Effective Writing: A Handbook for Accountants, 9th Edition

A useful guide to all the stages of the writing process.

Effective Writing guides the writer through all the stages of the writing process: planning, critical thinking, generating and organizing ideas, writing the draft, revising, and designing for presentation. Throughout the text, Effective Writing stresses coherence, conciseness, and clarity as the most important qualities of the writing done by accountants.

This edition includes many new and revised assignments that reinforce the concepts covered in the text, as well as coverage on ethics in communication.

Effective Writing: A Handbook for Accountants, Sixth Edition, is designed to help accounting students and practitioners improve their communication skills. It can be used as a supplementary text for regular accounting courses, as a text in an accounting communication course, or as a text in a business communication or technical writing course when these courses include accounting students. The handbook is also a useful desk reference or self-study manual for accountants in practice.

Effective Writing guides the writer through all the stages of the writing process: planning, including analysis of audience and purpose; critical thinking; generating and organizing ideas; writing the draft; revising for readable style and correct grammar; and designing the document for effective presentation. In addition to these basic writing principles, the book includes chapters on letters, memos (including e-mail), reports, and other formats used by accountants in actual practice. Throughout the text, Effective Writing stresses coherence, conciseness, and clarity as the most important qualities of the writing done by accountants.

To supplement the instruction on writing effectively, we have included a chapter on oral presentations. Chapter 14 discusses the preparation of an oral presentation, including audience analysis and organization of materials as well as techniques of effective delivery, including the use of visual aids.

Within Part III, "Writing and Your Career," you will find a chapter on writing essay examinations (including professional examinations), a chapter on writing resumes and letters of application, and a chapter on writing for publication.

A special feature of this book is the chapter on accounting research and critical thinking. Here you will find valuable reference material on such topics as:
* How critical thinking can help you solve problems and write persuasive documents
* How to write citations of accounting sources (including Internet sources)

Exercises and assignments throughout Effective Writing reinforce the concepts covered in the text. Some exercises have answers within the text for independent review. The Instructor's Manual contains answers to many other exercises. Most chapters include topics for writing or speaking assignments. The assignments, like the illustrations in the text, are concerned with accounting concepts and situations and thus will seem relevant and familiar to those studying and practicing accounting.

Effective Writing can be used in conjunction with traditional accounting courses. Instructors can assign cases and topics for research based- on the accounting concepts being studied in class, or they can use the assignments provided in this handbook. Students then analyze the accounting problem, research the literature if necessary, and prepare answers according to an assigned forma such as a letter, technical memo, formal report, or oral presentation. The hand-book guides students toward principles of effective writing and speaking. Instructors can then evaluate students' performance based on the criteria discussed in the text and the Instructor's Manual.

The Instructor's Manual, which was written by the authors, contains suggestions for everyone wishing to improve the communication skills of accounting students, whether in a regular accounting course or in a course devoted to communication. The Instructor's Manual includes topics such as motivating students to improve their communication skills, designing assignments, and evaluating performance. The Instructor's Manual also contains chapter commentaries and masters for transparencies and handouts.

The authors wish to thank the reviewers who took the time to comment on their book. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.

* Wanda I. DeLeo, Winthrop University
* F. Todd DeZoort, University of South Carolina
* Harold Goedde, State University of New York at Oneonta
* Julia L. Higgs, Florida Atlantic University
* Theresa Hrncir, Southeastern Oklahoma State University
* Celina L. Jozsi, University of South Florida
* Cheryl E. Mitchem, Virginia State University

We hope that this book will help those preparing to enter the profession, as well as those already in practice, to achieve greater success through effective communication.

Claire B. May
Gordon S. May