Business Writing BASICS

1. Business WritingBASICS to accompany Writing & Speaking for Business

2. Table of Contents • Words • Sentence Basics • Punctuation • Case • Agreement and Reference • Tense • Numbers • Capitalization

3. Words • Introduction • Word Classification • Parts of Speech • Noun • Pronoun • Verb • Adjective • Adverb • Preposition • Conjunction • Interjection • Word Guidelines • Efficient in usage • Appropriately precise • Easily understood • Socially acceptable • Correct in spelling • Correct in meaning • Words Quiz Return

4. Introduction Imagine a culture with no word or sentence rules, a culture in which people could just make up their own rules. Such a culture would be headed for ruin. We must adhere to certain basic rules if we hope to communicate effectively. The following lesson includes two sections: • Word classification (parts of speech) • Word guidelines

5. Word Classification Words are the basic building blocks of language. They are classified into one of eight categories, called parts of speech. The classification depends on how the word is used in a sentence. Thus, a word may be classified differently, depending on how it is used. • Walking is good exercise for your body. • Walking is a noun. • I have been walking all day long. • Walking is a verb. • I am not ashamed that I need to use a walking stick. • Walking is an adjective.

6. Parts of Speech English words are classified into eight parts of speech: • Noun • Pronoun • Verb • Adjective • Adverb • Preposition • Conjunction • Interjection Return

7. Noun A word that names a person, place, or thing. Examples • Robert, Florida, building, justice. • Robert purchased a building in Florida. • These nouns are persons, places, or things. • Justice will prevail. • Justice is an intangible thing

8. Noun Quiz Which of the words in the following sentences are nouns? • Jill created a new business plan that looks promising. 2. I broke my foot, so my partner will be giving the presentation. 3. What was Mike thinking? Return

9. Pronoun A word used in place of a noun. Examples • I, you, he, it, they, who, him. • He spoke to them at the conference. • He and them are pronouns that replace nouns such as Jim and the audience.

10. Pronoun Quiz Which words in the following sentences are pronouns? • I enjoyed Jim’s marketing lecture; he is very intelligent. • We cannot neglect their growing market presence. Return

11. Verb A word or word group that describes action or state of being. Examples • Write, walk, speak, wish, been, was, are • Tim studied the material. (action) • Steve is extremely intelligent. (state of being)

12. Verb Quiz Which words in the following sentences are verbs? • They are running late; the meeting should have started 30 minutes ago. • Power naps can be very effective at increasing productivity. Return

13. Adjective A word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. Examples • Old, big, rich, blue, skinny • Mike financed a new car. • New modifies or describes the noun car. • He is smarter than the others. • Smarter modifies or describes the pronoun he.

14. Adjective Quiz Which words in the following sentences are adjectives? • The soft ball fell lightly on the smooth surface of the pond. • The old boss energetically spoke to a large group of new employees at the orientation meeting. Return

15. Adverb A word that modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Examples • Really, very, discretely, quickly • Penelope quietly entered the room. • Quietly modifies the verb entered. • Joel is a very brilliant programmer. • Very modifies the adjective brilliant. • Sam drove the new car exceptionally fast. • Exceptionally modifies the adverb fast.

16. Adverb Quiz Which words in the following sentences are adverbs? • The contestants quickly ran to the finish line and smiled instantly after completing the race. • Their server waited patiently as they examined the very long list of options on the revised menu. Return

17. Preposition A word that relates a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence. The preposition and its following related words constitute a prepositional phrase. Examples • In, on, into, for, to, with • The key is on the desk. • On relates the key to the desk • Bottled water is always in the refrigerator. • In is the preposition; in the refrigerator is a prepositional phrase.

18. Preposition Quiz Which of the words in the following sentences are prepositions? • Under the book on the table you will find the brochure that gives the details of our vacation. • I got in the car after my spouse because I first opened her door. Return

19. Conjunction A word used to join or connect words, phrases, or clauses. Examples • And, but, or, for, nor, so, yet • Golf is a game that requires skill and patience. • And joins two words—skill and patience. • You must work very hard or you will lose your position. • Or joins two clauses.

20. Conjunction Quiz Which words in the following sentences are conjunctions? • I want to discuss the details of your trip, but first tell me how you are feeling. • Sleek and stylish, the new line of cars is bound for success. Return

21. Interjection A word used to express emotion or surprise. Examples • Wow, oh, hey • Hey! What a great idea! • Hey expresses surprise.

22. Interjection Quiz Which words in the following sentences are interjections? • Wait! I’m not ready to leave yet. • Hush, deer hunting requires absolute silence. Return

23. Parts of Speech Review Identify the part of speech for each word in the sentence. Oh, Sara said she and Mandy will be out of town next Tuesday! Int Noun Verb Pro Conj Noun Vrb Vrb Adv Prp Noun Adj Noun An extremely fast motorcycle passed our car on the highway. Adj Adverb Adj Noun Verb Pro Noun Prp Adj Noun Return

24. Word Guidelines • Efficient in usage • Appropriately precise • Easily understood • Socially acceptable • Correct in spelling • Correct in meaning Return

25. 1. Efficient in usage • Avoid wordiness. Examples No: In order to try to bring about an improvement in our assembly-line operation, the implementation of procedure-analysis teams will be effected by management. [Too many prepositional phrases.] Yes: Procedure-analysis teams will try to improve our assembly line.

26. Quiz – Efficient in usage How could you reduce wordiness in the following sentence? • On the tall bookshelf in the back of the classroom you will find the book with instructions on how to program in HTML. The HTML programming book is on the bookshelf in the back of the classroom. Return

27. More GeneralMore Specific school university Arizona State University 2. Appropriately precise • In most cases, strive to be more specific, rather than more general, in your word choice. No: Some employees did not come today. Yes: Three employees did not come today. No: Turn left, drive awhile, and then turn right. Yes: Turn left, drive two miles, and then turn right. No: Lunch breaks should be brief. Yes: Lunch breaks should be less than an hour.

28. Quiz – Appropriately precise How could you rewrite the following sentence to be more precise? • You should get more tickets. You should purchase six more tickets for our group. Return

29. 3. Easily understood 3. Use words that are commonly understood by the audience. Jargon is acceptable if it meets this standard. No: According to GAAP, prepaid expenses should not be recognized until incurred. • Unacceptable if the reader does not understand accounting jargon. Yes: According to GAAP, prepaid expenses should not be recognized until incurred. • Acceptable if the reader understands accounting vocabulary.

30. Quiz - Easily understood When would the following sentence be appropriate? • The bandwidth problem occurred because our server was infected by a worm that penetrated our firewall. This sentence would be appropriate only if communicating with a person who understands computer jargon. Return

31. 4. Socially acceptable • Avoid words that inappropriately tie gender to job titles (mailman vs. mail carrier, stewardess vs. flight attendant, waitress vs. server, policeman vs. police officer). Use words that are appropriately formal. No: Please give this to the mailman. Yes: Please give this to the mail carrier. No: Always make sure the customers grab all the stuff they’ve bought. [Too informal.] Yes: Make sure customers take all the merchandise they have purchased.

32. Quiz - Socially acceptable How could you rewrite the following sentence to make it socially acceptable? 1. Treat all stewardesses like you think you’d like to be treated. Treat all flight attendants the way you would like to be treated. Return

33. 5. Correct in spelling 5. This list contains frequently misspelled words.

34. Spelling Quiz Which is the correct spelling? a. misspell b. mispell a. judgement b. judgment a. occurrence b. occurrance a. embarras b. embarrass a. supercede b. supersede Return

35. 6. Correct in meaning 6. Confusion sometimes occurs with homonyms and with other related word pairs that have different meanings (a homonym is a word with the same pronunciation as another but with a different meaning, such as compliment and complement) . The following words are frequently misused. Appraise is a verb meaning to determine the value, quantity, or amount of something Apprise is a verb meaning to inform. • I’ll appraise your home and then keep you apprised on the status of any prospective buyers.

36. 6. Correct in meaning (contd.) Affect is a verb that means influence. Effect is a verb that means cause or effectuate; as a noun, it is the impact. • I’m having various side effects that affect my vision. Allow gives permission. Enable empowers. • The captain allowed me to enable the tracking device. Compliment is a nice comment. Complement means to complete • I was complimented on how I designed those two floral arrangements to complement each other.

37. 6. Correct in meaning (contd.) Counsel refers to advice itself or to the process of giving advice. Council refers to a group of people. • I will seek the counsel of the council before proceeding. e.g. means “for example.” i.e. means “that is.” • We have hired many great employees; e.g., Sarah, Hillary, and Phillip all work very hard. • I am tired; i.e., I need a power nap.

38. 6. Correct in meaning (contd.) Farther refers to distance. Further indicates degree. • Tomorrow I will further explain how I trained to run farther than everyone else. Fewer refers to individual terms. Less refers to uncountable bulk or quantity. • If we have less money, we should buy fewer items. Its is the possessive form of it. It’s is the contraction of it is. • It’s now time for the team to announce its goals.

39. 6. Correct in meaning (contd.) Lay means to put or place Lie means to rest • Lay the pillow under your head as you lie down tonight. Principal refers to money, the CEO of a school, and the main element. Principle refers to a belief or concept. • The principal objective of explaining principal and interest is to ensure proper payment in the future. He will pay when he understands this important principle.

40. 6. Correct in meaning (contd.) Stationary means not moving. Stationery refers to paper. • I’ve been stationary for an hour while waiting for them to print our new stationery. Your refers to something you possess. You’re means “you are.” • You’re breaking your own rules now. Ensure means to guarantee Insure refers to insurance. • The sales representative ensured me that I will have nothing to worry about if I am insured by his company.

41. 6. Correct in meaning (contd.) In addition, make sure you pronounce the following words correctly. • Asterisk (not asterix) • Especially (not exspecially) • Sales (not sells)

42. Quiz – Correct in meaning Choose the correct word in each sentence. Principal/Principle The principal reason that the principal expelled him was that refused to learn the principle of respect. Affect/Effect The special effects should not affect your opinion of the movie’s overall quality.

43. Quiz – Correct in meaning Choose the correct word in each sentence. Council/Counsel The council will decide my fate and then give me some counsel on how I should proceed. It’s/Its It’s about time for the jury to present its final conclusion. Return

44. Quiz – Words • Which of the following is an adverb? • good • strong • well • sly • Which of the following is a preposition? • before • because • actually • oh • Which of the following is most socially acceptable? • stewardess • female engineer • policeman • server

45. Quiz – Words • Which of the following words is spelled correctly? • supercede • seperate • priviledge • judgment • Which of the following words is misspelled? • embarrass • occurrence • satelite • prevalent • Which of the following are homonyms? • rich and wealthy • appraise and apprise • greedy and generous • counsel and council

46. Quiz – Words • Which of the following sentences has no words that are misused? • After driving further down the road, he finally found the stationery store. • He gave me counsel not to let her bad attitude effect my performance. • After laying down for a nap, I noticed that the magazine had it’s cover torn off in the mail. • The new insurance coverage will ensure that we are protected against that type of loss.

47. Congratulations!You just finished the lesson on words! Continue to Sentence Basics Return to Table of Contents Return

48. Sentence Basics • Introduction • Sentence Elements • Sentence Types • Sentence Guidelines • Use clear, specific subjects. • Keep verbs close to their subjects. • Use active and passive verbs appropriately. • Place modifying words and phrases close to the words they modify. • Avoid dangling modifiers. • Use adjectives for adverbs correctly. • Use words of the same parts of speech after parallel connectives. • Use parallel parts of speech for words in a series. • Sentence Basics Quiz Return

49. Introduction Sentences are groups of words organized together to express meaningful ideas. The word syntax refers to the arrangement of words and elements in a sentence. This section discusses three aspects of sentences: • Sentence elements • Sentence types • Sentence guidelines

50. Sentence Elements A sentence is a group of words expressing an idea. Most sentences have three main elements: • Subject—the thing that is doing something or being something. • Verb—what the subject is doing or being. • Complement—the completion of the idea started by the subject and verb.