Effective writing makes a point. This is especially true of effective business writing, and you, as a writer, should have a clear idea of the message that you are trying to convey, and the ultimate aim, or aims, of your writing. Try to look at the subject matter from the point of view of your target audience, and jot down, on paper, the important, and relevant, points that you want to make. This will help you to organise, and structure, your ideas, and writing, in a coherent fashion, and make it much less likely that you will forget to include something important.

When it comes to actually writing your document, be brief, but be clear. It is unwise to assume that your recipient has any prior knowledge of the subject matter, so you should convey all the relevant information, concisely, and in appropriate, simple language. Be careful not to include anything that can be misunderstood, or misconstrued. Avoid using jargon, or acronyms, unless you are addressing technical experts in your own, or a similar, field.

William Shakespeare wrote ?brevity is the soul of wit?, and brevity is, indeed, the soul of effective business writing. The first few lines of any business correspondence must convey the subject matter of that correspondence, and its relevance to the recipient, and should arouse curiosity, or interest, in the remainder of the document. Letters, memoranda and email messages should, wherever possible, be limited to a single page.

Material should also be structured, and presented, in a way that makes it easy to read, and to understand. Appropriate headings, and subheadings can be used to divide text into meaningful segments, and the judicious use of white space, and bullet points, for example, can make content easier to ?digest?. Incorporation of a company logo, or letterhead, and other graphical devices, charts or photographs can also add to the visual appeal of a finished document.

Conclusion

It goes almost without saying that any information that you include in business correspondence, for example, in the form of facts and figures, should be checked, and double checked for accuracy. Factual inaccuracies, or errors, will serve only to diminish your credibility in the eyes of a recipient. Similarly, incorrect spelling, grammar, or punctuation will serve as a major distraction, perhaps diverting attention away from the main message of your correspondence. It is wise, therefore, to check your ?finished? document with spelling and grammar checking software ? such as that featured in most common word processors ? and to have your work reviewed by another, competent person.