Selection from “Writing Reports for Management Decisions” by David M. Robinson, Charles E. Merrill Publishing, 1969:

“How true is the oft-heard charge that too many business report writers simply do not know how to write effective reports? Casual observation of the poor quality of written reports in many organizations suggests that the charge may be totally supportable. Observation of reports in other organizations, however, may suggest that the charge is without a firm foundation. In all likelihood, enough observation may lead the observer to this conclusion: The difference between effective and ineffective reports usually can be traced to the differences between the effective and ineffective people who write the reports. The plain truth is that very often the people who do not know how to write reports have not been trained in the subject.”

Some people have complained in the recent past about the shortage of quality editing in new online media. Yet poorly edited content isn’t a new thing. Wherever you find people communicating in writing you’re going to find that some of them are better, and some worse. You’ll also find that good communication skills are as useful today as they’ve ever been. It still holds that training is helpful. Practice can be helpful too.

I know less than I should about formal grammatical structures and editing techniques. The results are occasionally charmless godawful wooden posts that read like outtakes from a corporate quality manual. Clunky language with no soul. Part of the permanent record. Shame.

And so I wonder, do managers need to understand the rules for relative pronoun use in restrictive vs. nonrestrictive clauses?

[tags]David M. Robinson, Writing Reports for Management Decisions[/tags]