Test Your Error-Finding Skills

Each of the three short passages below has one error in the choice of a word. Can you find all three errors? Test your skills.

Passage 1:
Bishara's most recent position was principal designer for Barton and Bloss. In the interviews we conducted, his interviewers gave him the highest amount of positive comments compared with the other applicants. Regrettably, Dr. Su was not able to meet with him.

Passage 2:
During our vacation in Washington, D.C., we are looking forward to seeing the sites, especially the museums. It will be fun to visit awhile and enjoy our capital and its many treasures.

Passage 3:
Avoid ambiguity! When writing to individuals who do not speak your language fluently, use words with fewer alternate meanings, i.e., choose seminar, which has only one meaning, over class, which has many. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you made your choices? Below are explanations. 

 

 

 

 

 

Passage 1

The word principal is correct. If you thought principle might be a better choice for "principal designer," not so. The word principle (le) means only "rule" (le). 

Regrettably is also correct. Dr. Su might have had to regretfully decline, but it was regrettable that she was not there. 

The incorrect word is amount. Use number with things you can count, like comments: "the highest number of positive comments." 

 

 

Passage 2

The incorrect word is sites, which means "locations or positions." It should be sights, things to be seen. 

And capital is also correct when referring to a capital of a country, state, or province. Use capitol only when referring to the building in which the legislature meets. For the building where the U.S. Congress meets, use Capitol.  

 

 

Passage 3

The problem is i.e., which means "that is." Example: "He works the graveyard shift, i.e., 11 p.m. to 7 a.m." The test sentence required e.g., which means "for example."

Fewer is correct with countable things: "fewer meanings." Less would be wrong. 

If you thought alternate was wrong, you agree with many strict grammarians, who believe alternative should replace it in the test sentence. Alternate implies a substitution: "When a delegate is unavailable, the alternate may vote." It's also correct for "every other": "alternate Saturdays." Alternative is the right word for something nontraditional ("an alternative newspaper") or for a choice ("alternative meanings"). However, the rule is loosening, and some writers accept "alternate meanings." 

 

How did you do? Do you want to invest in your proofreading skills? Take my online self-study course Proofread Like a Pro.

If you would like more practice identifying the right word, get my 60 Quick Word Fixes, which includes a 45-item test. I also recommend Bryan Garner's HBR Guide to Better Business Writing, which includes a 34-page appendix, "Common Usage Gaffes." Besides that, it's an excellent business writing guide. 

Which words confuse you? I can trip over some time / sometime / sometimes and palate / palette / pallet, but I just flip through 60 Quick Word Fixes and read my explanation. 

Lynn
Syntax Training 

 

Let Me Sell You Some Assisted Living

Last week I went with two friends to visit an assisted living facility they were considering for their mother. A warm, welcoming man shook hands with us and led us into his office. As we entered, I noticed the door plate. It said Sales and Marketing. 

We were not there for sales and marketing. We were looking for a home for their mother, who needs special care. 

This visit reminded me of going through the same situation with my elderly father a few years ago in Florida. He and I visited the facility, and the Director of Sales and Marketing led us into her office. 

Sales and Marketing--that label simply doesn't match the experience of the potential customers. Such visitors don't even think of themselves as customers but as people seeking a home for someone who needs extra help 

Sales and Marketing is internal language. But it's jarring in this situation, where it's not what people expect. If I am buying a car, an entertainment system, or a timeshare, yes, send me to Sales and Marketing. But here, the label focuses too much on the institution's goal rather than the visitors' needs. 

What's a better name for Sales and Marketing, one that would match the expectations of the visiting adults and their elderly parents? Resident Enrollment? New Resident Welcome? New Resident Information? 

And beyond this situation, have you noticed business terms that just don't match the experience you seek?

I welcome your suggestions and reactions. 

Lynn 
Syntax Training

Why a Curriculum on Writing to Build Relationships?

With Labor Day and the start of the new school year, I happened to read two articles that covered the difficult role of adjunct instructors: "The Adjunct Revolt: How Poor Professors Are Fighting Back," published in 2014, and "In ‘Campus Confidential,’ a Professor Laments That Teaching Is Not the Priority of Teachers," published last month. With the struggles of adjuncts on my mind, I want to be sure business writing instructors know about my free curriculum, Business Writing That Builds Relationships. 

But why a business writing curriculum on building relationships? Below is an excerpt from the curriculum, an in-class exercise, that shows why.

*****

Written exercise and paired discussion to gain insight into the importance of relationships.

Ask students to each think of a career they want to pursue or one they are considering as an option. Then ask them to list who their coworkers might be and who their internal or external customers might be.

Example: A student wants to be in sales. Her coworkers might be other sales reps and the sales assistants. She would probably have a sales manager and a sales director. Internally, she would probably deal with sales support, marketing, advertising, perhaps manufacturing, and inventory processors or supply chain managers. She would also have external customers.

Ask students to pair up. Their partners should review their lists to see if they can add anyone to the lists. Ask one individual to read his or her list aloud for a shared reference point.

Ask students to reflect on their lists:

• Which of the people on your list do you need to have a good working relationship with?
• Are there any people with whom a good relationship is not necessary or beneficial?

Students should experience an aha moment about the importance of relationships.

Point out that the value of relationships is not just their providing a pleasant working experience. It’s their helpfulness in getting information. Read aloud or show the Karen Stephenson quote from her essay "Trafficking in Trust: The Art and Science of Human Knowledge Networks," p. 10 in the text:

“Knowledge ebbs and flows down hallways, in meetings, and in private conversations inside and outside the office. The key to the way that knowledge travels lies in the relationships that can bypass the standard organization chart. . . . Relationships are the true medium of knowledge exchange.” 

Ask students:

As you look at your list of people in your work world, how many of them might provide you with useful information? (Probably anyone on their list could share useful information.)

*****

That exercise takes place on the first day, followed by two ice-breaking exercises that help students build relationships with one another. Then they discuss the introductory chapter of Business Writing With Heart, which covers the ROI of writing with heart. 

Yes, I would love to sell more copies of Business Writing With Heart. But even without book sales, if the free 90-page curriculum helps adjuncts or full-time business writing instructors in any way, their success will be my reward. 

Please share this information with the business writing instructors you know, especially any who may have just accepted a teaching assignment and are scrambling for a curriculum. They can check out the book's table of contents, get the free curriculum, and preview the first chapter.  

To all who teach, have an excellent start to the academic year!

Lynn
Syntax Training