Business Writing Tips

Here are some basics you need to know to help you:

Having trouble finding the right word? Use a thesaurus.

•If you need another word for smell, the thesaurus can suggest smell, scent, fragrance, aroma, odor, stench, and stink. The dictionary can tell you the little differences among them. This adds interest and depth to your writing.

Not completely sure of how to spell a word?

•Remember that the best writers use a dictionary often. Spell checkers are good, but they can miss a lot.

•Although smell, scent, fragrance, aroma, odor, stench, and stink are synonyms, using the wrong one can create quite a problem. In fact, using the wrong one can actually create quite a stink.

Wondering if you need a comma, period, or semi-colon? Wondering what a semi-colon is?

•Have a grammar reference book handy, and use it. It can, for example, keep you, from using, too many, way too many, commas (like this).

Wondering what guidelines to always keep in mind when you write?

•Have your purpose in mind and stick to it.

•Open with a grabber.

•Expand concisely.

•Know how and when to edit, and never skip this step.

•Close for results.

Spelling challenge: Read the following paragraph and count the misspelled words. Then scroll to the bottom of this page for the answer and correct spellings.

We the poeple of the United States, in order to form a more perfict onion, establish justise, insure domestic tranquilety, provide for the common defence, promote the general wellfare, and secure the blesings of liberty to ourselfs and our prosterity, do ordane and establich this Constitution for the United States of America.

There are 12 misspelled words: people, perfect, union, justice, tranquility, defense (American spelling), welfare, blessings, ourselves, posterity, ordain, establish