Brian’s question: “I was just wondering if the use of lower case in business titles (e.g., vice president finance or president and chief executive officer) on business cards, emails, and letters is common and/or acceptable business practice?” BizWritingTip response: First, let’s separate business cards from letters and emails. Business cards are usually planned by graphic […]
Word Choice – Former Versus Latter
in Word ChoiceBizWritingTip reader: “Are ‘former’ and ‘latter’ still good words to use in the business world?” BizWritingTip response: Former and latter are both adjectives. They should only be used when referring to two people or things. Former refers to the first of the two things mentioned. Latter is used for the last item. Examples I can meet you at the main or the branch […]
Writing Style – Redundant Phrases
in StyleKlaus’s question: “Every morning I hear an announcer on the radio broadcast what is upcoming by stating ‘coming up in a moment’s time … .’ Is this grammatically correct?” BizWritingTip response: Your announcer is being redundant. I would call his phrase a doublet. A moment is a short period of time. Therefore, he is actually saying in […]
Grammar Tip – Commas with “And”
in -Latest, GrammarAnnabelle’s question: “I want to know if I am placing my commas correctly when I list several items or people. For example: Jim, David, and I denotes 3 different people. But Jim, David and I could imply David and I are a couple. I always tend to put commas before ‘and.’ However, several of my […]
Word Choice – Bring and Take/Come and Go
in -Latest, Feature Article, Word ChoicePaulo’s question: “Could you clarify the use of ‘come’ versus ‘go,’ as well as ‘bring’ versus ‘take?’ I find it strange that someone would write: ‘Yes, I am coming, and I’ll bring wine.’ ” BizWritingTip response: Use “come” and “go” when you are referring to movement. Use “bring” and “take” when carrying something. Now for the […]
Writing Style – Capitalization With Titles
in StyleBrian’s question: “I was just wondering if the use of lower case in business titles (e.g., vice president finance or president and chief executive officer) on business cards, emails, and letters is common and/or acceptable business practice?” BizWritingTip response: First, let’s separate business cards from letters and emails. Business cards are usually planned by graphic […]
Grammar Tip – Quotation Marks and Usage
in GrammarCarol’s question: “I see a lot of people using quotes to highlight info. For example, all sports teams are encouraged to adopt a “tobacco-free” policy. I am under the impression quotes and single quotes are to be used sparingly, if at all, for anything that is not a direct quotation. But can you clarify?” BizWritingTip response: […]
Grammar Tip – Punctuation With Brackets
in -Latest, Feature Article, GrammarBill’s question: “I have seen parentheses with the period both inside and outside the brackets. Which is correct?” BizWritingTip response: The rules for punctuation with brackets — or parentheses — are actually quite simple. If the material inside the brackets is a sentence fragment or an acronym, place the period outside the bracket. Examples I am […]
Word Choice – Texted: Right or Wrong?
in Word ChoiceBizWritingTip reader: “On the weekend my 13-year-old daughter told my wife and me that her girlfriend ‘texted’ her on her cell phone. I commented that the correct way of saying it was that her girlfriend had sent her a text. My wife agreed with my daughter that it is past tense and that ‘texted’ was correct. […]
Writing Style – Capitalization of Hyphenated Words
in StyleBizWritingTip reader: “For headings or titles that contain a hyphenated word, do you capitalize the second word in the compound word? For example, would I write: ‘City of Thunder Bay 2010 By-election’ or ‘City of Thunder Bay 2010 By-Election’? Does the rule work the same way for compound adjectives also?” BizWritingTip response: When writing a heading […]
Grammar Tip – However and Punctuation
in GrammarBizWritingTip reader: “I am confused about the punctuation with the word ‘however.’ I know that I must always place a comma after it. But when do I use a comma before it and when do I use a period?” BizWritingTip response: Most people do not know how to punctuate the word “however.” If you understand […]