In today’s workplace, it is a wonderful skill to be able to write a business case. In fact, many business schools spend weeks training their students how to write a comprehensive proposal that covers all angles: Situational Assessment, Problem Statement, Project Description and Objectives, Solution Description, Cost and Benefit Analysis, Financial Assessment, Implementation Timetable, Critical […]
Grammar Tip – i.e. Versus e.g.
in GrammarSome business people are confused about when to use i.e. as opposed to e.g. The abbreviation i.e. is from the Latin phrase id est. It means that is. On the other hand, ?e.g. is from the Latin phrase exempli gratia, meaning for example. When deciding which one to use, think in terms of inclusiveness. If you want to indicate everything […]
Email Tip – Out-of-Office Messages
in Emails, Feature ArticleGillian’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 […]
Writing Style – Than Versus Then (plus appropriate pronouns)
in Word ChoiceA BizWritingTip reader wants to know the difference between than and then. ?Than is a conjunction and is normally used with comparisons. ?Then is an adverb meaning soon afterward. Example He believes a consultant could prepare a better report than we.* (A comparison is indicated.) Example After hearing his news, we then began to question the estimated costs for the […]
Minute Taking – What to record/what to ignore
in StyleA woman in Florida asked, “Not receiving proper training, I’ve been resorting to recording verbatim minutes which can take hours, sometimes days. I’ve come to realize this is unnecessary and impractical … When there is a discussion, do I need to include who is commenting on what?” This is a very good question – and […]
Grammar Tip – Rules for Capitals
in GrammarThe North American trend for capitalizing words is now “modified down.” What this means is that if you can’t decide whether to capitalize a word or not, you should probably leave it in lower case. A good guideline is if you are using the official name of the organization, use capital letters. If you are […]
Sign Errors – A Sign of Our Times
in Feature Article, Sign ErrorsBizWritingTip 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. […]
Sign Errors – Goodlife Fitness Club Sign
in Sign ErrorsLocation: GoodLife Fitness Club in Mississauga Error: Pluralization of an upper case abbreviation Tip: There is no apostrophe after an upper case abbreviated word. Corrected Version: Plasma TVs just installed for your enjoyment.
Word Choice – Might and May
in Word ChoiceA BizWritingTip reader asked, “Can you explain the difference between might and may?” Yes, I can. Both might and may imply permission or possibility. And might is the past tense of may. Examples The figures may be accurate. (possibility) You may include the cleaning bill in your expense account. (permission) I might have been able […]
Information/Fun – Season’s Greetings
in -Latest, Feature ArticleWe 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 & […]
Writing Style – A Business Case in the Real World
in StyleIn today’s workplace, it is a wonderful skill to be able to write a business case. In fact, many business schools spend weeks training their students how to write a comprehensive proposal that covers all angles: Situational Assessment, Problem Statement, Project Description and Objectives, Solution Description, Cost and Benefit Analysis, Financial Assessment, Implementation Timetable, Critical […]