In the spring of 2010, Immigration Canada put out a call for proposals to agencies across Canada that provide immigration services. It received over 600 applications. These proposals were particularly important this year as the amount of money to be distributed across the country was considerably less. In other words, the pie was a lot […]
Many companies over the past few years have introduced business writing training programs to improve the quality of the letters, reports and emails of their staff. Some programs have been enormously successful; others have fizzled. The reason: employees will change only if senior management is thoroughly sold on the need for change and announces that […]
The first step in creating a reader-friendly document is not writing style as many people would expect. It is the layout of the page or screen. If a document appears difficult to read because of the font, print density and lack of organization, you will immediately reduce its readability. Based on research, reading tests and […]
As this is the last BizWritingTip for 2011, I wanted to leave you with a smile. Debbie sent me this entertaining message on the word UP. Hope you enjoy it. UP – The Most Versatile Word in The Dictionary This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is UP. It is listed in […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Do you have anything on ‘may’ and ‘might’? I think there are some parallels with ‘can’ and ‘could.’ ” BizWritingTip response: “May” and “might” imply permission or possibility. “Might” is also the past tense of “may.” Examples The report may be accurate. (Possibility) You may call me tomorrow to set up an appointment. (Permission) He said he might have […]
BizWritingTip reader: “When I am writing about a report, should I put quotation marks around the title?” BizWritingTip response: When referring to completed reports, books, magazines, newspapers, or pamphlets, you should bold or italicize the title. Never use more than one design technique. Examples I need to replace my copy of the Paperback Oxford Canadian Dictionary. […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I noticed in your last tip that you used a.m. instead of AM. Was there a reason for this?” BizWritingTip response: According to both the Oxford Canadian Dictionary and The Canadian Press Stylebook, the designations for morning and afternoon are written in the lowercase with periods between each letter. Examples 10 a.m. 3:15 p.m. Note: There […]
Antonio’s question: “Do you think you could help me in my personal battle against the wrong use of ‘me,’ both in how it’s used and where it’s placed? I am sure you hear ‘me and my cousin went to the movies,’ ‘me and my friend had lunch together’ and on and on… and you want to scream […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I read the following sentence in one of today’s papers: ‘Another seven senior executives were let go around the same time ….’ Is this correct?” BizWritingTip response: Good catch. This sentence is incorrect. The verb should have been “was.” Whenever the word “another” appears in a sentence as a subject or as an […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Can you let me know what the new format is to copy someone on a business letter? Is it C: or c:?” BizWritingTip response: Although the notation in emails is Cc, this is considered outdated in business letters. The term c.c. was originally used to indicate a carbon copy. We no longer use […]