[ファブリス]

I'm looking for a book that teaches how to write clearly and concisely, and also just good writing in general. Maybe a "writing for business" book would fit the bill.

37 signals blog sometimes quote Elements of Style, but the Wikipedia page mentions that the book is ageing.

Do you have recommendations?

Unfortunately these aren't really targeted at 'business' writing, but they still have some very useful advice:

Stephen King 'On Writing'
David Lodge 'The Practice of Writing'
Dorothea Brande 'Becoming a Writer'

I've found "On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction" by William Zinsser helpful. YMMV.

[ファブリス]

Thanks.

ファブリス Wrote:I'm looking for a book that teaches how to write clearly and concisely, and also just good writing in general. Maybe a "writing for business" book would fit the bill.

37 signals blog sometimes quote Elements of Style, but the Wikipedia page mentions that the book is ageing.

Do you have recommendations?

"Elements of Style" is still the standard for college, and it was mentioned in my HS long before that. If it helps you, great; however, by the time I'd run into it I already knew most of what it was telling me from extensive (obsessive?) reading. It also happens to be VERY small, and a quick read; more like something to get from the library than something to own.
I personally got MUCH more use out of the MLA handbook:
http://www.amazon.com/MLA-Handbook-Write...253&sr=8-1

Unless you're writing psychological treatises or anything legal, this is usually the way to go. The latest edition is only a necessity if you're currently writing non-technical research papers.

IMO Elements of Style is terrible; it's a collection of personal nitpicky shibboleths that aren't really that important.

Geoffery Pullum, who cowrote the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, recommends Joseph Williams's "Style: Toward Clarity and Grace."

[ファブリス]

raeesmeralda Wrote:Unless you're writing psychological treatises or anything legal, this is usually the way to go.

On further though, I am really looking for a business/advertising writing book. Something that explains how to make a point in the first paragraph, how to summarize, when to use bullets and when not to, that sort of thing.

Joseph Williams' book sounds like what I am looking for, thanks.

raeesmerelda Wrote:Unless you're writing psychological treatises or anything legal, this is usually the way to go.

Surely everything ファブリス does is legal.