations, passive voice is not appropriate because the doer of the action is known. In the example below, there is no reason to use passive voice.

Passive Voice: The meeting was led by the management team.

Active Voice: The management team led the meeting.

Active voice above is preferable because the doer of the action is the subject of the sentence. Before using passive voice, ask yourself if it is necessary. If it is possible to use active voice, do so.

Tables and Figures

For ideas that are particularly important to your report, consider creating a graphic, figure, or image to illustrate. For example, in the Introduction of this textbook we used the Indexed line drawing cartoon from author Jessica Hagy because it aptly illustrates the task ahead for the aspiring business writer. We also used an hourglass graphic to illustrate the Essay Template because the shape seems useful in conveying the narrowing and broadening process of report writing. Similarly, there is a SWOT Checklist in Chapter 4 because it can serve as a convenient tool in creating your own SWOT analysis. You may find such tables and figures help you make your point effectively in a report.

When including graphics like we used in your report, place them where they can be easily referenced by your reader. Such figures should be numbered ( e.g. , Figure 1) and given a descriptive title for reference in the body of the report. If the illustration is larger than a single page (for instance a financial report), or if it is only tangentially related to the main topic of your report (for instance an off topic, but potentially emergent opportunity), place it in an appropriately named appendix.

But, don’t overdo things. When included, a spreadsheet or diagram should explicitly illustrate your thinking and communicate your message. Superfluous illustrations “pad” the report and distract from its value. Never include a figure without accompanying narrative to explain its meaning.

Appendices – A Note on End Matter

In the process of researching, writing, and editing your report, it is common to identify a number of items that belong with the report but not necessarily in it. This is where the end matter comes in. For purposes of business writing, we refer to the items that come at the end of your report as appendices (plural) or an appendix (singular). As the title of this section suggests, appendices belong at the end of the report and are not generally considered in the word or page count of your report unless indicated otherwise. Usually, you will have no appendix or only one. If you use an appendix use the title of “Appendix: [describe the content]”. However, for complicated reports, you might have multiple appendices. In this case, number the appendices as “Appendix X: [describe the content]” where “X” denotes the order in which it appears using capital letters starting with “A”.

In rare cases you may also want to include entire pieces of external matter, e.g. , a financial statement from a subject, an extended description of a technical process, or a project work breakdown structure. These each deserve their own appendix.

Actionable Recommendations

Although there are definite exceptions, many of your business school assignments will ask you to study a pile of data (or a case), apply a business model or two, and make a recommendation. In the business world, this last part—making recommendations—is generally what matters. If you make good recommendations, you may be a star. Bad ones can label you as someone to ignore. What you recommend is always important. Sometimes, how you recommend matters too.

Actionable Recommendations

The quality of your recommendations is a direct result of the thoroughness with which you prepared the analysis. Recommendations are directed at solving whatever problem the client is facing. Your recommendations should be in line with your analysis; that is, they should follow logically from the observations and data you provide in the report.

However, making your recommendations actionable means that you provide specific, measurable, and detailed instructions that are likely to produce positive results for the client. Think in terms of who does what by when? Ask yourself, will my client be able to implement these proposed recommendations in my absence or will they just scratch their heads. Your actionable recommendations should answer the questions how and how much ? Make your proposal as complete as possible given the time and information constraints.

Coincidentally, this practice of who-does-what-by-when, has another application. If you find yourself in a position of delegation, getting commitment on these three elements of any promise will eliminate most surprises. By promises , we mean an agreement from a colleague, superior, or subordinate to follow-up, investigate, or perform any action. This is because these three conditions cover most excuses for not acting. For example, a fellow student who was assigned to edit the final draft of your report says “I didn’t think this was my responsibility.” Or, that same miscreant claims “That’s not what I thought needed to be done.” Or possibly, he says “I thought I still had more time.” This simple action-focus of who-does-what-by-when, especially when done in writing by all involved parties, will go a long way toward preventing many group collaboration problems.

Business Writing Style Guide Copyright © 2018 by John Morris & Julie Zwart is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Best Style Guides for Business Writing

Mary Cullen

Table of Contents

Best for most organizations, for newsletters and blogs, best for proofreading, for evolving language, for uk and us english style difference.

  • Create an internal style guide

The best style guide for your organization will depend on the type and application of your writing. In this post we share our recommendations for the best style guides depending on your needs.

