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Writing That Works

Writing That Works

  • Downloads：2166
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-01-09 06:55:11
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kenneth Roman
  • ISBN：0060956437
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Writing That Works will help you say what you want to say， with less difficulty and more confidence。 Now in its third edition， this completely updated classic has been expanded to included all new advice on e-mail and the e-writing world， plus a fresh point of view on political correctness。 With dozens of examples， many of them new， and useful tips for writing as well as faster on a computer， Writing That Works will show you how to improve anything you write:


Presentations that move ideas and action
Memos and letters that get things done
Plans and reports that make things happen
Fund-raising and sales letters that produce results
Resumes and letters that lead to interviews
Speeches that make a point

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Reviews

Shrouk ，

Clear， practical， and helpful。I totally recommend it。 it would help if you were careful while applying their methods as some tactics in this book were successful in the era before the internet。

Gavin ，

Due to its age it's hit or miss。 Many sections are not relevant to today's work world， particularly if you work in a technology literate organization but the parts of the book that do apply are helpful and could benefit many people。 Due to its age it's hit or miss。 Many sections are not relevant to today's work world， particularly if you work in a technology literate organization but the parts of the book that do apply are helpful and could benefit many people。 。。。more

Aidan Leather ，

The first 20 pages are useful。 The rest is redundant。

Reluctantly On Social Media ，

I liked this book。 None of the advice is groundbreaking but it is good advice。 The authors recommend that writers get to the point quickly。 Write clearly， this includes using short sentences and short words。 Don't make people read more than they have to because they won't。 I liked this book。 None of the advice is groundbreaking but it is good advice。 The authors recommend that writers get to the point quickly。 Write clearly， this includes using short sentences and short words。 Don't make people read more than they have to because they won't。 。。。more

Mikhail Filatov ，

It's interesting， but for a book with such a title and quite short （180+pp in paperback） it was difficult for me to went through it -took more than a week while I expected to finish it in a day or two。For some reason， their writing did not work for me。 And besides a good advice "don't mumble" not a lot of interesting things and examples are lackluster。E。g。， they recommend to put your goal（s） on top of your resume -but after that， as an example， they have a resume which does not have it。 Can't yo It's interesting， but for a book with such a title and quite short （180+pp in paperback） it was difficult for me to went through it -took more than a week while I expected to finish it in a day or two。For some reason， their writing did not work for me。 And besides a good advice "don't mumble" not a lot of interesting things and examples are lackluster。E。g。， they recommend to put your goal（s） on top of your resume -but after that， as an example， they have a resume which does not have it。 Can't you spend time and create a resume in accordance with your guidance， not just share a random CV which somehow "worked"？ And so on。 。。。more

Vasso Kal ，

David Ogilvy in his decalogue on How to Write suggests reading this book and then reading it two more times。I understand why， and I agree。It's brief and full of essential guidelines on effective writing for several different occasions。 I read the first edition， written before the internet and it's amazing how the principles it describes still stand - they are just named differently today。 There's "know your audience" that describes what we now call a persona。 There's "test" for sales letters tha David Ogilvy in his decalogue on How to Write suggests reading this book and then reading it two more times。I understand why， and I agree。It's brief and full of essential guidelines on effective writing for several different occasions。 I read the first edition， written before the internet and it's amazing how the principles it describes still stand - they are just named differently today。 There's "know your audience" that describes what we now call a persona。 There's "test" for sales letters that can be translated to today's A/B testing of email campaigns。 And there's the evergreen "write for the layman"。 A must read for every professional。 。。。more

Gerardo Guerra R ，

Great advices for the writter that really wants to improve！ Super helpful and practical。 Loved the examples and easy read。 This will be a great manual to come back to when we want to make sure the message is clear！

Canburak Tümer ，

Although there are timeless suggestions inside this book， some ideas are unfortunately outdated。 I read the third edition， I wish there would be a newer one in my hands。As someone who is writing documents and emails regularly as part of their job。 My take aways from the book will help to improve my communication skills

