Contents
Business Writing Basics
How to Prepare to Write a Business Document
How to Draft a Business Document
How to Revise Your Document
How to Write a Business Memo
How to Write a Sales Letter
How to Write a Press Release
How to Write a Business Email
How to Write a Business Thank-You Note
How to Write a Business Proposal
How to Write a Business Report
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How to Draft a Business Document
Creating a solid first draft requires knowing how to format and write your document properly.
How to Format a Business Document
With the exception of thank-you notes, business documents should rarely include prose paragraphs exclusively. Instead, use the following formatting tools to guide the reader’s eye. Good formatting will make a document easier to read, improve clarity, and help emphasize the most important points you want to make.
Formatting Tool |
Description |
Use |
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Heading |
A brief line of text within the document that serve as a “title” of the document’s key parts. Usually formatted with underlines and/or boldface text |
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Bulleted list |
A list of points or ideas that don’t need to be prioritized or presented in numerical order |
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Numbered list |
A list of points, ideas, or steps in a process that must appear in numerical order |
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Visual aids |
Charts, tables, graphs, timelines, diagrams |
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Language Pitfalls to Avoid
Whenever possible, avoid corporate-speak in favor of simpler, clearer wording.
- Don’t turn nouns into verbs: Avoid awkward corporate-speak verbs such as “incentivize” and “monetize.” Use plain alternatives instead, such as “motivate” and “make money.”
- Don’t use business clichés: Replace phrases like “think outside the box” and “push the envelope” with simpler alternatives such as “seek innovative solutions” or “go beyond traditional boundaries.”
- Don’t use jargon: Avoid words or phrases that people outside the business community might not understand. For instance, rather than describe a software program as a “killer app,” describe it as “the leading software application on the market.”
- Don’t apply tech terms to non-tech subjects: Continuing from the previous rule, only use tech-related terms like “killer app,” “online,” and “offline” within their appropriate context. Never refer to a new brand of cereal as a “killer app,” for example.
- Don’t use acronyms excessively: Use acronyms such as B2B (business-to-business) and ROI (return on investment) only when you otherwise would have to repeat the entire phrase many times throughout your document. If you only need to use the phrase a few times, write it out instead of using the acronym.
- Don’t use hyperbole (extreme exaggeration): Be careful when using words like “revelation,” “triumph,” and “empowerment.” Business writers have a tendency to use grand language when simpler, more modest phrases would suffice.
- Don’t use the passive voice: The passive voice occurs when the subject of a sentence receives the action of a verb, such as, “The document was filed by him,” as opposed to the more direct active voice version, “He filed the document.” Use the active voice whenever possible.
- Don’t split infinitives: A split infinitive occurs when a writer uses an adverb between the “to” and the actual verb. For example, the phrase “to suddenly stop” is a split infinitive (the infinitive verb in this case is “to stop”). A better choice would be to use the phrase “to stop suddenly.”
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