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Welcome to this Business Writing Guide. Introducing business communication resources, this guide will help you effectively write business correspondence, resume, reports, and more.
[Maxwell, G. W. (2007). Writing Skills in Business. In B. S. Kaliski (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 775-778). Macmillan Reference USA.]
2. Documenting a proposal
3. Formatting a manuscript when a report exceeds three pages (not memo or letter format)
You can use some instructional resources to learn business writing principles and skills:
Lynda.com is a leading provider of online training with a focus on technology, software, and business skills, on topics such as 3D and animation, audio and music, business, CAD, design, development, education and e-learning, IT, marketing, photography, video and web.
Access is granted by signing in using your QC Username (e.g. ssmith101 (student) or ajohnson (faculty and staff).
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
Log in using your QC CAMS account. Explore "Business" topic or search "Business Writing," "writing a resume" within the database, you may find courses of interest:
These online video courses are taught by industry experts with business and creative skills.
Purdue Online Writing Lab outlines the general guidelines and key tips for business writing.
This guide is created by by Kenneth G. Brown, Ph.D. and David J. Barton, B.A., Department of Management and Organizations, University of Iowa, which includes documents, paragraph, sentence guidelines, the writing Process, and examples of business letters and memos.
BusinessWritingBlog site provides articles about business writing authored by professional writers offering unique perspectives and expertise.
Created by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center.
A guide to help you learn steps to write business letters for applying for a job application and more.
Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue
Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue
These online video courses are taught by industry experts with business and creative skills.
Created by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center.
The guide demonstrates steps to write business letters for applying for a job application and more.
Purdue Online Writing Lab introduces what a memo, the parts and format of a memo.
George Mason University Writing Center explains what a business memo is and what is important to include in it.
Purdue Online Writing Lab Shows what a memo should look like.
"Unlike purely imaginative writing, report writing follows a fairly definite pattern that includes the following steps: (1) choosing a topic, (2) assembling facts, (3) taking notes and keeping records, (4) organizing information, and (5) writing and documenting the report."
"The word report is so neutral that it can mean any type of research paper." But in a business setting, a report is a piece of informative writing that describes a set of actions and analyzes any results in response to a specific brief.
Understanding how to make report readable, featured, and effective will help you in business writing.
The key differences between essays and reports:
Reports | Essays |
Informative and fact-based | Argumentative and idea-based |
Formally structured | Semi-structured |
Usually written with a specific purpose and reader in mind | Not written with a specific reader in mind |
Written in style appropriate to each section | Written in single narrative style throughout |
Always include section headings | Usually do not include sub-headings |
Often use bullet points | Usually do not include bullet points |
Often includes tables or graphs | It depends on research methods |
Offer recommendations for action | Offer conclusions about question |
Uses a clear structure | Uses a clear structure |
Based on evidence (data, other reports, experiment results...) | Based on evidence (books, journal articles...) |
Written in appropriate professional language | Written in appropriate academic language |
Has a clear introduction and conclusion | Has a clear introduction and conclusion |
Purdue OWL: Basics about how to write clearly and design for a report, proposal, or technical document.
University of Richmond Writing Center: The components of a business proposal.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County: The components and organization of a report.
Purdue OWL: The qualities of a good abstract and how to write an effective one.
U.S. Small Business Administration: What to include for both shorter- and longer-formatted business plans, with sample business plans to look at as well!
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: A detailed outline of important things to include in your business plan.
Journal Title OneSearch - Use OneSearch to see if QCL owns the title you need and how to access it if you already have citation information about the articles you need, or you just want to browse a specific journal title.
Article Types - It's important for any research to evaluate information sources and learn the difference among different types of articles, such as Academic/Scholarly, Popular, and Trade journal articles.
NAICS - The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) has been used for industries in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico since 1997. You can use the classification codes to identify companies to learn their business.
