Question

I need help in business writing. English is my second language. I'm really frustrated on putting my sentence together. This is my first time here. What should I do or where do I need to start to better my writing? It's now affection my job. since were required to write our customer.

Answer 1

Well, you can get help on specific sentences or focused issues by posting questions here. In terms of improving your writing overall, that's a larger issue. In part it depends upon where you're starting from, what you're having trouble with.

The more you read in English, the better your grasp of sentence structure will become. Watching English-language movies and shows helps as well, but for improving your writing skills you really need to incorporate more reading in -- if you are not already doing so.

Then, there are any number of writing books out there, books which address every aspect of writing you can imagine. So it's a matter of you looking through some of these books and deciding which seem to address your needs and which of that set appeal to you most. You can find these books by searching in Amazon (online) using keywords like "english grammar" or "english sentence structure" or simply "writing."

Another trick to get you into the books that professionals tend to use -- though this involves traveling -- is to go to your local community college or university and browse in the course textbooks of various English and writing classes. You'll find all the books grouped there that teachers think are most helpful, and you can choose from among them.

Does that help? But when you've got a sentence you're struggling with, try posting it here. There are many native speakers around who can tell you whether it sounds natural or not to their English ears, and there are many tutors and teachers around who can give you editing advice.

Answer 2

Talk to your employer and ask for his or her input. Are there "example letters" you can use to guide you? Perhaps you can build a folder with examples of certain types of letters you might need for your job. Also, make sure every correspondence gets read by someone else before you send it out. Frequently you can find a co-worker, or perhaps someone your boss recommends, to serve as a second reader. Don't get discouraged!

Answer 3

I think this book of mine would give you some useful help with your business English - take a look at it here: http://howtowritebetter.net/how-to-write-for-business-in-english-the-easy-way/. I know I shouldn't really "promote" my own books on here but considering that this one is so appropriate for you, I hope you'll forgive me!

As much business writing today is in plain, conversational English (rather than the formal style used in previous generations) you could improve your conversational English by listening to audio recordings, radio programmes and "talking books" of contemporary literature. This has the added advantage of being something you can do while also doing something else like cycling or walking, and will help you to familiarize yourself with idiomatic speech, popular slang, etc.

Above all else, remember that you can't go far wrong if you write as people speak. Develop your listening skills and take note of how customers speak on the telephone or face to face, and how they write in emails and letters to your company. If you want to make sure your writing conforms to your company's house style (and assuming your company does not have an actual style manual) look at and carefully study the company's website text, brochures, newsletters, etc. These will - or should! - be written in the style your employers like, which will give you some useful guidelines.

Good luck!