Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Author at BusinessWritingBlog

Etiquette

Don’t Write When It Will Go Wrong!

Do you recognize no-win situations, where your writing is doomed to fail? Read below to keep yourself out of trouble. Sometimes when we write, a little voice tells us the communication is going to go wrong. In business writing classes people have admitted, “I had… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Do You Use “Who” or “That” to Refer to People?

Is it acceptable to use both who and that to refer to people, or is only who correct? Before I share my response, consider the question. Which word would you use in the sentences below? We need to hire someone who/that speaks Japanese. A person… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Usage Challenge: Can You Pick the Correct Word?

Do you think you know words well? Take this challenge: Pick the correct word or phrase in every sentence below. No peeking at the answer key until you have finished! 1. This site/sight/cite is ideal for our conference. 2. John made less/fewer trips to Chicago… continue reading

Etiquette

How to Introduce Two People in Writing

Deb Arnold of Deb Arnold, Ink. is a terrific businesswoman and one of my favorite people. We met a few years ago through an introduction from our mutual friend, consultant Ron Scott. Ron introduced us by email like this: Subject: Introduction Lynn and Deb, I… continue reading

Etiquette

The Courtesy Greeting to Use When Gender Is a Mystery

This complex question came in yesterday’s email: What is the proper way to address a letter with several addressees in the same letter, but the gender of one or more is unknown? Normally the greeting would be “Dear Misses. So-and-so,” and “Dear Messrs. So-and-so,” but… continue reading

Punctuation

How Do I Add 1/4 Teaspoon Salt/Pepper?

Making my Thanksgiving salad dressing, I read in the list of ingredients "1/4 teaspoon salt/pepper." Because both condiments are named, I am going to assume that the recipe author meant this: 1/4 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. pepper But why not say that? With the slash, "salt/pepper"… continue reading

Knowing the Parts of Speech

In a recent business writing class, a participant confessed that she didn’t know a pronoun from a preposition–and she wanted to learn the difference. Why? So she could feel confident about using language correctly. Knowing the parts of speech can help you: Recognize which words to capitalize… continue reading

title graphic stating "the most common capitalization error"

Capitalizing Complimentary Closes

Guess which is the error: Best Regards, OR Best regards, The rule is to capitalize only the first word of a complimentary close. This rule applies wherever you use a complimentary close: emails, letters, notes, and even texts. These are all correct: Best regards, Best… continue reading

Using Commas with Appositives

Over the 10+ years of writing this business writing blog, I’ve been consistent about virtually all my style, punctuation, and grammar choices. But there’s one comma rule I’ve flip-flopped on: my husband Michael my husband, Michael, I have just one husband. His name is Michael. In a… continue reading

Punctuation

Are You a Punctuation Master?

Punctuation experts: See whether you can find a variety of punctuation errors sprinkled throughout the business letter below. In some places, punctuation is missing; in others, it’s unnecessary or wrong. Find and correct the errors, but do not change the wording. ******************************* Dear Professor Donaldson, Kate Michaels… continue reading

Author Archives: Lynn Gaertner-Johnston