Writing tips 3: Refresher on some fundamentals

writing tip, daily writing tip, writing classes, writing jobsWriting well is not difficult. You don’t need a degree in English to compose sentences that get your message across properly. (Of course, one good way to improve your writing skills is to take a writing course.) The types of mistakes I see frequently involve just a handful of principles. They include:

 

– Capitalization

– Spelling

– Grammar, word usage

– Punctuation

Unfortunately, these mistakes appear in blog and social media posts along with emails. Meaning, messages often used for business. That’s critical, because sloppy writing reflects poorly on the person and business. If the writer spent a few moments proofing the material, he or she would most likely correct these errors.

This is the third installment in my series. You can read the other two here.

In each example below I offer suggested rewrites. These will help you improve your copy.

Example 1:

“i working on a social networking site that will help music artist promote and record online, it a new wave of the internet. I looking for some one with sales experience and well versed in internet programing to layout a tight time-line for this project. i want to keep , most of project have been written out but it need clarity, organization, and it need to be broken down in task. some one who has the right skill will be able to finish this task in 3 to 4 hours.”

Issues: Capitalization and punctuation, primarily. Parts are difficult to understand: what did he mean? The sentences are a bit long, too. Note that this post is for a job opening.

“I am working on a social networking site that will help music artists [musicians??] promote and record online; it’s a new wave of the internet. I am looking for someone [one word] with sales experience who is well versed in internet programming. Most of the project is written. It needs clarity and organization, and must be broken down by task. Someone with the right skill should be able to finish the task in 3 to 4 hours.”

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Example 2:

“Mr. John I’m so sorry to bring this to you at the last minute, I’m in Chicago, IL in my hotel room and not doing well at all, it’s been a long night. I’m not one to cancel whether paid or not paid, but I’m not feeling good at all. I hope that you will understand and allow me to reschedule to share with your team. I ‘m prepare with your handout and the day was for you and your team. I would like to reschedule if you will allow within the next 30 days, this is not my way of doing business.”

Issues: Punctuation with some spelling errors. Written by a very successful business person. Yes, even veteran business people can use help with their writing.

“Hey, John. I’m so sorry to bring this to you at the last minute. I’m in Chicago, IL, in my hotel room and not doing well at all; it’s been a long night. I’m not one to cancel–whether paid or not paid–but I’m not feeling well at all. I hope that you understand and allow me to reschedule. I’m prepared with your handout and the day was set for you and your team. I would like to reschedule in the next 30 days. This is not my way of doing business.”

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Watch for my next installment in this writing tip series. (Writing Tip #2 can be viewed here.) Meantime, to further sharpen your writing skills, see “Can vs. May”  and “How to use A.M and P.M. properly.”

Feel free to comment below. If you found value with this post, could you do me a favor and share it with others? You may use any of the buttons below. That way others will benefit from what you and I have written. To contact me, send an email.

Tom Fuszard, content writer, blog writing, pr writing

 

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