BUSINESS WRITING

Ancowitz helps readers craft concise missives in this writing guide.

Nowhere is the economy of language more valuable than in business writing. Attention spans have never been shorter, and sentences need to shrink if writers don’t want them to get skipped over by busy, distracted readers. In a world of jargon and wasted words, the author recommends crisp, accessible writing. “Why write ‘utilize’ when ‘use’ conveys the same meaning, yet doesn’t sound forced?” she asks in her introduction. “How about wordy pronouncements of false modesty, like: ‘in my humble opinion’? No. How about the snooze-inducing: ‘It seems to me…?’ Nooo! Or the self-important: ‘I’m writing to personally invite you…’ Never!” With this guide, Ancowitz offers a speed course in sleek composition, covering everything from the principles of clarity and concision to creating attention-grabbing headlines and gripping opening sentences. Each short chapter presents a topic and offers examples of what to do (and what not to do), accompanied by even briefer chapter-ending roundups of “rookie mistakes,” “pro tips,” and “big ideas.” She also includes space for readers to practice each lesson. The author’s advice is practical and, appropriately, communicated with precision. Here, she discusses lead sentences: “Set a stopwatch to 5 seconds (about the time it takes to skim up to this point in this paragraph). If you don’t get to your point before the beeper goes off, most of your readers will have moved on to the next email, text, or other input vying for their attention.” Some of Ancowitz’s takes may be slightly controversial (she’s a fan of ChatGPT), and the practice prompts tend to be not entirely helpful (in part because the answers are visible directly beneath them). For writers whose primary goal it is to compose a sharp email, however, this is a sound primer—and all in just 100 pages.

A slim but effective manual for writing in the workplace.