Tag Archives: writing

How to Write an Effective Email by Susan Adams

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How to write an effective e-mail
by Susan Adams, Forbes.com
Monday, August 9, 2010
provided by forbes

Get to the point, keep it short, and assume it’s public, say the experts.

In July 2008, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford e-mailed his Latin lover, praising “the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of night’s light.” That now-public note is just the latest example of how even the most politically savvy pro can be an idiot when it comes to electronic mail.

Cardinal rule numero uno: Assume that e-mail is public. Even if you’re sending it over a secure server or to an account you think you’ve set up in secret, if people want to read your notes and share them with the world, they will.

Despite e-mail’s growing ubiquity, few have mastered the art of writing an effective one. In an effort to compile some pointers on how to do so, we consulted three experts: Will Schwalbe, co-author with David Shipley of Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home; Mark Hurst, author of Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload; and Peter Post, one of the directors of the Emily Post Institute and author of five books on etiquette.

Evidence that the dos and don’ts of e-mail have yet to solidify: The experts disagree on several pertinent points. While Peter Post insists on polite salutations (“Dear Mr. or Ms.”) and courteous endings (“Sincerely”) and recommends always using an e-mail signature at the end of a business note, Hurst says none of that matters. “Is he set up to run a steam-powered computer and read through his monocle?” Hurst sniffs.

For his part, Post says emoticons have no place in business e-mail. On the contrary, say both Hurst and Schwalbe; because irony and humor are so frequently misconstrued in e-mail notes, the emoticon offers a quick, effective way to convey feelings. “Emoticons are necessary,” Hurst maintains, “because there is no subtlety in e-mail, and jokes do not transmit well.”

Quibbles aside, there are e-mail rules on which our experts agree. Among the most important: Get to the point immediately. Keep your notes as short as possible. Avoid extended blocks of text by breaking up your writing into short paragraphs or bullets. And keep in mind what we all already know: Everyone is busy and gets too much e-mail.

One more caveat: When you receive a rude or angry note, do not reply right away. Negative emotions can escalate all too quickly in e-mails. “Just delete it,” advises Hurst to those who receive a cranky missive.

Or here’s a novel idea: Pick up the phone.

Source:
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/article/forbes/1767/how-to-write-an-effective-e-mail

Email Advice: 5 Quick Tips to Improve Communication

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1 – Remember that people only have your words, phrases and punctuation to try to understand and ‘feel’ your meaning in text, so choose them carefully. Be concise and not too emotional. Stick to the point of the correspondence.

2 – Do not use CAPITALS as it looks like you are SHOUTING.

3 – Do not write emails that are too long, as email predominantly is used for quick communication, especially in North America.

4 – Use the Subject line wisely, so people can understand exactly what the email is regarding. In sales (and spam mail), asking an intriguing question in the subject line is a common technique to get people’s attention.

5 – When finished, review your email and ask yourself if the tone of your email sounds personal or professional, and does this match your intention, and the intended recipients’ expectations?

Is Spelling Really Important?

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Yes and No. Proper spelling is important for written reports, essays and school assignments, as well as any and all business documents (including emails). BUT proper spelling is not important for understanding words and meaning in the sentence.

Most people can read the sentences below and still understand the correct meaning (i.e. words) without much effort. Try it. I hope you are a clever one too! 😉

“I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig eh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!”

P.S. – as an English teacher, I strive for and demand proper spelling!

I Believe in the Power of You and I…or Me?

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Can’t fool you and me: Grammarian says lyrics to ‘I Believe’ anthem flawed

By Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press Feb 23, 9:00 am EST

WHISTLER, B.C. – It has become as emblematic and familiar to TV viewers of the 2010 Winter Games as Alexandre Bilodeau, underperforming Canadian medal hopefuls and venue weather woes.
But that musical phenomenon known as “I Believe,” the official anthem of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, may in fact provide the true legacy of the Games: another generation of Canadian kids who don’t know me from you, nor their “I” from a hole in their head.

If you haven’t heard it by now, you haven’t been watching the Olympics on the Canadian broadcast consortium, led by CTV.
“I believe in the power of you and I,” 16-year-old Nikki Yanofsky sings repeatedly, a refrain that’s been employed as the soundtrack to just about every conceivable sporting situation in these Games.

The song has been No. 1 on iTunes Canada’s playlist for 13 straight days and has spawned an unanticipated merchandising bonanza for the broadcasters.
Yanofsky’s vocals are flawless, but not the lyrics.

