Category: writing advice

business communication, business writing, writing advice, writing well, writing with clarity

5 Ways to “Write Tight” for Your Business

1. Omit needless words. This is the best advice to “write tight.” As William Strunk and E.B. White wrote in their classic grammar book, The Elements of Style, every word should “tell” or serve a purpose. When you’re done writing, see if removing certain words changes the overall meaning of your sentences. Make your sentences leaner and “meaner,” to strengthen them and pack more of a punch.

2. Plan. To keep your thoughts focused, create a list or an outline detailing your subject matter. Some people dislike planning, but this simple step helps me stay organized and on topic.

3. Set a word limit. Limit the scope of your piece to a certain number of words to help you cut the deadwood.

4. Prefer one word over two. For example, the two sentences below have a similar meaning, but one is more to the point:

A. Turn on the light.
B. Flip the switch.

5. Use bullet points. Bullet points help summarize key ideas. They work well for grouping words and phrases together, so you don’t always need to write complete sentences. For example:

Backing Crash Prevention

  • Eliminate distractions
  • Keep your eyes moving
  • Use your mirrors

Quotes

“Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.” ~ William Zinsser

“Brevity is the soul of wit.” ~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your writing? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

writing advice

5 Ways to Organize Your Writing

1. Words count – A general idea of the length of your piece can dictate how much information to include and help you maintain a better focus on what it will cover.

2. Work on a title – It can sometimes be better to save the name of your piece until the end, especially to take the pressure off the need to come up with a great, memorable title. A temporary, or working title, can serve as a jumping off point to help you focus on your subject matter.

3. Outline – Even just a brief list, a “mind map” with circled topics, or a flow chart of what you plan to write about can form a great starting point.

4. Three keys – Essentially, your article needs a beginning, middle, and an end. The beginning often contains the most important and attention-getting material, which piques people’s interest in reading the rest of the work. The middle is where you present further information, building on the beginning, and the end is often where you sum up your key points, however, you can do that in the beginning, too.

5. Your audience – Think of the people who will read your piece: their genders, their ethnicities, their ages, their lifestyles, their incomes, their jobs, and their education levels. This will help you narrow the topics for your subject matter, and put yourself in their shoes. Answer the questions they would ask, or ask them directly yourself what they think you should cover.

Quotes

“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” ~ A. A. Milne

“Bottom line is, if you do not use it or need it, it’s clutter, and it needs to go.” ~ Charisse Ward

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your writing? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

writing advice

5 More Commonly Confused Words

1. except/accept – These words can be easy to confuse because they look similar and sound the same. Except means not including, whereas accept means to consent to receive something offered or believe or come to recognize (an opinion, explanation, etc.) as valid or correct. One way to remember the differences between them is to think of their prefixes, ex- and ac-. Ex- means not part of, and you can think of the letter X, which to many of us, is a symbol or short-hand for exclusion. Accept begins with a, as does its synonym, agree, so you can think of it as if it’s A-OK.

2. ensure/insure – Their meanings are similar, in the sense that they make a result more sure. To ensure means to make sure. To insure means to secure or protect something or to buy an insurance policy for protection from loss. In general, the word tends to have a more financial focus than ensure.

3. compliment/complement – These words are even more confusing because their pronunciation is the same. Obviously, the key difference between them lies in one letter: “i” and “e.” Both words also generally have positive meanings.

A compliment is a polite expression of praise or admiration or an act or circumstance that implies praise or respect. You compliment someone when you tell him or her you like his or her new haircut.

Complement is a thing that completes or brings to perfection, a number or quantity of something required to make a group complete, or to add to (something) in a way that enhances or improves it; make perfect. A way to remember the differences between them is to think of the word complete when you think of the word complement — they both have an e. Like the word polite, compliment has an i.

4. piece/peace – These are yet more words that sound alike, have similar spellings, but have different meanings. Common phrases such as “peace of mind” and “to give someone a piece of your mind” add to the confusion. A piece is a part of something whole, to piece means to assemble something from parts and peace is defined as freedom from disturbance; tranquility or the end of war or violence. When I think of piece, I think of pie — it helps that the first three letters are the same, and I make the connection to a slice of a pie. Peace is more of a full, whole concept.

