Business Writing Resources

Written communication is especially important at work. Business writing often follows specific expectations. There are a wide range of standard phrases that are expected in business English that are generally not used in everyday English.

Examples

• Please find attached ...
• We regret to inform you that ...
• It has come to our attention that ...

Another challenge is that business writing follows very specific formulas in structure. Take the resume, ​for instance, the writing style you use, the points you highlight about your career or education, and the overall look and feel can play a very important role in deciding whether you are offered a job or not.

There are also a number of documents that are common to business writing. These include office memos, e-mails, and reports. These business writing documents also take on different styles depending on the audience of those who receive the documents. This guide to business writing points you in the direction of the wide variety of resources available on the site.

Basic Business Letters

These two articles provide an overall framework for writing business letters. They outline specific issues of salutation, structure, letter layout and language use. Finally, there is also a

• Business Letter Writing Basics - Business Letter Writing Basics for English learners. Guide to basic style questions and standard phrases used in business English letters.
• How to Write a Business Letter - This 'how to' provides a quick step by step guide to writing a basic business letter.

Specific Business Letters

Building on basic business letters, these business letters provide specific examples of letters written for common business writing tasks such as making an inquiry, sales letters, placing an order, etc. They include key phrases commonly found in each of business letter types, as well as an example letter on which to model your own English business correspondence.

• Letters of Acknowledgement
• Making a Sale - Sales Letter
• Placing an Order
• Making a Claim
• Adjusting a Claim
• Making an inquiry
• Replying to an inquiry
• New Account Terms and Conditions
• Basic Business Letters
• Writing a Cover Letter when Applying for a Job

Specific Business Documents

There are a number of standard business documents that are used on a daily basis at the office. These documents follow standard outlines. This example provides important structural details, an introduction and example document on which to model your own reports.

• How to Write a Business Report

Job Applications

It is extremely important that these key business documents are in order when applying for a job. The cover letter and the resume are key to successfully winning a job offer during the interviewing process.

• Finding a Job - Writing a Cover Letter
• Example Cover Letter 1
• Writing Your Resume