Writing in English for the Workplace is a compendium of eLearning materials for the acquisition of expository writing skills in English. It brings together in one place on the world-wide web a vast interconnected array of hypertextual materials on every major text-type and writing feature related to the fields of mass communications, research, business and technology.

This project was prompted first by the intention to provide advanced learning materials of practical utility for a public ranging from university students to professional trainees. But it was also prompted by the conviction of its relevance to the general student of English, for despite the differences in style and organization of the texts belonging to these different areas, the underlying values of clarity, coherence, conciseness, aptness and substantiation are common to all, and they can be learned in a more vivid and stimulating way by communicating through specific text types aimed at specific audiences.

Although these materials were designed initially for students of English as a foreign language, they are also a valid learning tool for native speakers, since the status of English today as world language has greatly reduced the traditional differences between native-, second- and foreign-language users. This is especially so when it comes to writing, since all encounter many of the same problems in grappling with the specialized jargon, syntax and formulas of a business letter, a manual, a press release or a research paper.

A work of this kind, which judiciously exploits the potentialities of eLearning for reaching persons of all ages and in all walks of life, can do much to counter the alarming trend of functional illiteracy present today in virtually all the developed countries. The highest level of literacy is the practiced skill of written expression, one of the mainstays of freedom in a democratic society.