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Copyright, iv
Dedication, v
Preface, xv
Acknowledgments, xvii
Part I. Writing, 1
1. What Is Good Writing?, 3
An Example of Plain English, 4
So ... What Is Good Writing?, 4
2. Developing a Good Style, 6
Use Common Words, 7
Use Contractions, 9
Use Pronouns, 10
Use Active Voice, 11
What Is Passive Voice?, 11
Is There Another Way to Identify Passive Voice?, 12
Is Passive Voice Really That Simple to Identify?, 13
What Problems Does Passive Voice Cause?, 13
When Is Passive Voice All Right?, 14
Use Short Sentences, 15
Don’t Write Sentences That Are Too Long, 15
Do Have Some Short Sentences, 16
Use the Proper Tone, 16
Use Grammar Checkers, 17
Average Sentence Length, 20
How Hard Your Words Are to Read, 20
Sentences Using Passive Voice, 21
Readability Indexes, 21
Exercises, 23
3. Using Examples and Comparisons, 25
Examples, 25
Brief Examples, 26
Narrative Examples, 27
Combination of a Brief and Narrative Example, 29
Comparisons, 31
Brief Comparisons, 31
A Longer (and Famous) Comparison, 32
Examples and Comparisons, 33
Exercises, 33
4. Making Your Page Look Inviting, 35
Choose Your Typefaces Carefully, 37
Use a Typeface with Serifs for Body Text, 37
Use a Sans Serif Typeface for Headings and Illustrations, 37
Use Typesetting—Not Typewriting—Conventions, 38
Use Block Paragraphing, 39
Design Good Headings, 39
Use at Least Two Headings of Each Type, 39
Consider Informative Headings, 41
Put More Space Above Than Below Your Headings, 41
Consider a Down-Style Heading, 41
Differentiate Levels of Headings, 43
Use Good Layout for Lists, 44
Choose a Good Bullet Symbol, 44
Use Good Spacing for Your Bulleted Lists, 44
Use a System for Punctuating Your Bulleted Lists, 44
Learn How to Use Bulleted Paragraphs, 45
In Summary ..., 46
Exercises, 48
5. Making Your Main Point Easy to Find, 49
Start with Your Main Point, 49
Put Your Bottom Line in the Subject Line, 52
What Are Types of “Bottom Line”?, 54
Is There Always A Bottom Line?, 55
Where Are Other Good Places to Put the Bottom Line?, 55
Use a Blueprint, 56
Create “To Do” Lists for Your Readers, 58
Prepare Good Executive Summaries, 58
Exercises, 60
6. Illustrating Your Ideas, 62
Tables, 64
Flowcharts, 64
Decision Trees, 66
Clip Art, 66
Simple Drawings, 68
Graphs, 69
Exercises, 70
7. Getting Beyond Periods and Commas, 72
Question Mark, 73
Rule 1: Use a Question Mark When You’re Seeking Information, 73
Rule 2: Use a Question Mark as a Tag at the End of a Sentence, 73
Rule 3: Ask a Question You’re Going to Answer, 74
Dash, 75
Rule 1: Use a Dash at the End of a Sentence to Emphasize What Comes Next, 75
Rule 2: Use Dashes to Emphasize an Idea in the Middle of a Sentence, 75
Colon, 76
Rule 1: Use a Colon at the End of a Sentence to Emphasize What Comes Next, 76
Rule 2: Use a Colon to Point to a List or Indented Material, 77
Semicolon, 78
Rule 1: Use a Semicolon to Separate Two Related Sentences, 78
Rule 2: Use a Semicolon to Separate Certain Complicated Phrases, 79
Ellipsis, 80
Rule 1: Use an Ellipsis to Show a Reflective or Dramatic Pause, 81
Rule 2: Use an Ellipsis to Show That a List Could Be Much Longer, 81
Rule 3: Use an Ellipsis to Show You’ve Left Out Words in a Quotation, 81
Comma, 82
Rule 1: Use a Comma after Introductory Material, 82
Rule 2: Use a Comma to Separate Two Sentences Joined by a Coordinating Conjunction, 83
Rule 3: Use a Comma to Set Off Parenthetical Material, 83
Rule 4: Use a Comma to Separate Items in a Series, 84
Exercises, 84
8. Learning Commonsense Rules, 86
Overcoming Mythical Rules, 86
Myth 1: Never End a Sentence with a Preposition, 87
Myth 2: Never Begin a Sentence with and or but, 89
Myth 3: Never Split an Infinitive, 91
Avoiding Common Grammar Errors, 93
Keep Your Lists Parallel, 94
Make Your Pronouns Agree, 96
Avoid Comma Splices and Fused Sentences, 96
Exercises, 99
9. Making the Most of E-mail, 100
Be Brief, 100
