Table of Contents
About the author
Publisher acknowledgements
Preface to the first edition by Leonard Gartside
Preface to the seventh edition by Shirley Taylor
Introduction
Part 1 Communication: An Overview
1. The importance of building relationships
2. Sentence construction matters
Part 2 Business Writing Basics
3. 21st century business language
4. Structuring messages logically
5. Presentation matters
Part 3 Electronic Communication
6. Email etiquette
7. Writing online: websites, blogs and social networking
8. Customer care online
Part 4 Routine Business Transactions
9. Enquiries and replies
10. Quotations, estimates and tenders
11. Orders and their fulfilment
12. Invoicing and settlement of accounts
13. Letters requesting payment
14. Credit and status enquiries
15. A typical business transaction (correspondence and documents)
Part 5 General Business Correspondence
16. Internal correspondence
17. Secretarial and administrative correspondence
18. Meetings documentation
19. Personnel
20. Reports and proposals
Part 6 Creative and Persuasive documents
21. Complaints and adjustments
22. Goodwill messages
23. Notices, advertisements, information sheets and handouts
24. Circulars
25. Sales letters and voluntary offers
26. Publicity material
27. Business plans
Appendix 1 Spoken and written forms of address
Appendix 2 The A-Z of alternative words
Appendix 3 How to write reports in plain English
Index
With over 450,000 copies sold worldwide, Model Business Letters has firmly established itself as the definitive guide to clear and effective business writing. This seventh edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect the significant changes in business communication over recent years.
This book contains over 300 sample documents, easy to use examples and practical advice on content, language and style. It will help you to:
- master modern business writing for any occasion
- develop great working relationships
- use email effectively and write clear, concise messages
- write for websites, blogs and social media
- compose creative and persuasive documents