Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - Common English Usage Errors in Business Writing
When targeting your online advertising, keep in mind that there are hundreds of millions of web users and at least some of them are probably looking for a product just like yours. This gives you a huge potential for profit if your product is good, your advertising is seen by them and if it lets them know how good your product is and why it would be a good thing for them to buy.But if you are not targeted enough in your audience, then it is quite likely that you will either waste a lot of money, a lot of effort, or both. Many people, when they start advertising online, try to keep their advertising as wide as possible, placing ads just about anywhere. The reason behind this is usually that they think that the more people that see the advertising, the more they will sell. After all a product that is seen by millions of people will sell better than a product that is seen by thousands, right?Although this sounds reasonable and in fact may be partly correct, it does not work in the context of getting a return on your effort and money. If you are advertising an exercise machine that is usually bought by women hoping to tone their thighs, there is no point in advertising it just as an exercise machine. If yo
Use of Title Case
Do not go on capitalizing all the technical terms; use title case only for proper nouns such as-names of products, technical processes, abbreviations, etc. Do not capitalize common nouns even if they seem very important to you.
Punctuation
We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. The most straightforward approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to explain the pauses you would make if you were speaking. Some rules are:
- Use commas and periods inside quotations.
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.
- Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera
- Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.
Search Engine Optimization uses a combination of techniques, tools, and technical know-how to get results .Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of methodologies aimed at improving the visibility of a website in search engine listing. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves the careful optimization of corporate web sites to effectively increase their visibility in the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Alta-Vista,and many others. The higher a Web site ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user. The higher a Web site ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user.• Meta Tags• Navigational links• Rich ContentMeta Tags:Meta Tags are very important for your website's visibility. Many search engines read them from your site when you submit it to them .Major meta tags that you can use:Meta Title The only resource type that is currently in use is "document" This is the only tag that you need to put in for indexing purposes.Meta Description Depending on the search engine, this will be displayed along with the title of your page in an index. "content" c
"When you sit on the seat the cold water automatically flow. Wait for the 'off' lamp to wash. When you get on the seat 'standby' lamp starts flashing. If you press button upon seating you may have cold water spray."
Panic for sure!
Amazing how some of us do not pay even minuscule attention to what we write, and leave it on the intelligence of the reader to make sense out of it. No matter how refined in other respects the person may be, if he uses words wrongly and expresses himself in language not in accordance with the proper construction he has to take a back seat, while some one with much less ability gets the opportunity to come to the front because he can clothe his ideas in ready words and talk effectively.
In order to speak and write any language correctly, it is important that the fundamental principles of the grammar be mastered, for no matter how much we may read of the best authors, no matter how much we may associate with and imitate the best speakers, if we do not know the underlying principles of the correct formation of sentences, we will be to a great extent like the parrot, that simply repeats what it hears without understanding the import of what is said.
It is important that we write in a way that creates a favorable impression of our company. This means writing in a friendly tone and avoiding impersonal, bureaucratic language that might alienate the readers.
The problem with most of us is that we are not open to criticism. Do not resent it but rather invite it and look upon those as friends who point out your defects in order to remedy them.
As a content writer I spend days correcting all the commonest of errors. Through this article I wish to list the major English usage errors committed by us. I hope that the readers will try to keep these in mind and try not to commit them in their day-to-day communication activities.
Company name usage
The company name should always be quoted in full on any external literature. It should not be abbreviated. While quoting names of other firms, be careful about the name usage. Always use it when you refer to a company and not they.
For example: XYZ is among the fastest growing IT companies in the world. It offers its services ...
Shortened words
Thanks to SMS, chat, and e-mail; language has got corrupted. Of course, programmers are used to writing in short forms. Some of the common short forms are: thru, condn, mgmt, ref, lib among others. Please write the full words instead of such short forms in all official communication.
Use the word 'very' sparingly. If you write about a very fast printer, what do you mean by the word 'very?' It shows lack of accuracy. Instead, be specific and say -- this printer prints 30 pages in a minute! What is fast in India may be considered slow in Japan. While writing customer benefits in your case studies give actual numbers, for e.g., client's cost was reduced by 70% through our solution.
Repetition of words
Repetition of the same word in one sentence or adjacent sentence irritates the reader. Example: file the file in the file folder.
Use of ampersand (&)
We should not indiscriminately use "&" for "and". Avoid use of ampersands unless they are part of a name (e.g., AT&T) or accepted abbreviations (R&D). Do not provide white space between the letters.
