Business
Communications
Linda D. Austin BS and MA
9/29/2011
Table of Contents
E-mail Messages……………………………………………………………………….3-5
E-Mail Handouts………………………………………………………………………..6-16
Speech Skills……………………………………………………………………………..17-19
Effective Business Writing………………………………………………………….20-42
Writing the Basic Business Letter……………………………………………….43-51
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Speech Skills and Terminology
This list of speech skills and terminology is part of a Speak For Success Course, a series of six speech
lessons designed to help you shape up your speech.
A. Speech Term Definitions & Speech Lessons
Clarity – speaking clearly so as to be understood. Clarity is composed of several different related speech skills.
Projection – speaking loudly enough so that every member of the audience can hear what is said.
Enunciation – fully pronouncing each syllable of each word with the proper emphasis
Pronunciation – correctly pronouncing each word.
Expression – speaking with vocal variety and vitality so that the audience remains interested.
Pace – speaking at a rate that is comfortable for the audience to hear and comprehend.
Fillers – Using meaningless words or sounds that distract the audience.
Slang – Informal language that is specific to a particular group.
Buzzwords – Words or phrases that sound important but have become meaningless through endless
repetition.
Acronyms – Sets of initials used as shorthand to refer to particular phrases (such as C.E.O. for Chief
Executive Officer).
Active Listening – Participating in the act of communication by paying attention and letting the
speaker know that you’re paying attention.
Stance – Presenting and maintaining an appropriate posture to facilitate communication.
Eye-contact – Just what you think it is. When speaking to an audience of more than one, it’s
important to make eye contact with as many individual members of the audience as possible.)
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Speak For Success Speech
Topics
Lesson 1
A. Speech Skill: Clarity
The Speech Problem
The Benefits of Enunciation
Speech Lesson 1 Homework Assignment
Lesson 2
B. Speech Skill: Clarity
The Speech Problem
Speech Exercise: The Tell-Me Game
Benefits of Eliminating Fillers
Lesson 2 Homework Assignment
C. Speech Skill: Clarity
Guard Against Stock Responses
Speech Exercise: The Tell-Me Game
Speech Exercise: Have your Fillers Monitored
The Benefits of Eliminating Fillers
Speech Lesson 2 Homework Assignment
D. Speech Skill: Expression
The Speech Problem
Other Speech Problems of Expression
Speech Exercise: Emotion
Speech Exercise: Belief Sentences
The Benefits of Improving Your Speech Expression
Speech Lesson 3 Homework Assignment
E. Speech Skill: Pace
The Speech Problem
Slowing Your Speech Down
Speech Exercise: Practicing Phrasing
The Benefits of Improving Your Speech Pace
Speech Lesson 4 Homework Assignment
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E.
Speech Skill: Clarity
The Speech Problem
Speech Exercise: Business Buzzwords to Avoid
Speech Exercise: Adding Acronyms
The Benefits of Cutting Slang, Buzzwords and Acronyms
Speech Lesson 5 Homework Assignment
F. Speech Skill : Listening
The Speech Problem
Three Techniques for Active Listening
Speech Exercise: Practice Active Listening
The Benefits of Active Listening
Speech Lesson 6 Homework Assignment
G. Speech Course Wrap Up
Review Lessons 1-6
Speech Exercise: Self Evaluation
Speech Lesson 7 Homework Assignment
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How to Explain (Almost) Rocket Science to a Non-technical
Person
One of the challenges that you will constantly be faced with in your career as an technical professional is
that of trying to relay technical information to someone with a non-technical background,
usually your client. This is one aspect of your career that if done properly can really set you apart from
other technical professionals, because many of them cannot do this or at least cannot do it well.
To master the art of relaying technical information to others (and yes it is an art), you must start by
thinking about the information you are presenting from the other person’s perspective. When doing this,
put yourself in the other person’s shoes and think about what would help them to easily
understand the information you give to them.
It can also be very helpful to use analogies to put your information into terms that your audience will
understand. Everyone has their own perspective based on their background and experience, and by using
their terms you can make them much more comfortable and receptive to your message. If you can’t find
a good analogy or example that relates to them, you can always revert to the financial aspect of that
situation assuming it’s relevant. For example, if you’re going to change the design on a project to make it
more cost effective for the client, then you probably won’t need to get too deep into the technical jargon.
You can simply relay the fact that they’re going to save money with this new design, and of course, give
them the dollar value which they’ll certainly understand!
The ability to communicate clearly is such an important skill because it allows you to convey
to your clients how valuable you are to them. If they can’t see the value you are providing, then
you are no different than the next technie that can prepare a design, do an inspection or speak
compliance. I’ve worked on projects where we had to squeeze unbelievable amounts of storm water
treatment onto a very small site. In situations like this, the client is never going to appreciate the amount
of work or skill that goes into making the site work by simply looking at a plan. That’s when you must
utilize some of the strategies given above to explain or attach a value to your work. Then when your
client is assembling their design team for the next project, you can bet that you will be one of the first
that they call because they know how important you and your company are to their success.
I am not saying that you have to walk around all day long bragging to your clients about how great you
are. What I am saying is that in this competitive corporate world that we live in, those individuals and
organizations that can clearly communicate their value to their clients will be the ones who will always
have projects to work on!
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Effective Business Writing
As technology is constantly changing, today’s modern, most up to-date office maybe considered
obsolete tomorrow. However, certain basic requirements remain constant: knowledge of language arts
skills, proofreading and word processing skills, and the ability to make decisions and to use proper
judgment in preparing documents.
Objectives:


Applying comma rules correctly
Using extended Rules for Using Commas
Comma Use
1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any f these seven
coordinating conjunctions:
The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.
The student explained her question, yet the instructor still didn’t seem to understand.
Yesterday was her brother’s birthday, so she took him out to dinner.
2. Use commas after the introduction a) clauses, b) phases, or c) words that come before the
main clause.
A. Common starter words for introductory clauses that should be followed by a common
include after, although, as, because, if since, when, while.
While I was eating, the cat at scratched at the door.
Because her alarm clock was broken, she was late for class.
If you are ill, you ought to see a doctor.
When the snow stops falling, we’ll shovel the driveway.
However, don’t use a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows it
(except for cases o extreme contrast).
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Incorrect: She was late for class, because her alarm clock was broken.
Incorrect: The cat scratched at the door, while I was eating.
Incorrect: The cat scratched at the door, while I was eating.
Correct: (Extreme Contrast) She was still quite upset, although she had won the Oscar.
B. Common introductory phrases that should be followed by a common include participial and
infinitive phrases, absolute phases, nonessential appositive phrases, and long prepositional
phrases (over four words).
Having finished the test, he left the room.
To get a seat, you’d better come early.
After the test but before lunch, I went jogging.
The sun radiating intense heat, we sought shelter in the café.
3. Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and word that are
essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one common before to indicate the beginning of
the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.
Here are some clues to help you decide whether the sentence element is essential:



If you leave out the clause, phase, or word, does the sentence still make sense?
Does the clause, phrase, or word interrupt the flow of words in the original sentence?
If you move the element to a different position in the sentence, does the sentence still make
sense?
If the answer is “yes” to one or more of these questions, then the element in question is
nonessential and should be set off with commas. Here are some example sentences with
nonessential elements:
Clause: That Tuesday, which happens to be my birthday, is the only day when I am available to
meet.
Phrase: This restaurant has an exciting atmosphere. The food, on the other hand, is
rather bland.
Word: I appreciate your hard work. In this case, however, you may seem to have overexerted yourself.
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4. Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses
beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always
essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.
That clauses after nouns:
The book that I borrowed from you is excellent.
The apples that fell out of the basket are bruised.
That clauses following a verb expressing mental action:
She believes that she will be able to earn an A grade in the class.
He is dreaming that he can fly.
I contend that it was wrong to mislead her.
They wished that warm weather would finally arrive.
Examples of other essential elements (no commas):
Students who cheat only harm themselves.
The baby wearing the yellow jumpsuit is my niece.
The candidate who had the least money lost the election.
Examples of nonessential elements (set off by commas):
Fred, who often cheats, is just harming himself.
My niece, wearing a yellow jumpsuit, is playing in the living room.
The Green Party candidate, who had the least money, lost the election.
Apples, which are my favorite fruit, are the main ingredient in this recipe.
Professor Benson, grinning from ear to ear, announced that the exam would be
tomorrow.
Tom, the captain of the team, was injured in the game.
It is up to you, Jane, to finish the class.
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She was, however, too tired to make the trip.
Two hundred dollars, I think, is sufficient.
5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.
The Constitution establishes the legislative, executive, judicial branches of the
government.
The candidate promised to lower taxes, protect the environment, reduce crime, and end
unemployment.
The prosecutor argued that the defendant, who was at the scene of the crime, who had
a strong revenge motive, and who had access to the murder weapon, was guilty of
homicide.
6. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same
noun. Be sure to never add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun
Itself or to use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.
Coordinate adjectives are adjectives with equal (“co”-ordinate) status in describing the
noun; neither adjective is subordinate to the other. You can decide if two adjectives in a
row are coordinate by asking the following questions:


Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order?
Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with and between
them?
If you answer yes to these questions, the adjectives are coordinate and should be
separated by a comma. Here are some examples of coordinate and non-coordinate
adjectives:
He was a difficult, stubborn child. (coordinate)
They lived in a white frame house. (non-coordinate)
She often wore a gray wool shawl. (non-coordinate)
You cousin ha an easy, happy smile. (coordinate)
The 1) relentless, 2) powerful, 3) oppressive sun beat down on them. (Both 1-2 and
2-3 are coordinate.)
7. Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements
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or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.
He was merely ignorant, not stupid.
The chimpanzee seemed reflective, almost human.
You’re one of the senator’s close friends, aren’t you?
The speaker seemed innocent, even gullible.
8. Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer back to the
beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be
be place anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion. (If the placement of the
modifier causes confusion, then I is not “free” and must remain “bound” to the word it
modifies.)
Nancy waved enthusiastically at the docking ship, laughing joyously. (correct)
Lisa waved at Nancy, laughing joyously. (Incorrect) (Who is laughing, Lisa or Nancy?)
Laughing joyously, Lisa waved at Nancy. (correct)
Lisa waved at Nancy, who was laughing joyously. (correct)
9. Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and
day), address (except the street number and name), and title I names.
Birmingham, Alabama, gets its name from Birmingham, England.
July 22, 1959, was a momentous day in his life. Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Washington, DC?
Rachel B. Lake, MD, will be the principal speaker.
(When you use just the month and the year, no comma is necessary after the month or
year: “The average temperatures for July 1998 are the highest on record for that
month.”)
10. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.
John said without emotion, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I was able,” she answered, “to complete the assignment.”
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In 1948, Marx wrote, “Workers of the world, unite!”
11. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.
To George, Drew Marshall had been sort of idol.
Comma Abuse
Commas in the wrong places can break a sentence into illogical segments or confuse readers
with unnecessary and unexpected pauses.
12. Don’t use a common to separate the subject from the verb.
An eighteen-year old in California, is now considered an adult. (Incorrect)
The most important attribute of a ball player, is quick reflex actions. (Incorrect)
13. Don’t put a comma between the two verbs or verb phrases in a compound predicate.
We laid out our music and snacks, and began to play. (Incorrect)
I turned the corner, and ran smack into a police car.
14. Don’t put a comma between the two nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses in a
compound subject or compound object.
(compound subject) The music teacher from your high school and the football coach
from mine are married. (Incorrect)
(compound object) Jeff told me that the job was still available, and that the manager
wanted to interview me. (Incorrect)
15. Don’t put a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause
follows it (except for cases of extreme contrast).
(extreme contrast) She was late for class, because her alarm clock was
broken. (Incorrect)
The cat scratched at the door, while I was eating. (Incorrect)
She was still quite upset, although she had won the Oscar.
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Hyphen Use
Two words brought together as a compound may be written separately, written as one word,
or connected by hyphens. For example, three modern dictionaries all have the same listings for
the following compounds:
hair stylist
hairsplitter
hair-raiser
Another modern dictionary, however, lists hairstylist, not hair stylist. Compounding is obviously
in a state of flux, and authorities do not always agree in all cases, but the uses of the hyphen
offered here are generally agreed upon.
1. Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
A one-way street, northbound.
Linda liked chocolate-covered best of all.
Nora has become a well-known author.
However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated:
The peanuts were chocolate covered.
Nora has become a well known.
2. Use a hyphen with compound numbers:
Forty-six
Sixty-three
Our much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.
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3. Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters:
re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job)
semi-independent (but semiconscious)
shell-like (but childlike)
4. Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former) self-, all-; with the suffixelect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters:
ex-husband
self-assured
mid-September
all-inclusive
mayor-elect
anti-American
t-shirt
pre-Civil War
mid-1980
5. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of the line if necessary, and make the e break
only between syllables:
pref- er-ence
sell-ing
in-di-vid-u-al-ist
6. For line breaks, divide already hyphenated words only at the hyphen:
massproduced
self-conscious
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7. For line breaks in words ending in –ing, if a single final consonant in the root word is
doubled before the suffix, hyphenated between the consonants; otherwise, hyphenate
at the suffix itself:
plan-ning
run-ing
driv-ing
call-ing
8. Never put the first or last letter of a word at the end or beginning of a line, and don’t
put two-letter suffixes at the beginning of a new line:
lovely (Do not separate to leave the letters ly to begin a new line.)
eval-u-ate (Separate only on either side of the letter u; do not leave the initial e- at the
end of a line.)
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The Apostrophe
The apostrophe has three uses:
1. To form possessive of nouns
2. To show the omission of letters
3. To indicate certain plurals of lowercase letters
Forming Possessive of Nouns
To see if you need to make a possessive, turn the phrase around and make it an “of the…”
phrase. For example:
the boy’s hat = the hat of the boy
three days’ journey = journey of three days
If a noun after “of “is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then no apostrophe is
needed!
room of the hotel = hotel room
door of the car = car door
leg of the table = table leg
Once you’ve determined whether you need to make a possessive, follow these rules to create
one.
add‘s to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in –s):
the owner’s car
James’s hat (James’ hat is also acceptable)
add’s to the plural forms that do not end in –s:
the children’s game
the geese’s honking
add’ to the end of plural nouns that end in –s:
houses’ roofs
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three friends’ letters
add’s to the end of compound words:
my brother-in-law’s money
add’s to the last noun to show joint possession of an object:
Todd and Anne’s apartment
Showing omission of letters
Apostrophes are used in contractions. A contraction is a word (or set of numbers) in which one
or more letters (or numbers) have been omitted. The apostrophe shows this omission.
Contractions are common in speaking and writing in informal writing. To use an apostrophe to
create a contraction, place an apostrophe where the omitted letter(s) would go. Here are some
examples:
don’t = do not
I’m = I am
he’ll = he will
who’s = who is
shouldn’t = should not
didn’t = did not
could’ve = could have (NOT “could of”!)
’60 = 1960
Forming plural of lowercase letters
Apostrophes are used to form plurals of letters that appear in lowercase; here the rule appears
to be more typographical than grammatical, e.g. “three ps” versus “three p’s.” To form the
plural of a lowercase letter, place an apostrophe s (‘s) after the letter. There is no need for
apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols (though keep in
mind that some editors, teachers, and professors still prefer them). Here are some examples:
p’s and q’s = a phrase indicating politeness from “mind your pleases and thank you’s”?
Nick’s mother constantly stressed minding one’s p’s and q’s.
three Macintosh G4 s = three of the Macintosh model G4
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There are two G4s currently used in the writing classroom.
many & s = many ampersands
That printed page has too many & s on it.
the 1960s = the year in decade from 1960 to 1960
The 1960s were a time of great social unrest.
Don’t use apostrophes for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals.
Apostrophes should not be used with possessive pronouns because possessive pronouns
already show possession—they don’t need an apostrophe. His, her, it, my, yours, ours are all
possessive pronoun. Here are some examples:
Incorrect: his’ book
Correct: his book
Incorrect: The group made it’s decision.
Correct: The group made its decision.
(Note: Its and it’s are not the same thing. It’s is a contraction for “it is” and its is a possessive
pronoun meaning “belonging to it.” It’s raining outside = it is raining outside.
A simple way to remember this rule is the fact that you don’t use an apostrophe for the
possessive his, or hers, so don’t do it with its!)
Incorrect: a friend of yours’
Correct: a friend of yours
Incorrect: She waited for three hours’ to get her ticket.
Correct: She waited for three hours to get her ticket.
Proofreading for apostrophes
A good time to proofread is when you have finished writing the paper. Try the following
strategies to proofread for apostrophes:
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

