A BizWritingTip reader wrote: Help us settle a debate: If the letter content is identical and you want two parties to be aware that the other party has received the same information, can you send just one letter and CC: the other person? Or, do you have to send each person two copies of the same […]
When to use shall as opposed to will. Both words express the following thoughts:
A. future time
B. promise or threat
C. willingness
However, shall is now considered slightly dated and is used more in formal writing and speech. In standard business writing, will is the correct word.
Paula’s question: “This issue has come up often in our organization — the use of ‘their’ for singular instead of ‘his/her.’ For example, many write: ‘This patient needs to follow their diet better.’ I would use ‘his/her.’ What is the acceptable norm now?” BizWritingTip response: It is difficult to give a straight answer to this […]
The world can be an amusing place when you think as you read. The headline of a community newspaper recently stated: “Two criminals are on the lamb!” Interesting. It leads one to question the wisdom of the escapees. Wouldn’t it have been easier to use a car or to just run? And “the sheep.” Was […]
Of all the business documents you prepare (letters, emails, memos, reports, business cases, briefing notes), which one is most likely to have a negative impact on your professional image? The answer: short emails. Why? Because the one- or two-line email is the one we write most often and with the least amount of thought. Someone […]
I am often asked if we still need to use articles (a, an, and the), particularly when writing an email. The answer is a resounding yes. Without them, a writer looks sloppy. The articles, a, an, and the, are considered adjectives and they signal that a noun follows. Example Are you going to the store? […]
Deane’s question: “Is it okay to write ‘Most of the population speaks English.’ Or should it be ‘Most of the population speak English.’ BizWritingTip response: This question deals with subject and verb agreement and collective nouns. Words such as all, none, any, some, more and most are considered pronouns. The verb following may be singular […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I get mixed up regarding apostrophes with names ending with an ‘s’ or ‘iz’sound. Is it Ross’ book or is it Ross’s book? What about: I’m sending greetings from the Joneses and me?” BizWritingTip response: To make a word ending in s possessive, you must count the syllables. If the word is only one syllable, […]
If not, you should. C.S. Lewis once said, “I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road, if there is any gate to the left or right, the readers will most certainly go into it.” This statement is particularly true in the world of business writing. As our readers are impatient, pressed […]
Some people don’t see the necessity of commas. However, a telecommunications company has recently had a $2 million lesson on why they are so important. It seems that, in 2002, a telecommunications company contracted an infrastructure company to string cable lines across the Maritimes for a fee of $9.60 a pole. The telecommunications company believed […]