Writing / Grammer | Commas, semicolon, Colon, Possessives, Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns, Abbreviations, Titles

Writing / Grammer Business Communications and Grammer

Writing is an important part of doing business. Most people, me included, could deffinetly use some help when it comes to proper grammer usage, letter writing, and more. Since I'm not very good in the area myself, I'm including notes from a class I took in business communications. Clear writing and grammer is part of advertising and marketing.

Writing / Grammer When to Use a Comma

One of the toughest set of writing rules deals with when to use commas. Here is a website that can help take the “mystery” out of commas. It addresses many of the myths about commas that we were told in grade school. In fact, a really long sentence can be perfectly okay without commas; and “When you take a breath—you need a comma” is definitely not true.

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/commas.html

Writing / Grammer Commas & Semicolons Used With Independent Clauses

· Use a comma before a conjunction that joins two independent clauses.

Examples:
Our listings include several charming colonial-style houses, but none of them meet your space requirements.

Are you really interested in leasing warehouse space, or would you prefer to purchase your own facilities?

· Use a semicolon between two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction.

Semicolon Examples:
Homes in Glen Oaks are very convenient to public transportation; express buses to the business district depart every 15 minutes.

We do not think the building is structurally sound; the foundation is in need of major repairs in several places.

· Use a semicolon before the conjunction that joins two independent clauses if either of the clauses contains commas or other internal punctuation.

Semicolon Examples:
Come in on Monday, June 22; or if you prefer, call me to arrange another date.

Tom said, “I don’t want to go”; but I think he’s not telling the truth.
OTHER USES FOR SEMICOLONS


· Use semicolons to separate items in a series if they contain internal punctuation (such as commas).

Semicolon Examples:

Tenants are urged to take advantage of the pool, which opens May 31; the four tennis courts, which are lighted until 10 p.m.; and the exercise rooms, which include men’s and women’s saunas.

Please bring the following on the trip: a flashlight; a thermos, presently on sale at Target; and a map.

Writing / Grammer Colons

· Primarily, colons are used after the introduction of a series of items.

Colon Example:

All managers should bring the following to the meeting: a data sheet, a budget plan, and a calculator.

Writing / Grammer SEPARATE OWNERSHIP

· When showing separate ownership, use the possessive at the end of each noun.

Seperate Ownership Examples:

Sara’s and Tom’s reports were in competition with each other.

Clara’s and Susan’s offices are adjacent to each other.

Writing / Grammer JOINT OWNERSHIP

· When showing joint ownership, only use the possessive at the end of the last noun.


Joint Ownership Examples:

Bob, Tom, and Sue’s document was submitted on time.

Tim and Alisha’s son was elected president.

Writing / Grammer FORMING POSSESSIVES

· For words ending in a letter other than “s” form the possessive by adding (’s).


Form Possessives Examples:

My brother’s car is being repaired.

The men’s bowling league begins on February 1.


· For plural words ending in an “s” form the possessive by adding an apostrophe (’).



Examples:

The jurors’ opinions will determine the outcome.

The committees’ schedules will be posted.

· For singular words ending in an “s” form the possessive by adding (’s).

Examples:

One witness’s comment was especially helpful.

My boss’s report will be ready tomorrow.

Writing / Grammer TRANSCRIBING NUMBERS

· Spell out numbers from one through ten, but use figures for numbers 11 on.

Transcribing Numbers Examples:

We ordered eight cartons of forms.

We ordered 25 cartons of forms.

Writing / Grammer Transcribing Numbers EXCEPTIONS:

· Always use figures for percentages (5 percent)

· Always use figures for measurements (2 feet, 6 pounds)

· Always use figures when using a.m. and p.m. (1 p.m., 8 a.m.)

· Always use words for numbers that begin a sentence (Thirty-five students attended the class.)

· Use the same style to express numbers that apply to the same category within a sentence. If at least one of the numbers should be a figure, use figures for all of the numbers.


Examples:

Prepare a requisition for 4 printers, 15 computers, and 6 modems.

Prepare a requisition for four printers, seven computers, and six modems.

Prepare a requisition for 4 printers, 15 computers, and 6 modems, four days ago.

Writing / Grammer DOUBLE ADJECTIVES

· To determine if two adjectives appearing together in a sentence need a comma to separate them, ask the following question:


“Can the adjectives be switched and the sentence still sound correct?”


If the answer is yes—a comma is needed to separate them.

If the answer is no—a comma is not needed to separate them.


Examples:

Bob drives a red sports car.

It was an interesting, informative speech.


HINT: Another way to check to see if a comma is necessary is to insert the word “and” in between the two adjectives. If the sentence still sounds correct, a comma is needed to separate the two adjectives.

