Teaching Business Writing Archives

A graphic of a yellow piece of paper with the word "criticism."

Can You Pass This Test on Giving Constructive Feedback?

Yesterday I posted advice on giving constructive feedback in writing. That advice took the form of a list of Don’ts. Why not test yourself today on tips for giving constructive feedback? The list of 20 Don’ts below contains some fake Don’ts that should actually be… continue reading

Do Missing Pronouns Make You Cringe?

A reader named Kris sent this question: “I notice that people are no longer writing or speaking pronouns at the beginning of sentences. Is this acceptable now? I was taught that an implicit ‘You’ did not need to be written/spoken, but I’m noticing ‘I’ and… continue reading

Review: Interested in Language? You’ll Love This Book

As an English major in college, I had only one English department class that I did not do well in: I got a C in linguistics, a required class. Phonemes, bilabial fricatives—they bored me to tears. How I wish the text had been this new… continue reading

An article with the headline: "French placed shoot dead man near Paris after stabbing attempt"

Can You Fix This Headline?

Reader Lionel B. Dyck has provided us with a great, weird headline to improve. It’s from “The Jerusalem Post.” Yes, newspapers are a special breed of writing, and headlines must be concise. But this one cuts so many words that it hurts my logical head.… continue reading

Writing About Ourselves: Bragging Without Blushing

For many of us, it’s difficult to write about ourselves without feeling uncomfortable. Maybe that’s because of childhood messages we heard about being modest. I, for one, had an imposing old aunt who announced, whenever I was happily bragging, “Self-praise stinks.” Yet even my twenty-something… continue reading

A picture of a draw bridge with the words: "The Stairway was rehabilitated in 2018 by SDOT Roadway Structure's Crew's

Don’t Have It Printed Til You Read This Post!

Yesterday I went on an urban hike. Climbing stairs among lush greenery, I spotted the sign below. Not again! Someone had once again printed a sign without checking on their use of apostrophes. Don’t do it! Before creating a sign or printing cards that include… continue reading

The Commonest Error of 2019

Which error did you see most often in 2019? Was it a missing comma? A misplaced or missing apostrophe? A lack of subject-verb agreement? A word used incorrectly? The error I found most often in work projects—especially copyediting presentations and manuscripts—is described below, with one… continue reading

Want Better Writing From Employees? Start With Coaching

By Allison Horak — Supervisors often feel their employees can’t write well. How about you? Do you spend time correcting the same mistakes repeatedly for your employees? One way to address this issue is to carve out time for coaching, especially for employees whose work… continue reading

Take Time to Save Time

Sometimes we bang out a message to get it done quickly. But if we take just another minute or two to make the message clearer before clicking Enter or Send, we save time for readers. That time savings often leads to getting a faster, better… continue reading

True Story: How to Help Employees Write Better

Read the brief, true story below about Eric and his supervisor, Linda. Then decide: If you were in Linda’s role, would you handle the situation the same way? ***** Eric has just written his first newsletter article about an innovative approach the team has developed… continue reading