Write for Business - Blog

Many years ago (60 to be exact), Rudolf Flesch wrote The Art of Readable Writing. It is and will always be one of my favorite resources dealing with writing simply because it is so readable itself, and because it contains so many interesting nuggets of information. One key to effective writing, according to Flesch, is simple: Put stories in your writing. He feels that stories are the most readable element that you can include, and that people remember stories far longer than they remember facts, no matter how compelling the facts may be.

Flesch wasn't directing these remarks to business writers, per se, but using stories should be considered in certain types of business writing. Take, for example, a promotional letter to local businesses asking for their support for an art fair. Here are two versions of this letter: the first one without a story, and the second one with a story. As you will discover, both letters communicate the same key information, but certainly the second one is more readable, and far more interesting.

Promotional Letter Without a Story

The Same Letter Including a Story

Consider incorporating stories into the promotional or public-relations writing that you do. Also take note how other writers use them, especially writers in business magazines. With experience, you may find a wide range of applications for stories in your business writing.

- Dave Kemper

Advice is a noun that means "recommendation or information"; advise is a verb meaning "to counsel or recommend."

He advised me to value good advice.

(From Write for Business, page 223, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 35)

Adverse means "hostile, unfavorable, or harmful." Averse means "to have a definite feeling of distaste; disinclined."

Adverse weather conditions grounded all airplanes.

The tired staff was averse to the idea of working till midnight.

(From Write for Business, page 223, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 35)

Clauses are the building blocks of powerful sentences. There are two main types of clauses: independent and dependent. An independent clause is a complete sentence, expressing a complete thought. For example, the independent clause she developed that project expresses a complete thought and is a sentence.

A dependent clause, however, while it contains a subject and a predicate, is not a complete thought. For example, if you add the word "when" to our sentence, it becomes when she developed that project. The clause is now dependent, an incomplete thought needing further information. We need to know the circumstance that existed or what happened when she developed that project.

Dependent clauses modify the main clause of a sentence and come in several varieties: adverb, adjective, and noun.

An adverb clause begins with a subordinating conjunction and answers who? where? when? why? how much? or under what condition? Here is an example: Until we understand the implications, we need to stay calm. The adverb clause, until we understand the implications, modifies the main clause, we need to stay calm.

An adjective clause modifies a noun, as in this example: Roberta, who planned the entire operation, was appalled. The adjective clause, who planned the entire operation, modifies the noun Roberta.

Finally, a noun clause may be used in the same way that a single noun is used: as a subject, as an object, or as a complement. In the sentence What Susan said was shocking to everyone, the noun clause, what Susan said, is the subject.

So remember: A clause has both a subject and a predicate, but it isn't always a complete thought. Dependent clauses, for example, cannot be left alone; instead, they must be logically connected to independent clauses to make clear, correct, complete sentences.

You can learn more about transitive and intransitive verbs on page 258 in Write for Business: A Compact Guide to Writing and Communicating in the Workplace, just one of the many helpful business writing materials from UpWrite Press.

- Joyce Lee

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Adapt means "to modify to make suitable"; adopt means "to take and treat as one's own" (as with a concept or a child). Adept is an adjective meaning "proficient or well trained."

We adopted Business Plus accounting software. Now we need an adept accountant to adapt our booking system to the new software.

(From Write for Business, page 223, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 35)