If you tend to leave out apostrophes, check every work that ends in –s or –es to see it
needs an apostrophe.
If you put in too many apostrophes, check every apostrophe to see if you can justify it
with a rule for using apostrophes.
Making Subject and Verbs Agree
This handout gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and verbs agree.
1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns
connected by and, use a plural verb.
She and her friends are at the fair.
2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or, or nor, use a
singular verb.
The book or the pen is in the drawer.
3. When a compound subject contains both a singular and plural nun and pronoun joined
by or, or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is near the verb.
The boy or his friends run every day.
His friends or the boy runs every day.
4. Doesn’t is a contraction of does not and should only be used with a singular subject.
Don’t is a contraction of do not and should be used with a plural subject. The exception
to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and
you. With these pronouns, the contraction don’t should be used.
He doesn’t like it.
They don’t like it.
5. Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb
agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
One of the boxes is open.
The people who listen to that music are few.
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The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.
The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.
The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.
6. The words each, each one, either, neither everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone,
nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.
Each of these hot dogs is juicy.
Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
Either name is correct.
7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs.
The news is on at six.
Note: the word dollars is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it
Requires singular verb, but when referring to dollars themselves, a plural verb is
required.
Five dollars is a lot of money.
Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.
8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. (There are
two parts to these things.)
9. In sentences beginning with the words there is or there are, the subject follows the
verb. Since there is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
There are many questions to be answered.
There is only one question.
10. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered
singular and take a singular verb, such as: group, team, committee, class, and family.
The team runs during practice.
The committee decides how to proceed.
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The family has a history dating back to the Civil War.
My family has never been able to agree.
11. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as
well , do not change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is too.
The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India.
All of these books, including yours, are in that box.
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Active and Passive Voice
What is the difference between active and passive voice?
In a sentence using active voice, the subject performs the action expressed in the verb.
Examples:
The dog jumped onto the boy’s lap.
Kristy will give a book report t the class.
The computer printer ate my paper.
In a sentence using passive voice, the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action
expressed by the verb.
Examples:
The boy was jumped on by the dog.
A book report will be given by Kristy to the class.
My paper was eaten by the computer printer.
Helpful Hint: You can recognize passive voice because the verb phrase will include a form of
be (was, am, are, been, is). Don’t assume that just because there is a form of ‘be’ that the
sentence is passive, however. Sometimes a prepositional phrase like “by the” in the sentence
above indicates that the action is performed on the subject, and that the sentence is passive.
When to choose active voice?
Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. Using active voice for the majority of your
sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too
complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use of passive voice can cloud the
meaning of your sentences.
Passive:
The car was driven into the trees.
Notice the sentence doesn’t say who was driving?
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Active:
The thieves drove the car into the tree.
Passive:
The brakes were slammed on by her as the truck came toward her.
Notice that this is an awkward sentence?
Active:
She slammed on her breaks as the truck came toward her.
Active voice can also make your writing concise, allowing you to get your point across using
fewer words than you might by using passive voice.
Passive:
The medicine was given to me by the vet.
Active:
The vet gave me the medicine.
How do I change a sentence from passive to active voice?
It’s easy! Just ask yourself who or what is performing the action in the sentence (the agent).
If it isn’t specified, you may have to infer from context clues in the sentence or in surrounding
sentences. Then, make the agent the subject of the new sentence. Don’t forget to change your
verb to match your new subject.
Passive:
The room is being used by most of the group.
Active:
Most of the group is using the room.
In the first sentence, the subject is the room, although it is not performing an action. In the
second sentence, the group is the subject and performs the action of using the room.
When to choose passive voice?
Passive voice is used in scientific writing and is also useful when a writer needs to say
something indirectly. When the agent is obvious, unimportant, or just unknown, writers use
passive voice. Sometimes, writers prefer passive voice because they wish to highlight the
action instead of the agent.
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Improving Sentence Clarity
There are many strategies for improving the clarity of your sentences and your papers.
Go from old to new information
Introduce your readers to the “big picture” first by giving them information they already know.
Then they can link what’s familiar to the new information you give them. As that new
information becomes familiar, it to becomes old information that can link to newer
information.
The following example sentence is clear and understandable because it uses old information to
lead to new information:
Every semester after the final exams are over, I’m faced with the problem of what to do with
books of lecture notes (new information). They (old) might be useful some day, but they just
keep piling up on my bookcase (new). Someday, it (old) will collapse under the weight of
information I might never need.
Here is a sentence that is not as clear. It moves from new information to old information:
Lately, most movies I’ve seen have been merely second-rate entertainment, but occasionally
there are some with worthwhile themes. The rapid disappearance f the Indian culture (new) is
the topic of a recent movie (old) I saw.
Did you find the second sentence hard to read or understand? If so, it could be because the old
information comes late in the sentence after the new information. A clearer version that
moves from old information to new information might look like this:
Lately, most movies I’ve seen have been merely second-rate entertainment, but occasionally
there are some with worthwhile themes. One recent movie (old) I saw was about the rapid
disappearance of the Indian culture. (new)
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Be careful about placement of subordinate clauses
Avoid interrupting the main clause with a subordinate clause if the interruption will cause
confusion:
clear (subordinate clause at the end):
Industrial spying is increasing rapidly because of the growing use of computers to store and
process corporate information.
not as clear (subordinate clause embedded in the middle):
Industrial spying, because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate
information, is increasing rapidly.
Use active voice
Sentences in active voice are usually easier to understand than those in passive voice because
active-voice constructions indicate clearly the performer of the action expressed in the verb. In
addition, changing from passive to active voice often results in a more concise sentence. So use
active voice unless you have good reason to use the passive. For example, the passive is useful
when you don’t want to call attention to the doer; when the doer is obvious, unimportant, or
unknown; or when passive voice is the conventional style among your readers.
clear (active):
The committee decided to postpone the vote.
not as clear (passive):
A decision was reached to postpone the vote.
Use parallel constructions
When you have a series of words, phrases, or clauses, put them in parallel form (similar
grammatical construction) so that the reader can identify the linking relationship more easily
and clearly.
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Clear (parallel):
In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we learned that it is important
(1) to become aware of the warning signs, (2) to know what precautions to take, and (3) to
decide when to seek shelter.
Not as clear (not parallel):
In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we learned that it is important
(1) to become aware of the warning signs. (2) There are precautions to take, and
(3) deciding when to take shelter is important.
In the second sentence, notice how the string of “things to be aware of in Florida” does not
create a parallel structure. Also, notice how much more difficult it is for a reader to follow the
meaning of the second sentence compared to the first one.
Avoid noun strings
Try not to string nouns together one after the other because a series of nouns is difficult to
understand. One way to revise a string of nouns is to change one noun to a verb.
Unclear (string of nouns):
This report explains our investment growth stimulation projects.
Clearer:
This report explains our projects to stimulate growth in investments.
Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs
Use verbs when possible rather than noun forms known as “nominalizations.”
Unclear (use of nominalization):
The implementation of the plan was successful.
Clearer: The plan was implemented successfully.
Avoid multiple negatives
Use affirmative forms rather than several negatives because multiple negatives are difficult to
understand.
26
Unclear (multiple negative, passive)
Less attention is paid to commercial that lack human interest stories than to other kind of
commercial.
Clearer:
Television news reporting differs from that of newspapers in that television, unlike newspapers,
can provide instantaneous coverage of events as they happen.
Avoid unclear pronoun references
Be sure the pronouns you use refer clearly to a noun in the current or previous sentence. If the
pronoun refers to a noun that has been implied but not stated, you can clarify the reference by
explicitly using that noun.
Unclear (unclear pronoun reference):
With the spread of globalized capitalism, American universities increasingly follow a corporate
fiscal model, tightening budgets and hiring temporary contract employees as teachers. This has
prompted faculty and adjunct instructors at many schools to join unions as a way of protecting
job security and benefits.
Clear:
With the spread of globalized capitalism, American universities increasingly follow a corporate
fiscal model, tightening budgets and hiring temporary contract employees as teachers. This
trend has prompted faculty and adjunct instructors at many schools to join unions as way of
protecting job security and benefit.
Unclear (unclear pronoun reference):
Larissa worked in a national forest last summer, which may be her career choice.
Clearer:
Larissa worked in a national forest last summer; forest management may be her career choice.
27
Writing the Basic Business Letter
Parts of a Business Letter
Date
The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written. However, if your letter is
completed over a number of days, use the date it was finished in the date line. When writing to
companies within the United States, use American date format. (The United States-based
convention for formatting a date places the month before the day. For example: September 25,
2011.) Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page. Depending
which format you are using for your letter, either left justify the date or center it horizontally.
Senders Address
Including the address of the sender is optional. If you chose to include it, place the address one
line below the date. Do not write the sender’s name or title, as it is included in the letter’s
closing. Include only the street address, city and zip code. Another option is to include the
sender’s address directly after the closing.
Inside Address
The inside address is the recipient’s address. It is always best to write to a specific individual at
the firm to which you are writing. If you do not have the person’s name, do some research by
calling the company or speaking with employees from the company. Include a personal title
such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a women’s preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or
Ms. If you are unsure of a women’s preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a
possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that
title. Usually, people will not mind being addressed by a higher title than they actually possess.
To write the address, use the U. S. Post Office Format. For international addresses, type the
name of the country in all-capital letters on the last line. The inside address begins one line
below the sender’s address or one inch below the date. It should be left justified, no matter
which format you are using.
Salutation
Use the same name as the inside address, including the personal title. If you know the person
and typically address them by their first name, it is acceptable to use only the first name in the
28
salutation (for example: Dear Lucy :). In all other cases, however, use the personal title and full
name followed by a colon. Leave one line blank after the salutation.
If you don’t know the reader’s gender, use a nonsexist salutation, such as “To Whom it May
Concern.” It is also acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine
gender.
Body
For block and modified block formats, single space and left justify each paragraph within the
body of the letter. Leave a blank line between each paragraph within the body of the letter.
When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important. In
the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main point. The
next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main point. In the next few
paragraphs, continue justification with background information and supporting details. The
closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request some
type of action.
Closing
The closing begins at the same horizontal point as your date and one line after the last body
paragraph. Capitalize the first word only (for example: Thank you) and leave four lines between
the closing and the sender’s name for a signature. If a colon follows the salutation, a comma
should follow the closing; otherwise, there is no punctuation after the closing.
Enclosure
If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a resume, you indicate this
by typing Enclosure one line below the closing. As an option, you may list the name of each
document you are including in the envelope. For instance, if you have included many
documents and need to ensure that the recipient is aware of each document, it may be a good
idea to list the names.
Typist initials
Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed the letter. If you typed the letter
yourself, omit the typist initials.
A Note about Format and Font
When writing business letters, you must pay special attention to the format and font used.
The most common layout of a business letter is now as block format. Using this format, the
entire letter is left justified and single spaced except for a double space between paragraphs.
29
Another widely utilized format is known as modified block format. In this type, the body of the
letter is left justified and single-spaced. However, the date and closing are in alignment in the
center of the page.
Another important factor in the readability of a letter is the chosen font. The default font in MS
Word is Calibri font size 11/12 and is generally used. Older versions of MS Word use Times
Roman, font size 12 and is also an acceptable font to use. Other fonts such as Arial maybe used
also. When choosing a font, always consider your audience. If you are writing to a conservative
company, you may use Calibri. However, if you are writing to a more liberal company, you have
a little more freedom when choosing fonts.
As far as punctuation after the salutation and closing is concerned, the standard is to use a
colon after the salutation (never a comma) and a comma after the closing. There is also a less
accepted format, known as open punctuation, in which punctuation is excluded after the