Use of bold
Bold text is like shouting. You do this only when it is absolutely essential. Do not needlessly emphasize words by making them bold, try to italicize them instead. There are legitimate stylistic uses for bold. Use bold correctly.
Use of Title Case
Do not go on capitalizing all the technical terms; use title case only for proper nouns such as-names of products, technical processes, abbreviations, etc. Do not capitalize common nouns even if they seem very important to you.
Punctuation
We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. The most straightforward approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to explain the pauses you would make if you were speaking. Some rules are:
- Use commas and periods inside quotations.
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.
- Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera
- Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.
Professional moving companies in Las Vegas use only sturdy, reinforced cartons. The boxes you can get at your neighborhood supermarket or liquor store in Summerlin might be free, but they are not nearly as strong or padded, and so can't shield your valuables as well from harm in transit.Use sheets, blankets, pillows and towels to separate pictures and other fragile objects from each other and the sides of the carton. Pack plates and glass objects vertically, rather than flat and stacked.Be sure to point out to your mover the boxes in which you've packed fragile items, especially if those items are exceptionally valuable. The mover will advise you whether those valuables need to be repacked in sturdier, more appropriate boxes.The heavier the item, the smaller the box it should occupy. A good rule of thumb is if you can't lift the carton easily, it's too heavy. Label your boxes, especially the one containing sheets and towels, so you can find everything you need the first night in your new home.Teach your children your new address in Green Valley. Let them practice writing it on packed cartons. You can lighten your load and reduce any storage space you need to rent by hosting a garage or yat the fundamental principles of the grammar be mastered, for no matter how much we may read of the best authors, no matter how much we may associate with and imitate the best speakers, if we do not know the underlying principles of the correct formation of sentences, we will be to a great extent like the parrot, that simply repeats what it hears without understanding the import of what is said.
It is important that we write in a way that creates a favorable impression of our company. This means writing in a friendly tone and avoiding impersonal, bureaucratic language that might alienate the readers.
The problem with most of us is that we are not open to criticism. Do not resent it but rather invite it and look upon those as friends who point out your defects in order to remedy them.
As a content writer I spend days correcting all the commonest of errors. Through this article I wish to list the major English usage errors committed by us. I hope that the readers will try to keep these in mind and try not to commit them in their day-to-day communication activities.
Company name usage
The company name should always be quoted in full on any external literature. It should not be abbreviated. While quoting names of other firms, be careful about the name usage. Always use it when you refer to a company and not they.
For example: XYZ is among the fastest growing IT companies in the world. It offers its services ...
Shortened words
Thanks to SMS, chat, and e-mail; language has got corrupted. Of course, programmers are used to writing in short forms. Some of the common short forms are: thru, condn, mgmt, ref, lib among others. Please write the full words instead of such short forms in all official communication.
Use the word 'very' sparingly. If you write about a very fast printer, what do you mean by the word 'very?' It shows lack of accuracy. Instead, be specific and say -- this printer prints 30 pages in a minute! What is fast in India may be considered slow in Japan. While writing customer benefits in your case studies give actual numbers, for e.g., client's cost was reduced by 70% through our solution.
Repetition of words
Repetition of the same word in one sentence or adjacent sentence irritates the reader. Example: file the file in the file folder.
Use of ampersand (&)
We should not indiscriminately use "&" for "and". Avoid use of ampersands unless they are part of a name (e.g., AT&T) or accepted abbreviations (R&D). Do not provide white space between the letters.
Use of bold
Bold text is like shouting. You do this only when it is absolutely essential. Do not needlessly emphasize words by making them bold, try to italicize them instead. There are legitimate stylistic uses for bold. Use bold correctly.
Use of Title Case
Do not go on capitalizing all the technical terms; use title case only for proper nouns such as-names of products, technical processes, abbreviations, etc. Do not capitalize common nouns even if they seem very important to you.
Punctuation
We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. The most straightforward approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to explain the pauses you would make if you were speaking. Some rules are:
- Use commas and periods inside quotations.
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.
- Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera
- Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.
When thinking of major drug manufacturers, the company Pfizer tends to control both the conversation and thought. With a strong reputation, Dow recognition, and a market capitalization near 130 billion dollars, the excitement over this company is understandable. Nevertheless, while Pfizer may be a more recognized house-hold name, another drug manufacturer, Wyeth (WYE), may actually support better fundamentals and potential when compared to this industry giant. Thus, as there are always capital gains to be earned from all industries, I believe, after examining this major specific industry, Wyeth holds tremendous potential for increased shareholder optimism.While it may be true that the new Democrat Congress may inflict some unlikable policies against these businesses, relative to what Wyeth produces, there is still a tremendous opportunity of growth over the long term for this company. Per Yahoo! Finance, "Wyeth engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products, and nonprescription medicines." Having a strong vertical control over the process of developing and marketing, with the upcoming baby boom generation nearing the age of retirement, cjor English usage errors committed by us. I hope that the readers will try to keep these in mind and try not to commit them in their day-to-day communication activities.
