Plain English at Work: A Guide to Writing and Speaking

by Edward P. Bailey

Book Overview

Everyday we write countless memos, letters, and reports without a second thought. Likewise, we give presentations, both formal and informal. Often this writing and speaking gets criticized for being jargon-ridden, obscure, or long-winded--in short, for not being in "plain English." But what is plain English, and how do we go about writing and speaking it? In Plain English at Work, Edward Bailey gives the answer, with down-to-earth tips and practical...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195104498
• ISBN13: 9780195104493
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Plain English at Work is Plainly Great

I have been relying upon Edward Bailey's "Plain English at Work" since 1996, and it has been absolutely indispensable in helping me write and present in my daily work as an environmental scientist. As another reviewer noted "It's all in the simplicity". The first half of the book is "Writing Clearly and Easily", and the second half is "Presenting Clearly and Easily". Both have been very useful. The author presents simple, yet useful guidelines on the appearance and formatting of written papers, as well as presentations. Great advice on clearing out the dense, cluttered look that has hampered professional business writing for so long. Bailey recommends ample usage of bullets, tables, headings, and lots of white space. The best piece of advice he gives is to just write the "main point" up front, in the executive summary. Don't set it up with the all the background, don't get into explanations of how you got there, just write it. Very useful, very easy to read, highly recommended.

Its all in simplicity

'Write the way you talk' is the main idea behind this book. Bailey identifies the common problems in written english:People just don't write the way they speak. The book is all about writing and speaking in plain english. You don't need *impressive* words all the time to be effective.The book is divided into two parts: Writing clearly and easily and Speaking clearly and easily.The first part starts off with comparison between spoken and written english (In speech if you use the word 'help', you tend to use 'assist' in writing.) Then the writer moves on to common pitfalls in written style such as excessive use of passive voice and lack of punctuation.Later chapters are about organization and the layout of written work and that includes selection of typefaces, use of heading, bullets, graphics etc.In lot of places, the writer disagrees with the common myths of writing, for example: * Never begin a sentence with 'and' or 'but'. * Never end a sentence with a preposition * Never use first and second person pronounsNow you can begin a sentence with 'and' and 'but' and still can be professional speaker/writer.The second part is on speaking that covers: selection and design of visual aids, organization of presentation, speech style, rehearsing, setting up the room and handling the audience.In all the chapters, for clarity purpose, a specific point is explained using examples and illustrations.A good book for those who wants to improve good writing and speaking skills. And in my opinion a valuable resource if you are a techie and can only speak in jargon or just go blank when it comes to public speaking (well...that was the case with me)

Essential reference for today's written business English

This book's simply the very best reference there is on the subject of using plain and simple English to communicate effectively in writing.Bailey's suggestions are so simple, straight forward and full of common sense that you find yourself thinking, "Of course I should write this way! Everybody should write like this!" The world would be a better place--and be so much more productive--if everyone followed Bailey's suggestions.Some of Bailey's suggestions include: * Write like you speak * Don't be afraid to use contractions * Avoid the passive voice * Forget jargon and "business-ese" * Use listsI teach business writing to non-native English speakers and have depended on Bailey's text as a reference for all of my classes. Without fail, my students report increased productivity and increased efficiency in their written communications after applying his suggestions to their writing.