Improve your English business writing skills in this course. Write faster and more effectively.

Business Writing Techniques for Non-Native English Writers Course

Available for groups as a self-paced online course, instructor-led virtual or instructor-led onsite training, and for individuals as a self-paced online course.

Download the Outline

Learn exactly how we structure this course to help you or your team quickly become a better English business writer in weeks.

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The simple truth is most non-native business people struggle to present their ideas through written text effectively with confidence. This course will help you or your team to develop professional writing skills. Effective English business writing is one of the most important skills for personal and organizational success. 

English has emerged as the leading language of business. Today, 1.75 billion people speak English at a useful level. Being able to command the English language has become a valuable professional skill.

Albert Saiz professor of economics at MIT estimates being able to speak English as a second language can increase your income by 10 to 20 percent. 

The secret to being a great English writer is the ability to refine complex ideas and express them concisely. The good news is this is exactly what we teach you to do in this course.

INDIVIDUALS

$645

Online self-paced course available for individuals. Sign up today and start learning how to write better English documents.

GROUPS

Online self-paced courses and instructor-led virtual and onsite training can all be customized to match your needs. Group discounts apply.

Participants in our Non-Native Business Writing Course will be able to:

  • Use a proven process to plan and write any document.

  • Write effective internal and external business documents, emails, and reports.

  • Tailor their writing style dependent on the audience and goals of the document.

  • Write clearer and more concise documents.

  • Communicate more effectively both internally and externally.

  • Write with correct, clear language.

The most difficult part of professional communication is effectively writing for your audience and expressing complexity in an easy-to-understand way.


Business writing is an essential skill for every working professional. It is critical that you can communicate with individuals both inside and outside of your organization. Write to minimize confusion, avoid expensive mistakes, and evade 50-thread email chains.

The point is your company (and your job) depends on clear communication.

Yet, so many business professionals continue to make the same embarrassing mistakes and feel overwhelmed when synthesizing and communicating complex information to multiple audiences.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by reports, emails, meetings, and interruptions then there is probably a breakdown in your writing process.

Our students continually tell us that they didn't even realize the mistakes and missed opportunities they were making every day.

Imagine being able to quickly and effectively write communication, making it easy for colleagues, auditors, compliance, executives, or potential clients to understand your message.

Remember – the goal of this course is to teach you strategies to become a more strategic business writer. This means you will be able to present complex information clearly and correctly, regardless of the type of document and audience.

Browse all business writing courses here.

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Course Certificate

After completing the course, you will earn a personalized certificate. You can display your certificate in the certification section of your LinkedIn profile, download it to print, or mention it in your résumé.

Individual written feedback for every student

In this online course, you will receive individual feedback from your instructor on two writing exercises. To truly improve your business writing skills, you need both course instruction and feedback on your actual writing.

After submitting writing exercises, you will receive both subjective and objective feedback from your instructor, which includes a specific grammar diagnosis that tells you what to focus on for the biggest impact, a correction plan, and resources.

Objective feedback:

  • Does the document have a clear purpose and objective?
  • Is the document based fully on the reader's perspective?
  • Does the reader have all the content needed (and none that is not needed) to achieve the business objective of the document?
  • Will the conclusion elicit the action you want?

Subjective feedback:

  • Is your tone too blunt or too timid?
  • Are your word choices clear and strong?
  • Can you cut any unnecessary words?
  • Are there any grammar errors?
  • Is your writing polite and engaging?

Instructor-led group feedback

Onsite training, shown on the left, is highly interactive, with many individual, peer, and group activities where participants will receive feedback.

Groups work together to deconstruct documents, break down individual writing concerns, plan an upcoming document, and more.

After onsite training concludes, participants can submit a recent document to receive even more personalized feedback from their instructor.

Instructor-led virtual interaction

Virtual training also allows for highly engaging instruction, exercises, and discussion.