The Gregg Reference Manual: A Manual of Style, Grammar, Usage, and Formatting, 11th Edition William A. Sabin, McGraw-Hill, 2011

The Gregg Reference Manual is intended for anyone who writes, edits, or prepares material for distribution or publication. For over fifty years this manual has been recognized as the best style manual for business professionals who want to master the on-the-job standards of business professionals.

business writing style guide pdf

The Associated Press Stylebook Edited by Darrell Christian, Sally Jacobsen, and David Minthorn, Associated Press, 2020

The Associated Press Stylebook , first published in 1977, clarified the news organization's rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage. Now in its sixth edition, the Stylebook is the standard style guide for most U.S. newspapers, magazines, public relations, and consulting firms.

business writing style guide pdf

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition The University of Chicago Press, 2017 “Chicago” is the bible of book publishers. We refer to “Chicago,” but it is a specialist’s volume. Unless you’re a professional editor or proofreader, this style guide is not needed by most business writers.

business writing style guide pdf

Garner's Modern American Usage, 3rd Edition Bryan A. Garner, Oxford University Press, 2009 I like this resource because it includes a "Language-Change Index," which indicates how well accepted a term is, ranging from Stage 1, widely considered incorrect, to Stage 5, universally accepted as correct. Because business writing language is ever-evolving, this is a helpful guidebook to determine if a usage is now acceptable.

business writing style guide pdf

The Economist Style Guide, 11th Edition

This guide contains a very helpful section on American and British English.  

American and British business writing is essentially identical. There are spelling and minor punctuation differences, that this text illustrates perfectly. By the way, you should construct documents in your style. If you are British and writing to an American, for example, use British English, rather than American English. Do not use idiomatic expressions or vague phrasings, of course. There is never any significant misunderstanding between UK and US English, as long as one avoids idiom and writes clearly. Trying to adopt a style and voice that is not your own rings false.   

Create an internal style guide  

Do you wish to compile style guidelines, unique to your organization? For example, you may have specific terms you want to be used with consistency in all documents. Many organizations compile an internal style guide and share it with all employees.

Many thanks to the ASTD LinkedIn group for sharing a generic internal style guide, which you can use as a model. Yet, another reason you should join LinkedIn if you have not yet done so!   Creating your own style guide is a great option if you want to choose rules from other style guides that offer conflicting advice.

Download a copy of this PDF example: Business Writing Style Guide Internal Template .  

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business writing style guide pdf

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book: Style Guide for Business Writing

Style Guide for Business Writing

Second edition, about this book.

Style guides come in many shapes and sizes, usually focused toward scientific or academic use only. However, business writing is a space occupied by many individuals that has not been given the attention it deserves. The Style Guide for Business Writing , Second Edition, is designed specifically to assist business writers in both the public and private sector, including those publishing with English as a second language; authors of academic papers; business book authors; financial journalists; and writers of reports, proposals or even just e-mail and memoranda. This book provides a comprehensive guide to clear and precise writing that will help develop basic communication skills for the beginner, and refresh the basics for the experienced business writer. Major topics are arranged alphabetically and the cross references and index enable quick and easy access to information. Michael C. Thomsett is a market expert, author, speaker, and coach. His many books include Stock Market Math , Candlestick Charting , The Mathematics of Options , and A Technical Approach to Trend Analysis .

Author / Editor information

Michael C. Thomsett , Business and Investment Writer, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

  • Business Communication, Business Etiquette
  • Business Management
  • Public Sector, Public Private Partnerships, Public Administration

Frontmatter

Acknowledgments, introduction.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

General Guidelines for Business Writing

OWL logo

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource provides writing guidance for administrative and clerical staff, including, audience awareness, conventions of particular genres, and general business writing tips such as concision and tone management.

Use a formal, positive tone

Audience also determines tone. Tone is the way in which something is said and the effect it hopes to produce. Tone is determined by word choice, punctuation, and organization. The more formal the genre you are writing in or audience you are writing for is, the more formal your tone will be. A formal tone utilizes strong organization, standard grammar and punctuation, and carefully-chosen language.

A confident, positive tone should be used for business writing. Do not focus on negatives or what cannot be done; instead, focus on the positives of any given situation or event. By focusing on the positive, you provide a more consistently professional tone in your communication. You should also use clear and concise language, and be courteous and sincere. Because you are writing for a broad audience, all language should be inclusive and non-discriminatory. For example, rather than using the word “chairman,” use “chairperson” in order to avoid gendered titles.

