Place the word "only" next to the word or phrase it modifies. For example: Original: In the longer run, this election can only be counted as a success if it...
If you received an e-mail today with the subject line: "You've Received a Hallmark E-Mail Card," please note that it was NOT sent by us. It was SPAM. Delete...
Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or...
The ability to make and understand puns is the highest level of language development. (Taken from a web site my husband sent to me. It was fun to read so I am...
This is how language grows: Someone complained that "mad at" sounded wrong. He said you need to say "mad with you," not "mad at you." For several hundred...
Try to eliminate the word "meaningful." Instead of saying a "meaningful" meeting or "meaningful" discussion, substitute words such as : fruitful, profitable,...
This is a hint for conducting a readability check on your writing: have a 12-year-old read what you have written. If the words are too difficult, the young...
Do not mistake a descriptive form ending in "s" for a possessive form. For example, in the term "sales effort," sales describes the effort; therefore, no...
Due to the holiday, tips will not be sent out next week. Happy Holidays to all our subscribers! ********************************************************** Use...
New Feature--Word of the Week. A word will be selected that may not be well-known by many people. We suggest you use the word often during the week, so it will...
Tip #493: If two people own the same thing, use apostrophe and 's' for the second person only. Example: Jim and Sandy's boss makes their accounting work...
Often, words are spelled differently than they sound. A common example is "would have." Its contraction form "would've" is often misspelled "would of." ...
If an entire sentence is an exclamation and the ending words are exact words in quotation, place the exclamation mark after the quotation. Example: I was...
Although the conjunction "as well as" joins two like items, it does not affect whether the verb is singular or plural. Example: The union official, as well as...
Avoid beginning sentences with a gerund, which is a verb form ending in ing used as a noun. A gerund is often mistaken for a verb and therefore results in...
As a general rule, numbers 1 through 10 may be represented in their numeral form; anything above that should be spelled out in letters. However, when there are...
The words "there's" and "here's" are often used incorrectly. "There's" means "there is" and "here's" means "here is." Use these words with singular nouns. Use...
According to the Gregg Reference Manual, use a top margin of about two inches for the first page of a business document if using plain stationery. If you wish...
Don't use words that hedge or evade such as "it is my understanding," "possibly," "perhaps," or "could." Customers and prospects become distrustful when they...
When writing copy, always focus on the reader. For example, don't write "Our sales seminar will cover three important tools for contacting customers."...
To avoid sexist language that favors one gender, use words that are gender-neutral. Replace the masculine pronoun "he" with "he or she," "one," or the...
Whether you are preparing for a conference presentation or drafting a brief memo, writing is a process. This means that no document can be written in one...
E-mail has become an official form of business communication. Instead of "paper trails," offices now create "e-mail trails." Electronic communication should be...
Two words that are commonly confused are "disperse" and "disburse." Disperse means to scatter, disseminate, or distribute. Ex: The crowd dispersed after the...
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