Essentials of Business Communication

by Mary Ellen Guffey, Dana Loewy

Overview

This text-workbook is a streamlined, no-nonsense approach to business communication. It takes a three-in-one approach: (1) text, (2) practical workbook, and (3) self-teaching grammar/mechanics handbook. The chapters reinforce basic writing skills, then apply these skills to a variety of memos, letters, reports, and resumes. This new edition features increased coverage of contemporary business communication issues including Internet and e-mail communication, diversity, and ethics. Coverage of grammar and the writing process has also been increased, with a new chapter on oral presentations and speaking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798214052137
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	02/23/2026
Edition description:	13th ed.
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

A dedicated professional, Mary Ellen Guffey has taught business communication and business English topics for over 35 years. She received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Bowling Green State University; a master’s degree from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in business and economic education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has taught at the University of Illinois, Santa Monica College, and Los Angeles Pierce College. Now recognized as the world’s leading business communication author, Dr. Guffey corresponds with instructors around the globe who are using her books.

Dana Loewy taught business communication at California State University, Fullerton for nearly two decades. She enjoyed introducing undergraduates to business writing and honing the skills of graduate students in managerial communication. Concurrently, she also taught various German courses and was a regular guest lecturer at Fachhochschule Nürtingen, Germany. Dr. Loewy has played an increasingly significant role in collaborating with Dr. Guffey on recent editions of Essentials of Business Communication and Business Communication: Process & Product. Dr. Loewy holds a master’s degree from Bonn University, Germany, and earned a PhD in English at the University of Southern California. Fluent in several languages, among them German and Czech, her two native languages, Dr. Loewy has authored critical articles in many areas of interest—literary criticism, translation, business communication, and business ethics.

Table of Contents

PART 1. COMMUNICATION FOUNDATIONS. 1. Facing Today's Communication Challenges. Communication Workshop: Using the Internet. PART 2. WRITING SKILLS. 2. Writing for Business Audiences. Communication Workshop: Tools for Critical Thinking. 3. Improving Writing Techniques. Communication Workshop: Ethics Tools. 4. Revising and Proofreading Business Messages. Communication Workshop: Using Spell Checkers and Grammar Checkers. PART 3. ROUTINE BUSINESS MESSAGES. 5. E-mail and Memorandums. Communication Workshop: Whose Computer Is It Anyway?. 6. Routine Letters. Communication Workshop: Ethics: Kmart Cleans Up It Act. PART 4. NEGATIVE, PERSUASIVE, AND SPECIAL BUSINESS MESSAGES. 7. Negative Messages. Communication Workshop: Presenting Bad News in Other Cultures. 8. Persuasive Messages. Communication Workshop: Seven Steps to Resolving Workplace Conflicts. 9. Goodwill and Special Messages. Communication Workshop: Business Etiquette. PART 5. WRITTEN AND ORAL REPORTS. 10. Informal Reports. Communication Workshop: Collaboration. 11. Proposals and Formal Reports. Communication Workshop: Informational Interviewing. 12. Oral Presentations, Meetings, and Telephone Communication. Communication Workshop: Electronic Presentations. PART 6. EMPLOYMENT COMMUNICATION. 13. Job Searching, RTsumTs, and Cover Letters. Communication Workshop: Cybersearching for a Job. 14. Interviewing and Follow-up Messages. Communication Workshop: Interviewing from Employer's Perspective?

Editorial Reviews

This single volume comprises a textbook, a workbook, and a grammar reference manual. Emphasizing the process of writing and the application of technology to communication, chapters cover basic skills and concepts, routine business messages, persuasive writing, negative and special messages, data reporting, and communications necessary in gaining employment. Appendixes include a reference guide to document formats, proofreading marks, and documentation formats. An accompanying CD-ROM provides material on visual aids in presentations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

I really love Essentials of Business Communication for my students. I m always alarmed at how poor their grammar and writing skills are, and this is one of the few books that addresses those skills effectively.

As an experienced instructor teaching business communication for the first time, I want to praise the layout and clear instructions provided for Essentials of Business Communication. Getting to know a textbook usually takes a lot of time, but I read the Instructor s Manual, and it helped me prepare quickly for my class and get me up to speed without having to spend valuable time learning how to present the material. The how-to instructions for EBC gave me a comfort level that would otherwise have taken several semesters.

One year I decided to try a business communication textbook from another publisher, but I immediately returned to the Guffey text this year. The quality of the content and support resources for Essentials just can t be matched.

From the Publisher