Whereas most books and courses on business writing merely review the rules of grammar and punctuation, the Spence & Company approach teaches how to organize ideas and information into documents and presentations that are clear and persuasive. The approach, which Spence & Company has taught to professionals at leading American companies since 1953, is explained in two books: Organizing Ideas: The Key to Effective Communication and Business Writing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Business Writing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly illustrates how principles of effective communication, explained in Organizing Ideas, can be used to improve the clarity of standard business documents, such as e-mails, memos, reports, proposals, executive summaries, status reports, and minutes of meetings. Business Writing also provides numerous examples of how to convert a confused communication into a clear and compelling message. Organizing Ideas, a companion volume, shows how to use time-tested principles to identify your key message and construct a persuasive argument to support it. You will learn to select, organize, and present information in a manner that addresses the needs and concerns of your audience. Special chapters show how to compose effective e mail, prepare engaging presentations, and write documentation that people actually read. Organizing Ideas also teaches how to revise your writing and create a final draft. Applying nine simple principles for editing will ensure that your paragraphs and sentences convey your ideas and information clearly and concisely. You will learn, as well, to design presentation slides that are conceptually clear and visually appealing.