Questions tagged [business-writing]
Writing for business.
93
questions
21
votes
6
answers
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When editing for a person, how much can be changed?
The context is a technical document that is written by one person and then sent out for review by others. The reviewers change word tense, change from active to passive voice, and make other style ...
- 313
11
votes
3
answers
255
views
Should freelance writers keep their online business separate from offline?
Freelance writers have a lot of opportunity to write online, but in some cases the rates are less than the same writing project might command offline. Assuming that there are enough advantages in ...
- 661
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
When should I use punctuation with bullets?
When writing bulleted items, what are the rules for placing periods?
Presumably bulleted items that aren't sentences wouldn't require punctuation:
Orange
Apple
Banana
But how about sentence bullets?
...
- 203
10
votes
1
answer
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What is the correct way to write a fractional number in a formal letter?
If I'm talking about a length of time in a cover letter, let's say 5.5 years, what would be the correct way to write this?
five-and-a-half years
5-1/2 years
5.5 years
- 209
8
votes
4
answers
311
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How do I find a suitable copywriter?
I am in the process of creating a web application. I will need some copy written for various pages in the site and some of the marketing marketing material. I am contemplating hiring a copywriter to ...
- 181
8
votes
2
answers
109
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Does this FAQ accurately convey the mission of DIY.SE?
The DIY stack exchange is currently trying to make our FAQ more useful to new users, and I wondered if some folks from this community could take a look and help us to define ourselves better.
This is ...
- 183
8
votes
1
answer
178
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How to determine rates to charge as a freelance writer
While I have a few articles published, they were easy fixed rates. Today, however, I've received this email (identifying details removed):
We need a writer to put together descriptions of ---------...
- 183
7
votes
10
answers
4k
views
What's a good title to a presentations' table of contents?
This is a professional presentation, I'm looking for a good title for the ToC page (some humor allowed).
What I have so far is "What am I going to talk about", which frankly kind of sucks.
Your ...
- 71
7
votes
6
answers
445
views
Book recommendations for writing better technical papers
My employer has presented me with two books to read to help me write better technical papers and emails. Essentials of English Grammar and Handbook of English Grammar and Usage. I have read through ...
- 173
7
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Verbosity: when's enough enough?
In corporate life I've come across two general styles of writing: terse and cryptic or long and complete.
In my own writing I tend to go too much in the "explain all possible interpretations" ...
- 171
7
votes
2
answers
514
views
How to write recommendation documentation?
I was asked to prepare an overview of an existing IT architechture and provide a document that consists of weaknesses analysis and suggestions on how each of the weak spots can be improved.
How to ...
- 173
6
votes
4
answers
345
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What are proper ways to end a business letter?
How should you end a business letter?
If you are writing a letter to your grandparents, I would use
With Love from 'name'
However, if you are writing a professional letter to someone important that ...
- 968
6
votes
2
answers
99
views
Need recommendation re: online resume format
I'm drafting a resume for a job opportunity & would love recommendations on a formatting issue. My resume has many bullet points and some tables. However, I'm challenged by online job applications ...
6
votes
1
answer
10k
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Avoiding unintended rudeness or accusatory tones in reminder emails
I am in one of the newsletter teams of my company. Last week, I had mailed the Vice-President of our company to write an article for our newsletter, to which he replied in affirmative and mailed me ...
- 163
6
votes
1
answer
279
views
Metrics for assessing the persuasiveness of a paper?
Are there any known variables to measure, or questions to ask in survey, in order to asses the persuasiveness of a paper?
For example, I'm not sure if omitting a section from my paper might actually ...
- 195
6
votes
1
answer
80
views
Materials to promote my book in person
Say I have a book...or a comic series...or a podcast...or another published work.
Marketing written or scripted works is perfectly on topic here, and most of the promotional materials are also ...
- 32.4k
5
votes
3
answers
22k
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A friendlier way to write charges or fees to clients?
What is a better way to write in an email to tell my client that I will charge him a fee of say $100? Often, I feel very reluctant to write these ways:
I will quote the hosting and development fees ...