Tekin Mentes ，

It is a classic book on better writing， there are very good suggestions but almost half the book is outdated， I had to skip certain parts。

Jeremy ，

Lots of takeaways here — transferrable to areas outside the business arena。 Gets to the heart of what makes good writing good。

Evelynne ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Everything that wasn't out dated could be summarised in a decent sized blog post。 Everything that wasn't out dated could be summarised in a decent sized blog post。 。。。more

Eden Wen ，

Outdated， but the things that are still relevant are helpful， e。g。 using "as though" or "as if" in place of "like"， and writing "all novelists。。。they" instead of "every novelist。。。she or he"。 Outdated， but the things that are still relevant are helpful， e。g。 using "as though" or "as if" in place of "like"， and writing "all novelists。。。they" instead of "every novelist。。。she or he"。 。。。more

Mehul Sheth ，

Everyone should read the first chapter。 The bulk of the rest of the book is outdated。

Andreea Tiliban ，

Este o carte practică， cu sfaturi utile， perfectă pentru cei care sunt nu dețin multe informații despre comunicare。

Alejandro Sanoja ，

This is a great book for anyone who wants to become a better writer！And a good book for anyone who wants to become a better overall communicator。 One of the best parts is that it provides a lot of great examples which illustrate the principles that are being shared。 If you are struggling to get people to buy-in on your ideas， reply to your emails， pay attention to your presentations， or any other communication-related challenged， this will be a great resource for you。 It will also be a great res This is a great book for anyone who wants to become a better writer！And a good book for anyone who wants to become a better overall communicator。 One of the best parts is that it provides a lot of great examples which illustrate the principles that are being shared。 If you are struggling to get people to buy-in on your ideas， reply to your emails， pay attention to your presentations， or any other communication-related challenged， this will be a great resource for you。 It will also be a great resource for experienced writers。 Flow: 5/5Actionability: 5/5Mindset: 4/5Some of My Highlights:"One executive suggests a discipline - putting down first what you want the reader to do， next the three most important things the readers needs to understand to take that action， then starting to write。""If you are ambitious， it won't hurt to make life easier for people above you。""It takes time to write well。""This kind of discipline sets aside the time for the truly important as opposed to the merely urgent。""Mumblers command less attention than people who speak up。""Summary: Make an outline; use your outline to help your reader; number and underline section headings; summarize。""The old rule is simple: Don't use 'like' in any case where 'as if' or 'as though' would fit comfortably。""Take into account how much you can assume your reader knows - what background information， what facts， what technical terms。""If you must use abbreviations， define them the first time they appear in your paper。""The more technical the material， the less likely your reader will understand it unless you put it into the language we all speak。""You should develop a logical and easy-to-remember system for your file names。""There are times when nothing beats a conversation to solve a problem， or when courtesy calls for a nicely typed or handwritten letter。""Busy executives tune out， delete， or simply don't respond。""It's worth studying newspapers， particularly The Wall Street Journal， to understand what kinds of headlines convert scanners to readers。""Try to make clear at once which readers your message is for， e。g。， Schedule for rocket-launch team。""Don't automatically keep old titles on replies that have both nothing to do with the original subject， or on correspondence that goes back and forth endlessly with the same title， so it becomes impossible to distinguish one note from another。""If you're sending several messages on unrelated topics， it's often better to send separate e-mails。""But a greeting of some sort， especially if you're originating the correspondence， can help start things on the right foot。""Reply all may be the most dangerous button on the screen。 Count to ten before you unleash this plague on your victims。""Voice mail is often abused， with messages that are too long and repetitive yet not complete。""List names of those receiving copies alphabetically。 If you list them in order of importance， you often run into complications。""There is no need for the written equivalent of small talk。""If you want to add a personal touch， make sure that what you say is personal， and something you mean。" 。。。more