Company name usage
The company name should always be quoted in full on any external literature. It should not be abbreviated. While quoting names of other firms, be careful about the name usage. Always use it when you refer to a company and not they.
For example: XYZ is among the fastest growing IT companies in the world. It offers its services ...
Shortened words
Thanks to SMS, chat, and e-mail; language has got corrupted. Of course, programmers are used to writing in short forms. Some of the common short forms are: thru, condn, mgmt, ref, lib among others. Please write the full words instead of such short forms in all official communication.
Use the word 'very' sparingly. If you write about a very fast printer, what do you mean by the word 'very?' It shows lack of accuracy. Instead, be specific and say -- this printer prints 30 pages in a minute! What is fast in India may be considered slow in Japan. While writing customer benefits in your case studies give actual numbers, for e.g., client's cost was reduced by 70% through our solution.
Repetition of words
Repetition of the same word in one sentence or adjacent sentence irritates the reader. Example: file the file in the file folder.
Use of ampersand (&)
We should not indiscriminately use "&" for "and". Avoid use of ampersands unless they are part of a name (e.g., AT&T) or accepted abbreviations (R&D). Do not provide white space between the letters.
Use of bold
Bold text is like shouting. You do this only when it is absolutely essential. Do not needlessly emphasize words by making them bold, try to italicize them instead. There are legitimate stylistic uses for bold. Use bold correctly.
Use of Title Case
Do not go on capitalizing all the technical terms; use title case only for proper nouns such as-names of products, technical processes, abbreviations, etc. Do not capitalize common nouns even if they seem very important to you.
Punctuation
We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. The most straightforward approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to explain the pauses you would make if you were speaking. Some rules are:
- Use commas and periods inside quotations.
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.
- Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera
- Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.
1) Write a clear outline of the reasons behind bringing a call recording system into your call center’s work flow: o Benefits to agents o Benefits to customers o Benefits to company It’s always good to start with an outline before rolling out something new. It’s like using a recipe before you cook. Not sure if that’s the best comparison, but you get the picture. Your outline is your blueprint for success.2) Introduce the concept of quality monitoring well in advance and initiate tasks to empower agents to participate in the process o The purpose of call quality monitoring is NOT to catch employees slacking off, but to help improve customer service and meet overall performance metrics. o Employees can help define the quality assurance metrics and play a significant role in continuous performance improvement Always use the word “we” when addressing your employees. Make sure they know that you’re on the same side and that this implementation will benefit everyone in the company – you aren’t trying to catch someone playing solitaire or visiting illicit web sites.3) Reiterate company customer service goals o Customers are the ones who actually pay salaries and wages< you mean by the word 'very?' It shows lack of accuracy. Instead, be specific and say -- this printer prints 30 pages in a minute! What is fast in India may be considered slow in Japan. While writing customer benefits in your case studies give actual numbers, for e.g., client's cost was reduced by 70% through our solution.
Repetition of words
Repetition of the same word in one sentence or adjacent sentence irritates the reader. Example: file the file in the file folder.
Use of ampersand (&)
We should not indiscriminately use "&" for "and". Avoid use of ampersands unless they are part of a name (e.g., AT&T) or accepted abbreviations (R&D). Do not provide white space between the letters.
Use of bold
Bold text is like shouting. You do this only when it is absolutely essential. Do not needlessly emphasize words by making them bold, try to italicize them instead. There are legitimate stylistic uses for bold. Use bold correctly.
Use of Title Case
Do not go on capitalizing all the technical terms; use title case only for proper nouns such as-names of products, technical processes, abbreviations, etc. Do not capitalize common nouns even if they seem very important to you.
Punctuation
We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. The most straightforward approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to explain the pauses you would make if you were speaking. Some rules are:
- Use commas and periods inside quotations.
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.
- Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera
- Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.