- 345
5
votes
2
answers
232
views
What content parts should a technical (IT) CV have?
I've been struggling for a while with my CV and I need help on deciding which sections should I include in it? I lack the formatting skill, I remember studying in school how to prepare my CV - there ...
- 151
5
votes
3
answers
372
views
How can I avoid using I repetitively in a resume/about me?
My Question
How can I avoid using I repetitively in a resume/about me, should it be avoided or is it to be expected in that kind of writing? Are there any substitutes that can be used in place of it, ...
user32233
4
votes
7
answers
3k
views
What to do about noun clusters
A personal frustration of mine is when I see a cluster of nouns sitting together in a sentence. I usually see these in highly technical emails, but not exclusively.
Here is a particularly bad ...
- 143
4
votes
2
answers
244
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Finding freelance work
My partner is trying to get more freelance web copywriting work and as an avid StackOverflow user I thought I would try to see what the fantastic stackexchange community thinks.
There has to be ...
- 143
4
votes
2
answers
151
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The best publishing platform for a business "vanity" book?
I have a client who has written a (well done) synopsis of his core business proposition that reads like a great little book, but is only 15,000 words. Is this a good candidate for Amazon's Singles? ...
- 337
4
votes
3
answers
176
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What are the risks and benefits of using humour in business/commercial writing?
I know the basics here, and in technical circles it usually comes down to locking the Engineering Manager and the Sales and Marketing Manager in a small room and seeing who makes it out, but I would ...
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Questions on two sentences on a cover letter
I am writing a cover letter - an excrutiating process. There are two sentences I am quite unsure about. The first one:
I hold a math Ph.D. from xxx that was carried out at a research group headed ...
- 41
4
votes
1
answer
115
views
How to communicate two elements of different general syntactic/semantic type in the same sentence?
I have the following sentence,
NAME is a community that helps each other code better by rating each
other's efforts and helps managers pair with other fellow developers
I was suggested by the ...
- 55
4
votes
1
answer
105
views
How to Write a Pitch Letter?
I've recently accepted a job working for a publicist who is linked to a well renowned celebrity chef. My first assignment is to compose an email that can be used to pitch blog post sales.
What ...
- 41
4
votes
1
answer
102
views
Capitalizing "The" in Title Case - Increases Engagement?
I regularly write advertisements for a client who insists that capitalizing "the" improves conversion rates (the number of people that click or buy).
I know that it's technically wrong and it drives ...
- 141
3
votes
4
answers
147k
views
How to write polite deadline email? [closed]
I'm trying to collect feedback from my colleagues and the deadline is on 10-April-2012, 2.00pm. So in my mail I write:
Please email your feedback to me before 2.00pm, 10-April-2012(Tuesday).
Does ...
- 31
3
votes
3
answers
223
views
How do I use my blog as a platform for practice and improvement?
I've recently followed the advice of our very own Jeff Atwood and started a blog site in order to become a better writer and communicator.
My goal is to improve my skill at technical writing and ...
- 141
3
votes
1
answer
146
views
What should I know to better decide which of my names to conceal/abbreviate/elaborate/modify/invent for signing my writing?
Having read about how J. K. Rowling names were chosen/created:
"Fearing that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she ...
3
votes
2
answers
109
views
Is all caps in legal notices perceived as abrupt?
When adding a legal notice to a user interface, or in a data file for download, I want to include a legal warning. It needs to mention that the data is confidential and it should not be shared with ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
82
views
Publishing price comparisons. Is it allowed?
I'm currently in the process of writing a small localised book on arranging funerals yourself (D.I.Y funerals). During the process of collating information, I have made phone calls to local funerals ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
410
views
Does this sign-up email announcement sound friendly and conversational?
This is version 2 of this post
The intended audience is from 16-45 m/f, they have given me their email address and will recieve this email because they signed up for a mystery service I'm creating.
...
- 155
3
votes
1
answer
121
views
Can you use a semicolon to connect fragments that are one item in a vertical list?
I'm trying to write a numbered vertical list. The items are not complete sentences.