Accounting and Taxation
Accounting Review
CPA Journal
Journal of Accountancy
Journal of Accounting Research
Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations
Journal of Advertising
Journal of Advertising Research
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Journal of Consumer Research
Journal of Marketing
Journal of Marketing Research
Public Relations Review
Business (General)
Business Horizons
Journal of Business Research
Journal of Retailing
Journal of World Business
Review of Business
Business (Small Business)
Journal of Business Venturing
Journal of Small Business Management
Economics
Cambridge Journal of Economics
International Economic Review
Journal of Econometrics
Journal of Economic Literature
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Journal of Economic Theory
Journal of Monetary Economics
Review of Economic Studies
Finance
Financial Analysts Journal
Institutional Investor
Journal of Finance
Management, Administration, and Human Resources
Academy of Management Journal
Journal of Human Resources
Journal of Management
Journal of Organizational Behavior
Real Estate
Journal of Real Estate Research
Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics
Real Estate Economics
For example:
Business Communication – Kitty O. Locker, Jo Mackiewicz, Jeanine Elise Aune, and
Donna S. Kienzler
13th Edition, ISBN13: 9781264067510*
For example:
(Subject) "Business writing" AND (Title contains) "report"
(Subject) "Business writing" AND (Title contains) "letter"
Use business databases to find Business Articles in business journals and magazines.
The collection includes key business and economics periodicals such as The Economist and Sloan Management Review that focuses on global business trends.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
ABI/INFORM Collection includes ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, and ABI/INFORM Dateline.
Newspaper Articles -- Use Business Newspaper databases to find newspaper articles.
Note: Local newspapers are an ideal source of information on local companies, industries, and issues that you would not find in business journals and magazines written at the national and international level.
Other Useful Sources -- Some topical research may not be specifically business related and may require looking at other types of article databases.
Academic Search Complete is a multidisciplinary database of scholarly journals, magazines, and news sources. It is a good starting point for research in all areas of study.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
A robust database that provides full-text, indexing, and abstracts for many top communication journals covering all related disciplines, including media studies, linguistics, rhetoric, and discourse.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints is the premier online resource covering today's hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration to marijuana.
Founded in 2004, Globethics is to equip individuals and institutions for ethical thinking, decision-making and action through higher education and policy engagement from cross-cultural and global perspectives.
Weekly reports on a topic that is either newsworthy or an issue of broad interest in the public policy sphere; from the Washington reporting service Congressional Quarterly Inc.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch
It is important to know if a company is private or public. There is limited financial information available on private companies. If the company is a division or subsidiary of a public company, you will probably have to look under the parent company's name to find any financials.
Nexis Uni - Company Dossier
Nexis Uni offers intuitive searching for all levels of research experience, empowering students to Access discipline-focused pages with curated news, featured publications, and relevant court cases for Political Science, Business, and Criminal Justice majors.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Mergent Online offers a wealth of detail on items including business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt, and capital stock. The database provides extensive details for both public and private companies that can show you what a given organization truly looks like from every angle.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Find background information on the major industries:
Explore industries in
Detailed company and industry profiles including SWOT reports, market share reports, and financial reports.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch
Use NAICS code to find competitors in an industry of interest:
Mergent Online offers a wealth of detail on items including business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt, and capital stock. The database provides extensive details for both public and private companies that can show you what a given organization truly looks like from every angle.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Generally, business reports can be written to inform, solve a problem or make a proposal. They carry information and analyze it. Sometimes you can analyze applying a theoretical framework (e.g., SWOT, PESTLE, Porter's diamond etc.). Sometimes you have to devise your own analytical questions, breaking down the issue into its components, studying them closely, and seeing how they interact with (influence/are influenced by) other components.
What’s the Best Business Proposal Format? - goes over the basics of writing a business proposal
Write Your Way to a Win: Business Proposal 101 - how to develop a sound, clear, and precise business proposal
American Psychological Association (APA) supports the dissemination of information to aid in the development of science and scholarly research.
The OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.