Some of the most common grammar mistakes in business are the easiest to avoid. Whether speaking or writing, correct grammar and spelling are important to your credibility and the impression you leave upon others. Here are a few of the most common grammar mistakes with examples as to the correct usage.
Subject/Verb Disagreement:
When speaking or writing in the present tense, both subjects and verbs must be either singular or plural. A combination of singular and plural is incorrect.
Incorrect: The directions is confusing.
Correct: The directions are confusing.
Incorrect: One of these flowers bloom in the spring.
Correct: One of these flowers blooms in the spring.
Past Tense Errors:
Past tense regular verbs end with the suffix "ed" such as laughed and walked. Past tense irregular verbs change form completely. Be careful not to leave out the "ed" ending when using a regular past tense verb.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Writing Help
Many of my students shrug their shoulders at the beginning of the semester when I tell them that time is their best friend. Just like my students, too many writers struggle with their writing because they treat time as a four letter word. However time is not the enemy if you learn to use it wisely. Time can be a tremendous help when you write if you plan ahead. Making a wise use of your time is a three-step process.
First, allow yourself enough time to live with the idea you plan to write about. Do not write. Give yourself permission to jot down notes but it is wisest to simply make these hard copy (or handwritten) notes. You want to give your muse, your subconscious mind, your brain, or whatever part of you that does your heavy lifting when it comes to writing, time to work. During this time just go about your normal life and work on other tasks, writing and otherwise. There is no need to schedule time to simply think about your future writing task. It is going on whether or not you pay attention to it. However every day you can give yourself for this process will save you much time, energy, and agony later on. Trust me. I have been there and I know whereof I speak.
Second, once you have given your brain some time to work out your rough draft (or at least the bones of it) then it is time to start writing. However before you start writing you should work out a schedule for yourself. Set goals and limitations and then stick to them. Perhaps you will write for a set amount of time or you might rather set a certain page count for your goal. Some days it will be a struggle to meet your goal and other days it will be almost painful to stop when you have met your quota, but over time your brain and writing muscles will become accustomed to the goal and the writing will come easier and faster.
Third, and this is where you need to pull out your calendar, you need to plan your schedule so you have plenty of time for that initial period of thought, a workable writing schedule, and time for drafts as well as time for breaks between drafts. Writing and revising through multiple drafts is one of the essentials to improving your writing product but if you do not allow sufficient time between those drafts then you might as well not bother with drafts at all. You need to give your brain time to rest and you need to allow yourself some distance from the initial creation.
First, allow yourself enough time to live with the idea you plan to write about. Do not write. Give yourself permission to jot down notes but it is wisest to simply make these hard copy (or handwritten) notes. You want to give your muse, your subconscious mind, your brain, or whatever part of you that does your heavy lifting when it comes to writing, time to work. During this time just go about your normal life and work on other tasks, writing and otherwise. There is no need to schedule time to simply think about your future writing task. It is going on whether or not you pay attention to it. However every day you can give yourself for this process will save you much time, energy, and agony later on. Trust me. I have been there and I know whereof I speak.
Second, once you have given your brain some time to work out your rough draft (or at least the bones of it) then it is time to start writing. However before you start writing you should work out a schedule for yourself. Set goals and limitations and then stick to them. Perhaps you will write for a set amount of time or you might rather set a certain page count for your goal. Some days it will be a struggle to meet your goal and other days it will be almost painful to stop when you have met your quota, but over time your brain and writing muscles will become accustomed to the goal and the writing will come easier and faster.
Third, and this is where you need to pull out your calendar, you need to plan your schedule so you have plenty of time for that initial period of thought, a workable writing schedule, and time for drafts as well as time for breaks between drafts. Writing and revising through multiple drafts is one of the essentials to improving your writing product but if you do not allow sufficient time between those drafts then you might as well not bother with drafts at all. You need to give your brain time to rest and you need to allow yourself some distance from the initial creation.
Writing Help
Many of my students shrug their shoulders at the beginning of the semester when I tell them that time is their best friend. Just like my students, too many writers struggle with their writing because they treat time as a four letter word. However time is not the enemy if you learn to use it wisely. Time can be a tremendous help when you write if you plan ahead. Making a wise use of your time is a three-step process.
