The underlying purpose of business essays is to persuade a specific audience in one way or another. When writing a business essay, the most important elements are specific audience, elaboration of the topic, clear structure and appropriate language. This applies to essays in proposals, white papers and other business communications.
Anyone who is writing business essays should know who the potential readers will be, because they are the people who will be persuaded of some idea. The purpose of the essay might be to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or to use a particular product or service. It is important, then, for the writer to keep in mind how much the audience knows or will want to know about the topic. Likewise, the writer should use words and imagery the specific audience will find appealing and avoid those that the audience will consider unappealing.
The topic should guide composition of the entire essay. Business essays are written to convey information about a specific topic, so anything that detracts from it should be avoided. Each paragraph should deepen the reader’s understanding of the topic or explain the writer’s or reader's relationship to it. Making a plan or outline prior to writing helps keep the writer on topic even as new ideas are introduced. Opening and closing sentences of each paragraph should make it clear how that paragraph relates to the stated topic.
The basic structure of business essays includes an introduction, main body and conclusion. In this way, business essays are similar to the essays and papers that many people learn to write in school. Each individual paragraph can mimic this structure.
An introductory sentence should introduce the main idea of the paragraph before the body elaborates on the idea. The final sentence should bring the idea to a close or set up a transition to the next paragraph. The essay's concluding paragraph or paragraphs should not just repeat what was already written but should authoritatively convey the writer’s viewpoint.
The language used when writing business essays should be grammatically correct and clear. Proper grammar is the tool for making sure that each sentence communicates the exact idea that the writer intends. It also should be specific to the writer's or reader's field of business. Appropriate language not only ensures that ideas are clear to the reader, it also helps the writer establish himself or herself, or an organization, as an authority on the topic.