Sheron Singh ，

So simple and such an informative read！

Sean Agans ，

Decent material。 Considering the topic， formatting made it difficult to read。

Gopal Sharma ，

Lots of tips for those， who are into writing。

Sanne Wijbenga ，

Great useful little book。 Even though the parts about writing in the digital age are terribly outdated ;）

Library of ，

A classic that is helpful for anyone who wants to become a better writer。 I believe that many recommendations are timeless， and well worth to remind oneself of from time to time。 Will insert my notes below。 Advertiser David Ogilvy has recommended everyone read Writing That Works at least three times。 One of the main recommendations in the book is that when you know what you want to write – just write it。 The one who mumbles gets less attention than the one who speaks in plain language。 For busy A classic that is helpful for anyone who wants to become a better writer。 I believe that many recommendations are timeless， and well worth to remind oneself of from time to time。 Will insert my notes below。 Advertiser David Ogilvy has recommended everyone read Writing That Works at least three times。 One of the main recommendations in the book is that when you know what you want to write – just write it。 The one who mumbles gets less attention than the one who speaks in plain language。 For busy people to act， your text must go to the heart of what matters。 Most of the texts are unclear， carelessly written and confusing。”If language is not correct， then what is said is not what is meant， if what is said is not what is meant， then what ought to be done remains undone” – ConfuciusLESS IS MORE。 Understand the three most important things the reader needs to know – then just say it。 Use short paragraphs， short sentences and short words。 That’s a rule of thumb used by Wall Street Journal editors to make the text easier to read。 Many people also mistakenly believe that better writing is the same as writing more。 Often the opposite is true。HEADING IS IMPORTANT。 Five times more people read the headline than the entire text。 If the headline is not interesting， you have wasted a lot of time。”If you are lucky enough to have some news to tell， don’t bury it in your body copy， which nine out of ten people will not read。 State it loud and clear in your headline。 And don’t scorn tried-and-true words like amazing， introducing， now， suddenly”THE THREE PARTS OF THE TEXT。 A longer text must be divided into （1） introduction， （2） intermediate part and （3） conclusion。 The introduction should capture the readers’ interest。 There should be an unspoken promise to the reader that it is worth continuing to read。 The middle part is the body of the text and shows where the author is going and contains important information， sometimes controversial and entertaining conversations – preferably with frequent examples from life， ideas and anecdotes。 The conclusion should result in a lingering thought in the reader’s head。 The first and last impression leaves traces – put a lot of focus on these。BE WELL-READ。 H。L Mencken has said ”Most people write badly because they cannot think clearly”。 Ignorance often manifests itself in generalities， which means that the reader has to guess what is meant。 Understand enough to be specific。 Do not write “very overspent” when you can write “overspent by 10，000 dollars”。 Write “two days late” instead of “something according to the schedule”。 Avoid vague adjectives and adverbs。FIGURATIVELY ONLY IF IT HELPS。 Do not expect the reader to be able to read your thoughts: “Take into account how much you can assume your reader knows – what background information， what facts， and what technical terms”。 Figuratively language works well if it is very successful， such as George Bernard Shaw’s opinion as a music critic “I did with my ears what I do with my eyes when I stare”。 Most often， however， figurative language becomes confusing。“If you have distilled your thinking to its essence， you will probably be able to express it in simple words”WRITE THE WAY YOU SPEAK。 Do not write like a lawyer or a bureaucrat。 The best thing is to write the way we speak。 Use a down-to-earth and humble language。 There is always a simple and humble way to say the same thing as the “show off” word。 Avoid exaggerations as a single exaggeration in an otherwise well-argued text can cause suspicion for the whole point。EDIT YOURSELF。 Skilled writers view editing as part of the writing process and not just as a necessary evil。 Write first and then edit。 Go through the text once with the question in your head “what should I delete？”。 Good writers also change a lot in the text – the presentation order affects the understanding。 Also， read the text for inaccuracies in the facts and holes in your arguments and to get a sense of whether the tone is right。”Writers should strike out every third word on principle: you have no idea what vigor it adds to style” – Mark TwainGOOD E-MAIL。 The authors’ four-step rocket to a good e-mail is: （1） write a clear and appealing line of subject matter that gives attention and a sense of content， （2） get to the point and cut out unnecessary text， not only to save the reader’s time but also for to get the core points， （3） be clear with your purpose and message and （4） be specific with the next step and if you want your email to lead to action – get it in your last paragraph。 If you have nothing to say that is more than a formality， stop writing。 。。。more

