This BizWritingTip continues a previous blog discussion on how to write dates. It is considered substandard North American English to place an “rd,” “st” or “th” after a number directly following a month. Example Incorrect January 14th, 2011 ExampleCorrect January 14, 2011 ExamplesCorrect 14th of January or 14th day of January (The number comes before the month […]
BizWritingTip reader: “People write dates as Jan 12th, 2011, and others write Jan 12, 2011 or 12th Jan, 2011. Under what circumstances do we need the ‘th’ after the date and is the comma always needed before the year?” BizWritingTip response: For standard business writing in Canada, a semi-formal approach to writing dates is recommended. […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I have started to see phone numbers written with periods rather than hyphens. Which is correct? In addition, do you still put parentheses around the area code?” BizWritingTip response: The elements in a telephone number may be divided by hyphens, diagonal lines, spaces, periods, parentheses or a combination of these. Your choice. Examples (correct) […]
BizWritingTip reader: Would you please clarify if “as per” should be used in reports and business letters, and — if the response is no — please identify the correct wording. BizWritingTip response: “As per” means “in accordance with” or “in response to the request made.” However, the phrase is rarely used today when speaking in the business […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: “In a recent tip, you wrote the sentence ‘Whom should I send the report to?’ In my years of taking English, I would consider re-writing the sentence to read ‘To whom should I send the report?’ If you are so inclined, I would love to know if you have a different […]
Prepositions are important words in a sentence. They link words or phrases to other words in terms of time, space or relationship. Some common prepositions are in, of, at, on, for, with, to, between and by. However, some writers tend to overuse them. Your sentences will become stronger if you omit prepositions that add nothing to […]
Hope is a lovely word. We should all have it. However, the only time I would use it in a business document is when I am referring to a social or personal situation. Example I hope the weather is good for your vacation.?I hope you and your family are fine. In a business setting, hope implies the writer […]
A 2007 study conducted in 32 countries shows that people are walking 10 per cent faster than they did a decade ago. If we enter our offices after travelling in the fast lane, how does it impact the rest of our day? And how does it affect our reading styles? I believe we are turning […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: “At work, I do a lot of proofreading written by various people in Canada, U.S. and even Europe. One inconsistency I have noticed is how the monetary value of each country is written. For example, when referring to Canadian dollars, I have seen it written: $C, CA and CAD. When referring […]
In our recent poll on pet peeves regarding emails, a number of respondents expressed irritation about receiving messages that contained only the words thank you.They reasoned that opening these short messages wasted their time. They were merely doing their job and didn’t need to be thanked. I understand their rationale; however, sending a thank you indicates […]