Book Review: Write to the Point - How to Communicate in Business with Style and Purpose,
by Salvatore J. Iacone

chillibreeze writer — Dr. Roopa Nishi Viswanathan

Salvatore J. Iacone responds to Dr. Viswanathan's review:
“Dear Dr. Viswanathan: I have just read your very kind review of my book, WRITE TO THE POINT. I am so pleased you found it informative, entertaining and helpful to business writers. With thanks and kind regards, Salvatore Iacone” August 18, 2005

Are you bored of "learn to write effectively" books that read like a high school grammar? Are you looking for something more serious to help you wade through those endless business reports, presentations, memos, letters and the likes? Are you one of those who prefer getting an example for every writing rule that you need to follow? Check this book out. It brings you a mature level of business writing skills with numerous examples for every rule and tips for every kind of business writing.

Writing a well organized and concise business report or letter can be a challenge even for the seasoned writer. This is because business writing is way different from any other kind of writing like creative writing for instance. Here you have to write to the point. And that’s exactly what Salvatore J. Iacone’s book Write to the point helps one do.

Is this another grammar book?

This is far from a grammar book (though it has appendices that provide a brief overview of English grammar, punctuation, usage and often confused words). This is a book designed to improve your business writing skills and not polish your high-school knowledge. It helps you make sound decisions about sentence structure, placing punctuation, and choosing the right words. This book can help guide you through some of the toughest and trickiest aspects of writing business English. One of the best things about this book is that, in addition to the abundant examples provided by the author, the text itself proves to be an example of excellent writing. The language is simple and the matter is concise. Iacone probably believes in the principle “If you have nothing to say, then don’t say it”. But he clearly has lot to say and we have a lot to learn from him, especially if we are looking for improvement in our business communications.

What you will get from Write to the point

So what if you hated English in high school? What if you don’t remember anything your grammar teacher taught you? You can still read this book and perfect your business writing. Write to the point makes for light reading and there is nothing complicated or hazy about the concepts outlined. You may be a high school student, a college student, a novice writer, a business executive or just about anyone looking to add value to his/her writing. After reading this book, you will be satisfied that there is enough reason to consider adding it to the select group of writing books occupying your bookshelf.

Final note: Don’t be satisfied with the summary. Read the book. It will give you a wealth of information and loads of tips for your subsequent business writing projects.

Summary

Chapter 1: Writing to the Point

“The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean.”– R. L. Stevenson.

When in doubt, write nothing.
First relax, and then choose a good environment to write.
Some of us are born writers. Others have to strive towards writing well.

Chapter 2: Getting Started: Stop Staring and Start Writing

“My way is to begin at the beginning”- Lord Byron

Remember that you will not be around to interpret your writing to your readers.
Tips to overcome writer’s block: Revisit the past, Go idea shopping, Use a conversational style, Engage in Free-writing.

Chapter 3: It’s Not About You: Writing for Your Reader

“If the writer doesn’t swear, the reader will”- Mark Twain

Try to know your reader and his/her needs.
Be familiar with the reader’s expectations, technical skills or limitations, appreciation of visual aids, and preference for substantial or minimal details.
Ask yourself if the subject matter is of great interest to the reader or not.
Decide if you want to include a summary or key points of interest for readers who may be too busy.
Emphasize the purpose of any document you write.

Chapter 4: The Right Package: Organizing and Evaluating Information

“If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts”- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Divide your information effectively.
Analyze the content in terms of time order, spatial order, cause and effect relationship, comparison and contrast, or any other pattern. Basically follow a pattern.
Evaluate the information you are giving out in terms of relevance, reliability, bias, organization, overgeneralization, and other factors.
Use appropriate fonts.

Chapter 5: Don’t Obfuscate: Writing with Clarity and Precision

Polonius: “What do you read, my lord?” Hamlet: “Words, words, words.”

Use reader-friendly unpretentious words.
Avoid redundant words and expressions.
Avoid clichés.
Try to use action words such as accomplish, enable, expedite, motivate, etc to convey strength, control and confidence.

Chapter 6: Leave Out the Commercials: Let the Sentences sell the Message

“The love of economy is the root of all virtue.”- George Bernard Shaw

Try to use short sentences.
Avoid the passive voice as far as possible. Follow the general rules of grammar.
Delete all unnecessary adornments.
Don’t be ambiguous.
Use paragraphs to divide information systematically.

Chapter 7: Who Do You Think You Are? Tone and Style

“When we come across a natural style, we are surprised and delighted; for we expected an author, and we find a man.”- Blaise Pascal

It is important to identify the readers’ likely point of view, needs, expectations, concerns, possible prejudices, attitudes and interests.
Convey negative information skillfully.

Chapter 8: Last Restroom for 300 Miles: Editing for Content and Structure

“I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.”- Truman Capote

Edit a long interval after the first draft if possible.
Revise the opening, the middle and the end.
Avoid convoluted writing.
Do not use sexist wording. There are many ways to do this.
If you are writing for approval, then clarify your reviewer’s needs and goals even before you start writing.

Chapter 9: Don’t Trust the Spell-Checker: Proofreading Made Easier

“I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.”- Oscar Wilde

There are lots of proofreading techniques. Use what works for you.
Use a proofreading checklist.

To get your work proofread or edited by an expert, contact Chillibreeze.

Chapter 10: E-mail: To Send or Not to Send?

“Writing, when properly managed is but a different name for conversation.”- Laurence Sterne

Use informative subject lines.
Organize your E-mail just like any other document.
Use conversational personal language style.
Clarity and Precision are all-important in electronic communication.
Follow all the rules and tips as you would for any kind of writing.

Chapter 11: Memo, Letter, and Report Guidelines

“This is what I’d like to put in my letter: ‘Beautiful Marquise, your beautiful eyes make me die of love,’ but I’d like to put it in an elegant way.”

Look at various formats of Memos and Letters.
Tips for Reports
Determine the purpose
Identify your reader
Organize the Information
Decide which Elements to Include
Read examples of good reports

Chapter 12: Instructions, Presentations, Proposals, and Resumes

“How do I know what I think until I see what I say?”- E.M. Forster

Use active voice for instructions and talk to the reader.
Presentations

Plan the presentation well in advance and organize it
Consider your audience
Prepare an outline
Write the opening- remember that this can influence your presentation highly
End the presentation with a summary and an appropriate conclusion
Do not use a monotone while presenting

Requests for Proposals are very formal documents. Follow strict guidelines.
Resumes- Ask the question, “Would I hire myself?” Draft your resume with great care. It can make or break your impression.

Appendices

Business letter models
Guidelines to Punctuation
Grammar Usage and Review
Often-Confused words
The correct use of prepositions that follow certain words
Capitalization
Plural Nouns
Compound Nouns/Words
Review Exercises

Now you can write to the point.

Will you be writing web content ? Make sure you know the tricks of the trade. Check out:

Highlights of a Chillibreeze workshop "Write right for the web"
A few tips for effective online content
Misusing Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
A call to redefine plagiarism
Write search engine friendly content: How to write so google finds you
Content magnets that can attract people to your site
How to market your ebook

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But what if you do not have the time or resources to write all the content you need? That is where we could help.

Contact Chillibreeze for all your writing and editing requirements.

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Dr. Roopa Nishi Viswanathan,

“Live life by the day.” Born in Hyderabad, brought up in Mumbai, settled in Bangalore after a brief stint in the US, Dr. Roopa Nishi Viswanathan is a doctor-turned-biotechnologist-turned writer. Nishi loves reading anything and everything, travel, watching movies with her husband, exotic food, .....let’s simply say she loves living.