salutation and the closing.
30
Business Letters: Accentuating the Positives
Your letters will be more successful if you focus on positive wording rather than negative,
simply because most people respond more favorably to positive ideas than ones. Words that
affect your reader positively are likely to produce the response you desire in letter-writing
situations. A positive emphasis will persuade the reader and create goodwill. In contrast,
negative words may generate resistance and other unfavorable reactions. You should therefore
be careful to avoid words with negative connotations. These words either deny—for example,
no, do not, refuse, and stop—or convey unhappy or unpleasant associations—for example,
unfortunately, unable to, cannot, mistake, problem, error, damage, loss, and failure.
When you need to present negative information, soften its effects by superimposing a positive
picture on a negative one.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Stress what something is rather than what it is not.
Emphasize what the firm or product can and will do rather than what it cannot.
Open with action rather than apology or explanation.
Avoid words which convey unpleasant facts.
Compare the examples below. Which would be more likely to elicit positive reader response?
Negative: In response to your question about how many coats of Chem-Treat are needed to
cover new surfaces: I regret to report that usually two are required. For such surfaces
you should figure about 200 square feet per gallon for a good heavy coating that will
give you five years or more of beautiful protection.
Positive: In response to your question about how many coats of Chem-Treat are needed to
cover new surfaces: One gallon is usually enough for one-coat coverage of 500 square
feet of previously painted surface. For best results on new surfaces, you will want to
apply two coats.
Negative: Penquot sheets are not the skimpy, loosely woven sheets ordinarily found in this
price class.
Positive: Penquot sheets are woven 186 threads to the square inch for durability and, even
After 3-inch hems, measure a generous 72 by 108 inches.
Negative: We cannot ship in lots of less than 12.
31
Positive: To keep down packaging costs and to help customers save on shipping costs, we ship
in lots of 12 or more.
In addition, you should reemphasize the positive through embedded position an effective use
of space.
Embedded Position
Place good news in positions of high emphasis: at the beginnings and endings of paragraphs,
letters, and even sentences.
Place bad news in secondary positions: in the center of paragraphs, letters, and, if possible,
sentences.
Effective Use of Space
Give more space to good news and less to bad news.
Evaluate the examples below to determine whether or not they present negative information
favorably.
1. claw feet instead of the usual four on the base and thus eliminated the need for
weighting. Claw feet, as you know, are characteristic of 18th century design.
2. No special training programs are normally offered other than that of the College
Graduate in Training rotational training period. We do not expect our employees to
continue their education, but we do have an excellent tuition refund program to assist
in this regard (see Working with General Motors, page 8). Where an advanced degree is
essential, individuals are recruited with those particular advanced degrees. Both Butler
to make the Roanoke move stable than other lamps of this size, our designers put six
and IUPUI offer courses leading to an MBA degree.
3. With our rigid quality standards, corrections of Adidas merchandise run less than .02
percent of our total line. Because of an oversight in our stitching department, a
damaged needle was inadvertently used and caused the threads to come loose in those
particular bags. Since we now have a check on all our machine needles before work
each day, you can be assured that the stitching on our Adidas carrying bags will last the
lifetime of the bags. Thank you for calling our attention to the loose stitching.
32
4. We are sorry that we cannot furnish the club chairs by August 16.
5. I have no experience other than clerking in my father’s store.
6. ABC Dog Biscuits will help keep your dog from getting sick.
33
Sample Business Letters
Block Style
September 26, 2011
Mrs. Janet Broers
1291 Obama Court
Richmond, KY 40475
Dear Mrs. Broers:
Thank you for choosing Insurance Alliance of America. Open enrollment for your medical
insurance plan is scheduled t begin the first day of January. I hope it was possible for you to
review the materials you received last week.
Selecting the right benefit plan for you and your family can be an overwhelming task. To make
your decision a little easier, I have enclosed a brochure that summarizes the key features of
each policy.
You might want to browse through our Web site at www.iaa.com for further details. Please call
me if I can help in any way.
Sincerely,
Denise Montoya
Customer Support
lda
Enclosure
Sample Business Letter
34
Modified Block Style
September 26, 2011
Ernie English
185 Telegraph Rd
Taylor, MI 48180
Dear Mr. English:
The first paragraph of a typical business letter is used to state the main point of the letter.
Begin with a friendly opening; then quickly transition into the purpose of the letter. Use a
couple of sentences to explain the purpose, but do not go in to detail until the next paragraph.
Beginning with the second paragraph, state the supporting details to justify your purpose.
These may take the form of background information, statistics or first-hand accounts. A few
short paragraphs within the body of the letter should be enough to support your reasoning.
Finally, in the closing paragraphs, briefly restate your purpose and why it is important. If the
purpose of your letter is employment related, consider ending your letter with your contact
information. However, if the purpose is informational, think about closing with gratitude for the
reader’s time.
Sincerely,
Lucy Letter
35
36
TEN GUIDE LINES FOR EFFECTIVE WRITING
1. PLAN MESSAGES CAREFULLY
2. WRITE FOR THE READER
3. PRESENT IDEAS POSITIVELY
4. WRITE IN A CLEAR, READABLE STYLE
5. CHECK FOR COMPLETENESS
6. USE AN EFFICIENT, ACTION-ORIENTED STYLE
7. USE CONCRETE LANGUAGE
8. USE EFFECTIVE SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
9. FORMAT DOCUMENTS EFFECTIVELY
10. EDIT AND PROOFREAD CAREFULLY.
37
Business Communication
E-mail Messages
Goals
Demonstrate acceptable language arts skills in composing sentences
Correctly use Microsoft Words e-mail feature
Correctly use Outlook’s e-mail feature
Correctly format an e-mail message
A. Passwords
Your passwords are the keys you use to access personal information that you've stored on
your computer and in your online accounts.
If criminals or other malicious users steal this information, they can use your name to open
new credit card accounts, apply for a mortgage, or pose as you in online transactions. In
many cases you would not notice these attacks until it was too late.
Fortunately, it is not hard to create strong passwords and keep them well protected.
B. Composing Sentences
Directions: Answer each question with a complete sentence.
1. What is your favorite food?
2. What is your ideal job in this workplace?
3. If you could live in a foreign country, which one would it be, and why?
4. What are your favorite Internet sites?
5. What qualities do you look for in a friend?
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________________
38
C. Basic Parts of an E-mail Message
To Box. Contains the name or e-mail address of each recipient; each name and/or address
is usually separated by a semicolon or comma.
Subject Box. Contains a descriptive name for the message; typed with upper and lowercase
letters:
Greeting. Friendly opening; followed by a colon.
Body. Message; Type with short lines and paragraphs in plain text.
Sender’s Name. Sender’s first or first and last name.
Writer’s Identification. Writer’s identity and contact information; also know as a
“signature” in some e-mail software.
D. E-Mail Messages
To format an e-mail message:
1. Use the address book feature or type the e-mail address of each recipient in the To, CC, or
2. BCC box. A semicolon or comma is usually automatically inserted to separate several names.
3. If you use the reply feature, include the original message only if it helps the reader
remember the topic more easily.
4. Use a descriptive, concise subject line with upper-and lowercase letters.
Example: Items for Meeting Agenda
5. Use the attachment feature if you need to attach a file or document.
6. Use a friendly greeting. Follow the greeting with a colon. Use the recipient’s first name or a
courtesy title and last name for a more businesslike greeting.
Examples:
Hi, Jim, or Jim: or Mr. Andrews:
Note: A greeting is optional but will be used throughout this book.
7. Keep paragraphs short, and type them with normal capitalization and punctuation. Typing
in all-caps is considered shouting.
8. Press ENTER 2 times between paragraphs only—do not press ENTER when you see a line
break in the text.
39
9. After the last paragraph, press ENTER 2 times.
The remaining steps will vary depending upon your e-mail program. If your e-mail program inserts a
signature automatically, you do not have to take any further steps other than proofreading. You can
refer to your e-mail software Help feature for steps on inserting a signature. If your e-mail software does
not include a signature feature follow these steps:
1. Type your first name only for a friendlier closing, or type both your first and last name for a
more businesslike closing. Press ENTER 2 times.
Example:
Sandy or Sandy Hill
Note: A closing name is optional but will be used for the purpose of this course.
2. Type your e-mail address, press ENTER, and type your phone number as shown in this example.
Example:
Sandra R. Hill
E-mail: srhill@server.com
Phone: 661-555-1223
40
Email Address Etiquette
Excerpted from:
The Idea Lady
http://www.idealady.com/article/email by Cathy Stucker
Many of us spend hours every week (or maybe even every day!) dealing with email. Make sure yours
makes a good impression.
Your email address may be the first thing some people learn about you. What image does yours
present? If you are using the same account for education, business and personal email, make sure your
address is professional. I don’t think I want “HotBabe@whatever.com” as my accountant, thank you.
When recipients download an email from you, does your name appear as the sender? Or is it a
meaningless string such as “hrt5478@something.com?” Check “Options” or “Set Up” to put your name
there. Make your subject meaningful, too. I can’t tell you how many spam messages I get with subjects
such as “Hello!” or “I’ve been trying to reach you.” If you want me to open your email and not delete it
assuming it’s an ad, say what the message is about in the Subject line.
If you are sending the same message to multiple recipients, use the Bcc: field for the addresses instead
of the To: field. I get email where I have to page through multiple screens of other people’s email
addresses before I get to the message. Most of the time, I won’t bother. It also annoys me that my email
address is being given to all of the other people who got the message.
Think before you send. Do you really need to forward that latest Osama bin Laden joke to everyone you
know?
Chances are, you’re not the only one sending it to them.
That goes double for any message you get telling you that you should immediately forward it to
everyone you know.
Chances are, it’s a hoax that has been floating around the Internet since Al Gore was a baby. (Check it at
Snopes.com)
Don’t send attached files unless the recipient is expecting them. Most people won’t open an attachment
because of virus fears.
Excerpted from:
What Does Your Email Address Say to Employers?
http://www.fabjob.com/tips167.html
"Hey, it looks like we've got a great candidate for customer service here," said Joe. "The only problem is,
this person's email address makes me wonder about her."
I checked it out. Hmmm... gothicbikerwitch@hotmail.com. (Email addresses have been changed for this
article.) It certainly conjured up an image, but not one I associated with friendly, efficient customer
service.
A few weeks later we had a new graduate apply for a management trainee position. "You know," said
Joe, "this guy's application looks good except for (you guessed it) his email address."
I took a look at the email listed at the top of the resume. Hmmm ... cuddlygigglebuns@yahoo.com. "It
doesn't exactly instill confidence in his business savvy and leadership skills," I admitted.
41
As I have witnessed first-hand, an "unconventional" email address can definitely be held against you
when it comes to applying for a job. It may seem unfair, but it's no more unusual than employers making
judgments about applicants based on other superficial criteria.
For example, if you show up for an interview with a dozen facial piercings, you probably won't be hired
for a position that involves selling to corporate executives. Likewise, when the employer phones to ask
you to come in for an interview, they may not be impressed to hear you impersonating Rodney
Dangerfield singing opera on your voice mail message.
"I have to be ME..." you may argue. ”If employers can't accept me the way I am I don't want to work
with them either." You can weed out employers that way if you want to. In fact, FabJob.com offers great
advice if you want to break into an unconventional career away from the corporate rat race.
Still, even in unconventional careers, an oddball email address may raise red flags with people who
could help you get to the top. For example, if your dream is to become a celebrity personal assistant,
and your email address is celebstalker@hotmail.com, you likely will not be as successful as someone
whose email address is organized@assistant.com.
If you're not sure what kind of message your email address conveys, get feedback from friends and even
some employers, if you can. Find out what your email address is communicating.
If your "real" email address is one that employers may judge negatively, consider getting another, more
professional sounding, address through a free email service.
Most employers would almost certainly look more favorably on a basic email address using your name,
such as ChrisSmith@gmail.com, than an address such as worksucks@email.com.
After you've been working for a while, your employer may be more likely to appreciate the real you and
your quirky personality or offbeat sense of humor. But until then, consider playing it safe if you want to
get the job. There is an old saying that "you should never discuss religion or politics in polite company."
This applies to email addresses also. Your email address used for education or work should not include
references to your religion, politics, and drinking or sexual preferences. Use your work e-mail or make a
new email account to be used for school and work.
42
NETIQUETTE
Adapted from article by Sally Hambridge, Intel Corporation
www.dtcc.edu/cs/rfc1855.html
We define one-to-one communications as those in which a person is communicating
with another person as if face-to-face – a dialog. In general, rules of common courtesy
for interaction with people should be in force for any situation; and on the Internet, it's
doubly important where, for example, body language and tone of voice must be
inferred.
Here are some helpful suggestions for e-mail:
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Unless you have your own Internet access through an Internet provider, be sure to
check with your employer about ownership of electronic mail. Laws about the
ownership of electronic mail vary from place to place.
Unless you are using an encryption device (hardware or software), you should
assume that mail on the Internet is not secure. Never put in a mail message
anything you would not put on a postcard.
Respect the copyright on material that you reproduce. Almost every country has
copyright laws.
If you are forwarding or re-posting a message you have received, do not change the
wording. If the message was a personal message to you and you are re-posting to a
group, you should ask permission first. You may shorten the message and quote
only relevant parts, but be sure you give proper attribution.
Never send chain letters via electronic mail. Chain letters are forbidden on the
Internet. Your network privileges will be revoked. Notify your local system
administrator if your ever receive one.
A good rule of thumb: Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you
receive. You should not send heated messages (we call these "flames") even if you
are provoked. On the other hand, you shouldn't be surprised if you get flamed –
and it's prudent not to respond to flames.
In general, it's a good idea to at least check all your mail subjects before
responding to a message. Sometimes a person who asks you for help (or
clarification) will send another message which effectively says "Never Mind." Also
make sure that any message you respond to was directed to you. You might be
cc:ed rather than the primary recipient.
Make things easy for the recipient. Many mailers strip header information that
includes your return address. To ensure that people know who you are, be sure to
include a line or two at the end of your message with contact information. You can
