BUSINESS WRITING TIPS: For Easy and Effective Results
Robert Bullard, Perfect Text (2015)
INDEX
(In bold are chapter subjects and relevant page numbers)
About Us, website page
Abbreviations
Active tense
Analogies
And, start of sentence
Anxieties of writing
Apostrophes
Audience/Readers
– know them
– writing for them
Avoid, things to
Beginning writing
Blogs
Brackets
Brands, business
Bullet points
Call to action
Capital letters
Case studies
Challenges of writing
Clichés
Colons
Commas
Confidence
Conjunctions
Contractions (e.g. don't)
Copywriting examples
Dashes
Dates
Dialogue
Deadlines
Double negatives
Editing
Efficient writing
Endings
Emotions
Emphasis
Everyday language
105
7, 82, 101, 147, 169
49, 104
77–8
5
4, 7
7, 147, 169
13, 27-8, 30, 37, 85–
92, 111–12, 120–1,
130
13, 25–31, 37, 56–8,
76, 102, 111–12, 133
82, 126
12, 13, 64, 121
17, 75, 109–17
157
46
100
58, 103
100–1, 170
14, 109–17
4–9, 19, 63–8
82, 126
156
147, 153–6, 157
66
154
49, 169
16, 26–7, 34–5, 36,
38, 44, 47, 50–1, 88,
100, 102, 105
157
170
47–8
67
143
15, 17, 116–7, 125,
163–6, 177
12–20, 64–5
115–6, 123
76, 88–89
36–7, 50, 82, 105
17
Executive Summary
123–4
Features
Feedback
First lines
109–17
8–9, 177
16, 17, 26, 34, 38,
54, 60
Flow
81–2, 113
Grammar
6, 19, 48–9, 141–6
Headings
88, 124–5, 131
Headlines
88, 89, 90
However
155, 160
Hyphens
158–60
Indenting
170
Inspiration, getting
65–6
Introductions
54–6, 104, 113
ise/ize (+ see US spelling) 170
Jargon
29, 82
Less/Fewer
142
Lists
170
Media interest
129–5
Metaphors
78
Mistakes, common
141–8, 159–60, 169
Models, for writing
– AIDCA
56–9
– Diamond/Triangle
103–4, 110–4
– Threes
74
– 5 Ws
131
Motivational phrases
90
News hooks
35–6, 55, 110–1,
112, 131
Negatives, double
143
Numbers
101, 169
Objectives
13, 86, 120
Passive tense
PC tools, for editing
Percentages
Persuading readers
Play on words
Planning
Plain English
(+ see Voice)
Plain English Campaign
Plural/Singular
Presentation
49, 104
164
170
37–8, 85–92
55, 79, 113
14–15, 122, 176
5–7, 17, 18–19
34–5,
6
142
122–3
Press coverage
Press Releases
(+ see News Hooks)
Pressures
Proof correction marks
Proofreading
Proposals
Pronouns
Psychology, use of
Punctuation
Qualifiers
Questions
Quotes
135–6
129–5
6–7
168
166–71, 178
91–2
49, 89, 145–6
90–1
48, 80, 151–8, 170–1
126
54, 100, 101
40, 54, 76, 114, 115,
116, 131
155, 158, 171
13, 28, 112
Quote marks
Reader profile
Readers (see Audience)
Repetition
38, 91, 116
Reports
119–6
Rhythm
113, 117
Scannability
Schools, and writing
Semi-colons
Sentence length
Signposts
Similes
Singular/Plural
Slang
Slogans (see Straplines)
Sounds of words
Split infinitives
Stories, using
Straplines
Structure
Style, suggested
(+ see Plain English)
Styleguide
Subheadings
Summarising
99–101
5, 18–19
156–7
48, 80
38–9
77
142
49
79–81
5, 146
16, 89, 113, 134–5
98–9
5, 38–9, 82, 103,
104, 110, 131–2
34, 45–6
106
100, 124–5
38, 116
Teaching of writing
5, 18–19
Tenses (active/passive) 49, 104
Testimonials
31
Testing your text
106
That/Which
143
Threes (see Models)
Time taken
8
Time to write, finding
67–8
Titles, of books etc.
171
Tone of voice
44–9, 101
Too much info
66
Topical (see News hooks)
Training
Turn-offs
8
82, 126
US spelling (+ see ise/ize) 171
Visual images
76–7
Vocabulary
47
Voice
6, 44–9, 101
Websites
97–106
Which/That
143
Word confusions
143, 171
Word counts
15, 176
Word order
74–5, 144
Writers, multiple
106
Writers block
64–7
Writing
– things to avoid
82, 126
– assumptions
9
– beginning writing
12, 13, 64, 121
– challenges of writing 4–9, 19, 63–8
– writing efficiently
12–20, 64–5
– first lines
16, 17, 26, 34, 38,
54, 60
– getting inspiration
65–6
– using PC tools
164
– planning your work
14–15, 122, 176
– pressures
6–7
– use of psychology
90–1
– as taught in schools
5, 18–19
– with ease and speed 11–20, 64–5
– finding time to write 67–8
– time taken/needed
8
– when to start writing 12–13
– when/where to write 64–5
– turn-offs in writing
82, 126