First, allow yourself enough time to live with the idea you plan to write about. Do not write. Give yourself permission to jot down notes but it is wisest to simply make these hard copy (or handwritten) notes. You want to give your muse, your subconscious mind, your brain, or whatever part of you that does your heavy lifting when it comes to writing, time to work. During this time just go about your normal life and work on other tasks, writing and otherwise. There is no need to schedule time to simply think about your future writing task. It is going on whether or not you pay attention to it. However every day you can give yourself for this process will save you much time, energy, and agony later on. Trust me. I have been there and I know whereof I speak.
Second, once you have given your brain some time to work out your rough draft (or at least the bones of it) then it is time to start writing. However before you start writing you should work out a schedule for yourself. Set goals and limitations and then stick to them. Perhaps you will write for a set amount of time or you might rather set a certain page count for your goal. Some days it will be a struggle to meet your goal and other days it will be almost painful to stop when you have met your quota, but over time your brain and writing muscles will become accustomed to the goal and the writing will come easier and faster.
Third, and this is where you need to pull out your calendar, you need to plan your schedule so you have plenty of time for that initial period of thought, a workable writing schedule, and time for drafts as well as time for breaks between drafts. Writing and revising through multiple drafts is one of the essentials to improving your writing product but if you do not allow sufficient time between those drafts then you might as well not bother with drafts at all. You need to give your brain time to rest and you need to allow yourself some distance from the initial creation.
First, allow yourself enough time to live with the idea you plan to write about. Do not write. Give yourself permission to jot down notes but it is wisest to simply make these hard copy (or handwritten) notes. You want to give your muse, your subconscious mind, your brain, or whatever part of you that does your heavy lifting when it comes to writing, time to work. During this time just go about your normal life and work on other tasks, writing and otherwise. There is no need to schedule time to simply think about your future writing task. It is going on whether or not you pay attention to it. However every day you can give yourself for this process will save you much time, energy, and agony later on. Trust me. I have been there and I know whereof I speak.
Second, once you have given your brain some time to work out your rough draft (or at least the bones of it) then it is time to start writing. However before you start writing you should work out a schedule for yourself. Set goals and limitations and then stick to them. Perhaps you will write for a set amount of time or you might rather set a certain page count for your goal. Some days it will be a struggle to meet your goal and other days it will be almost painful to stop when you have met your quota, but over time your brain and writing muscles will become accustomed to the goal and the writing will come easier and faster.
Third, and this is where you need to pull out your calendar, you need to plan your schedule so you have plenty of time for that initial period of thought, a workable writing schedule, and time for drafts as well as time for breaks between drafts. Writing and revising through multiple drafts is one of the essentials to improving your writing product but if you do not allow sufficient time between those drafts then you might as well not bother with drafts at all. You need to give your brain time to rest and you need to allow yourself some distance from the initial creation.
Great Technical Writing
Your editor should be an integral part of your writing team. Do not think of him/her as a judge, but rather as a resource to help you in all phases of the writing project. This article will help you overcome any fear of your editor, and how to effectively use your editor during the writing process.
Beware of Your Editor
Some of the changes that an editor might suggest could make the User Document more difficult for your Reader to understand.
Improving Your Writing
Once your editor has gotten past the basic mechanical editing tasks of:
* grammar
* punctuation
* spelling
* editing to a Style Sheet,
he/she may work on "improving your writing."
Your editor may believe that one way to make the writing more interesting is to use synonyms when you refer back to something. Thus you might call something a "chip bin" in one part of your text, and your editor might suggest using a different term, such as "waste trap," later in the document. This should make your writing "more interesting."
You do not want interesting writing in your User Documents! You want clear, simple, very easy to understand writing. If you make your writing more interesting by using the synonym ("waste trap") then you force your reader to have to think about whether or not these are the same thing. I recommend that you use the exact same wording every place in your User Document where you are referring to the same thing. No synonyms here!
If your Reader wanted to be entertained or have his/her thoughts provoked, then he/she would be reading a novel.
Don't let your editor make your writing more interesting or more clever if those efforts makes the material harder for your Reader to understand.
Beware of Your Editor
Some of the changes that an editor might suggest could make the User Document more difficult for your Reader to understand.
Improving Your Writing
Once your editor has gotten past the basic mechanical editing tasks of:
* grammar
* punctuation
* spelling
* editing to a Style Sheet,
he/she may work on "improving your writing."
Your editor may believe that one way to make the writing more interesting is to use synonyms when you refer back to something. Thus you might call something a "chip bin" in one part of your text, and your editor might suggest using a different term, such as "waste trap," later in the document. This should make your writing "more interesting."
