Gail’s question: “It is becoming more difficult to remember the correct Canadian spelling of words, especially since Microsoft software only references American grammar and spelling. For example, I would spell “organisation” with an ‘s.’ Is this correct?” BizWritingTip response: My favourite reference books for Canadian spelling are The Canadian Press Caps and Spelling and the […]
Rick’s question: “Is there a difference between ‘disinterested’ and ‘uninterested’? Or are they interchangeable?” BizWritingTip response: Thank you for pointing out this common error. Yes, many people do interchange these words. But they have different meanings. “Disinterested” means unbiased or impartial. In other words, a disinterested person cannot be influenced to his or her own […]
Dominique’s question: “Which sentence is correct: ‘Firstly, I would like to let you know that …’ or ‘First of all, I would like to let you know …’ I wrote to a colleague in the States who claims she has never heard of the word ‘firstly.’ ” Bizwritingtip response: This is a writing style issue […]
Gillian’s question: “I am wondering about including the reason for your absence in an out-of-office message if it is of a personal nature other than vacation. Do you require a reason such as a death in the family, medical or maternity leave? Is it fair or acceptable to say ‘… for personal reasons …’?” BizWritingTip […]
BizWritingTip wants to make a conscious effort this year to clean up the grammar on the signs we see around us. Help us out. Whenever you see an error on a sign or in an article or newspaper advertisement, send us a photo of it. We would also like to know where you saw the problem. […]
We are forwarding you this message from Greg as a bit of light-hearted fun for this holiday season. We’ll get back to business in early January. Some Business Writing Tips: Avoid alliteration. Always. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat.) Employ the vernacular. Eschew ampersands & […]
Aarani’s question: “I always find myself wondering whether to use ‘I’ or ‘we.’ I was writing an email just a few minutes ago and wrote ‘I appreciate your help.’ This was directed to an external contact. Would it be better to use ‘I’ or ‘we’ — as in my collective team/company?” BizWritingTip response: “I” means […]
Marion’s question: “It would be helpful if you dealt with the correct usage of the verb ‘comprise.’ I believe it is incorrectly used in the example from another BizWritingTip: ‘The NAFTA Secretariat is comprised of a Canadian Section, a Mexican Section and a United States Section.’ ” BizWritingTip response: Back in the days of the dinosaurs, […]