Cheap term life insurance is easier to get than most people think. Dealing with a life insurance company has been made much simpler thanks to the Internet. No more spending hours of precious time with insurance agents. You can get the best term life insurance rate online; you can do it even on your lunch break!Cheap term life insurance on the internet can be found by seeking out an independent insurance advisor for advice and price quotes or you can do it yourself. There are life insurance companies that will give you a term life insurance policy that exactly matches your needs and an independent advisor can steer you to the right company.Cheap Term Life Insurance Is the Best Life Insurance AvailableCheap term life insurance lies in specialization. Some life companies cater to elderly customers, others have better policies for smokers or people with a history of heart disease. Sound daunting? Yes, it is. But if you engage an independent insurance advisor online, you can then make an informed choice.It is also important when trying to get the best life insurance rate that you consider other factors apart from price. Why? These factors may help save you money in the long run even though thitimate stylistic uses for bold. Use bold correctly.
Use of Title Case
Do not go on capitalizing all the technical terms; use title case only for proper nouns such as-names of products, technical processes, abbreviations, etc. Do not capitalize common nouns even if they seem very important to you.
Punctuation
We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. The most straightforward approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to explain the pauses you would make if you were speaking. Some rules are:
- Use commas and periods inside quotations.
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, and to separate ideas or clauses.
- Use correct punctuation in abbreviations; e.g., for example i.e., that is etc., et cetera
- Do not use multiple punctuation marks, for example: !!! ... ???, etc.
When you have a bulleted or numbered list, the grammar is a little different. If there are short phrases, a period would not be required. The worst mistake is when you make up a list with seven items - three with periods and four without periods. If you have long sentences in your list in which you have used other punctuation marks too, then it is advisable to put a period at the end of each sentence.
Hyphen and dash usage
Remember a hyphen is used to connect two words (web-enabled) while a dash is used to separate two words (Linda Simpson - the president's most trusted economic advisor - will resign her office during today's press conference.)
Confusion between its and it's
It's a well-known fact that this error is common. Its (the error's) origin is due to the fact that people think that this possessive needs an apostrophe, whereas, it does not require one. So remember: "it's" stands for "it is", and "its" stands for possession.
Use of apostrophe
Do not leave out the apostrophe ('). It becomes extremely difficult for readers to comprehend the writer's meaning. Use of apostrophe in ours, yours, and theirs is wrong. There is no need to put an apostrophe while writing the plural form of an abbreviation or a year, for e.g., COOs, IITs, 1990s. Use apostrophe only when it denotes possession, for e.g., the CEO's office or the CEOs' offices. Use apostrophes in the following situations:
- Indicate a possessive in a singular noun The boy's hat.
- But when the possessor is plural, then the apostrophe follows the 's' The companies' CEOs
- Indicate omission of figure or words The summer of '69 We can't go to B'lore
Numbers
- Spell out single numbers in full, from one to nine; use figures for 10 upwards.
- Always use figures with commas and decimal points. (Format: Use 1,000 separators - x,xxx,xxx.xx). It is preferable to use M or K for millions or thousands instead of many zeroes. Spell out large numbers if necessary; e.g., one million instead of 1,000,000. Try to use either all numerals or all spelled numbers for a list of numbers.
- Spell out ordinal numbers: first, second, third. Do not add ly to them. For example, firstly, secondly, etc.
- Spell out and hyphenate common fractions; e.g., three-fourth share.
- Write dates with the number only and not with 'th' 'nd' or 'rd'; e.g., February 28 rather than February 28th.
- Use MM-DD-YYYY format wherever you need to document a full date - May 8, 2003.
- Use month and year for documents that change frequently; e.g., collateral material - May 2003.
The use of articles "a", "an", and "the" was taught to everybody in school! However, very few people pay attention to it. Use of "an" is not all that simple because the sound of the vowel comes into play. Should you say "a Unix machine" or "an Unix machine?" Should you say "a unique idea" or "an unique idea?" A unique idea would be to write about a Unix machine!
Avoid complex and unusual words
There is absolutely no need to use words of "learned length and thundering sound." Short, simple words are understood by all and remove doubts. If you have to use a technical term that your reader may not understand, explain it briefly in non-technical language.
Abbreviations and acronyms
Do not abbreviate company names, unless they are well known and used regularly. The first time you write an abbreviation or an acronym, you should always write the name in full with the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses afterwards. After that, you
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/163523/casualarticles-Common-English-Usage-Errors-in-Business-Writing.html">Common English Usage Errors in Business Writing</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/163523/casualarticles-Common-English-Usage-Errors-in-Business-Writing.html]Common English Usage Errors in Business Writing[/url]
Related Articles:
Nonprofit PR Lessons From Helmuth Von Moltke the Elder
Organic SEO or Pay-Per-Click Advertising - Which Should You Choose?
Bookmark it:
|