The audience you are writing for will determine the difficulty of language that you use, as well. Avoid technical jargon so that you do not confuse or intimidate your audience. Professional writing should always be clear and easy to read and follow. You should also avoid being too casual with new or unfamiliar audiences. And even familiar audiences should still be written to with a respectful, positive tone.

The following are examples of sentences rewritten to emphasize a more positive and courteous tone:

In both of these examples, the statement has been rewritten to be less critical of the reader. The writer’s tone is more courteous and polite and offers assistance or advice to help the reader better complete a task.

One of the most important parts of business writing is concision, that is, the ability to say things in as few words as possible. That does not mean dumbing down information or not providing details. Rather, it means highlighting the most important parts of what you want to say in your writing while leaving out less important details or unnecessary information. It also means highlighting the most important points early and succinctly. Learning to be a concise writer takes time and practice, but there are some general rules you can follow:

1. Do not use multiple words when one can suffice. The fewer words you use, the less likely you will lose your audience’s attention.

2. Do not repeat information. If you find yourself saying the same thing over and over again in your writing, you are not being concise. In order to keep your audience’s attention and focus, only give information once. There may be times when you have to repeat specific event or deadline information at the end of the email, in which case you may repeat some earlier information. But otherwise, you should trust your audience enough to assume they only need to be told something once.

3. Carefully revise and edit before sharing your writing. When you reread something you have written, you will be surprised by how much can be changed. Keeping an eye on concision in particular while rereading and revising can allow you to find areas that are repetitive or wordy.

Foreground important information

The most important information given in a piece of business writing should always come at the beginning. Give important details, such as meeting dates and times or necessary actions the audience should take, as early as possible. You should subordinate less important details. The most important information is that which your audience will be most interested. For example, if you are sending out an email announcing a meeting, include the time and place of the meeting in the beginning of the body of the email. The agenda for the meeting is also important. Less important details may include background information about the meeting (who called it, the decisions that went into deciding the time and place, who is included, et cetera). While these details may still be necessary for your audience, it is important that the most vital information comes early.

Use standard grammar and spelling

In order to best reach a wide audience, you should follow standard English rules for grammar and spelling. There is a wide variety of OWL resources related to English grammar and mechanics, which you can easily find via our site map or search function. You should also remember to carefully proofread and edit all of your business writing documents before sending them along in any medium. Asking a colleague or friend to look at a piece of your writing before sending it out may also benefit your writing, especially when you are working in a new or unfamiliar genre.

Writing Guide

This guide was created for Harvard Library employees, but we hope it’s helpful to a wider community of content creators, editors, producers — anyone who’s trying to communicate a message online.

If you work at Harvard Library 

This is our website style guide. It helps us create clear and consistent digital content that’s welcoming and useful for our users. Please use it as a reference whenever you’re writing content for library.harvard.edu.

If you work at another organization

We invite you to use and adapt this style guide as you see fit. It — like our entire website — is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Speaking of credit: Several other writing guides inspired this one. Those include: MailChimp’s Content Style Guide , Harvard University Style Guidelines & Best Practices , 18F’s Content Guide , Federal Plain Language Guidelines , and City of Boston Writing Guide . These are great resources for additional reading on the topic.

We love to talk shop. If you have questions about this writing guide or the Harvard Library website contact the Harvard Library communications team at [email protected].

With every piece of content we publish, our goal is to empower our users so they can use our services and tools to get their work done and discover new ideas. 

We do this by writing in a clear, helpful and confident voice that guides our users and invites them to engage with us. Our voice is: 

  • Straightforward 
  • Conversational 
  • Trustworthy 
  • Proactive  
  • Knowledgeable 

Our voice is also positive — instead of rules and permissions, think options and opportunities. It’s also welcoming and accessible to all audiences. 

The Harvard brand brings with it a lot of history. We want to highlight our association with the positive attributes — credible, trusted, secure, historic, bold. But we also want to do our best to break down barriers, which means overcoming other attributes some people may assign to Harvard, such as elite, academic, exclusive, traditional.

Part of being credible, trusted, and secure is ensuring every bit of content we have on our website is up to date, accurate, and relevant to our users. 

The tips that follow in this guide will help us fulfill these goals. 

"Damn those sticklers in favor of what sounds best to you, in the context of the writing and the audience it’s intended for." —Merrill Perlman, Columbia Journalism Review

Things To Do

Write for the user first.

