Oliu Walter E. - Writing That Works

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WRITERS CHECKLISTS

CONSIDERING AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE

DIGITAL TIPS

Communicating Effectively on the Job

Communicating Effectively on the Job

THIRTEENTH EDITION

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Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments and copyrights appear on the same page as the text and art selections they cover; these acknowledgments and copyrights constitute an extension of the copyright page.

At the time of publication all Internet URLs published in this text were found to accurately link to their intended website. If you do find a broken link, please forward the information to so that it can be corrected for the next printing.

With sorrow we remember the passing of our esteemed coauthor, Charles Ted Brusaw. Ted began his professional career as a freelance writer and moved on to a variety of positions in business and industry as a technical writer, corporate trainer, and, for many years, manager of technical publications at the NCR Corporation. Ted coauthored Practical Writing, The Business Writers Handbook, Handbook of Technical Writing, The Professional Writer, The Business Writers Companion, and Writing That Works. He also independently authored a well-reviewed book of World War II military history (a History Book of the Month Club selection) and a biography of Benedict Arnold. Ted was the consummate professional writer, teacher, and mentor (most especially to both of us) with whom we had the good fortune to work. He also was our friend.

Gerald J. Alred

Walter E. Oliu

Walter E. Oliu served as Chief of the Publishing Services Branch at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he managed the agencys printing, graphics, editing, and publishing programs as well as daily operations of the agencys public and internal websites. He is the recipient of the agencys Meritorious Service Award. He has taught at Miami University of Ohio, Slippery Rock State University, Montgomery College, and George Mason University.

Charles T. Brusaw, late of NCR Corporations Management College, developed and taught courses in professional writing, editing, and presentation skills for the corporation worldwide. He worked in advertising, technical writing, public relations, and curriculum development and was a communications consultant, an invited speaker at academic conferences, and a teacher of business writing at Sinclair Community College.

Gerald J. Alred is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee, where he is a teaching award recipient and an adviser to the Professional Writing Program. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and several standard bibliographies on business and technical communication, and he served as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Business Communication. He developed and manages the website InlandChorus.com and is a recipient of the prestigious Jay R. Gould Award for profound scholarly and textbook contributions to the teaching of business and technical writing.

Through twelve successful editions, Writing That Works has helped to prepare students to take on the documents and other communications tasks they will encounter in the workplaceregardless of their academic background or occupational interest. With a thorough grounding in the writing process, revised for this edition with an emphasis on rhetorical context, this text has been informed by decades of feedback from instructors and students working in and preparing for the field of professional writing. Writing That Works integrates its practical coverage of the writing process with clear guidelines for specific types of workplace writing, all supported by a wealth of sample documents, hundreds of exercises and projects, and the most current advice for using technology in todays workplace.

Workplace communication is not a static field, and the thirteenth edition reflects that fact. We looked critically at every element of the book and added and updated material to keep it current, including the design itself, which is now full-color to better engage students and capture the intricacies of our models. Increased coverage on persuasive writing, new material on creating a personal brand, and enhanced coverage on writing for the web are just a few of the important changes we have made to help students prepare for and adapt to todays digital workflows and the critical professional and ethical concerns of workplace writing. (For a detailed description of whats new to this edition, see .)

About This Book

The advice, assignments, and features in Writing That Works all draw on our workplace and classroom experiences and have been honed by the suggestions and contributions of hundreds of teachers and writers over the years. They take as their premise the belief that strong workplace writing comes from an understanding of the rhetorical framework of audience and purpose.