Positive, practical techniques for achieving a more professional writing style. Here are the "how to" keys of writing—from putting the first words on paper to the final polishing and proofreading. Readers will learn how to edit their writing for improved clarity, cut excess words, use transitional phrases, recognize and correct run-on sentences and overcome procrastination and impulsive writing. Readers will learn how to:

Identify the key components of any well-written business document

Cut excess words and phrases from your writing

Use transitional words and phrases

Avoid misplaced and dangling modifiers and split infinitives

Use commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, and parentheses

Use slash marks, ellipsis marks, quotation marks, italics, and brackets

Recognize and correct run-on sentences

Proofread your writing for clarity of meaning

Overcome the two common writing problems that waste time and money—procrastination and impulsive writing. This is an ebook version of the AMA Self-Study course. If you want to take the course for credit you need to either purchase a hard copy of the course through amaselfstudy.org or purchase an online version of the course through flexstudy.com.