Can you use a semicolon to connect two fragments that are one item?
Receive guests; entertain guests
Or, should ...
3
votes
1
answer
106
views
Is there any research about the efficacy of illustration and example placement in procedure writing?
In writing procedural documentation, I have the choice of writing the complete step-by-step instructions with references to an appendix of illustrations,
For instance:
1. Do task 1 (see Fig. 1)
2. ...
- 133
3
votes
1
answer
158
views
What type of stuff should someone read to improve their email skills?
I've heard that writers should read the type of stuff they want to write. Usually that implies really good fiction and prose, but I want to write great emails to my colleagues and network. What types ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
70
views
Generalize or specialize?
If you are starting a freelance product description writing business, do you generalize or specialize? In other words, do you offer writing in an area like "product descriptions for tech companies" or ...
- 31
3
votes
5
answers
931
views
Struggling to writing in English
I always struggle to write my ideas in English. Structuring my work/idea when it comes to writing leaves me blank.
Even when I'm very clear about what I want to write, I will still struggle with ...
- 33
2
votes
6
answers
960
views
How should I phrase "requests" to a higher-ranked individual in another department?
At work, I lead a small team of programmers. I often have to request equipment and services from our I.T. department, and all of those requests have to go directly to the C.I.O., which is an executive-...
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2
votes
3
answers
154
views
How can I condense a description of a web designer/developer's work into a one-liner?
How can I condense this sentence into a one-liner?
Being alone on the project, this web designer/developer held the responsibility of
- communicating with the client and the end-users,
- defining ...
- 121
2
votes
3
answers
165
views
How to express myself in a sensible way
I find really hard to express myself I mean it's pretty difficult write clearly what I mean. Any time I try to write something even for my job I am stuck, I look at the page and no words come to my ...
- 21
2
votes
4
answers
172
views
How to Become an Powerful and Beautiful Expository Writer?
I'm a terrible writer. I know I am and it's totally ok though. Well, it's not totally ok but I have no other choice to deal with it till I die. I'm a little embarrassed by it but what can you do? ...
2
votes
3
answers
11k
views
In a professional email you need to quote something from a business document. How do you write this?
This is in a professional email.
I'm quoting from a business document that was sent to the person that I'm writing the email to. I need to clarify something, and to do so I need to quote from a ...
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Do you pluralize a Roman numeral?
My work has Validation Engineers I, Validation Engineers II, Compliance Consultant I, Compliance Consultant II, etc.
When discussing more than one person, do you write Validation Engineers II, ...
- 21
2
votes
2
answers
331
views
If a heading is in roman numerals, is an in-text cross reference also in roman, or arabic, or spelled out
Where in the Chicago Manual of Style is the answer to my subject question?
I looked in the CMOS, but could not find the answer to my question.
The book is nonfiction, self help divided into parts ...
- 500
2
votes
2
answers
91
views
how can I learn to speak formal English that people speak in corporate sector? [closed]
I was listening to Kamla Harris interviewing Brett Kavanaugh.
She says the following to Chuck Grassley :
Mr. Chairman, I would like to be recognized to ask a question before we proceed.
I have ...
user33351
2
votes
1
answer
13k
views
What is the difference between memo writing and business letter writing?
What is the difference between memo writing and business letter writing? Memo and business letters both are informal reports, so what is the main difference?
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
439
views
Organizing text snippets for creating different variants of a document (customized for the reader)
I'm searching for a tool/strategy to do the following:
I have a lot of text snippets (informations) which are available for creating a document in different variants.
The document has a standard ...
- 139
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is the best way to introduce myself in a letter to a prospective graduate adviser?
I'm applying for graduate school, and I'm considering writing to Professors whose research areas match with what I intend to pursue. I've a Masters' degree and 2 years working experience in a renowned ...
- 143
2
votes
1
answer
150
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Is it standard practice to note late arrival of a board member in minutes?
In the board meeting of a company, is it customary to note in minutes if a board member arrived late? Is there any difference between someone coming a minute late, and another coming five minutes late?...
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