Category: Business Writing

The Executive Summary may be the only thing the reader will read. It is your chance to gain an advantage and make the persuasive case, ultimately to promote the reason why they would want to select your ideas.

Misplaced Modifiers Groucho Marx: “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know” The term “misplaced modifier” means that the descriptor in the sentence is in the wrong place. Sometimes, these can be quite humorous, even though the writer/speaker may not have intended them to be. … Read On >

Organize Your Writing Organization in writing means putting the information in an order that the audience will best understand. There are three basic ways to organize: Category – putting similar things together in groups. Range – chronological or alphabetic order (highest to lowest, top to bottom, first to last). Location – spatial placement in proximity to each other. Sentence … Read On >

When jargon and clichés are used to the point of being meaningless, they waste time and effort, and sometimes just add to the confusion.

Does it bother you when people butcher the English Language, or make mistakes that could be avoided? For example: Do you find it irksome that the United States calls their end-of-season Major League baseball game The World Series, when only two countries are involved? Or is it annoying when people call Independence Day the Fourth … Read On >

Breathe deeply. Relax. “Poor Grammer”?  This week’s headline was intentional. That’s a relief, right? We were sent an article that appeared in the Harvard Business Review. It was shared by an Improving Communications friend (and recipient of Defender of the Language award), Michael Rudegeair. Kyle Wiens, author of “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s … Read On >

One of the basic aspects of proper sentence structure is ensuring the correct agreement between the subject and verb.

Do you know the correct methods for Pluralizing Last Names?   Making the plural form of a proper name  can be challenge without this information. Use it to be spot-on, and be able to handle someone else’s name with the greatest of respect (by getting its plural form correct!). Last letter(s) of last name What … Read On >

A pair of friends disagreed on which is correct. Is it “noise,” or “noises”?

From what you know, what would you say? Which is correct?