Writing / Grammer USING “I” OR “ME”

· When determining whether to use “I” or “me,” delete the words coupled with the “I” or “me” and decide which of the pronouns sounds the best. This is the correct one to use.

Examples:

They have asked Sue and me to give the presentation.

Dave and I will attend the meeting.

Writing / Grammer USE OF “SELF” PRONOUNS

· Only use “self” pronouns (myself, yourself, herself) when the noun/pronoun to which it refers has been mentioned earlier in the sentence.

Examples:

I have tried to pace myself in completing the project.

Sue has resigned herself to the fact that she will not be selected.

Writing / Grammer ABBREVIATIONS

Grammer and writing is part of effective advertising and marketing. Something I need to work on too.

· An abbreviation for one word requires a period.

Examples:

Doctor = Dr.

Mister = Mr.

· An abbreviation for more than one word does not require periods.

Examples:

Federal Bureau of Investigation = FBI

National Football League = NFL

Writing / Grammer EXCEPTION:

Always use periods in the abbreviations U.S. and U.S.A.

Writing / Grammer TITLES

· Italicize (underline) titles of complete works such as books, magazines, newspapers, movies, television shows, albums, plays, etc.

Examples:
I read about it in Newsweek.

I loved the movie Gone With the Wind.


· Use quotation marks around titles of parts of works such as articles from newspapers or magazines, chapters from books, songs, episodes from television shows, etc.

Examples:

“Working Mothers” was an interesting article in People magazine.

Read Chapter 7, “How to Write a Resume.”

Writing / Grammer | QUOTATION MARKS AND OTHER PUNCTUATION

· Periods and commas always fall inside of the closing quotation mark.

Examples:

Tim said, “I will call her tomorrow.”

“I will call her tomorrow,” said Tim.


· Semicolons and colons always fall outside of the closing quotation mark.

· Place question marks and exclamation points inside of the closing quotation mark if they are part of the quote.

Examples:

James said, “Will you be attending the meeting?”

Who said, “ Give me liberty or give me death”?

Sheila exclaimed, “I can’t believe I won!”

Writing / Grammer | “WHO” VERSUS “WHOM”

· Use “who” as the subject of the sentence, and use “whom” as the object of the sentence.

Examples:

Mabel was not sure whom to trust.

Bob asked Dave who had given him the document.

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Business Letter Format/ Formal Letter Writing

Business Letter Format/ Formal Letter Writing / How to Write

Busines/Formal LETTER FORMAT & How to Write

Possibly one of the biggest “mistakes” made in workplace/marketplace communication concerns letter format (business letter format). If I asked each you to send me an example of a business letter (or formal letter) you’ve received, I’d bet that we would get many, many different versions/formats. It seems that professionals believe the format of a letter (business or formal) is left up to “artistic license.” In fact, there are essentially two accepted business letter (or formal letter) formats by the various organizations that oversee professional communication.

Business Letter Format: Full Block Style (Also Applys to Formal)

The first business letter format (or formal letter format) we’ll look at is the full block style letter format. This is the easiest style to produce (and the one we’ll use from this point on). This style is where everything is lined up with the left-hand margin of the business letter (or the formal letter). I’ll give you detailed instructions about how to use this format in the text below.

Business Letter Format: Modified Block Style

The second business letter format (or the formal letter format) is the modified block style letter format. The only difference between full format and modified block format is that some of the parts of the business letter (or formal letter) are centered—instead of lined up with the left-hand margin. The centered parts of the business letter (or formal letter) would be the date and the closing (Sincerely yours) and signature lines.

The following points are true of both the full and modified block styles of business letter format (or formal letter format). Hopefully, this list will assist you in producing professional looking and dismiss some of the myths of business letter (or formal letter) writing:

Business Letter Format: Rules (Apply to Formal Letters As Well

Never indent the first line of a paragraph of your business letter / formal letter (keep everything lined up with the left-hand margin)

Do not double space within paragraphs (single space within the paragraph and double space between paragraphs—because you don’t indent the first line—the “empty line” between the paragraphs indicates when one ends and the next begins).

Typically the only indenting you would do within the body of a business letter (or formal letter) is when you’re using a bulleted list, stressing special content within a business letter (or formal letter), etc.

You might ask—“Who cares what format I use when writing a business letter (or formal letter) —why can’t I make up my own style/format?” Well, a professional look is important for all written workplace / marketplace communication. Also, it’s been shown that consistency among written pieces of company communication (such as business letters (or formal letters) and memos) is important for several reasons. First, it demonstrates a uniformed image when all the letters sent from a particular company look the same. Secondly, when the company chooses and then explains its preferred business letter (or formal letter) format/style to its employees, it makes it easier for employees to know how to design their correspondence; and it takes away the temptation to create their own business letter (or formal letter) formats.

