The AMA Style Guide for Business Writing

660 Pages·1996·1.6 MB·English

by  The Editors at the American Management Association

title: The AMA Style Guide for Business Writing
author:
publisher: AMACOM Books
isbn10 | asin: 0814402976
print isbn13: 9780814402979
ebook isbn13: 9780585026671
language: English
Commercial correspondence--Handbooks,
manuals, etc, Business writing--Handbooks,
subject
manuals, etc, English language--Business
English--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
publication date: 1996
lcc: HF5726.A49 1996eb
ddc: 808/.06665
Commercial correspondence--Handbooks,
manuals, etc, Business writing--Handbooks,
subject:
manuals, etc, English language--Business
English--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
The AMA Style Guide for Business Writing
From the Editors at the American Management Association
AMACOM American Management Association
New York · Boston · Chicago · Kansas City · San Francisco · Washington, D.C.
Brussels · Mexico City · Tokyo · Toronto
Page iv
This book is available at a special discount when ordered in
bulk quantities.
For information, contact Special Sales Department,
AMACOM, a division of
American Management Association, 135 West 50th Street,
New York, NY
10020.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative
information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other
expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional
person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The AMA style guide for business writing.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8144-0297-6 1.
Commercial correspondence-Handbooks, manuals, etc.
2. Business writing-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. English language-
Business English-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. American Management
Association. HF5726.A49 1996
808'.06665-dc20 96-4138
CIP
©1996 AMACOM, a division of American Management Association,
New York. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Photos P-1 and P-2 on pages 177 and 178 © 1995 PhotoDisc, Inc.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of
American Management Association, 135 West 50th Street, New York,
NY 10020.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Page v
Contents
Introduction ix
Abbreviations 1
Acronyms 6
Active and Passive Voice 8
Agreement 11
Alphabetizing 16
Appendixes 22
Budgets and Forecasts 23
Capitalization 26
Captions 30
Charts and Graphs 31
Citations 41
Clichés 45
Compound Words 49
Decimals, Fractions, and Percentages 51
Denotation and Connotation 56
Desktop Publishing 57
Editing and Proofreading 60
Electronic Mail 63
Emphasis 66
False Subjects 72
Financial Reports 74
Flowcharts 77
Footnotes 81
Headings 84
Highlighting in Text 87
Introductions 90
Jargon 92
Letters 95
Page vi
Lists 109
Manuscripts 114
Mathematical Symbols 117
Memos 123
Numerals and Numbering 126
Organization Charts 133
Outlining 135
Paragraphs 138
Parallelism 143
Parentheses and Brackets 145
Parts of Speech 151
Adjectives 151
Adverbs 154
Conjunctions 156
Nouns 157
Prepositions 161
Pronouns 164
Verbs 169
Photographs 175
Planning Documents 179
Possessives 182
Procedures Manuals 184
Proposals 188
Punctuation 191
Apostrophe 191
Colon 193
Comma 195
Dash 200
Ellipses 201
Exclamation Mark 202
Hyphen 203
Period 205
Question Mark 208
Page vii
Quotation Marks 209
Semicolon 212
Slash 213
Quotations 214
Redundancy and Repetition 217
Reports 219
Sentences 222
Sexist Writing 229
Signs and Symbols 232
Similar Words 233
Singular and Plural 267
Spacing 271
Spelling 273
Style and Tone 281
Summarizing 285
Table of Contents 287
Technical Writing 289
Titles 291
Transitions 293
Word Processing 298
Sample Forms Section 302
Budget Form 303
Budget Documentation 304
Budget Variance Summary 305
Forecast 306
Balance Sheet 307
Income Statement 308
Statement of Cash Flows 310
Letters 311
Block Style 311
Modified Block Style 312
Semiblock Style 313
Long-Range Planning Documents 315