“For some reason, polite Canadians do not seem to think that ‘me’ is acceptable,” says Joanne Buckley, a professor at the Centre for Student Development at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and one of the country’s pre-eminent grammarians.
“Of course, we grammarians know that the words should be ‘believe in the power of you and me’ since ‘of’ is a preposition and takes an object.”

Buckly did, however, cut the song’s lyricists a little slack.
“Then again, T. S. Eliot set the precedent for this usage in ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ when he wrote in the first line, ‘Let us go then, you and I,'” the professor said in an email.
“He was wrong too, or perhaps just demonstrating the politeness of Prufrock. I suppose the theme song could be worse: it could say ‘I believe in the power of you and myself.'”

Buckley confesses to being “the kind of person who talks back to the TV when I hear errors in grammar” and said she finds the flawed “I Believe” refrain “a bit annoying.” She’d like to think she’s not entirely alone.
But a spokesman for the broadcast consortium claims not to have heard a single such complaint, notwithstanding that the song has been sent to some 5,000 Canadian schools where, presumably, English grammar is still taught.

The song was distributed to schools through the group Free the Children in an effort to get Canadian kids “more engaged in the Games,” said Dan Cimoroni, vice-president of business development for the Olympic broadcast consortium.
Any teacher complaints about the grammar?

“No, I haven’t heard any of that,” Cimoroni said, noting there has been some feedback from schools and it’s all been positive.
In fact, apart from the pure musical appeal of Yanofsky and “I Believe,” the song has spurred a bonus line of T-shirts, scarves, hoodies and the like.

“Originally we didn’t have a licence to sell clothing,” said Cimoroni.
But after the public saw some “I Believe” promotional items for the song, “it just literally became overwhelming the number of people asking for it,” he said.
The consortium quickly struck a deal with VANOC, the Games’ organizing committee, and the merchandise has since been selling like crazy.
At least the “you and I” lyric isn’t emblazoned across the stuff.

In one of those curious coincidences that only a grammarian could love, the flawed line was delivered live as part of the Games’ opening ceremonies on an evening when U.S. network NBC debuted an abbreviated remake of “We Are The World,” a 1980s vintage African-famine fundraiser recorded again in the wake of the Haiti earthquake.
The chorus in that song ends with: “It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me.”

The U.S.-written song also got it wrong. It should be you and I, although that’s a rather formal construction and defies conversational convention.
But patriotic Canadians can at least take some small solace that they weren’t beaten by the Americans in both hockey and grammar.

To read this article online and to read comments posted, please view this link:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=capress-oly_i_believe_grammar-2428652&prov=capress&type=lgns

Here is a good rule to remember which you should use, I or Me, posted by one reader:

“Grammarians are as much at fault as anyone else for lapses in grammar because they give their reasons for criticizing bad grammar in grammatical terms which demonstrates nothing but their arrogance and are willfully (woefully?) unhelpful to those attempting to learn correct usage. The simplest, every-day way to explain to people – especially children – the difference between ‘you and me’ and ‘you and I’ is to tell them to remove ‘you’ from the sentence. Understanding then why ‘I’ is correct in some places, and ‘me’ in others becomes obvious. So ‘You and I are going” obviously becomes “I am going” not “Me am going” and “Is he saying that to you and I” obviously becomes ‘Is he saying that to me” not ‘Is he saying that to I’. I was taught this method by an English teacher who knew not only how to speak and write properly, but how to convey her knowledge to children. We could do with a few more like that in our schools today.” – Meg G.

Do You Have “A News” or “Some News”?

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I hear this mistake all the time, so I thought I should put it down here.
In English we say “news” not “a news”. It is uncountable.
Eg.
Vanesa:  “I have some (good/bad/strange) news to tell you/share with you/for you!”
Rob:  “Really?  What’s the (good/bad/strange) news?”
Vanesa:  “I’m pregnant!!!”
Rob:  (Faints…)

So please do not say “I have a news” or “a good news” – okay?  Just say “news” or “some news”.
More example sentences:

“Hey, did you see the guy on the news today that won the lottery?  he looks so happy!”
“I heard on the news today (meaning TV or radio) that Toyota is recalling a lot of cars.”
“My co-worker shared with me the secret news that our company is down-sizing again.  I wonder if I’ll survive the chopping block?”  (That means stay working and not get fired)

English Acronyms and Short Forms for the Office

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Here are a few acronyms that you most likely will come across as you work in a professional setting, like an office.  These will come in handy (be useful) as you read and write office memos, emails, texts and letters.

