BizWritingTip reader: “Here is a question for you. When is it appropriate to use ‘practice’ and ‘practise’? I have seen them written both ways.” BizWritingTip response: The Canadian Oxford Dictionary states that practise is a variation of practice. In other words, both are acceptable. But it does indicate that practice is generally used as a noun and practise as a verb. Examples (nouns) Target practice […]
BizWritingTip Reader: “I have a question for you – when is it OK to use commas before ‘and.’ I find this to be a very subjective question and am looking for some clarification.” BizWritingTip Response: There are several rules surrounding “and.” And that’s probably why the issue can be confusing. It all depends on how […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I would like to know whether to use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before an acronym. For example, I have seen both ‘a Law Society of Upper Canada form’ and ‘an LSUC form.’ Are they both written correctly?” BizWritingTip response: Before I begin to deal with this issue, let’s discuss acronyms versus initialisms. An acronym […]
Deane’s question: “Should terms such as francophone and anglophone be capitalized. I don’t think so as they do not refer to races of people per se. However, especially in the case of francophone, people in government and in the press often write Francophone.” BizWritingTip response: My first inclination was to say “no.” Do not capitalize […]
A few weeks ago, I was working on a manual for a workshop titled Report Writing to Council. Unfortunately, my head was then in “a wrong place” when I wrote the week’s BizWritingTip. To demonstrate a point, I used the term “investment councillor.” This is absolutely wrong as several readers were quick to point out. A […]
I thought I would start offer some ideas on how you can ensure your writing style meets the needs of today’s business readers. Please note that these tips are not hard and fast rules but only guidelines. They come from my years of experience in teaching business writing and from my research into the reading […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I have a grammar question that arose when I reviewed a business document. The author used the preposition ‘in’ before all place names, e.g. ‘in Vancouver,’ ‘in Whistler.’ I think it should be ‘at.’ Am I correct?” BizWritingTip response: This is another tricky – often confusing — grammar question. I want to agree […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Could you give us an update on when it is appropriate to use ‘I was’ versus ‘I were.’ ” BizWritingTip response: “I was” is the normal past tense of the verb “to be.” Examples I was busy when you called. (past tense) I was nominated head of the committee. (past passive tense) I […]
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 […]
Contractions can cause problems for some writers. Here’s a common error: let’s versus lets. Let’s is the contraction for “let us.” Lets is a form of the verb to let, meaning “to allow to.” Example (Incorrect) The new software program let’s us collect more data on our customers. (This sentence would, therefore, mean “The new software program let us us to collect more […]