{"id":665,"date":"2011-03-08T21:38:27","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T13:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/blog\/?p=665"},"modified":"2011-03-08T21:38:27","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T13:38:27","slug":"a-z-of-business-writing-bloopers-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/blog\/a-z-of-business-writing-bloopers-a\/","title":{"rendered":"A-Z of Business Writing Bloopers – A"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of you may have seen my A-Z of Business Writing Bloopers on my website. For those who haven’t, let me introduce you to the As. These are some of the common mistakes that many people make in their writing. If you are guilty, now’s the time to do something about it! You can find more in this series here: http:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/bloopers.html<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

So many people write a lot as one word instead of two. If you do this, ask yourself if you would write alittle<\/i> or afew.<\/i> Of course not, right? So please don't write alot<\/i>! The same goes for in<\/i> spite of<\/i> and in fact<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Above-mentioned<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This is one of those old-fashioned phrases made up by our great-grandfathers to refer to whatever was in the subject heading or in the paragraph(s) above. This phrase should not be used in our 21st Century business writing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of:<\/span><\/i> Thank you for registering for the above-mentioned<\/b> workshop.
\n\tsay:<\/i> Thank you for registering for this <\/strong>workshop. <\/span><\/p>\n

If whatever is above is plural, then use these <\/em>instead of this<\/em>. But never 'above', 'above-mentioned' or 'above-captioned' and definitely not 'said'. (NB: the same goes for below <\/em>and below-mentioned<\/em>!)<\/span><\/p>\n

Accede to<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This is a stuffy, great grandfather phrase that should not be used in 21st<\/sup> century writing. Say "We cannot agree to" instead. <\/span><\/p>\n

Affect\/Effect<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Affect is a verb meaning 'to influence', for example: <\/span><\/p>\n

The fall in productivity will affect<\/i> our profits this quarter.
\n\tHow did the business writing workshop affect<\/i> your work performance? <\/span><\/p>\n

Effect is a noun meaning 'result', for example: <\/span><\/p>\n

The fall in productivity will have an effect<\/i> on our profits this quarter.
\n\tWhat effect<\/i> will these changes have on your department? <\/span><\/p>\n

Alphabet<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

So many people use the word alphabet <\/em>wrongly. It is not correct to say There are 7 alphabets in my name.<\/i> There are 7 letters<\/i> in my name – Shirley. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is only one alphabet<\/i> in the English language, and there are 26 letters<\/i> in the alphabet – abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mind you, I thought one of my workshop participants had a very funny answer when he said "No Shirley, there are 24 letters in the alphabet – ET went home!"<\/b><\/i> Nice one! \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

Although<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

When you start a sentence with 'Although'<\/i> you do not need the word 'but'<\/i>. For example: Although it is very late, I will still come over to see you. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

As per<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This is a simple cliché that is old-fashioned and overworked. We should not use 'per'<\/i> in our writing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of<\/span><\/i>
\n\tAs per your request… say<\/i> As you requested
\n\tAs per our agreement… say<\/i> As we agreed
\n\tAs per your instructions… say<\/i> As you instructed
\n\tAs per our telecon… say<\/i> As discussed <\/span><\/p>\n

Attached\/enclosed herewith please find<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Why do you need herewith<\/i>? If it's not herewith, where the heck is it? Get rid of it! Also get rid of Please find<\/i> – it's passive and impersonal, and you don’t want me to ‘find’<\/i> anything! Use these phrases instead: <\/span><\/p>\n

I enclose \/ I attach
\n\tI am enclosing \/ I am attaching
\n\tI have enclosed \/ I have attached
\n\tEnclosed is \/ Attached is <\/span><\/p>\n

NB: Use attach for e-mails. Use enclose for letters. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of you may have seen my A-Z of Business Writing Bloopers on my website. For those who haven’t, let me introduce you to the As. These are some of the common mistakes that many people make in their writing. 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