Learners complete activities in breakout rooms, break down documents individually, and are encouraged to participate in lively conversations and ask questions.

After virtual training concludes, participants can submit a recent document to receive even more individual feedback from their instructor on their actual writing.

Learn more about our instructor-led training.

Our clients' feedback

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If you want to reduce your stress level at work, take this course! You will be able to respond faster and confidently to urgent emails.

Environmental Engineer
Dept of the Navy
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It's a lot more about personal development than writing huge essays. Super easy and very fluid. Easy to grasp concepts that are simple to apply to daily work.

Senior Application Developer and Administrator
KLD Engineering
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I think it is a great course to improve your business writing in English for everyone. Especially for those who have not identified the ways to improve your writing yet.

Accountant
Novo Nordisk
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I was impressed with Grace's kind and warm feedback on my writing assignments and course goals/challenges. Thank you so much!

Accountant
Novo Nordisk
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As a non-native English speaker I was able to identify and correct common errors in grammar, text structure, and word choice. I found this training very useful!

Public Affairs Executive
DuPont
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The major benefit is that I can use these techniques in all of my daily work. The grammar corrections helped me identify my typical errors.

Regulatory Affairs Manager
Novo Nordisk
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My instructor was so helpful and her detailed comments about my writing exercises showed me where my writing can have more impact.

Sales Representative
FedEx
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My writing is more concise as a result of the traing. I’ve received strong tools, ongoing support and knowledge.

Business Analyst
USAA
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One of the benefits is to understand how efficient business writing is crucial. This course helped me to write effectively.

Anonymous
MPI
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In this comprehensive writing course you will learn:

  • Optimize your business writing process so that you can write any document at work confidently.
  • Write more efficiently and effectively.
  • Write with purpose, so there is no doubt what the reader's next action should be.
  • Diagnose and correct your specific grammar errors.

What is included in this course?

This non-native business writing course is split into several detailed sections.

Getting Started

An Introduction and Self-Assessment

This module outlines the necessary foundation for writing better content and process.

Share specific learning goals that you want to achieve by the end of the course. This will help us to define your specific skill gaps when writing for an English business audience. 

Lesson 1

The 6-Steps to Effective Business Writing

Learn our step-by-step process to write more effectively for an English business audience. After this module, you will be able to synthesize complex technical concepts clearly and convey them through written text. You will be able to organize better and help your reader respond accurately. 

The ability for you to communicate complex information logically is a huge competitive advantage. We will also teach you how to avoid writer's block, write faster, and reduce errors.

Lesson 2

Importance of Organization

Learn how to organize your documents for clarity. Nothing is worse than getting a document that is difficult to understand due to poor organization. This lesson includes tips and tricks on how to organize the beginning, middle, and end of your document and make it quick to scan.

Lesson 3

Internal Documents

Learn how to write better internal documents. Better communication inside your organization can lead to fewer meetings, higher productivity, and less chaos. A poll by The Economist found 83% of employees report that poor business language skills have resulted in an adverse impact on their organizations. This course will help you strengthen your internal communication skills. 

 
Lesson 4

Letters and External Documents

Learn best practices when writing to external stakeholders. A writing mistake to a team member may be overlooked, but you can be sure it will be noticed by a new customer, supplier, or regulator. It is crucial you can communicate professionally with external stakeholders.

Lesson 5

Email Use and Structure

Email now accounts for over 25% of our time in the workplace. In this lesson, we show you how to save time and better manage high email volume. Learn how to structure and write grammatically correct emails that get results.

Lesson 6

Structure and Strategy for Reports

Report writing can be a daunting task if you do not have a strategy. We will provide you with an overview of the components for a report and teach you to write more clearly. You will learn how to drastically improve your report effectiveness by learning how to write a comprehensive executive summary.

Lesson 7

Organization and Presentation

In this lesson, we share the best tips for organizing and presenting information. Clear writing ensures your reader understands your main points.

