Ildar’s question: “I have been noticing emails from some of my colleagues and clients that start with ‘Hope all is good and you are doing well.’ Is this an appropriate start of a business inquiry?” BizWritingTip response: Thank you for bringing this up. I dislike this opening and so do many of the people who […]
Robert’s question: “My manager has told me to insert a comma after the first few words in a sentence. However, I was taught to use commas wherever I would take a breath. I don’t often take a breath at the beginning of a sentence. What do you think?” BizWritingTip response: The comma-with-a-breath rule is outdated. As […]
Lesley’s question: “Please volunteer your opinion on next or last. For example, if in 2014, I said I saw her last Christmas, I take this to mean I saw her at Christmas 2012, not Christmas 2013.” BizWritingTip response: When next or last are used to describe a time, things get complicated. They mean different things to different people – even dictionaries cannot agree. […]
Rob’s question: I believe my grammar is fairly good. Is there a way I can check if I am as good as I think?” BizWritingTip response: I am impressed with your interest. Too many writers weaken their professional image through poor grammar. I even had a workshop participant tell me recently that he did not bother […]
Louise’s question: “After a % sign should the verb be singular or plural? For example, is it 95% of the population live or lives less than 10 minutes away?” BizWritingTip response: First, using the % sign in a narrative sentence is considered informal wtiting, e.g., emails. And you would use it in charts and tables. Spelling out the word is […]
Brenda’s question: “I understand that ‘licence’ is a noun and ‘license’ is a verb. Our question is about the word licencing/licensing. For example, would you say ‘Microsoft will be licencing users next year’ or ‘Microsoft will be licensing users next year’?” BizWritingTip response: The word “licensing” is always spelt with an “s.” Example (correct) Microsoft will be licensing users next […]
Monique’s question: “I understand that hyphenation must be used between two words that form one adjective. However, if the words are a person’s name what would be the correct way of writing it, for example, Dag-Hammerskjöld-Honorary-Medal or Dag Hammerskjöld-Honorary Medal?” BizWritingTip response: You are correct on the basic rule. If two or three words form an […]
Nicole’s question: “I recently received an email from an employee looking for clarity between he and they. If you are not sure of the gender would you say ‘He will attend training’ or ‘They will attend training’?” BizWritingTip response: The answer to this question has changed over time. In the past, writers used the pronouns he, his, him or himself […]
Todd’s question: “Would you hyphenate ‘cost effective’ in the following sentence? ‘He has designed cost effective training and consulting programs.’” BizWritingTip response: Words change according to their use in sentences. Normally, you would consider the word “cost” as a noun or as a verb. In the sentence provided, “cost” is now serving as an adjective […]
Anne’s question: “We would like to ask you for the proper punctuation. In the sentence, ‘We have talked to other CCAC’s about their experience,’ should it be CCAC’s or CCACs?” BizWritingTip response: This is a great question dealing with a common error. To pluralize capital letters and abbreviations ending in capital letters, just add a […]