Business Writing

Can Lines in Email Be Too Wide?

The other day a client expressed frustration that people she works with send her emails with lines that stretch across her computer screen. "I can't believe they don't use wider margins," she said. Wider margins? I don't use any margins in the emails I send. If people read my message... Read more →

Efficient Update of an Email Subject Line

The other day I emailed a request for writing class prework to a team of seven people. I used this subject: Prework for Writing Tune-Up Session on Sept. 21--Action Requested by Sept. 12 Two people who responded to my request updated the subject when they replied, like this: Prework for... Read more →

Guest Blog Posts: Know Your Audience!

Because this is a popular blog, I get requests several times each week from someone wanting to write a guest blog post for Business Writing blog. As a reader of this blog, you know it is always about some aspect of business writing: grammar, punctuation, usage, tone, bullet points, subject... Read more →

Book Review: Microsoft Manual of Style, 4th Edition

Because I loved the third edition of Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, I was excited to see that Microsoft had finally updated the 2004 volume. The new fourth edition, published this year, is titled simply Microsoft Manual of Style. I recommend the manual highly, but I don’t love... Read more →

Lies and Exaggeration in Business Writing

In the United States, political analysts and late-night television comedians have been talking about truth and lies, in light of the recent political convention. They accuse some convention speakers of hyperbole, misrepresentation, and blatant lying. Politicians and their spokespersons have been defending or talking around the misstatements, saying their goals... Read more →