Firebelle Productions: FAQ - Features of Take Command of Your Writing

There are several features that make Take Command of Your Writing a compelling book for emergency services personnel.

First, every example in the book is related to fire, law enforcement, EMS, or hazardous materials. (The same is true in Crimes Against the English Language.) This was something I did for my "extended family" because I knew they would be more inclined to use a reference book that gives examples they could relate to. The book also delves into questions that ordinary grammar reference books do not. For example, no other book will tell you whether or not to capitalize titles under the Incident Command System.

Second, it covers some topics that many other writing books don't. For example, it addresses report writing and test writing. It also contains an entire chapter on how to make your documents look more professional and user-friendly. After all, if a document looks difficult to read, people are less inclined to read it.

Third, the book is written in a two-column format. There's one wide column that fully explains the rules and gives examples of how to apply them. A narrow column (or sidebar) on the outer edge of each page highlights one or two of the rules and gives an example, along with an illustration to add visual appeal to the page. It's sort of a Reader's Digest version of what's contained on the rest of the page. A person can learn quite a bit by reading just the sidebars.

Finally, the book is very thorough, answering many questions that other books do not. Readers won't have to search through several books to get the answers they need.

FAQ - Take Command Highlights