Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Author at BusinessWritingBlog

Punctuation

Win the Punctuation Games!

Test your punctuation prowess in these four punctuation challenges. First Game: 100-Word Hyphens In this 100-word passage, insert hyphens wherever they belong: The new four story condominium development on Bank Street features homes with state of the art appliances and the latest in furnishings. Buyers looking… continue reading

Etiquette

Names to Use for Greetings and Envelopes

First name? Last name? His name? Her name? THEIR names? At this time of year, when many people mail holiday greetings, the big questions involve how to render people’s names in the greeting and on the printed envelope: How do I write to two doctors? Whose name… continue reading

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Email

When Should You CC Someone?

Do you know when to copy people on the emails you send? Or do you cc a bunch of people and hope to offend no one? This post will reduce your cc doubts. Should you cc or not? To answer that question, remember that your… continue reading

Business Communication

Should a Company Be “It” or “We”?

In the past week, two clients have written to ask whether they should refer to their company or division using the singular it or a plural pronoun. Below are their examples, slightly disguised. The underlining indicates the pronoun they doubted. Company X wishes to express our… continue reading

Email

10 Wrong Ways to Start an Email

Do you want your email readers to delete your messages immediately? Of course you don’t. Who would? Then you must avoid these 10 bad ways of starting emails. 1. Spell the reader’s name wrong, use a nickname rather than the reader’s preferred name, or get the… continue reading

Business Communication

7 Tips for Communicating Data

After you have worked hard to collect meaningful data, the big challenges are how and how much to communicate. Consider these tips when you work on your next report or presentation that includes data. 1. Focus first on your message, not on the numbers. When… continue reading

“Comprised of” vs. “Composed of”

Let’s discuss composed of vs. comprised of. The following sentence is from an advertising supplement in The New York Times: Our wine team is comprised of devoted wine lovers who are some of the most respected professionals in the industry. Your test: Is the phrase… continue reading

Punctuation

Trick or Treat Punctuation!

UPDATED: 3 OCTOBER 2021 Nothing scary for you today–just a quick punctuation challenge. Which punctuation marks would you add to these two questions? Who shouted, “Trick or treat” Did the ghoul ask, “Where is the monster ball” Think it over before comparing your punctuation to… continue reading

Punctuation

National Punctuation Day Test

Do you think you are a punctuation pro? Take this 10-item test, which contains the most common punctuation errors I see in business writing classes. Each item is either correct or has one punctuation error. Find and correct the errors. Thank you Lynn, for taking… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Can You Solve This July 4 Riddle?

I featured this riddle on Facebook, and it seems to have stumped people. Do you know the answer? LynnSyntax Training

Author Archives: Lynn Gaertner-Johnston