You will also learn how to format documents depending on their purpose. A clear format will guarantee your work looks complete, professional, and engaging to your reader.

Lesson 8

Clarity and Word Choice

Do you want to learn how to choose the right words in English? Natural word combinations are an important part of writing a clear document. In this lesson, we focus on improving clarity through word choice. You will learn how to craft sentences that are both correct and succinct, to support the goals of your document. Your instructor will identify your errors and provide a customized correction strategy. 

Lesson 9

Style and Tone

Style and tone may change depending on the type of document you are writing. Also, the correct tone encourages engagement and also positions you as a professional. We will teach you how to write with a competent, polished, confident tone.

Imagine being able to write in a natural English style and tone. Your tone is a reflection of you as a writer and affects how your reader will receive the information.

Lesson 10

Grammar and Syntax

Grammatical mistakes can make a great email look unprofessional. Avoid common mistakes and improve your syntax. You’ll also learn how to proofread effectively to ensure you can feel confident when you click ‘send'.

View the Full Course Outline

Key skills you will learn in this course:

  • Convey complex information clearly through your writing.
  • Identify and correct your individual grammar errors.
  • Significantly reduce time spent writing documents.
  • Include well-organized, relevant content.
  • Organize and format text to be easy to read.
  • Professionally disagree and persuade through written text.
  • Proofread your work for errors.
  • Plan a document's structure to avoid writer's block.
  • Utilize tools to analyze tone, jargon, and readability.
  • Project competency and professionalism in all documents, including letters, memos, email, and reports.

Includes individual feedback on your writing

This course includes award-winning instructor coaching and feedback and ongoing support.

Non-Native Business Writing Course Instructors

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Grace Cuddy

Grace supports Instructional Solutions' online courses and also works with individuals and groups from several multinational companies across Europe as a business writing coach.

She is bilingual in English and Spanish and has traveled extensively, providing a keen sensitivity to global writing. She has a strong background in corporate communication and management and successfully developed cross-functional writing and communication processes in a large corporate team. She is also a successful blogger and has received rave reviews from her writing critiques and coaching for our work with DuPont, Liberty Mutual, and many other groups. 

She is bilingual in English and Spanish. She enjoys yoga, travel, and dance. She splits her time between New York City and Madrid.

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Bailey Lang

Bailey is a professional writer, editor, and accountability coach with more than a decade of experience. 

She began her career in marketing communications for a global HR outsourcing company before taking a detour into academia. She earned her MA in rhetoric and writing at the University of Findlay and then completed her Ph.D. in rhetoric and writing studies at Bowling Green State University. Along the way, she wrote and published a book, numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and more. 

When she’s not writing or editing, you'll find her reading, hiking, or knitting. 

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Kara Latz

As a multilingual American, Kara has a unique perspective of the English language. She is an instructor and specializes in business writing, technical content, and generalized marketing.

Four years ago, backed by an Emory B.A. degree, Mercer University MBA, and a 20-year career in corporate America, Kara endeavored to engage in her true passion to help companies and people bolster their company and personal brand image through writing.

Kara resides at Lake Oconee, GA with her husband, three children, and two dogs. She is an active volunteer with the local Boys and Girls Club and high school Career Coaching.

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Elisabeth O'Quinn

Elisabeth has a unique combination of business and business writing acumen, with extensive background in writing, editing, and content marketing management.

She has supported a variety of businesses, writing blog articles, reports, presentations, and editing business documents. She has supported many of our clients with rave reviews of her writing feedback.

Elisabeth lives in Georgia with her cat and rescue pup. In addition to writing, she loves traveling with her twin sister, learning German, and creating watercolor prints. 

Become a better business writer.

Sign up today or schedule a discussion to become a stronger English writer.

INDIVIDUALS

$645

Sign up today and start learning how to become a better professional writer in English.

MULTILINGUAL TEAMS

We offer customized online, virtual, and onsite courses, workshops, and trainings that match your organization's needs.