Michael ，

Exactly what it purports to be。 Very good， if a little dated。

Fabrizio Trotti ，

A good book for most peopleIf you are an experienced writer and communicator， you probably won't find too much in this book。 For everyone else， this is gold。 Follow the tips and recommendations religiously， and your effectiveness in corporate communication will benefit immensely。 A good book for most peopleIf you are an experienced writer and communicator， you probably won't find too much in this book。 For everyone else， this is gold。 Follow the tips and recommendations religiously， and your effectiveness in corporate communication will benefit immensely。 。。。more

Mandy ，

Some good， classic nuggets of advice here but this book is in desperate need of a new edition to speak to updated & now universally accepted technology， as well as a better chapter on respecting your audience than "Coping With Political Correctness。" Some good， classic nuggets of advice here but this book is in desperate need of a new edition to speak to updated & now universally accepted technology， as well as a better chapter on respecting your audience than "Coping With Political Correctness。" 。。。more

Sylvester ，

I used this book to improve my writing when establishing elite score writers， and this review should serve to assist others。For example， "the purpose is to persuade somebody - or more often a number of people - to approve a recommendation or proposal， and agree to put it into action" is an idea that I found extremely helpful。 I used this book to improve my writing when establishing elite score writers， and this review should serve to assist others。For example， "the purpose is to persuade somebody - or more often a number of people - to approve a recommendation or proposal， and agree to put it into action" is an idea that I found extremely helpful。 。。。more

Alina ，

Outdated。 Ma asteptam sa fie la un nivel mai apropiat celui atins de On writing well （William Zinsser）， care ramane in continuare cea mai buna din ce am citit pana acum in jurul acestei teme。 A mai fost foarte buna si chiar recomand Razboiul povestilor （Jonah Sachs - Ed。 Black Button Books）， mai ales pentru recomandarile privind structurarile。

Craig ，

Written almost 40 years ago， this book touts writing advice still recommended today。

James Hammer ，

I have read this book and it is extremely helpful。 This book is a brilliant sample and a guide about how to prepare a speech。 I have to prepare a speech for the conference。 I'll present my research project。 I think it will impress everyone but I really want to learn how to present it in the best way。 My speech with the presentation will based on tips and thoughts of the author of this book。 I will write the result later。 I have read this book and it is extremely helpful。 This book is a brilliant sample and a guide about how to prepare a speech。 I have to prepare a speech for the conference。 I'll present my research project。 I think it will impress everyone but I really want to learn how to present it in the best way。 My speech with the presentation will based on tips and thoughts of the author of this book。 I will write the result later。 。。。more

Cristian Eduardo Capellino ，

Useful recommendations that can be applied immediately。This book is a must-read。 Most companies would increase their effectiveness and efficiency if all their people read this book。 Those who read it and apply it will be a step ahead from the competition。 Very easy to read， the authors clearly walk the talk。

Sinziana Mihalache ，

Useful and concise advice on different types of written pieces （memos， presentations， letters， pitches etc）; might be of use also to those interested in creative writing。 Easy to read。

Sergiy ，

Although the book is a bit dated， for sure you will learn a few new tips and tricks

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Writing That Works

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Writing That Works&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Writing That Works&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0