Be Careful with Your Tone, 102
Remember You’re Creating a Public Document, 104
Watch Your Spelling and Grammar, 105
Exercises, 106
10. Writing for the Web, 107
Understand How Viewers Look at Web Pages, 107
Don’t Write What Viewers Won’t Read, 108
Write in Chunks, 108
Make Your Home Page User-Friendly, 109
Make Your Content Pages Efficient, 110
Make Good Design Choices, 111
Exercise, 113
11. Preparing a Résumé and Cover Letter, 114
Preparing a Résumé, 115
Complete Sentences Versus Action Verbs, 118
Information Almost Every Résumé Should Have, 118
Other Sections You Might Want to Use, 122
Preparing a Cover Letter, 123
Exercises, 124
12. Documenting Your Sources, 125
Identifying Borrowed Material, 126
Framing a Short Quotation, 127
Framing a Long Quotation, 127
Framing a Mixed Paraphrase and Quotation, 129
Using Parenthetical Documentation, 130
Parenthetical Information Within Your Text, 130
A “Works Cited” List, 132
Exercises, 133
Part II. Speaking, 135
13. What Is Business Speaking?, 137
What Types of Business Presentations are There?, 138
Computer Presentations, 138
What Does This Part of the Book Cover?, 139
Exercise, 139
14. Using Good Techniques of Delivery, 140
Move Around the Room, 140
Use Some Noticeable Gestures, 143
Vary Your Voice’s Inflection and Loudness, 144
Make Eye Contact with All Parts of the Room, 145
Be Careful with Humor, 145
Involve Your Audience, 146
Be Creative with Group Presentations, 146
Exercises, 147
15. Developing a Clear Structure, 149
The Introduction, 150
Have a Cover Slide, 150
Have an Explanation Slide, 153
Have a Purpose Slide, 155
Have a Bottom-Line Slide—If You Have a Bottom Line, 155
Have a Blueprint Slide, 156
The Middle Part of the Presentation, 157
Use a Moving Blueprint Slide, 157
Decide How to Handle Questions, 160
The End, 161
Putting It All Together, 162
Exercise, 165
16. Designing Visual Aids, 166
Design Your Body Slides Using Master Slides, 166
What Is a Master Slide?, 166
How Should You Design Your Master Slide?, 167
Make Your Blueprint Slide Distinguishable, 170
Prefer a Sans Serif Typeface, 174
Place Your Content Toward the Top, 176
Don’t Use Too Many Words, 177
Prefer Images Instead of Words, 178
Exercises, 184
17. Giving a Presentation Using a Computer, 185
What Equipment Do You Need?, 185
How Should You Design Your Presentation?, 186
Build Almost Everything on Your Slides, 186
Choose Your Transition Effects Carefully, 193
Consider Using Special Features, 195
How Should You Give Your Presentation?, 195
Exercises, 196
18. Rehearsing, Setting Up the Room, and Overcoming Nervousness, 198
Rehearsing, Rehearsing, 198
Rehearse by Yourself, 198
Rehearse in Front of Others, 199
Setting Up the Room, 199
Position the Screen (If It’s Portable), 199
Set Up the Projector, 200
Position Tables and Chairs, 200
Adjust the Lights, 200
Adjust the Temperature, 200
Check the Microphone, 201
Eliminate Distractions, 201
Overcoming Last-Minute Nerves, 202
Exercise, 202
19. Preparing an Annotated Presentation, 203
Cover Slides, 205
Executive Summary, 206
Other Slides, 207
Exercise, 210
Appendix A. Final Project: Learning Computer Techniques, 211
Overview, 211
Topics, 211
Appendix B. Final Project: Creating Reports, 213
Overview, 213
Group Presentation, 214
Final Paper, 215
Appendix C. Formats for Letters and Memos, 217
Letters, 217
Memos, 220
Appendix D. Sample Papers, 223
Sample Paper: “Working in Thailand”, 223
Taking Orders, 224
Shipping and Handling Products, 224
Developing Our Products, 224
Sample Paper: “Managing a Pizza Parlor”, 225
Marketing for My Store, 225
Controlling Store Costs, 226
Staffing My Store, 226
Sample Paper: “360-Degree Feedback”, 227
How Does the Process Begin?, 227
What Are People Rating Me On?, 228
How Do You Interpret My Results?, 228
How Do I Deal with the Results?, 229
Appendix E. Commonly Confused Words, 231
Index, 233

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