create this file ahead of time and add it to the end of your messages. (Some mailers
do this automatically.) In Internet parlance, this is known as a ".sig" or "signature"
file. Your .sig file takes the place of your business card. (And you can have more
than one to apply in different circumstances.)
Be careful when addressing mail. There are addresses that may go to a group but
the address looks like it is just one person. Know to whom you are sending.
Watch cc's when replying. Don't continue to include people if the messages have
become a two-way conversation.
43
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In general, most people who use the Internet don't have time to answer general
questions about the Internet and its workings. Don't send unsolicited mail asking
for information to people whose names you might have seen in RFCs or on mailing
lists.
Remember that people with whom you communicate are located across the globe. If
you send a message to which you want an immediate response, the people
receiving it might be at home asleep when it arrives. Give them a chance to wake
up, come to work, and login before assuming that the mail didn't arrive or that
they don't care.
Verify all addresses before initiating long or personal discourse. It's also a good
practice to include the word "Long" in the subject header so the recipient knows
the message will take time to read and respond to. Over 100 lines is considered
"long."
Know whom to contact for help. Usually you will have resources close at hand.
Check locally for people who can help you with software and system problems.
Also, know whom to go to if you receive anything questionable or illegal. Most sites
also have "Postmaster" aliased to a knowledgeable user, so you can send mail to
this address to get help with mail.
Remember that the recipient is a human being whose culture, language, and
humor have different points of reference from your own. Remember that date
formats, measurements, and idioms may not travel well. Be especially careful with
sarcasm.
Use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.
Use symbols for emphasis. That *is* what I meant. Use underscores for
underlining. _War and Peace_ is my favorite book.
Use smileys to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly. :-) is an example of a
smiley. (Look sideways.) Don't assume that the inclusion of a smiley will make the
recipient happy with what you say or will wipe out an otherwise insulting
comment.
Wait overnight to send emotional responses to messages. If you have really strong
feelings about a subject, indicate it via FLAME ON/OFF enclosures. For example:
FLAME ON:
This type of argument is not worth the bandwidth it takes to send it. It's illogical
and poorly reasoned. The rest of the world agrees with me.
FLAME OFF
Do not include control characters or non-ASCII attachments in messages unless
they are MIME attachments or unless your mailer encodes these. If you send
encoded messages, make sure the recipient can decode them.
Be brief without being overly terse. When replying to a message, include enough
original material to be understood but no more. It is extremely bad form to simply
reply to a message by including the entire previous message: Edit out all the
irrelevant material.
Limit line length to fewer than 65 characters, and end a line with a carriage return.
Mail should have a subject heading that reflects the content of the message.
If you include a signature, keep it short. Rule of thumb is no longer than 4 lines.
Remember that many people pay for connectivity by the minute; and the longer
your message is, the more they pay.
44
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Just as mail (today) may not be private, mail (and news) are (today) subject to
forgery and spoofing of various degrees of detestability. Apply common sense
"reality checks" before assuming a message is valid.
If you think the importance of a message justifies it, immediately reply briefly to an
e-mail message to let the sender know you got it – even if you will send a longer
reply later.
"Reasonable" expectations for conduct via e-mail depend on your relationship to a
person and the context of the communication. Norms learned in a particular e-mail
environment may not apply in general to your e-mail communication with people
across the Internet. Be careful with slang or local acronyms.
The cost of delivering an e-mail message is, on the average, paid about equally by
the sender and the recipient (or their organizations). This is unlike other media
such as physical mail, telephone, TV, or radio. Sending someone mail may also
cost them in other specific ways like network bandwidth, disk space, or CPU usage.
This is a fundamental economic reason why unsolicited e-mail advertising is
unwelcome (and is forbidden in many contexts).
Know how large a message you are sending. Including large files such as Postscript
files or programs may make your message so large that it cannot be delivered or at
least consumes excessive resources. A good rule of thumb would be not to send a
file larger than 50 Kilobytes. Consider file transfer as an alternative, or cut the file
into smaller chunks and send each as a separate message.
Don't send large amounts of unsolicited information to people.
If your mail system allows you to forward mail, beware the dreaded forwarding
loop. Be sure you haven't set up forwarding on several hosts so that a message
sent to you gets into an endless loop from one computer to the next to the next.
45
Password Security
Excerpted from:
Strong passwords: How to create and use them
www.microsoft.com
Your passwords are the keys you use to access personal information that you've stored on your
computer and in your online accounts.
If criminals or other malicious users steal this information, they can use your name to open new credit
card accounts, apply for a mortgage, or pose as you in online transactions. In many cases you would not
notice these attacks until it was too late.
Fortunately, it is not hard to create strong passwords and keep them well protected.
What makes a strong password?
To an attacker, a strong password should appear to be a random string of characters. The following
criteria can help your passwords do so:
Make it lengthy. Each character that you add to your password increases the protection that it provides
many times over. Your passwords should be 8 or more characters in length; 14 characters or longer is
ideal.
Many systems also support use of the space bar in passwords, so you can create a phrase made of many
words (a "pass phrase"). A pass phrase is often easier to remember than a simple password, as well as
longer and harder to guess.
Combine letters, numbers, and symbols. The greater variety of characters that you have in your
password, the harder it is to guess. Other important specifics include:
• The fewer types of characters in your password, the longer it must be. A 15-character password
composed only of random letters and numbers is about 33,000 times stronger than an 8-character
password composed of characters from the entire keyboard. If you cannot create a password that
contains symbols, you need to make it considerably longer to get the same degree of protection. An
ideal password combines both length and different types of symbols.
• Use the entire keyboard, not just the most common characters. Symbols typed by holding down the
"Shift" key and typing a number are very common in passwords. Your password will be much stronger if
you choose from all the symbols on the keyboard, including punctuation marks not on the upper row of
the keyboard, and any symbols unique to your language.
Use words and phrases that are easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess. The
easiest way to remember your passwords and pass phrases is to write them down. Contrary to popular
belief, there is nothing wrong with writing passwords down, but they need to be adequately protected
in order to remain secure and effective.
In general, passwords written on a piece of paper are more difficult to compromise across the Internet
than a password manager, Web site, or other software-based storage tool, such as password managers.
Create a strong, memorable password in 6 steps:
46
Use these steps to develop a strong password:
1. Think of a sentence that you can remember. This will be the basis of your strong password or
pass phrase. Use a memorable sentence, such as "My son Aiden is three years old."
2. Check if the computer or online system supports the pass phrase directly. If you can use a
pass phrase (with spaces between characters) on your computer or online system, do so.
3. If the computer or online system does not support pass phrases, convert it to a password.
Take the first letter of each word of the sentence that you've created to create a new, nonsensical
word. Using the example above, you'd get: "msaityo".
4. Add complexity by mixing uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. It is valuable to use
some letter swapping or misspellings as well. For instance, in the pass phrase above, consider
misspelling Aiden's name, or substituting the word "three" for the number 3. There are many
possible substitutions, and the longer the sentence, the more complex your password can be.
Your pass phrase might become "My SoN Ayd3N is 3 yeeRs old." If the computer or online
system will not support a pass phrase, use the same technique on the shorter password. This
might yield a password like "MsAy3yo".
5. Finally, substitute some special characters. You can use symbols that look like letters, combine
words (remove spaces) and other ways to make the password more complex. Using these tricks, we
create a pass phrase of "MySoN 8N i$ 3 yeeR$ old" or a password (using the first letter of each word)
"M$8ni3y0".
6. Test your new password with Password Checker Password Checker is a non-recording feature
on this Web site that helps determine your password's strength as you type.
Password strategies to avoid Some common methods used to create passwords are easy to guess by
criminals. To avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords:
• Avoid sequences or repeated characters. "12345678," "222222," "abcdefg," or adjacent letters on
your keyboard do not help make secure passwords.
• Avoid using only look-alike substitutions of numbers or symbols. Criminals and other malicious
users who know enough to try and crack your password will not be fooled by common look-alike
replacements, such as to replace an 'i' with a '1' or an 'a' with '@' as in "M1cr0$0ft" or "P@ssw0rd". But
these substitutions can be effective when combined with other measures, such as length, misspellings,
or variations in case, to improve the strength of your password.
• Avoid your login name. Any part of your name, birthday, social security number, or similar information
for your loved ones constitutes a bad password choice. This is one of the first things criminals will try.
• Avoid dictionary words in any language. Criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly guess
47
passwords that are based on words in multiple dictionaries, including words spelled backwards,
common misspellings, and substitutions. This includes all sorts of profanity and any word you would not
say in front of your children.
• Use more than one password everywhere. If any one of the computers or online systems using this
password is compromised, all of your other information protected by that password should be
considered compromised as well. It is critical to use different passwords for different systems.
• Avoid using online storage. If malicious users find these passwords stored online or on a networked
computer, they have access to all your information
48
Phishing Scams
Excerpted from:
Recognize phishing scams and fraudulent e-mail
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/phishing/identify.mspx
Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your valuable personal
data, such as credit card numbers, other account data and passwords, or
other information.
You might see a phishing scam:
•In e-mail messages, even if they appear to be from a coworker or someone you know.
•On your social networking Web site.
•On a fake Web site that accepts donations for charity.
• On Web sites that spoof your familiar sites using slightly different Web addresses,
hoping you won't notice.
•In your instant message program.
•On your cell phone or other mobile device.
Often phishing scams rely on placing links in e-mail messages, on Web sites, or in
instant messages that seem to come from a service that you trust, like your bank, credit
card company, or social networking site.
What does a phishing scam look like?
Phishing e-mail messages take a number of forms. They might appear to come from
your bank or financial institution, a company you regularly do business with, such as
Microsoft, or from your social networking site.
Spear phishing is a targeted form of phishing in which an e-mail message might look
like it comes from your employer, or from a colleague who might send an e-mail
message to everyone in the company, such as the head of human resources or IT.
Phishing mail often includes official-looking logos and other identifying information taken
directly from legitimate Web sites, and it may include convincing details about your
personal information that scammers found on your social networking pages.
The main thing phishing e-mail messages have in common is that they ask for personal
data, or direct you to Web sites or phone numbers to call where they ask you to provide
personal data. The following is an example of what a phishing scam in an e-mail
message might look like.
Example of a phishing e-mail message, which includes a deceptive Web address that links
to a scam Web site.
To make these phishing e-mail messages look even more legitimate, the scam artists
may place a link in them that appears to go to the legitimate Web site (1), but actually
49
takes you to a phony scam site (2) or possibly a pop-up window that looks exactly like
the official site.
Here are a few phrases to look for if you think an e-mail message is a phishing scam.
"Verify your account."
Businesses should not ask you to send passwords, login names, Social Security
numbers, or other personal information through e-mail.
"You have won the lottery."
The lottery scam is a common phishing scam known as advanced fee fraud. One of the
most common forms of advanced fee fraud is a message that claims that you have won
a large sum of money, or that a person will pay you a large sum of money for little or no
work on your part. The lottery scam often includes references to big companies, such as
Microsoft. There is no Microsoft lottery.
"If you don't respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed."
These messages convey a sense of urgency so that you'll respond immediately without
thinking. A phishing e-mail message might even claim that your response is required
because your account might have been compromised.
What does a phishing Web site or link look like?
Fake, copycat Web sites are also called spoofed Web sites. They are designed to look
like the legitimate site, sometimes using graphics or fonts from the legitimate site. They
might even have a Web address that's very similar to the legitimate site you are used to
visiting.
Once you're at one of these spoofed sites, you might unwittingly send personal
information to the con artists. If you enter your login name, password, or other sensitive
information, a criminal could use it to steal your identity.
Here’s an example of the kind of phrase you might see in an e-mail message that
directs you to a phishing Web site:
"Click the link below to gain access to your account."
HTML-formatted messages can contain links or forms that you can fill out just as you’d
fill out a form on a Web site.
Phishing links that you are urged to click in e-mail messages, on Web sites, or even in
instant messages may contain all or part of a real company’s name and are usually
masked, meaning that the link you see does not take you to that address but
somewhere different, usually an illegitimate Web site.
Notice in the following example that resting (but not clicking) the mouse pointer on the
link reveals the real Web address, as shown in the box with the yellow background. The
string of cryptic numbers looks nothing like the company's Web address, which is a
suspicious sign.
50
Example of a masked Web address
Con artists also use Web addresses that resemble the name of a well-known company
but are slightly altered by adding, omitting, or transposing letters. For example, the
address “www.microsoft.com" could appear instead as:
www.micosoft.com
www.mircosoft.com
www.verify-microsoft.com
51
REFERENCES
The Writing Lab & The Owl at Purdue and Purdue University. 1995-2007
Ober, Johnson, & Zimmerly. Gregg Keyboarding & Document Processing. New York, NY.
McGraw-Hill. 2011.
Reiff, Rosanne, PhD. Communication Skills for the Processing of Words. New York, NY
South-Western CENGAGE Learning. 2005.
http://sbinocanada.about.com.
Van Huss. Basic Letter Writing. New York, NY.
http://wsuoline.webe.edu/wrh/words.htm
Paxton-Kent, Laura. Writing Power: Elements of Effective Writing. New York, NY.
Prentice Hall.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm
http://engineeryourownsuccess.com
52
Appendix
53
ORGANIZATION FOR BUSINESS MESSAGES
APPROACH TYPE
OPENING
BODY
Direct
(Positive/Neutral News)
Good News or Main Idea