Re:  This means “Regarding”, as in “regarding (or in regards to) your question/memo/email etc.”

Appt:  This means “Appointment”.  Be careful not to use “Apt.” which actually is short for
“apartment”!

ASAP:  “As Soon As Possible” – something needs to be done quickly!

ETA:   “Estimated Time of Arrival” – “What is the ETA on that package from Japan?”

Dept.:  “Department”.

H.R.:  Human Resources.  Can also end with “Manager”, “Management”, “Department”, etc.

CEO:  “Chief Executive Officer”

COO:  “Chief Operations Officer”

V.P.:  “Vice President”

VIP:  “Very Important Person”.  “We were given the VIP treatment by our suppliers today.”

RSVP:  French – Respondez sil-vous plait.  “respond if you please” is the literal translation, but in English we just say “please respond”.  This can be used in invitations, networking events, conferences, meetings etc.  “John if you want to come to the Christmas party with me you have to rsvp asap, so I know who is riding with me in my van.”

C.C.:  “Carbon Copy”, or identical copy.  Used in memos and emails.  This way you can send your email to many people at once.  Everyone can see the list of emails in the C.C. section.  We also use this in speaking at the office, for example “Mary can you request a Lunch N’ Learn on communication skills from H.R., and C.C. me on it (the email) please?

B.C.C.:  “Blind Carbon Copy” – same as above, but no one except you can see the email addresses in this section.

There are more but this list is a good start.  Enjoy!

Coach Ric

How to write a 5-paragraph report

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Initial Criteria for Writing Reports

Writing Conventions:

These are the basic parts of your writing: the spelling, punctuation, grammar, and
sentence structure. Do errors make it hard to understand your writing?

Logic:

Logic determines the order of your writing and how easy it is to follow your ideas. Proper logic determines how well your introduction, body, and conclusion work together and how logical your order of ideas are inside each paragraph.

Style:

Here, your sentence variety and use of idioms and vocabulary are very important. How fluent is your language? Are your sentences precise? Good reports exhibit a varied repertoire of sentence types, along with an extensive vocabulary.

Meaning:

Is the topic and ideas specific to your own experience and have they been conveyed well. Did you show with details exactly what you mean? Did you save your assertions for the topic and “statement making” sentences? Are your ideas convincing? Are they explained logically or systematically?

Originality

Originality can dramatically improve the reader’s experience but can be an unnecessary distraction for some topics. Is there a balance between accuracy, statements for effect and originality based on the topic?

Titles

A title should be an exciting and accurate label of the contents of your report.

Simple, short and clear so it is understood quickly.

Directly connected to the reports main ideas.

Interesting, to make the reader want to read the report.

Capitalize all words except the small words (a, the, an, for and so on) or, capitalize the whole word.

Remember a topic is not a title!

Introduction

An introduction contains a topic sentence that conveys the main idea or statement of the report. This is the most important sentence of your whole report and needs to be the most carefully written.

Introductions are general compared to the ideas in the report, but related directly to the ideas in the report. Don’t give away too much. Save the details for the body.

Body Paragraphs (3)

The body is the center of the sandwich. Body paragraphs are a standard design: topic sentence, detailed examples with a concluding sentence. The body paragraphs support the topic and provides supportive examples with descriptions, and details.

Make it easy for the reader to follow from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. Keep to one idea in one paragraph. Each of these ideas relates directly to the topic.

Put your best paragraph first, weakest in the middle and your second best paragraph last.

Conclusion

The conclusion is usually larger than the introduction.

Restate your topic as the first sentence of the conclusion.

Summarize the ideas of the body paragraphs without repeating everything point-by-point.

Conclusions often contains a final opinion, suggestion or prediction related to the topic that ends the report.

****
Reprinted with permission from:

Blog URL: http://study-english-in-niagara-falls.blogspot.com/

What Those Words on Yearly Performance Reviews REALLY Mean

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Hi folks,

It’s been a while since my last update. I apologize for my tardiness. I have been quite busy with coaching, a presentation on PowerPoint repair, and setting up employee training courses at companies for immigrants who have English as a second language. In addition, I am moving in a couple of weeks. Busy busy!