5. then/than – Then means at that time or afterward. Than is often used in comparison to something else or when contrasting something.

Examples:

John will put on his pajamas, and then go to bed.
Mary’s hair is longer than her sister Rachel’s.

Think of how you pronounce then and than and think before you use them in sentences when you write; practice pronouncing the a in than and the e in then more clearly to also help you remember their differences.

Quotes

“Our language is funny — a ‘fat chance’ and a ‘slim chance’ are the same thing.” ~ J. Gustav White

“If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.” ~ Doug Larson

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your writing? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

writing advice

5 Commonly Abused Words and How to Respect Them

1. only — It’s known as a modifier. How you place it in a sentence affects its meaning:

  • I watched only the nightly news. (The nightly news was the only program I watched.)
  • I only watched the nightly news. (I watched the nightly news, and didn’t do anything else during the program.)

2. that/who — Sometimes, when referring to other people, some people use that in place of the pronoun who. Use that when you refer to objects.

  • The girl that drives the Porsche honked at me yesterday. — incorrect
  • The girl who drives the Porsche honked at me yesterday. — correct

3. what/which — It’s more grammatically correct to use what in sentences about something that needs to be identified. Use which when you refer to something that involves making a choice from a limited number of options, and what if you have several choices.

Examples:

  • What time is it? — correct
  • Which time is it? — incorrect

What color do you like? — You can use what, but it’s not as exact; “What colors…” or “Which colors…” work better. Which color do you like? This is a more specific, and more correct form.

4. affect/effect — These two words sound the same and can easily be misused. Affect often refers to how something has influenced something else.

High humidity and low pressure affect my arthritis.

In most cases, effect is more about the accomplishments or the results of something:

Larry’s “can do” attitude has had a positive effect on his employees.

Grammar Girl offers a trick to remember their differences: The arrows affected the aardvark. The effect was eye-popping.

5. impact — Some people use this word as a verb rather than as a noun. An example from the National Weather Service (NWS) website: “Severe weather is possible in the Great Plains and critical fire weather conditions continue to impact portions of the southwest.”

According to The Oxford English Dictionary, as a noun, impact means “The action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another.” Its meaning as a verb changes:

  1. “To come into forcible contact with another object.”
  2. “To have a strong effect on someone or something.” (have an impact on) A meteor can “impact” or “have an impact on” something, but not every word can be used as a noun and as a verb in that context.

Grammarians suggest that affect is a shorter and better word choice. A correction to the NWS prediction: “Severe weather is possible in the Great Plains and critical fire weather conditions continue to affect parts of the southwest.”

See below for more information about nouns being used as verbs.

Quotes

“Verbing weirds language.” ~ Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ~ Mark Twain

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your writing? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
Classy Writing
207.332.8379
classywriting.com

capitalization, capitalization rules, capitalization tips, capitalize, capitalizing, caps, writing advice

5 More Business Writing Capitalization Rules

1. Degrees — Among the many business writing capitalization rules, capitalize all academic degrees following a person’s name, whether or not they’re abbreviated.

Examples: Hunter S. Thompson, Ph.D., Sigourney Weaver, Master of Fine Arts

2. Titles — Capitalize all academic and religious titles, or other titles of rank, honor, or respect before a name.

Examples: Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, President Wilma Smith, Dr. John Henry

3. “Federal” — Capitalize it when you refer to the U.S. Government.

Example: Federal Government

4. Directions — Capitalize points of the compass when they refer to specific parts of the country.

Examples: The Northeast, the West

5. Quotations — Capitalize the first word of every complete quotation.

Example: The soldier cried, “Halt! Who goes there?”

Source: The Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer

Advice from someone who knows business writing capitalization rules can help you improve your writing and make you look smarter and more skilled in your field.

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Quotes

“I love you. You are the object of my affection and the object of my sentence.”  ~ Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

“A man’s grammar, like Caesar’s wife, should not only be pure, but above suspicion of impurity.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe