Business Writing:

1. Business Writing: Grammar, Style, and punctuation Lessons

2. Setting the stage I won’t hire people who use poor grammar. Here’s why. It’s not just rules; it’s clear thinking

3. Most Common Writing Errors Missing comma after introductory element Incorrect subject-verb agreement Vague pronoun reference Dangling/misplaced modifiers Sentence Fragments Sentence sprawl There/their/they’re and your/you’re

4. Missing comma after introductory element Convinced she was going to be late, she took off her heels and began running to class. Convinced she was going to be lateshe took off her heels and began running to class.

5. The rule Always put a comma before an introductory phrase (before the subject) if the phrase is more than three words.

6. Subject-Verb Agreement A tech behind the scenes handle the lighting. A tech behind the scenes handlesthe lighting.

7. Subject-Verb Agreement My brothers or my sister come to every meeting. My brothers or my sister comesto every meeting.

8. Subject-Verb Agreement Each of these subjects coordinate with the others. Each of these subjects coordinateswith the others.

9. The Rule A verb must agree with the subject in number and person If there are multiple nouns, agree with the closest (but watch out for prepositional phrases!) When you see prepositional phrases, chances are, you should CUT them OUT. They don’t count.

10. Vague Pronoun Reference The teacher gave the student her notes. Who is “her”? The teacher or student?

11. Corrected Sentence The teacher gave the student the teacher’s notes. OR even better… The teacher gave her notes to the student.

12. The Rule Always make it clear to which noun you are referring. Look for pronouns and make sure they’re close to the noun they’re modifying. Read for clarity.

13. Dangling/Misplaced Modifiers On the bus, Sarah found a silver man’s watch. Running toward the bus, my book was dropped in the snow. On the bus, Sarah found a man’s silver watch. Running toward the bus, I dropped my book in the snow.

14. The definition Misplaced modifiers – when modifiers are not as close as possible to the words they’re modifying. Dangling modifiers – are missing a subject (noun) to modify.

15. Sentence Fragments • What makes up a sentence? • Noun+ Verb + everything else. • Noun = person, place, thing • Verb = conveys an action • What is the “everything else”? • Prepositional phrases • Adjectives – describe nouns • Adverbs - describe verbs • Try to ignore the “everything else” when determining punctuation.

16. Sentence Fragments We returned to the movies. Where we waited for our friends. We returned to the movies where we waited for our friends.

17. Sentence Sprawl The lesson was planned for Monday, December 2, but not all of the students could be available, so it was rescheduled for the following Friday, and then all the students could attend. *This is not grammatically incorrect but it’s confusing. Let’s fix it together on the board.

18. Their, They’re, There, Your, You’re What’s the difference? You tell me: Create a sentence that uses all three spellings of the word there. Then, create a sentence that uses both spellings of your (you’re).

19. Examples They’re going to take their dog over there. You’re going to pick up your dog on Monday?