Before you start writing, ask yourself: 

  • Who is going to read this content? 
  • What do they need to know? 
  • What are they trying to accomplish? 
  • How might they be feeling? 

Put yourself in their shoes and write in a way that suits the situation. Remember: You’re the expert, not your users. 

Put the most important information up top

Users tend to scan web pages until they find what they need. Most people will only read 20 percent of a page . Use the “inverted pyramid” technique by putting the most important information at the top of a page. That’s the section users are most likely to read.

Choose clarity over cleverness

Say what you mean and avoid using figurative language, which can make your content more difficult to understand.

Address users directly 

Use pronouns to speak directly to your users, addressing them as “you” when possible. If necessary, define “you” at the beginning of your page. And don’t be afraid to say “we” instead of “the library.” 

  • Instead of:  The Harvard Library has staff members who can assist with research.  We’d write: Our expert librarians are here to help answer your research questions. 

Shorter sentences and paragraphs make your content easier to skim and less intimidating. Paragraphs should top out around 3 to 8 sentences. Ideal sentence length is around 15 to 20 words.

Use plain language 

Using words people easily understand makes our content more useful and welcoming. Don’t use formal or long words when easy or short ones will do. 

  • Use write instead of compose , get instead of obtain , use instead of utilize , and so on. Plainlanguage.gov has a great list of word alternatives . 

Use the active voice 

The active voice supports brevity and makes our content more engaging. 

Using the passive voice deemphasizes who should take action, which can lead to confusion. It also tends to be more wordy than the active voice. 

  • Instead of: Overdue fines must be paid by the borrower. We would write: The borrower must pay any overdue fines. 

How to recognize the passive voice: If you insert “by zombies” after the verb and the sentence still makes sense, you’re using the passive voice.

Write for the user with the least amount of knowledge on the topic

It’s not dumbing down your content. It can actually be harder to to make information simple and easy to understand. The truth is: even experts or people with more education prefer plain language.

Imagine your audience and write as if you were talking to them one-on-one, with the authority of someone who can actively help.  

Try reading your writing out loud and listen for awkward phrases or constructions that you wouldn’t normally say. Better yet, have someone else read your writing to you. 

Create helpful hyperlinks 

When links look different from regular text, they attract users’ attention. That’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. 

When creating hyperlinks, keep these tips in mind:  

  • Meaningful links should stand alone and help users with scanning the page.
  • Write descriptive and true link text — explain where users are going and why.
  • Use keywords to describe the link’s destination — look at the destination page for context.
  • The link destination should fulfill the promise of your link text .
  • If linking to a PDF, indicate that. 

For example: 

  • Instead of:  This collection is available online here . Try:  Browse this collection online.
  • For PDFs:   Our pricing guide PDF  provides estimates for various reproduction formats. 

Break up your content 

Large paragraphs of text can lose readers. Using subheads and bullet points is a way to help provide clear narrative structure for readers, particularly those in a hurry.

Tips for breaking up your content: 

  • Add useful headings to help people scan the page.
  • Use bulleted lists to break up the text when appropriate.
  • Write short sentences and short sections to break up information into manageable chunks.

"Look for the clutter in your writing and prune it ruthlessly. Be grateful for everything you can throw away ... Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn't be there." —William Zinsser, On Writing Well

Things to Avoid

Jargon or acronyms.

Jargon and acronyms are often vague or unfamiliar to users, and can lead to misinterpretation. If you feel an acronym or a jargon term must be used, be sure to explain what it means the first time you use it on a page.

We strongly discourage writing FAQs , or Frequently Asked Questions. Why? Because FAQs:

  • Are hard to read and search for
  • Duplicate other content on your site
  • Mean that content is not where people expect to find it — it needs to be in context

If you think you need FAQs, review the content on your site and look for ways to improve it. Take steps to give users a better experience.

Ask yourself:

  • Is the content organized in a logical way?
  • Can you group similar topics together?
  • Is it easy to find the right answer?
  • Is it clear and up to date?

If people are asking similar questions, the existing content isn’t meeting their needs. Perhaps you need to rewrite it or combine several pieces of content. Pay attention to what users are asking for and find the best way to guide them through the process.  

Linking users to PDFs can make your content harder to use, and lead users down a dead end. The Nielsen Norman Group has done multiple studies on PDFs and has consistently found that users don’t like them and avoid reading them.

