Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Author at BusinessWritingBlog

“Affect” vs “Effect”

People in business writing classes have been asking for ways to know whether affect or effect is correct. Here are my best tips for choosing the appropriate word. How To Choose Effect Or Affect If you are choosing a noun, your correct choice will be… continue reading

Etiquette

Correcting With Kindness

Last Thursday I published a blog post in which I had missed a silly error. I typed reader's instead of readers. Of course, I know where apostrophes belong, but I typed the apostrophe and then overlooked it during several rounds of proofreading. You will not… continue reading

graphic showing a man confused about hyphen usage

Style

Re-Elect or Reelect? Pre-Existing or Preexisting?

Have you ever wondered whether to put a hyphen after a prefix that ends with a vowel, when the same vowel follows the prefix? For example, do you wonder which choices are correct in the title of this blog post? The question came up today… continue reading

Punctuation

On Parentheses () and Brackets [ ]

Updated September 8, 2022: Let’s discuss parentheses vs. brackets. Recently a reader had a question about brackets. Mutimba asked, “Where does the full stop go–behind the brackets or inside?” For brackets, he provided this visual: ( ). I was grateful that he included a graphic,… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Coming Down the . . . Pike or Pipe?

The other day I was reading a writing sample for the class Meeting Notes Made Easy, when I found a sentence like this one: We are waiting to see what comes down the pipe. The sentence implies that you are standing beneath the pipe looking… continue reading

Punctuation

Punctuating Bullet Points

In business writing courses, the most common question about punctuation involves how to punctuate bullet points. It’s important, since these days we write as many bullet points as paragraphs. First let’s take a look at some basics, or feel free to skip down directly to… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

To Assure You About “Assure”

In the past week I have read writing samples from two high-level managers in two different industries, both with the same mistake. They both used the word assure incorrectly. So even though I have covered ensure-assure-insure before, it must be time for a reminder. One manager… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Was Rick Perry Literally Wrong? Correct Use of the Word “Literally”

Comedians and political pundits in the United States have been making fun of Texas Governor Rick Perry because of his use of the word literally. In a recent presidential debate, Perry said Iran would invade Iraq "literally at the speed of light." Literally means "actually" or "in a… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Is Donald Trump Wrong About “Apprenti”?

I was listening to a news show on TV tonight, when I heard Donald Trump talking about hiring 10 "apprenti." He pronounced that final word ah-PREN-tie. It is possible that Mr. Trump believes the plural of apprentice is apprenti. If so, I am here to correct… continue reading

Most Common Writing Error of 2011

Although today is only November 15, I can already tell you the most common error in people's business writing this year. It is the use of this word: memo's When people sign up for my writing courses, I ask them, among other things, what kinds… continue reading

Author Archives: Lynn Gaertner-Johnston