Writing at Work: How to Write Clearly, Effectively and Professionally

Writing at Work draws on a broad sweep of disciplines—from grammar, readability and rhetoric to plain English, usability and information design. What follows is a list of current sources for those who want to take a topic further. The books are representative of their genres, with a focus on those that are readily available.

Most business writing books are slim guides pitched at busy workplace managers.

Bailey, Edward P., Writing and Speaking at Work: A practical guide for business communication, 3rd edn, New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

Blake, Gary and Bly, Robert W., The Elements of Business Writing, New York, Longman, 1991.

Danziger, Elizabeth, Get to the Point, New York, Three Rivers Press, 2001.

Minto, Barbara, The Pyramid Principle: Logic in writing and thinking, 3rd edn, London, Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2002.

Munter, Mary, Guide to Managerial Communication: Effective business writing and speaking, 7th edn, New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.

Poor, Edith, The Executive Writer: A guide to managing words, ideas and people, New York, Grove Weidenfield, 1992.

Smith, Edward L. and Bernhardt, Stephen A., Writing at Work: Professional writing skills for people on the job, New York, McGraw Hill, 1997.

Then there are the communications textbooks, used mainly in university undergraduate courses.

Hartley, Peter and Bruckman, Clive G., Business Communication, London, Routledge, 2002.

Kolin, Philip C., Successful Writing at Work, concise edition, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

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