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