You do not want interesting writing in your User Documents! You want clear, simple, very easy to understand writing. If you make your writing more interesting by using the synonym ("waste trap") then you force your reader to have to think about whether or not these are the same thing. I recommend that you use the exact same wording every place in your User Document where you are referring to the same thing. No synonyms here!
If your Reader wanted to be entertained or have his/her thoughts provoked, then he/she would be reading a novel.
Don't let your editor make your writing more interesting or more clever if those efforts makes the material harder for your Reader to understand.
Custom Essay Writing
Do you want to find out more about how custom essay writing services can improve your life?
Too many students are easily put off by the thought of paying for their papers to be written by essay writing experts. Why not benefit from a custom essay or a custom research paper and improve your grades?
Writing term papers and essays can be a nightmare if you struggle with it. If you are no good at it you can lose many hours writing a simple assignment and still only achieve a mediocre, or worse – failing grade. Academic performance is becoming more and more pressured. In order to get ahead you need good grades. This is where a custom essay writing service can help.
Whether you are in high school, a college or university student you can benefit from using a professional writing service. So many students do not know where to start. With so many different ways of getting essays and research papers it can be hard to decide.
There are three different ways to get essays, term papers or dissertations from the Internet and some are better than others:
1) You can use a free site: These free essays are often poorly written and have already been used by millions of students around the world. All you need to do is download an essay of your choice but most likely you will end up having to add in some of your own research to answer the topic for your own paper. Don't hand a paper in from a free site without thoroughly checking and rewording it! A free paper is no substitute for a custom essay.
2) You can buy a pre-written paper: but this means you will not be able to choose a specific custom essay topic. This is no good if you need a term paper on a very particular question. And often these sites do not measure up. Many have reported buying a pre-written paper and receiving a failing grade!
3) Or you can use a custom essay writing service, and be sure you will have a great paper ready on time. A professional will write the custom essay specifically according to your own unique topic and you can even go through the essay and refine it to sound like your own words!
Too many students are easily put off by the thought of paying for their papers to be written by essay writing experts. Why not benefit from a custom essay or a custom research paper and improve your grades?
Writing term papers and essays can be a nightmare if you struggle with it. If you are no good at it you can lose many hours writing a simple assignment and still only achieve a mediocre, or worse – failing grade. Academic performance is becoming more and more pressured. In order to get ahead you need good grades. This is where a custom essay writing service can help.
Whether you are in high school, a college or university student you can benefit from using a professional writing service. So many students do not know where to start. With so many different ways of getting essays and research papers it can be hard to decide.
There are three different ways to get essays, term papers or dissertations from the Internet and some are better than others:
1) You can use a free site: These free essays are often poorly written and have already been used by millions of students around the world. All you need to do is download an essay of your choice but most likely you will end up having to add in some of your own research to answer the topic for your own paper. Don't hand a paper in from a free site without thoroughly checking and rewording it! A free paper is no substitute for a custom essay.
2) You can buy a pre-written paper: but this means you will not be able to choose a specific custom essay topic. This is no good if you need a term paper on a very particular question. And often these sites do not measure up. Many have reported buying a pre-written paper and receiving a failing grade!
3) Or you can use a custom essay writing service, and be sure you will have a great paper ready on time. A professional will write the custom essay specifically according to your own unique topic and you can even go through the essay and refine it to sound like your own words!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Defining and Writing for an Audience
As part of the essential research you should do before starting to write, it's a good idea to begin by defining your audience - the people who will read, see or hear the message in your content. Although often taken for granted, this process is crucial to achieving effective writing - and everything related to what you write will flow out of it. Entire advertising and marketing campaigns have failed due to a lack of understanding of the target audience, so it pays to get it right.
"Knowing your audience before you write will make the process of writing easier because it simplifies the decisions you have to make. Writing with a specific audience in mind will also give your (content) more unity of purpose and style, and will involve your reader more directly." (1). Sounds simple right? Well yes, it is actually. The difficulty comes when you ignore this important part of the writing process altogether.
In practice, defining your audience involves being specific. If you're not clear on exactly whom you are writing for, the reader will not be happy with your message. This result could actually harm your company and sales. "If you don't have a particular intended audience in mind, or if you say that your (content) is for ‘everybody' or 'society' or ‘people interested in this topic,' your writing will tend to be as general as your intention." As a result, your customers will think you have not been trying, so neither will they.