Today I want to share with you a joke that originated as an email-based forward. You know those annoying forwarded messages that you get daily that crowd your inbox? You are bothered to receive them yet still curious to open some of them, if not all. The problem is, every once in a while, there is a good one. And that is what probably keeps us from asking people NOT to forward stuff to us. That, or the fact that we are sometimes guilty of the same offense!

Without further ado, I present to you a list that was a forwarded email. I do not know who the original author is, but did notice that they use British English spelling.

My thanks to my client Tatiana, who kindly provided this list to me. (I actually requested that she forward it to me – how is that for a change?)

What Those Words on Yearly Performance Reviews REALLY Mean:

1. Outgoing Personality: Always going out of the office
2. Great Presentation Skills: Able to B.S.
3. Good Communication Skills: Spends lots of time on phone
4. Work is First Priority: Too ugly to get a date
5. Active Socially: Drinks a lot
6. Independent Worker: Nobody knows what s/he does
7. Quick Thinking: Offers plausible excuses
8. Careful Thinker: Won’t make a decision
9. Uses Logic on Difficult Jobs: Gets someone else to do it
10. Expresses Themselves Well: Speaks English
11. Meticulous Attention to Detail: A nit-picker
12. Has Leadership Qualities: Is tall or has a louder voice
13. Exceptionally Good Judgement: Lucky
14. Keen Sense of Humour: Knows a lot of dirty jokes
15. Career Minded: Back stabber
16. Loyal: Cannot get a job anywhere else
17. Plans for Promotion/Advancement: Buys drinks for all the boys
18. Of Great Value to the Organisation: Gets to work on time
19. Relaxed Attitude: Sleeps at desk

Textbooks are the Beginning, Not the End

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I love books. I enjoy flipping through the pages and seeing if the style of the book matches my learning style. In that way I will know if I will read it and understand it, or if I will be bored and waste my time and money.

I have taught ESL (English as a Second Language) since 1997, in Asia, Europe and North America. I have taught at colleges and private schools, and now I train immigrants and foreign-trained workers for my own company.

At school we are ‘forced’ to read certain books, because they are ‘good for us’. No problem. That’s life.

However, one important thing to remember, for students and teachers, is that textbooks are the beginning of knowledge, not the end. A textbook is a solid base, but it is not a perfect fit for everyone. Therefore you must ‘tailor it’ to the class, country, ESL level and even if possible, to the individual.

3 letters you should always remember: ISV. What does ISV stand for? “Industry-Specific Vocabulary”. Whether you are working or are a student, you need general English books of course, but you also need to practice your specific field of interest or career. Makes sense right?

Think of the textbook like vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Pretty good by itself. But if you add a few things that you really like (e.g. cherry, maple syrup, gummy bears? etc.) it will make a great sundae for you!  Your English study should have the same philosophy.

Start with the solid base of Vanilla or Chocolate ice cream, and then add the ‘toppings’ that will make it ‘tailored’ to your taste buds. Same as with English. Text books are great, but you need to add to them. What could you add?   Think ISV, appropriate cultural references, idioms & slang, related history, models and templates, field trips, etc.  That way you can really enjoy teaching ESL and/or learning ESL that is tailored to your unique situation. We are all unique, right?

Idioms from Snow

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Well it is the season for this topic, at least here in Canada and the northern U.S.
(I have modified these from http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/snow)

To be (as) pure as the driven snow:

Pure and chaste (Often used ironically.)
E.g. Jill: Sue must have gone to bed with every man in town. Jane: And I always thought she was as pure as the driven snow!

A snow bunny:
1. Someone learning to ski.
E.g. This little slope is for snow bunnies. They call it the ‘bunny hill’.
2. A young, attractive female at a skiing lodge.
E.g. Some cute little snow bunny came over and sat beside me. This place is swarming with snow bunnies that have never even seen a ski.

Snowed in:
Trapped (somewhere) because of too much snow, most likely due to a recent snow storm.
E.g. The snow was so deep that we were snowed in for three days. Luckily we had enough food to last us a while.

Snowed under:
Overworked; exceptionally busy.
E.g. Look, I’m really snowed under at the moment. Can this wait?

A snow job:

An attempt to persuade or deceive someone by praising them or not telling the truth.
E.g. Dane will need to do a snow job on his Dad if he’s ever going to borrow the car again, after getting into so many fender-benders (minor car accidents).

Enjoy and stay warm!