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Title: Revising Business Prose (4th Edition) by Richard Lanham ISBN: 0-205-30944-5 Publisher: Pearson Longman Pub. Date: 19 July, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.20 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Not just for nonfiction
Comment: This was required text for an editing class I took, and I've recommended it to everyone I know who needs to write clearly. The humor and the examples make it an easy read. The no-nonsense approach make the ideas very absorbable and appliable.
What I learned in this book has applied to more than business writing. I use it just as much in writing fiction. I keep a copy of the "Paramedic Method" taped in my writing journal and use it to clean up everything I do, from personal essays and short stories to work instructions and procedures for the office. Once you know what clean, clear, understandable prose sounds like, you'll never tolerate "lard" in your writing again!
Rating: 5
Summary: Plain English for the business writer
Comment: For years, Professor Lanham has been after us about wordiness. He calls it the Official Style; it's practiced whenever writers want to sound important, and to achieve this effect inflate what they write like Macy's Parade balloons. His "Paramedic Method" of rescuing hyper-inflated prose is directed in this slender volume to writers of business communications: memos, reports, policies, procedures, you name it. By following his advice step by step, it's possible to achieve directness, clarity, even simplicity by finding the plain English that neatly expresses what we want to say. And that means finding and disposing of all the unnecessary verbiage, which by Lanham's estimate comprises about 50% of what we write.
Take the following cumbersome sentence, the likes of which routinely typify everyday business communications: "On the basis of the answers to these and other questions which the team might ask, I would expect the team to present us with detailed recomendations for enhancing the effectiveness of our reporting." Lanham shows how to transform it into something elegantly precise: "By answering questions like these, the team should be able to recommend improvements in our reporting." A reduction, he would be quick to point out, from 34 words to 16 words. True, as the saying goes, it takes longer to write something shorter, but the finished product is more likely to be read, understood, and acted upon by its intended audience.
Lanham's approach to all this is hardly stuffy. He has a good time poking fun at egregious examples of ponderous prose, and he also has a good time whacking it into something presentable. And the end result isn't just readable; it's alive, full of energy, and packs a wallop. This book is for every business person who has something important to say and wants to be sure that what they've written gets read rather than shoved to the side because it's a chore to plow through. Buy this book, read it, and reread it. You won't be sorry.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent for those revising for Clarity
Comment: I was given an earlier edition of this book by a colleague in the English department. I laughed when I thought this little David was going to tackle the Goliath of Business prose, but darned if he didn't come through like a crackshot. Lanham effectively teaches writers who hide their ideas in complicated and wordy prose how to cut through the fog and reveal their ideas. Sometimes--and no offense to university teachers (heck I'm one of them) students get it into their heads that convolution leads to respect--and that may be for those writing books on theory--but most of the time convoluted prose just leads the reader to a lot of head-scratching. If you are writing, you need to be clear. This is especially true if you are writing for business. Lanham helps you dissipate cloudy phrasings, and pull ideas out into the light of day. I had to give my copy back to my colleague, but I'm ordering my own now. (I also shudder to think how my prose in this paragraph would stand up to scrutiny--which is why I'm buying and memorizing the book.) I recommend this for English teachers and those writing for businesses--after all there are lots of assessments, idea-pitching and grant writing that need clarity. Lanham comes through like a hero.
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Title: The Business Writer's Handbook: Seventh Edition by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu ISBN: 0312309228 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 14 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $38.95 |
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Title: Marketing Management by Philip Kotler ISBN: 0130336297 Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $126.67 |
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Title: Corporate Finance by Stephen A. Ross, Randolph W. Westerfield, Jeffrey Jaffe ISBN: 0072831936 Publisher: McGraw Hill College Div Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $134.20 |
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Title: Effective Writing for Engineers, Managers, Scientists, 2nd Edition by H. J. Tichy ISBN: 0471807087 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 22 July, 1988 List Price(USD): $125.00 |
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Title: Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses by Clyde P. Stickney, Roman L. Weil ISBN: 0324183518 Publisher: South-Western College Pub Pub. Date: 02 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $123.95 |
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