It's not only important to identify your general target market, but drill down into that audience to define specific sub groups - and aim your message directly at them. For example, if you have a website selling ‘Mediterranean Cruises' - you could simply target everyone who goes on cruises, whatever age they are, or what specific needs they have. The resulting content you produced would have to be very general to appeal to all the sub-sections of this huge target audience, and your message would be diluted as a result.
"Knowing your audience before you write will make the process of writing easier because it simplifies the decisions you have to make. Writing with a specific audience in mind will also give your (content) more unity of purpose and style, and will involve your reader more directly." (1). Sounds simple right? Well yes, it is actually. The difficulty comes when you ignore this important part of the writing process altogether.
In practice, defining your audience involves being specific. If you're not clear on exactly whom you are writing for, the reader will not be happy with your message. This result could actually harm your company and sales. "If you don't have a particular intended audience in mind, or if you say that your (content) is for ‘everybody' or 'society' or ‘people interested in this topic,' your writing will tend to be as general as your intention." As a result, your customers will think you have not been trying, so neither will they.
It's not only important to identify your general target market, but drill down into that audience to define specific sub groups - and aim your message directly at them. For example, if you have a website selling ‘Mediterranean Cruises' - you could simply target everyone who goes on cruises, whatever age they are, or what specific needs they have. The resulting content you produced would have to be very general to appeal to all the sub-sections of this huge target audience, and your message would be diluted as a result.
Special Education Letter Writing
Are you a parent of a child with a disability who would like to write letters to special education personnel, but do not know what to include? Would a short list of things to include be helpful? This article will address 7 specific items that should be included in letters to special education personnel, to make them effective. Letters should be one page if possible, and contain these things:
Item 1: You should include your name in the letter as well as the name of your child with a disability. If the special education person is an administrator, they may not know you or your child.That’s why it is important to include both in the letter.
Item 2: You should include your child’s birth date, if you are writing to special education personnel who do not know your child. Special education personnel often use a child’s birth date, for identification purposes.
Item 3: You should include the date when you are writing the letter; the date should include month, day and year. Letters sent to special education personnel become part of your child’s school record. By dating the letters, anyone looking at the record can tell when it was written. The date the letter was sent may be important in the future if a dispute occurs between you and special education personnel.
Item 4: You should very clearly state the purpose of the letter. For Example: I am writing you today to tell you of my concerns for my child, Mary, whom I believe may have a learning disability, in the area of reading. I am asking that she be tested using a standardized reading test such as the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. When the test results are finished, we can discuss them at an IEP meeting."
Item 5: You should include the person’s name that you are sending the letter to, their title, and school address.
Item 6: The letter should contain a hand signature at the bottom of the page, by the parent writing the letter. If the letter is used in the future, it holds more weight if it is signed.
Item 7: The letter should include any written documentation or reports that help your case. For Example: I am including a letter from the Occupational Therapist, about the behavioral difficulties my daughter has been having during therapy time. After the signature put the word attachments in the left hand margin, and list the name of all attachments.Be sure to include the attachments with the letter.
Item 1: You should include your name in the letter as well as the name of your child with a disability. If the special education person is an administrator, they may not know you or your child.That’s why it is important to include both in the letter.
Item 2: You should include your child’s birth date, if you are writing to special education personnel who do not know your child. Special education personnel often use a child’s birth date, for identification purposes.
Item 3: You should include the date when you are writing the letter; the date should include month, day and year. Letters sent to special education personnel become part of your child’s school record. By dating the letters, anyone looking at the record can tell when it was written. The date the letter was sent may be important in the future if a dispute occurs between you and special education personnel.
Item 4: You should very clearly state the purpose of the letter. For Example: I am writing you today to tell you of my concerns for my child, Mary, whom I believe may have a learning disability, in the area of reading. I am asking that she be tested using a standardized reading test such as the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. When the test results are finished, we can discuss them at an IEP meeting."
Item 5: You should include the person’s name that you are sending the letter to, their title, and school address.
Item 6: The letter should contain a hand signature at the bottom of the page, by the parent writing the letter. If the letter is used in the future, it holds more weight if it is signed.
Item 7: The letter should include any written documentation or reports that help your case. For Example: I am including a letter from the Occupational Therapist, about the behavioral difficulties my daughter has been having during therapy time. After the signature put the word attachments in the left hand margin, and list the name of all attachments.Be sure to include the attachments with the letter.
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