Avoid using PDFs for important information you’re trying to convey to users. Some supplementary information may make sense as a PDF — or something a user would need to print. 

If you must link users to a PDF, be sure to let them know. For example: 

Our pricing guide (PDF)  provides estimates for various reproduction formats. 

Duplication

If something is written once and links to relevant information easily and well, people are more likely to trust the content. Duplicate content produces poor search results, confuses the user, and damages the credibility of our websites.

Before you publish something, check that the user need you’re trying to address has not already been covered.  

Style Guide

With some exceptions, we’re following Associated Press style guidelines on the Harvard Library website.

Here are some common tips: 

Abbreviations and acronyms

Spell out abbreviations or acronyms the first time they are referenced. Avoid abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. 

Capitalization

In general, capitalize proper nouns and beginnings of sentences. For nouns specific to Harvard University and other common academic uses, please refer to the Harvard-specific guidelines below.

As with all punctuation, clarity is the biggest rule. If a comma does not help make clear what is being said, it should not be there. If omitting a comma could lead to confusion or misinterpretation, then use the comma. We do use serial commas.

Compositions

Capitalize the principal words in the names of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs, radio and TV programs, works of art, events, etc. Use italics or quotes when writing about them online. 

One word, no hyphen. However, use the hyphen for  e-book and e-reader.

A plural noun, it normally takes plural verbs and pronouns. However, it becomes a collective noun and takes singular verbs when the group or quantity is regarded as a unit. 

Right: The data is sound. (A unit.) 

Also right: The data have been carefully collected. (Individual items.) 

Use figures for date, abbreviated month when used with a specific date. So: January 2018 but Jan. 2, 2018. Use an s without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries: the 1900s, the 1920s. 

Headlines/Headers/Subheads

Capitalize all words that aren’t articles.

In general, spell out one through nine. Use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events, or things. 

Use figures for: Academic course numbers, addresses, ages, centuries, dates, years and decades, decimals, percentages and fractions with numbers larger than 1, dimensions, distances, highways, monetary units, school grades. 

Spell out: at the start of a sentence, in definite and casual uses, names, in fractions less than one. 

Phone numbers 

123-456-7890 

am, pm, Lowercase, no periods. Avoid the redundant 10 am this morning.

web, website, webcam, webcast, webpage, web address, web browser, internet

Harvard Style Guidelines 

Here are tips for Harvard-specific terms and other terms you may encounter more frequently based on the nature of our website. They're based on guidelines provided in the Harvard University Style Guidelines .

Harvard University Proper Nouns

Capitalize the full, formal names of:

  • Departments
  • Colleges and schools
  • Institutions
  • Residential houses
  • Academic associations
  • Scholarships

However, do not capitalize names used informally, in the second reference. For example, when calling it the center, or the department.

Example: The Science Center contains five lecture halls; you can reserve space at the center by submitting a room request.

The exception is to capitalize College, School, and University when referring to Harvard, as well as the Yard.

Always capitalize Harvard Library. Do not capitalize Harvard libraries. Be careful in referencing Harvard Library, so as not to give users the idea that the Harvard Library is a place. 

Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name.

Lowercase formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas.

Use lowercase at all times for terms that are job descriptions rather than formal titles.

Named professorships and fellowships are capitalized even following the person’s name.

Academic years and terms

Terms designating academic years and terms are lowercased, like senior, first-year student, fall semester

Class titles

Capitalize the name of classes. Course titles and lectures are capitalized and put in quotes.

Example: June teaches Literature 101. Professor John Doe is teaching “The Art of Guitar Playing” this semester.

Concentrations

Concentrations are not capitalized. 

Harvard academic titles

Unlike AP, use title case for named professors, like Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values.

Treat all other academic titles as formal titles: capitalized when used immediately before a name.

The preferred format is to spell out the degree. Capitalize an individual's specific degree, but do not capitalize when referring to a degree generically.

For example: John Smith holds a Master of Arts in English. She is working toward her bachelor’s degree.

If abbreviating degrees, use capitalized initials with periods: A.B., S.B.

When referring to someone’s year of graduation, capitalize “class.” Example: John Harvard, Class of 1977, was in town for a lecture.

"Writing is an instrument for conveying ideas from one mind to another; the writer’s job is to make the reader apprehend his meaning readily and precisely." —Sir Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words

Tools & Resources

There are tons of tools available online to help you accomplish the goals outlined above and test your content for readability. Here are some to get you started: 

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