Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Author at BusinessWritingBlog

Resumes and Cover Letters

Resumes: Content & Ethics

In the United States, the hearings of Judge Samuel Alito for the position of Supreme Court Justice have brought up the subject of what to include in resumes and job applications. Unlike Judge Alito, most of us do not have our resumes combed through and… continue reading

“That” vs “Which”

People often ask about the difference between that and which. Where should each word be used? What’s the difference between them? It can be a tricky question. That’s because the distinction between that and which can be very subtle. Here’s the short answer to the… continue reading

Business Communication

Tips for Writing Meeting Minutes

Do you want to be more efficient? Think about your meetings and the meeting notes that follow them: When our meetings aren’t effective, we waste valuable time figuring out what we are trying to accomplish in them. When our meeting minutes aren’t effective, we waste… continue reading

Presentation and Formatting

Best Practices for Bullet Points

The days of long sentences in long paragraphs are long gone. Our readers need to retrieve information fast. An excellent way to help them do this is to lay out information in bulleted lists. Definition: A “bullet point” is an item introduced by a dot… continue reading

title graphic stating "saying no in writing"

Etiquette

How to Say No

You’ve probably experienced this awkward situation: a person makes a request to you in writing, and you have to say no–in writing. On the telephone or in person, you could respond earnestly, “I’m sorry! I wish I could!” or “Unfortunately, I have to say no.”… continue reading

Etiquette

Thank You for Condolences

We published several articles about writing condolences and thank you notes. This post combines the two: how to write a thank you for a condolence message. “Thank you letter for condolence message” is a definite topic of interest around the world, so we hope this… continue reading

Can You Start a Sentence with “And” or “But”?

In our business writing classes, people often want an answer to this burning question: Is it acceptable to begin a sentence with the word and or but? The answer is yes. It is perfectly acceptable to start sentences with the conjunctions and and but. However,… continue reading

Etiquette

How to Write a Thank You

Writing a thank you is one of the easiest tasks in business writing. It’s a short, happy message that makes both writer and reader feel great. Some recipients even post thank you notes on their bulletin boards and in scrap books, so the good feelings… continue reading

Vocabulary

Principal vs Principle

Here’s a test. Which forms of the word pair principal/principle fit in these examples? This dollar figure covers just interest–not interest plus ______. The ______ reason for our visit is to meet the new director. Which ______ did you follow to solve this problem? Easy?… continue reading

Etiquette

Writing Condolences After a Death

In early September I posted a blog on writing condolences, inspired by the need to send messages to people affected by Hurricane Katrina. Since then I have been amazed at the number of people who have visited this blog in search of examples of condolence… continue reading

Author Archives: Lynn Gaertner-Johnston