Start with what receiver wants to hear

Specify information needed

Make request
Explanation or Details

Give explanation or details of
good news

Ask specific questions to help
receiver give answers
Indirect
(Negative News)
Buffer

Persuasive (AIDA)
(Sales and Special Requests)
Attention

Use relevant idea that gets the
receiver’s attention
Explanations, No (stated or implied),
Alternative (if applicable)

Give reasons or facts about
negative news; tell why

make explanation receiver
oriented; tell what you can

do instead of what you can’t do

Give bad news

Offer alternative if available
Interest and Desire
Give explanation and description that
expands opening idea and generates
receiver’s interest
State benefits that will convince receiver
to take action
requested
Use pleasant, neutral, or relevant
statement
CLOSING
Goodwill or Resale

Make specific request
for action; use the end
date

Express goodwill

Resell organization
and/or

service/product
Buffer

Use pleasant, relevant
comment to end on a
positive note
Action
Make courteous, specific
request for action; make it easy
for receiver to say “yes”
BREAKING THE BAD NEWS
Stylistic techniques for deemphasizing ideas include the following:
1. Avoid the spotlight. Don’t put the bad news in a conspicuous position. The most
emphatic positions in a letter are the first sentence and the last sentence. Other
conspicuous spots are the beginnings and ends of sentences and paragraphs. The
reader’s attention is drawn to these positions and lingers there. Strategically, then,
these are not good places for announcing bad news. To give the least emphasis to an
idea, place it in the middle of a sentence or in the middle of a paragraph halfway
through your letter.
2. Use a long sentence. Short sentences emphasize content. Since we want to
deemphasize bad news, avoid short, simple sentences. (We cannot ship your goods).
Longer sentences diffuse the bad news and also give you a chance to explain the bad
news or offer alternatives.
3. Put the bad news in a subordinate clause. Grammatical attention in a sentence is
always focused on the independent clause. To deemphasize an idea, then, put it in a
less conspicuous spot, like a subordinate clause; for example, “Although your credit
application cannot be approved at this time, we welcome your cash business.” The
bad news is subordinated in the dependent clause (Although your credit application)
where the reader is less likely to dwell on it.
4. Use the passive voice. The active voice, recommended for most business writing, is
direct and identifies the subject of a sentence (I cannot allow you to examine our
personnel files). To be less direct and to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to the
writer, use the passive voice. (Examination of our personnel files cannot be permitted
because…). The passive voice focuses attention on actions rather than personalities; it
helps you be impersonal and tactful.
5. Be clear but not overly graphic. Bad news is best received when it is clear but not
painfully vivid. For example, the following refusal is unnecessarily harsh because it
provides too many details:
We cannot pay for your free-lance services in cash, as you
request. Such payment is clearly illegal and violates federal law.
All free-lance services that we authorize must be supported by check
payments to individuals whose social security numbers are included
in the record of the payment.
The refusal would be more tactful if it were less direct and less graphic:
Federal law requires the payments to free-lancers be made by check
be supported by social securities numbers.
6. Imply the refusal. In certain instances, a refusal does not have to be stated directly. In
the preceding example, the tactful revision does not actually “We cannot pay you in
cash.” Instead, the refusal is implied.
“Although my appointment schedule is completely booked during the week of your
employment fair, I wish you success with this beneficial event.”
Implying a refusal is not quite as devastating as an explicit, spelled-out denial. It is imperative,
however, that the reader understands the refusal. Don’t be so vague that additional
correspondence is required to clarify the refusal.
7. Offer an alternative. If appropriate, suggest some recourse to the reader. You might
offer a compromise, a substitute, or an alternative offer.
For security reasons, visitors are never allowed inside Building J. It is
possible, however, to tour our assembly facility in the fall during our
Open House.
My schedule prevents me from speaking to your group, but I have
asked my colleague, Dr. Nicholas Smith, to consider addressing
your conference.
If an alternative is presented, make it easy to accept:
Dr. Jones is an excellent speaker, and I think your group would enjoy
his presentation, I am including Dr. Jones’ address so that you may write
him directly.
For the most effective closings, avoid these traps:

Don’t refer to the bad news. Focus on positive, friendly remarks. Don’t needless revive
the reader’s emotions regarding the bad news.

Don’t apologize. You have valid reasons for refusing, and you have explained these
reasons clearly. An apology at the end of your message undermines your explanation.
56

Don’t conclude with clichés. Remarks such as “if we may be of further service” or
“Thank you for understanding our position” sound insincere and ironic in messages
delivering negative news.

