Business writing is a form of technical writing used in the workplace to persuade. It includes common documents like business letters, emails, memorandums, reports, contracts, manuals, and PowerPoint presentations. Effective business writing focuses on the purpose and audience, satisfies documentation requirements, gets straight to the point with concise sentences, provides accurate researched information presented logically and clearly through efficient wording and formatting.

1. Basic Business
Writing
Asad Hameed
Head Learning and Development, Karachi

2. What is Business Writing?
• Business writing is workplace writing, which is a
form of technical writing.
• Workplace writing is generally “persuasive” writing.
Example 1: A Resume to persuade a potential
employer to offer an interview
Example 2: A Findings Report to persuade
employees to follow certain policies or procedures
in order to improve performance or correct errors
or problems.

3. Some Types of Workplace Writings
• Business Letters (most common – formal letter to an external recipient)
• E-mail Transmissions (A more informal business message than a business
letter that is sent electronically to one or more recipients, within or external to
the business).
• Memoranda /memorandum (A more informal style of a business letter that is
usually sent to one or more business colleagues employed within the same
business unit or company)
• Reports (financial, audit, or statistical report that identifies the specific
problem and presents collected data, research, or recommendations for the
change process (re-engineering process.)
• Contracts (binding agreements or proposals between two or more parties that
can become legal documents if they include an offer that is accepted.)
• Manuals (a written set of instructions, procedures or policies)
• PowerPoint (a soft-ware generated, visual slide show, with animation options,
that hosts a set of notes or bulleted points, an agenda, or other information
that supports a discussion).

4. Business Writing
is technical
communication
or technical
writing.

5. Business Writing:
Technical or Workplace Writing.
Definition of Technical Writing:
Writing that “transfers information about a situation,
product, service, or concept . . . to audiences of
varying levels of technical knowledge, so that each
member of the audience clearly understands the
message.
The word “technical” means skilled, specialized, and
strict.
Technical writing follows rules and protocols.

6. How to Create Effective
Technical or Workplace Writings:
1. Focus on the purpose of your writing
2. Focus on your readers (Audience)
3. Satisfy document requirements (Documentation style; visuals; data)
4. Get to the point. (Concise, uncluttered sentences)
5. Provide accurate information (Research)
6. Present your material logically
7. Express yourself clearly (Grammar; Proofreading)
8. Use efficient wording (Word Choice)
9. Make your ideas accessible (Clarity)
10. Use lists for some information (organized bullets)
11. Format your pages carefully (be neat and leave white space)
12. Manage your time efficiently (Meet deadlines)