In order to write professionally, it is important to understand the grammar and spelling rules that serve as the framework for language. This section will cover the most common mistakes that writers make and review the grammar and spelling rules that are most applicable to business writing. In our daily lives, either at school or on the job, there exists the need for good written communication skills. We have all turned in a report at one time or another that wasn’t written as well as it could have been. This, unfortunately, sheds a negative light on us. There is something we can all do about it! Communication is a learned skill that we can all improve on. These methods of business writing will be useful to business writers at any level.
Usual Grammar Mistakes (One of the Crucial Methods of Business Writing)
“There,” “Their,” and “They’re” – “There” is an adverb that refers to place or position. “Their” is a possessive adjective used when referring to more than one person. “They’re” is a contraction of “they are.”
- “If I get there first, I’ll send you a message.”
- “Their conclusion is not scientifically sound.”
- “They’re going to be in town all of next week.”
“Effect” versus “Affect” – “Effect” is usually a noun and “affect” is usually a verb. (EXCEPTIONS: The only common usage of “effect” as a verb is in the phrase “effect change.” When used as a noun, “affect” refers to a person’s emotions or feelings; this usage is common in psychology.)
- “A reason and effect relationship has not been proven.”
- “Drastic weather will affect shipment time.”
Phase Two Analysis:
“I” versus “Me” – “I” is used when you are the subject of the sentence. “Me” is used when you are the object. For example:
- “He and I went to the meeting.”
- “That conversation is between you and me.”
The best way to check if a sentence is correct is to eliminate all extra words and see if what’s left makes sense. Remove the extra words from the sentences below to see why they are incorrect.
- Incorrect: “Gita and me are going to grab some lunch.”
- Incorrect: “Fatema showed the e-mail to Anil and I.”
You would say “I am going to grab some lunch,” so the first sentence above is incorrect. You would say “Fatema showed the e-mail to me,” so the second sentence is also incorrect.
Spelling (as One of the Major Methods of Business Writing)
Remember to always use spell-check before printing your document. You must, or have someone else, proofread the document to ensure the spelling and overall accuracy. Common mistakes include typing a correctly spelt word that is not exactly what you wanted. This can cause big problems and even change the entire meaning you are trying to get across.
Style Tips
“Layout” means the overall look of your page – from the typefaces you choose to your effective use of white space. The term “white space” refers to empty space on the page. White space shows your organization and section breaks visually, emphasizes important ideas, and presents your ideas in more manageable bits. Readers react favourably toward white space. For example, would you be more willing to read a document that seemed to be one long paragraph, from margin to margin and from top to bottom (as many governmental regulations are written), or would you be more willing to read one that set out the main points with headings and indentations?
Helpfulness of Capitalization
- Proper nouns – All proper nouns should be capitalized. Proper nouns are unique people, places, institutions, or things. Days of the week and months are considered proper nouns. When short, common words such as “of,” “and,” “for,” and “the” appear in proper nouns, they should not be capitalized.
- “Jatin left a message on your desk.”
- “NTC stands for the University of Illinois at Chennai.”
- “The Great Cities Institute is hosting a speaker on Friday.”
- “Three NTC faculty members will be presenting in Pune in May.”
- Brand names – Brand names, which are also proper nouns, should be capitalized.
- “The NTC Flames are sponsored by Mehtas.”
- “Applicants should be proficient with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.”
- “You will need Adobe Reader to view the file.”
- Titles – Capitalize any title that comes before a person’s name.
“Dr. Mohit will be out of the office until April 10th.”
If you want to learn English Communication effectively for speaking to different people from other fields, you may register for a DEMO CLASS in EngConvo. Click on this below-given link and fill the necessary details for DEMO CLASS
https://www.engconvo.com/trial-registration/