Don’t invite further correspondence. Expressions as such as “If you have any further
questions” or “If you would like to discuss this further” suggest that the matter is still
open for discussion. Your decision is fair and final.
57
SAMPLES OF BAD-NEWS LETTERS—
“No to a Request”
Your interest in our plastic reproductions of poisonous plants is appreciated.
It is true that we have been providing the leaves without charge. However, due to a limited
supply, some restrictions have been made in the distribution. The plastic replicas have been
furnished primarily to educational areas such as schools, children’s camps, Boy Scout, Girl
Scouts and similar groups.
If you will explain how you pan to use the plastic leaves, we shall be glad to five further
consideration to your request. A note at the bottom of this letter would be fine.
“No to a Request”
We appreciate your interest in Overhead Express Products.
Overhead Express Products is a highly decentralized and diversified company with no hiring
done at the corporate level for any of its operating divisions. We are, therefore, unable to
respond to your survey.
Since you might be able to use your survey form elsewhere, we are returning it to you.
Neutral Openings for Negative Letters—
Your order letter for Haigh furniture and request for credit is sincerely appreciated.
Thank you, Mrs. Jones, for your letter of November 1 requesting return of a computer you
recently purchased.
Thank you for your recent letter concerning Smith range, Model KS111XYZ, Serial No. LLL0100.
Mr. James Johnson, Service Supervisor, reviewed the history and service charges for this range.
Your invitation to speak at the management seminar came as a pleasant surprise.
We are sincerely complimented by your interest in our corporation, its products, and its
operations.
58
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR EXPRESSING NUMBERS
1. In general, spell out numbers one through ten; use figures for numbers 11 and above.
Example:
The computer science class includes six women.
There are 40 men enrolled in beginning keyboarding.
The baby is eight months old.
2. If any of the numbers in a series (related numbers) is above ten, use figures for all the
numbers in the series.
Example:
We have16 Macintosh computers, 14 IBM personal computers, and 8 IBM compatibles in
the classroom.
Mr. Carter sent in 7 receipts; Ms Cantrell sent in 22 receipts.
3. Use figures for measurements (time, money, distance, weight, and percent) and
mathematical expressions.
Example:
We need new carpet for a room that is 11 feet x 12 feet.
The package weights 7 pounds.
I will ask for a 5 percent raise.
At 10 a.m., we delivered the $500 to the bank.
4. Use figures to express mixed numbers (whole number plus fraction) in technical writing
or in physical measurements.
Example:
He is 6-1/2 feet tall.
Our sales are up 9-1/2 percent over last year.
5. Use figures for dates; use st, nd, rd, or th if the day precedes the month.
Example:
We will meet on December 6 at the restaurant.
We will meet on December 6, 2011 at the restaurant.
We will meet on the 6th of December at the restaurant.
6. Use figures to express decimals.
Example:
59
The repair tech used 3.5 feet of coaxial cable.
The answer to the problems on the back page is 13.9806345.
7. Use figures for house numbers, except for the address of “One.”
Example:
His home address is 3103 Eddy Lane.
The Pierson Building is located at One Washington Boulevard.
8. Spell out street names that contain numbers ten or below; express the names in figures
if the numbers are below ten.
Example:
The store is located on First Avenue.
My home address is 5849 18th Street.
9. When a sentence begins with a number, spell it out. (If the number is large, rewrite the
sentence.)
Example:
Three hundred students are majoring in Business Management.
Voters at the polls on Tuesday numbered 5,732,190,468.
10. Spell out the small (in number of characters) of two adjacent numbers.
Example:
We have ordered two 5-pound packages of cotton candy for the meeting.
The plumber used three 14-gauge copper pipes.
11. Spell out fractions.
Examples:
About one-third of the audience responded to the questionnaire.
He makes only half of what she makes.
12. Spell out monetary words (million and higher) when number is an even amount.
Example:
The lottery is worth $28 million this month.
The national debt is $5.25 trillion.
60
13. Use numbers for time when using a.m. and /or p.m.; spell out numbers when using
o’clock.
Example:
The plane leaves at 8:45 a. m. on Sunday.
He arrived early for the 3 p. m. meeting.
At exactly eleven o’clock, the parade began.
61
Commonly Misused Words and Phrases
*Why should you bother to read this handout?
The transition from spoken to written language can often be a bumpy one
because the way we talk tends to be a lot less formal than the way we write.
When we try to translate spoken ideas into writing, it is often hard to
remember correct grammar. Also, we hear incorrect grammar used so often
that correct grammar might sound odd or even wrong to us.
Homonyms can present an especially difficult problem because they sound
alike, but the different spellings mean different things. Changing one letter in a
word could alter the whole meaning of a sentence. Common phrases are also
likely to be written incorrectly because in speech words are often shortened or
slurred together so that not all of the letters are pronounced, making it easy to
inadvertently leave these letters out when writing.
Knowing which word to use or how to write a phrase correctly can make a big
difference in your writing. It is easier for readers to take a piece of writing
more seriously when the grammar is correct. This handout contains a list of
commonly confused homonyms and problem phrases, as well as a few hints
to help you remember the grammar rules.
Words that sound alike (homonyms):
We have selected the ones we see in the Writing Center most often. For a complete list
of homonyms you may click here.
Accept, Except:
Accept is a verb meaning to receive. Except is usually a preposition meaning excluding.
I will accept all the packages except that one. Except is also a verb meaning to exclude.
Please except that item from the list.
Affect, Effect:
Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence. Effect is usually a noun meaning result.
The drug did not affect the disease, and it had several adverse side effects. Effect can
also be a verb meaning to bring about. Only the president can effect such a dramatic
change.
Allusion, Illusion:
62
An Allusion is an indirect reference. An illusion is a misconception or false impression.
Did you catch my allusion to Shakespeare? Mirrors give the room an illusion of depth.
Capital, Capitol:
Capital refers to a city, capitol to a building where lawmakers meet. Capital also refers
to wealth or resources. The capitol has undergone extensive renovations. The residents
of the state capital protested the development plans.
Climactic, Climatic:
Climactic is derived from climax, the point of greatest intensity in a series or progression
of events. Climatic is derived from climate; it refers to meteorological conditions. The
climactic period in the dinosaurs' reign was reached just before severe climatic
conditions brought on the ice age.
Elicit, Illicit:
Elicit is a verb meaning to bring out or to evoke. Illicit is an adjective meaning unlawful.
The reporter was unable to elicit information from the police about illicit drug traffic.
Emigrate from, Immigrate to:
Emigrate means to leave one country or region to settle in another. In 1900, my
grandfather emigrated from Russia. Immigrate means to enter another country and
reside there. Many Mexicans immigrate to the U.S. to find work.
Hints:
Emigrate begins with the letter E, as does Exit. When you emigrate, you exit a country.
Immigrate begins with the letter I, as does In. When you immigrate, you go into a
country
Principle, Principal:
Principal is a noun meaning the head of a school or an organization or a sum of money.
Principle is a noun meaning a basic truth or law. The principal taught us many important
life principles.
Hint:
To recognize the spelling of Principal first think of yourself as a greedy opportunist. You
definitely would want to be a pal of anyone who is in a position of power or anything to
do with money. This principal has pal in it.
63
Than, Then:
Than is a conjunction used in comparisons; then is an adverb denoting time. That pizza
is more than I can eat. Tom laughed, and then we recognized him.
Hints:
Than is used to compare; both words have the letter a in them.
Then tells when; both are spelled the same, except for the first letter.
There, Their, They're:
There is an adverb specifying place; it is also an expletive. Adverb: Sylvia is lying there
unconscious. Expletive: There are two plums left. Their is a possessive pronoun.
They're is a contraction of they are. Fred and Jane finally washed their car. They're later
than usual today.
Hints:
If you are using there to tell the reader where, both words have h-e-r-e. Here is also a
place.
If you are using their as a possessive pronoun, you are telling the reader what
"they own. Their has h-e-i-r, which also means heir, as in someone who inherits
something. Both words have to do with ownership.
They're is a contraction of they are. Sound out they are in the sentence and see if it
works. If it does not, it must be one of the previous versions.
To, Too, Two:
To is a preposition; too is an adverb; two is a number. Too many of your shots slice to
the left, but the last two were right on the mark.
Hints:
If you are trying to spell out the number, it is always t-w-o. Two has a w which is the
first letter in word. The opposite of word is number.
Too is usually used as also when adding or including some additional information.
Whenever you want to include something else, think of it as adding; therefore you
also need to add an extra o.
Your, You're:
64
Your is a possessive pronoun; you're is a contraction of you are. You're going to catch a
cold if you don't wear your coat.
Hints:
Sound out you are in the sentence. If it works in the sentence it can be written as
you're. If it sounds awkward, it is probably supposed to be Your.
EXAMPLE: You're shoes are muddy. "You are shoes are muddy" does not work, so
it should be written as: Your shoes are muddy.
Words that don't sound alike but confuse us anyway:
Lie, Lay:
Lie is an intransitive verb meaning to recline or rest on a surface. Its principal parts are
lie, lay, lain. Lay is a transitive verb meaning to put or place. Its principal parts are lay,
laid.
Hint: Chickens lay eggs. I lie down when I am tired.
Set, Sit:
Set is a transitive verb meaning to put or to place. Its principal parts are set, set, set. Sit
is an intransitive verb meaning to be seated. Its principal parts are sit, sat, sat. She set
the dough in a warm corner of the kitchen. The cat sat in the warmest part of the room.
Who, Which, That:
Do not use which to refer to persons. Use who instead. That, though generally used to
refer to things, may be used to refer to a group or class of people. I just saw a boy who
was wearing a yellow banana costume. I have to go to math next, which is my hardest
class. Where is the book that I was reading?
Problem phrases:
Supposed to: Do not omit the d. Suppose to is incorrect.
Used to: Same as above. Do not write use to.
Toward: There is no s at the end of the word.
Anyway: Also has no ending s. Anyways is nonstandard.
Couldn't care less: Be sure to make it negative. (Not I could care less.)
65
All walks of life: Not woks of life. This phrase does not apply to oriental
cooking.
Chest of drawers: Not chester drawers.
For all intents and purposes: Not intensive purposes.
Source: A Writer's Reference, Diana Hacker
Other Resources:
Commonly Confused Words
Common Errors in English
Words and Expressions
66
Homophones/Homonyms
Homonyms (also called homophones) are words that sound like one another but have
different meanings. Some homonyms are spelled the same, like bark (the sound a dog
makes) and bark (the outer layer of a tree trunk). Some homonyms are spelled
