Write to the Point: How to be Clear, Correct and Persuasive on the Page

Description

Writing tends to make people anxious, and with good reason. The first sentence of a job application letter can consign it to the bin. A speech intended to rouse can put a room to sleep. A mistimed tweet can cost you your job. And a letter to a beloved may aim to convey feelings of tenderness but end up making the recipient laugh rather than melt. In this complete guide to persuasive writing, Sam Leith shows how to express yourself fully across any medium, and how to maximise your chances of getting your way in every situation. From work reports to Valentine cards, and from emails of condolence to tweets of complaint, Leith lays bare the secrets to successful communication, eloquence and off- and online etiquette. How do you write a job application, a thank-you card, or an email to your bank manager, to your children's headteacher, to your clients or your boss? How do you prepare a speech to win the argument, get the vote of confidence, or embarrass the bridegroom? Getting these things right - or wrong - can be life-changing. Succinct treatments of the most general principles of style and composition, as well as examinations of specific modes of address (What is a subtweet? How do I write a moving elegy?) are accompanied by concrete and well-illustrated dos and don'ts and examples of wins and fails. Astute, sprightly and illuminating, Write to the Point will give you the skills and confidence you need to get your message across on every occasion.

Sam Leith is literary editor at the Spectator, contributes columns to the Financial Times, the Evening Standard and Prospect, and his work appears regularly in the Guardian, The Times and the TLS among others. His broadcasting work has included appearances on The Culture Show, The Review Show, Front Row, the News Quiz, Fry's English Delight and a regular slot on the Sky Arts Book Programme. His books include Dead Pets, Sod's Law and You Talkin' to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama. The Coincidence Engine, his first novel, was published in April 2011 and was included in the "Waterstone's 11" list of the best first novels of that year.

At last, a book on correct writing that is genuinely amusing - and not just for language nerds ... Informative and hugely entertaining, like a Scotch-soaked conversation with an eccentric, brilliant don -- Juanita Coulson * The Lady * Useful, and persuasive -- Ben East * Observer *