Call us at 1-866-744-3032

Books


RGI's Leaders have written and published several communication books with Prentice-Hall and the IEEE Press.  Our books are used in college-level engineering programs and often find their way into a firm's resource center or library.

RGI International Books

Technically Write!

AUTHORS
Ron Blicq, Lisa Moretto
ISBN
978-0132570084

Now in it’s 8th Edition, this complete, "on-the-job" exploration of both written and oral communication concentrates on the most effective techniques for the types of communications most frequently encountered in today's business and technical world. This new edition updates coverage to accurately reflect the techniques used to write today's professional correspondence and reports. The book uses the example of two employees involved in two technically-oriented companies, the type of work they perform, and some typical situations that call for them to communicate with clients, suppliers, and each other, to drive home the concepts presented. Topics include: letters, memos, and e-mail; short, informal reports; larger informal and semiformal reports; formal reports; technical proposals; communicating with prospective employers; and technical writing. For any employee whose responsibilities include preparing reports and documents; also for those where speaking at meetings and seminars is a necessary part of their jobs. This book can serve as an excellent reference for job-hunters.

Guidelines for Report Writing

AUTHORS
Ron Blicq, Lisa Moretto
ISBN
978-0130145994

This easy-to-use reference handbook is designed to help business/technical professionals and students alike write effective reports. Various reports are covered and explained through the use of Blicq's famous "pyramid method" - a technique that helps the writer identify the most important points of the report and group the remaining information in a logical, sequential manner. Guidelines for Report Writing is an excellent resource devoted exclusively to report-writing.

Get to the Point! Writing Email, Letters, Memos, Reports and Proposals

AUTHORS
Ron Blicq, Lisa Moretto
ISBN
978-0130204202

Following in the tradition of their bestselling Guidelines for Report Writing, Blicq and Moretto now apply the same succinct, real-world oriented approach to the basics of business communication. This book will help readers write more effective business letters, memos, reports, and proposals, by showing them how to create messages that achieve the desired results and encourage recipients to take action. The authors show how to apply the proven pyramid method, while providing easy-to-use templates that help structure coherent letters, reports, and proposals.

Communicating at Work

AUTHORS
Ron Blicq
ISBN
978-0131556980

Communicating at Work:Creating Messages that Get Results is a comprehensive guide to both written and oral business communication. It includes the latest information on communicating in the electronic office and on interpersonal communication skills, as well as solid coverage of email, letters, reports, and memos. The great strength of this text is the extensive and well thought-out section of chapter-end exercises. As well, Blicq's use of the famous "pyramid approach" provides a straightforward and easily grasped model of effective communication for students to put to work.

Writing Reports to Get Results

AUTHORS
Ron Blicq, Lisa Moretto
ISBN
978-0471143420

The professional's quick-reference handbook for writing business and technical reports Professionals in business, government, and technical fields often need help in organizing and writing reports for associates, clients, and managers. This simple tutorial handbook offers expert tips and useful ideas for organizing ideas, structuring reports, and adding spice to technical papers.

Writing Reports to Get Results offers in-depth guidance for writing:
  • short, informal reports, such as job progress reports and inspection reports
  • semiformal reports, such as laboratory and medium-length investigation and evaluation reports
  • formal reports, such as analytical and feasibility studies and major investigations
  • technical and business proposals of varying complexity

The authors use a simple pyramid method to help writers organize their information into the most convenient and simplest structure for any type of document-from single-page proposals to full-length presentations. Rounding out this easy, instructional handbook are helpful tips on a number of other topics, such as: constructing reference lists and bibliographies; the use of numbers, abbreviations, and metric symbols; preparing illustrations for insertion into a report; and working collaboratively as a member of a writing team.

Recommended Books

Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English

AUTHORS
Patricia T. O'Connor
ISBN
1594480060

Woe Is I gives lighthearted, witty instruction on the subject most of us dreaded in school--grammar. Discussion is brief and concise, and much more engaging than the grammar books you may remember. With chapter titles such as "Woe is I: Therapy for Pronoun Anxiety," "Your Truly: The Possessive and the Possessed," "Verbal Abuse: Words on the Endangered List," "Comma Sutra; The Joy of Punctuation," and "Death Sentence: Do Cliches Deserve to Die?," O'Conner proves that even grammar can make for entertaining reading. The bestselling grammar book has been updated and revised to include the latest and greatest on the basics and subtleties of English, and features a new chapter on the language of the Internet.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

AUTHORS
Lynne Truss
ISBN
9781592402038

The spirited and scholarly #1 New York Times bestseller combines boisterous history with grammar how-to’s to show how important punctuation is in our world—period. 

In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss, gravely concerned about our current grammatical state, boldly defends proper punctuation. She proclaims, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. Using examples from literature, history, neighborhood signage, and her own imagination, Truss shows how meaning is shaped by commas and apostrophes, and the hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry.

Featuring a foreword by Frank McCourt, and interspersed with a lively history of punctuation from the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, Eats, Shoots & Leaves makes a powerful case for the preservation of proper punctuation.

Practical Grammar: A Canadian Writer's Resource 

AUTHORS
Maxine Ruvinsky
ISBN
0199002304

Practical Grammar: A Canadian Writer's Resource offers students of all levels and disciplines a succinct and comprehensive overview of the basics of English grammar.

New in-chapter drills and review exercises increase the student's operational knowledge of grammar and allow them to better apply new knowledge to their writing. Documentation guidelines for APA, MLA, and Chicago have been fully updated to provide an accurate and accessible reference that students will refer to when writing.

The third edition retains clear and concise explanations of important grammatical concepts, information on citation, expert advice on avoiding common errors, and tips on research and writing techniques.

Practical Grammar: A Canadian Writer's Resource is a valuable addition to any class with a focus on writing or a written component and can serve as a reference throughout students' academic careers.

The Business Writer's Handbook

AUTHORS
Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu
ISBN
145767551X

From abstracts to online professional profiles, from blogs and forums the e-mail and formal reports, The Business Writer's Handbook uses smart, accessible language to spotlight and clarify business writing today. Hundreds of topic entries, 90+ sample documents, at-a-glance checklists, and clear, explicit models, communicate the real-world practices of successful business writers.

Developed by a legendary author team with decades of combined academic and professional experience, the book's intuitive, alphabetical organization makes it easy to navigate its extensive coverage of grammar, usage, and style. Plus, updated, in-depth treatment of pressing issues like the job search, audience awareness, source documentation, and social media use on the job resonate both in class and at the office.

With a refreshed, integrated focus on the ways technologies shape writing, the Twelfth Edition of the Handbook is the indispensable reference tool for writing successfully in the workplace.

Testimonials


Within the first few minutes, I realized that I write most things backwards. (The story telling method.) That “Ah Ha” moment starts you off with an open mind to the course. 

It was geared directly towards the type of documents engineers write every day.

This is top notch. Very professional.  Ann and Lisa are awesome presenters!

Looking for leadership training?

Help your staff succeed in managing and leading others. RGI's affiliate, The Center for Engineering and Technical Leadership ™ (CTEL), offers courses and programs to develop your next generation of leaders.

View CTEL courses