Topline, Bottom Line: A Simple, Brief, Comprehensive, and Irreverent Writing Guide for Professionals

Book excerpt: Topline, Bottom Line opens by stressing the importance of good writing to business in the Information Age. Part One devotes a chapter each to grammar, spelling, punctuation, accuracy of word choice, the impact of word choice on writing's tone or style, structuring sentences and paragraphs, organizing documents, and the composition process. Part Two presents strategies for the most common types of business writing: resumés and cover letters, other correspondence, company newsletter articles, descriptive writing like instructions and job descriptions, expository writing such as project reports and employee reviews, and persuasive writing like proposals. The conclusion asserts that words convey information as definitively as numbers, requiring an equal level of precision in their use; it also counsels that writing is an art, not a science, because only the unique circumstances of each writing situation determine what works best for that situation.