differently, like one (the number) and won (having been victorious).
Note: The Columbia Guide to Standard English defines homophones as words that are
pronounced alike and have different spellings (like flower and flour), and defines
homonyms as a more general term that includes both homophones and words that are
spelled alike and have different meanings (like bank [the edge of a river] and bank [a
financial institution]).
However, the Random House Unabridged Dictionary (1993 edition) defines the terms
homonym and homophone in such a way that each term includes words that are
pronounced alike and have different spellings, and also words that are spelled alike
and have different meanings.
Some common homonyms include:
ad/add
allowed/aloud
ant/aunt
ate/eight
ball/bawl
band/banned
bear/bare
be/bee
billed/build
blew/blue
board/bored
boy/buoy
brake/break
by/bye/buy
beach/beech
bolder/boulder
bread/bred
brouse/brows
capital/capitol
doughs/doz
e
earn/urn
ewe/you
eye/I
fare/fair
feat/feet
find/fined
fir/fur
flea/flee
flew/flu/flu
e
flower/flour
for/four/for
e
forth/fourth
foul/fowl
frees/freeze
gneiss/nice
its/it's
jam/jamb
jeans/genes
knead/need/kn
eed
knight/night
knows/nose/n
o's
lead/led
leased/least
lessen/lesson
lie/lye
links/lynx
load/lode/lowe
d
loan/lone
locks/lox
loot/lute
maid/made
passed/past
patience/patie
nts
pause/paws
peace/piece
peak/peek/piq
ue
peal/peel
pedal/peddle
peer/pier
pi/pie
plain/plane
plum/plumb
praise/prays/p
reys
presence/pres
ents
principal/princ
iple
67
sea/see
seam/seem
seas/sees/seize
serf/surf
serge/surge
sew/so/sow
shoe/shoo
side/sighed
sighs/size
sign/sine
sight/site/cite
slay/sleigh
soar/sore
soared/sword
sole/soul
son/sun
some/sum
spade/spayed
staid/stayed
to/too/two
toad/toed/to
wed
toe/tow
told/tolled
tracked/tract
trussed/trust
use/ewes
vein/vane
verses/versus
vial/vile
vice/vise
wade/weighe
d
wail/whale
waist/waste
wait/weight
waive/wave
Wales/whales
caret/carrot/carat/
karat
cell/sell
cent/scent/sent
census/senses
cereal/serial
chews/choose
choral/coral
chute/shoot
clothes/close
colonel/kernel
creak/creek
crews/cruise
cymbal/symbol
days/daze
dear/deer
dew/do/due
die/dye
disc/disk
discreet/discrete
discussed/disgust
doe/dough
gnu/knew/n
ew
gored/gour
d
gorilla/guer
rilla
grays/graze
grate/great
guessed/gu
est
gym/Jim
hale/hail
hall/haul
hare/hair
heal/heel/h
e'll
heard/herd
hew/hue
hi/high
higher/hire
him/hymm
hair/hare
hoarse/hors
e
hole/whole
hour/our
idle/idol
idle/idol/idy
l
in/inn
incite/insigh
t
mail/male
maize/maze
meet/meat
medal/meddle
mince/mints
miner/minor
missed/mist
mooed/mood
morning/mour
ning
muscle/mussel
mussed/must
nays/neighs
no/know
none/nun
nose/knows/n
o's
not/knot/naug
ht
one/won
or/oar/ore
overdo/overdu
e
paced/paste
pail/pale
pain/pane
pair/pare/pear
pain/pane
prince/prints
quarts/quartz
quince/quints
rain/reign/rein
raise/rays/raze
rap/wrap
read/reed
read/red
real/reel
reek/wreak
rest/wrest
review/revue
right/rite/writ
e
ring/wring
road/rode/row
ed
roe/row
role/roll
root/route
rose/rows
rote/wrote
roux/rue
rye/wry
sacks/sax
sail/sale
sawed/sod
scene/seen
68
stair/stare
stake/steak
stationary/statio
nery
steal/steel
straight/strait
suede/swayed
summary/summ
ery
sundae/Sunday
tacks/tax
tail/tale
taut/taught
tea/tee
teas/tease/tees
tents/tense
tern/turn
there/their/they'
re
threw/through
throne/thrown
thyme/time
tide/tied
tighten/titan
war/wore
ware/wear/w
here
warn/worn
wax/whacks
way/weigh/w
hey
we/wee
weather/whet
her
we'd/weed
weld/welled
we'll/wheel
wen/when
we've/weave
weak/week
which/witch
whirled/world
whirred/word
whine/wine
whoa/woe
who's/whose
wood/would
worst/wurst
yoke/yolk
you'll/yule
your/you're/y
ore
69
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
Exercise: Comma Exercise 1
Place commas wherever they are needed in the following sentences.
1. There was no question that John's painting a huge colorful and ugly mural
was the worst entry in the art exhibit.
2. Werner von Braun Willy Ley and Edward Teller noted authorities in the
field of rocket development have done much to guide the missile program of
the United States.
3. Mr. Cready's ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time is I believe
amazing.
4. Running around the house the dog was abruptly stopped by a fence.
5. If the opposition should win our candidate would never have any political
future.
6. Gracefully lightly and daintily the ballerina moved across the stage.
7. Glamour the woman's fashion magazine recently incorporated with Charm
another fashion journal.
8. Joe was born on May 7 1955 and his best friend was born exactly two
months later on July 7 1955.
9. Mr. and Mrs. Kwon my parents' best friends sat in front of us at the
football game.
10. November 11 1918 the armistice ending World War I was signed.
70
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
Answer: Comma Exercise 1
Correct answers are in bold.
1. There was no question that John's painting, a huge, colorful, and ugly
mural, was the worst entry in the art exhibit.
2. Werner von Braun, Willy Ley, and Edward Teller, noted authorities in the
field of rocket development, have done much to guide the missile program of
the United States.
3. Mr. Cready's ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time is, I believe,
amazing.
4. Running around the house, the dog was abruptly stopped by a fence.
5. If the opposition should win, our candidate would never have any political
future.
6. Gracefully, lightly, and daintily, the ballerina moved across the stage.
7. Glamour, the woman's fashion magazine, recently incorporated with
Charm, another fashion journal.
8. Joe was born on May 7, 1955, and his best friend was born exactly two
months later on July 7, 1955.
9. Mr. and Mrs. Kwon, my parents' best friends, sat in front of us at the
football game.
10. November 11, 1918, the armistice ending World War I was signed.
71
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
Exercise: Comma Exercise 2
Place commas wherever they are needed in the following sentences.
1. The problems involved in this operation are I think numerous.
2. Celene who does not usually tell anyone what she feels said she didn't
want to go to the dance.
3. To get tickets for some Broadway musicals one has to order three months
in advance.
4. Listening to the radio Jun heard an announcement that Spangler his own
dog was lost.
5. I used to live at 16689 Sutton Avenue Milpitas California but we have
since moved to 1895 Holland Way Dubuque Iowa.
6. The Valley of the Moon the name of a section in Napa County California is
the heart of the state's wine producing area.
7. Chris did not see how he could organize write and proofread this paper in
only two hours.
8. By the pilings of the old pier I found four starfish a clam and a sea
anemone.
9. Yes Helen did mention that all three of you were coming for lunch.
10. I believe therefore that fraternities are good influences on a college
campus.
72
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
Answer: Comma Exercise 2
Correct answers are in bold.
1. The problems involved in this operation are, I think, numerous.
2. Celene, who does not usually tell anyone what she feels, said she didn't
want to go to the dance.
3. To get tickets for some Broadway musicals, one has to order three
months in advance.
4. Listening to the radio, Jun heard an announcement that Spangler, his own
dog, was lost.
5. I used to live at 16689 Sutton Avenue, Milpitas, California, but we have
since moved to 1895 Holland Way, Dubuque, Iowa.
6. The Valley of the Moon, the name of a section in Napa County, California,
is the heart of the state's wine producing area.
7. Chris did not see how he could organize, write, and proofread this paper
in only two hours.
8. By the pilings of the old pier, I found four starfish, a clam, and a sea
anemone.
9. Yes, Helen did mention that all three of you were coming for lunch.
10. I believe, therefore, that fraternities are good influences on a college
campus.
73
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
Exercise: Apostrophes
Punctuate the following sentences with apostrophes according to the rules
for using the apostrophe.
1. Whos the partys candidate for vice president this year?
2. The fox had its right foreleg caught securely in the traps jaws.
3. Our neighbors car is an old Chrysler, and its just about to fall apart.
4. In three weeks time well have to begin school again.
5. Didnt you hear that theyre leaving tomorrow?
6. Whenever I think of the stories I read as a child, I remember Cinderellas
glass slipper and Snow Whites wicked stepmother.
7. We claimed the picnic table was ours, but the Smiths children looked so
disappointed that we found another spot.
8. Its important that the kitten learns to find its way home.
9. She did not hear her childrens cries.
10. My address has three 7s, and Tims phone number has four 2s.
11. Didnt he say when he would arrive at Arnies house?
12. Its such a beautiful day that Ive decided to take a sun bath.
13. She said the watch Jack found was hers, but she couldnt identify the
manufacturers name on it.
14. Little girls clothing is on the first floor, and the mens department is on
the second.
15. The dogs bark was far worse than its bite.
16. The moons rays shone feebly on the path, and I heard the insects
chirpings and whistlings.
74
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
17. Theyre not afraid to go ahead with the plans, though the choice is not
theirs.
18. The man whose face was tan said that he had spent his two weeks
vacation in the mountains.
19. I found myself constantly putting two cs in the word process.
20. Johns 69 Ford is his proudest possession.
75
Perdue Owl Writing Lab
Answer: Apostrophes
The following sentences are punctuated with apostrophes according to the
rules for using the apostrophe. Correct answers are in bold.
1. Who's the party's candidate for vice president this year?
2. The fox had its right foreleg caught securely in the trap's jaws.
3. Our neighbor's car is an old Chrysler, and it's just about to fall apart.
4. In three weeks' time we'll have to begin school again.
5. Didn't you hear that they're leaving tomorrow?
6. Whenever I think of the stories I read as a child, I remember
Cinderella's glass slipper and Snow White's wicked stepmother.
7. We claimed the picnic table was ours, but the Smiths' children looked so
disappointed that we found another spot.
8. It's important that the kitten learns to find its way home.
9. She did not hear her children's cries.
10. My address has three 7s, and Tim's phone number has four 2s.
11. Didn't he say when he would arrive at Arnie's house?
12. It's such a beautiful day that I've decided to take a sun bath.
13. She said the watch Jack found was hers, but she couldn't identify the
manufacturer's name on it.
14. Little girls' clothing is on the first floor, and the men's department is on
the second.
15. The dog's bark was far worse than its bite.
76
16. The moon's rays shone feebly on the path, and I heard the insects'
chirpings and whistlings.
17. They're not afraid to go ahead with the plans, though the choice is not
theirs.
18. The man whose face was tan said that he had spent his two weeks'
vacation in the mountains.
19. I found myself constantly putting two c's in the word process.
20. John's '69 Ford is his proudest possession.
77
Homonyms are words that sound like one another but have different meanings, like
flower and flour.
Write a homonym for each word below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
tale
tense
their
through
thrown
thyme
tied
tow
towed
vane
waist
whale
weight
wore
would
78
Homonym Answers
1. tail
2. tents
3. there, they're
4. threw
5. throne
6. time
7. tide
8. toe
9. toad
10. vain
11. waste
12. wail, wale
13. wait
14. war
15. wood
79
PUNCUATION AND BASIC MECHANICS
Web site:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm
Scroll down to Punctuation and Basic Mechanics heading and complete the
following quiz numbers: 80, 81, 82, 83, 90, 96, and 99.
As you complete each quiz, submit your answers for immediate feedback and
score. If you make mistakes, go back to quiz and reexamine.
80