Business Letter Format: Easiest Format to Use

My suggestion is to always use the full block style for business letters / formal letters. This is the easiest letter format because all you need to do is line everything up with the left-hand margin—there’s no indenting needed.

Here is the suggested format to use when typing your business letters (or formal letters. It would probably be a good idea to print this out and save it for future reference (cover letters for resumes, etc.):



Date (Type the date like this: October 1, 2004. Don’t abbreviate the month or use 10/1/04. Then hit “ENTER” 4 times)







Name of Person You’re Writing the Letter To

Address of Person You’re Writing The Letter To (If appropriate, you can include the person’s title and company name. Then hit “ENTER” 2 times)



Dear (Fill-in Name): (Notice that the punctuation used here is a colon not a comma. Then hit “ENTER” 2 times)



(FOR THE BODY OF THE BUSINESS LETTER (OR FORMAL LETTER): DO NOT INDENT THE FIRST LINE OF THE PARAGRAPH—SINGLE SPACE WITHIN PARAGRAPHS AND DOUBLE SPACE BETWEEN. BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE BODY OF A BUSINESS LETTER (OR FORMAL LETTER).)

Here is an example of what the body of the business letter (or formal letter) should look like. How we indicate that we’re going to a new paragraph is to double space to get a “blank” line.

Do not indent the first line of your letter. Although we often see people indent the first line, there is no business letter (or formal letter) format that uses that method. (At the end of the body, hit “ENTER” 2 times)



Sincerely yours, (Notice that you only capitalize the first letter of the first word of the closing line—then use a comma. Then hit “ENTER” 4 times)







Type Your Name (If appropriate, you can include your title below your name. The three “blank” lines you’ve created by hitting “ENTER” 4 times are used for your signature.)



There are some additional pieces of information you may need to include under your typed name. One would be, if someone other than the person the business/formal letter is from typed the bsuiness/formal letter (for example, an administrative assistant typed the business/formal letter for a company executive) the lowercase initials of the typist are added. This might look like:



mh



You would hit “ENTER” 2 times before typing this—leaving one blank line between the previously typed line and the initials. The reason for doing this is it acts as a reference. The initials help to recognize who typed the letter and who could be approached for changes or copies.

Another thing that might be added would be the word “Enclosure” or “Enclosures,” if you have included some materials in addition to the letter. This might look like:


Enclosure

Or

Enclosures

If there is more than one enclosure, you can either indicate this by typing “Enclosures” or by putting a number after the word—“Enclosures (3).” This is done to alert the reader that they should find more than just a business/formal letter in the envelope. You would hit “ENTER” 2 times before typing this—leaving one blank line between the previously typed line and “Enclosure.”

One last addition to the end of the business/formal letter would be if copies of the letter were being sent to people other than the person to whom it is addressed. This would be done for informational reasons. In the “olden” days, the letters “CC:” were used—signifying that a “Carbon Copy” was being sent. But since carbon copies have been replaced by “Photocopies,” the letters “PC:” are currently used. This might look like:



PC: Bob Jones

Mary Smith

Todd Green


Notice that you list the names in a column form. You would hit “ENTER” 2 times before typing this—leaving one blank line between the previously typed line and “PC:”

This information should help you with your written correspondence for both personal and professional letters.

Here’s a brief full block style business letter (or formal letter) sample.



June 2, 2007







Mr. Charles Smith

1234 Oak Street

Toledo, Ohio 43333



Dear Mr. Smith:



Thank you for your recent inquiry about Peat Moss, Inc. We have been in business for 35 years and pride ourselves on our excellent customer service.



In the next few days, we will be sending you our newest catalog and a brochure entitled, Peat Moss, Inc.—Our First 35 years.



Please review the catalog and contact me with questions or if you would like additional information. I look forward to meeting you.



Sincerely yours,







Chris Coe

President



E-MAIL

That's the End of the Section of Business/Formal Letter Writing. Let me know if the information helped you

WRITING And GRAMMER RULE ARTICLES

Comma, Semicolons, Colons
Quotation Marks
Abbreviations & Titles
Using "I" or "Me" and the Use of "Self" Pronouns
Double Adjectives
Transcribing Numbers
Separate and Joint Ownership
"Who" Versus "Whom"
How to use commas
Persuasive Writing
Persuasive Communication Strategy
Communicating Bad News
Communicating Bad News / TIps and Tricks
Communicating with People with Disabilities
Cross Cultural Communications
Types of Communication and Characteristics
Nonverbal Communications

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Business Letter Format/ Formal Letter Writing