Business and Professional Writing: A Basic Guide, Third Canadian Edition
  • Publication Date: April 4, 2025
  • ISBN: 9781554816453 / 1554816459
  • 470 pages; 6¾" x 9"

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Availability: Canada Only

Business and Professional Writing: A Basic Guide, Third Canadian Edition

  • Publication Date: April 4, 2025
  • ISBN: 9781554816453 / 1554816459
  • 470 pages; 6¾" x 9"

Write with Clarity. Communicate with Confidence.

Business and Professional Writing is a book that practices what it preaches. The authors deliver direct, engaging guidance on workplace communication with a friendly, no-nonsense approach. The book provides realistic examples and practical strategies to ensure clarity, concision, courtesy, correctness, and positivity in every message.

The text offers guidelines and templates for business correspondence, reports, promotional materials, job searching, and oral presentations, and covers style, editing, document design, information security, and ethics. Exercises guide students through the process of creating and revising each genre, and helpful tips, reminders, and suggested resources appear throughout.

Comments

Business and Professional Writing is an excellent introduction to workplace writing…. MacRae focuses on what students most need to know. Uniquely, he is also persuasive, demonstrating to his readers why mastery of the concepts is important … [and] he consistently manages to give just the right amount of detail.” — Michael Fox, Western University

Business and Professional Writing will be of use to students in a variety of STEM and Business fields…. The communication strategies provided will be applicable for years to come. [It’s] an excellent addition to any professional communicator’s library!” — Laura Schechter, University of Alberta

“MacRae’s text is accessible, well organized, and thoroughly engaging, providing readers with a handy, helpful guide suitable for post-secondary students, established professionals, and everyone in between.” — Dana Wight, NorQuest College

Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction to Business and Professional Writing

PART I THE BASICS OF STRONG WRITING

  • Chapter 1 Plain Language
    • Business Communication versus Academic Writing
    • Plain Language
    • Exercises
  • Chapter 2 The Seven Cs of Good Professional Communication
    • Introduction
    • 1. Clear
    • 2. Concise
    • 3. Concrete and Specific
    • 4. Complete
    • 5. Courteous
    • 6. Coherent
    • Exercise: Identifying Transitions
    • 7. Constructive
    • Conclusion
    • Quiz on the Seven Cs
  • Chapter 3 The Eighth C: Learning Grammar Language
    • Introduction
    • Grammar Language
    • Parts of Speech
    • Sentences and Clauses
    • Conjunctions
    • Quiz on Sentences
    • Clauses and Conjunctions Determine Punctuation
    • Punctuation
    • Review of Commas, Semicolons, and Colons
    • Quiz on Punctuation
    • Grammar Odds and Ends
    • Quick Quiz
    • Conclusion
    • Quiz #1 on Grammar
    • Quiz #2 on Grammar
    • Quiz #3 on Clauses
  • Chapter 4 Copy-Editing
    • Introduction: What Is Copy-Editing?
    • Using Spellcheck, Grammar, and AI Editing Programs
    • Other Copy-Editing Tasks
    • Copy-Editing Symbols
    • Using a Word Processor for Copy-Editing
    • Conclusion
    • Copy-Editing Exercise

PART II DOCUMENT DESIGN

  • Chapter 5 Basic Document Design
    • Introduction: The Importance of Good Document Design
    • Modular Design
    • Lists
    • List Review
    • Exercise on Lists
    • Headings
    • Headings Review
    • Graphics
    • Graphics Review
    • Summing Up
  • Chapter 6 Formatting for Correspondence
    • Introduction
    • Memos and Emails
    • Memo Exercise
    • Letters
    • Letter Exercise
    • Correspondence Review

PART III CORRESPONDENCE

  • Chapter 7 Emails and Memos
    • Introduction
    • Emails and Memos
    • Emails
    • Memos
    • Scans and Faxes
  • Chapter 8 Letters: Good News, Neutral, and Bad News
    • Introduction
    • Good-News and Neutral Letters
    • Good-News and Neutral Letter Review
    • Bad-News Letters
    • Bad-News Letter Review
    • Bad-News Letter Exercises
  • Chapter 9 Persuasive Letters
    • Introduction
    • Three Rhetorical Techniques
    • AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
    • Persuasive Communication Ethics
    • Persuasive Letter Review
    • Exercise

PART IV WRITING FOR A JOB

  • Chapter 10 Cover Letters
    • Introduction
    • The Cover Letter
    • Conclusion
    • Exercise
  • Chapter 11 Résumés
    • Introduction
    • Reverse Chronological Résumé
    • Functional Résumé
    • Combined Chronological and Functional Résumé
    • Electronic or Scannable Résumé
    • Conclusion
    • Exercises

PART V PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

  • Chapter 12 News Releases
    • Introduction
    • News Releases
    • Exercise
    • Follow-Up Questions and Exercises
  • Chapter 13 Brochures
    • Introduction
    • Brochures Are AIDA Documents
    • Conclusion
    • Exercises
  • Chapter 14 Digital Media and Marketing
    • Introduction
    • Websites
    • Social Media
    • Writing in a Post-Truth World
    • Negotiating AI
    • Internet Security
    • Exercise

Paul MacRae is a retired instructor of business and professional writing at the University of Victoria.

Joel Hawkes is an instructor of writing and literature at the University of Victoria.

Laura Fanning is a former university writing instructor, now an independent contractor specializing in workplace communications.

KEY FEATURES

  • • Concise—brief and direct instruction, but with personality
  • • Tone is friendly and encouraging rather than formal or academic
  • • Strong coverage of marketing and promotional writing
  • • Coverage of grammar helps to strengthen writing skills and emphasizes correctness in business writing
  • • Clean and uncluttered layout, with many concrete examples, instructive images, and helpful tips throughout
  • • New material on cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication
  • • New chapter covering digital writing, guidance on AI, and writing for social media
  • • Uniquely Canadian examples and models
  • • Online Instructor’s Resources with PowerPoint slides; suggested assignments; grading rubrics; lesson plans; and machine-gradable multiple choice questions

New in the Third Edition:

  • • Expanded content on cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication
  • • New chapter covering digital writing, guidance on AI, and writing for social media

The Business and Professional Writing instructor site resources include PowerPoint lectures, suggested assignments, grading rubrics, and lesson plans, and suggested lecture notes. An access code to the website is included with all examination copies.

Download a Sample: Chapter 7