When should I use metric as opposed to imperial measurements? Although the Canadian style is to use metric for most measurements, there are a few exceptions, such as personal weights and heights, two-by-fours, quarter-inch screws, some sports, etc. Example A three-kilogram packet costs $4. She is 5 feet 8 inches tall. (Always use numbers rather […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: I often see titles written without capitals, for example, Joe Blow, pharmacy manager, … . I would normally use capitals on these words but maybe a rule has changed, and I missed it! BizWritingTip response: The style today with regard to capitalizing words within sentences is called modified down. In other […]
Emails have only been an official tool of the workplace since the mid 90s. However, the media philosopher Marshall McLuhan seemed to be referring to them in the 60s when he said, “We shape the tools and they in turn shape us.” Emails were designed to make us more productive. We can send and receive […]
When I conduct a workshop on business writing, I often ask the participants which cliché they dislike the most. The most common answer is Thanking you in advance for your anticipated co-operation. Why? There seem to be two reasons: First, it is normally used after a question, such as “Would you please send me the […]
Are you puzzled about the rules for numbers? If you are, you are not alone. People, organizations, and grammar and style books all seem to have their own preferences. British English recommends writing out all numbers under 100, but, according to The Canadian Press Stylebook, you should use words for numbers between one and nine. […]
A cliché is a phrase or expression that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or purpose. The word originates from the era of block printing, when lazy printers would cut out frequently-used pieces of type, store them in a drawer, and bring them out again when the phrase reappeared.Initially refreshing, […]
We are all familiar with letters. They are a traditional form of communications. However, emails are recently new to the business scene and require their own email-centric form of writing and organizing. Why? Emails were never designed to be a formal method of communication. When emails came into being in the early 90s, they were […]
Andy’s question: “Is it proper grammar to use ‘Billy jumped off of the ladder’? I don’t think so. I think it should be ‘Billy jumped off the ladder.’” BizWritingTip response: “Off” and “of” are both prepositions. A preposition is a word mainly used before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship with other words. […]
Today’s busy readers are skimmers, drowning in paperwork and are impatient. Therefore, when they glance at one of your documents either in hard copy or on a screen, what do they want to know right away? They want to know “What’s in it for me?” They mentally ask themselves “Why do I need to read […]
Kirby’s question: “I know you have written about the abbreviations Mr., Mrs., and Ms. before. However, is it correct, as Ms. is not a true abbreviation, not to place a period after it? With each year, we are using Ms. more often than either Miss or Mrs.” BizWritingTip response: Ms. can be written with or without […]