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Business Communication:

Making Connections in a

Digital World, 11th Edition

VI. CrossCultural

Communication,

Correctness, Technology,

Research

17. Correctness of

Communication

The McGrawHill

Companies, 2008

c h a p t e r s e v e n t e e n

Correctness of Communication

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to use the acceptedstandards of English grammar and punctuation in written businesscommunications. To reach this goal, you should be able to

1 Punctuate messages correctly.

2 Write complete, grammatically correct sentences, avoiding suchproblems as awkward construction, dangling modifiers, andmisuse of words.

3 Determine when to spell out numbers and when to express themin numeral form according to standards of correctness.

4 Spell words correctly by applying spelling rules and using adictionary or spell checker.

5 Use capital letters for all proper names, first words of sentences,

and first words of complimentary closes.

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CHAPTER 17 Correctness of Communication 503

I N T R O D U C T O R Y S I T U A T I O N

The Effects of Correctness on Communication

Play the role of Mike Rook, a purchasing agent for Hewlett-Packard, and read through todays mail. The first letter

comes from Joe Spivey, sales manager, B and B Manufacturing Company. You have not met the writer, though you

talked to him on the phone a few days ago. At that time, you were favorably impressed with Spiveys enthusiasm

and ability, and with B and B. In fact, you assumed that after he gave you the information you needed about B and

Bs products and services, you would begin buying from it.

As you read Spiveys letter, however, you are startled. Could this be the same person I talked with? you ask

yourself. There in the first paragraph is an it dont,a clear error of subjectverb agreement. Farther down, an itsis

used to show possession rather than its. Spivey apparently uses the sprinkle system for placing commasthat is,

he sprinkles them wherever his whims direct. His commas often fall in strange places. For example, he writes, Our

salespeople, say the Rabb Company engineers, will verify the durability of Ironskin protective coating, but you think

he means Our salespeople say the Rabb Company engineers will verify the durability of Ironskin protective coat-

ing. The two sentences, which differ only in their punctuation, have distinctly different meanings. Spiveys messageis filled with such errors.

In general, you now have a lower opinion of Spivey and his company. Perhaps youll have to take a long look at

B and Bs products and services. After all, the products and services that a company provides are closely related to

the quality of its people.

The problem just described is a very real one in business. Image does influence the success of both companies

and people. And correctness in writing influences image. Thus, you will want to make certain that your writing is cor-

rect, so that it helps form a favorable image both of you and of your company. The material presented in the pages

that follow should help you in that effort.

The correctness of your communication will be important to you and your company. Itwill be important to you because people will judge you by it, and how they judge youwill help determine your success in life. It will be important to your company becauseit will help convey the image of competence that companies like. People judge a com-pany by how its employees act, think, talk, and write. Company executives want such

judgments to be favorable.

THE NATURE OF CORRECTNESSNot all people agree that there are standards for correct communication. In fact, somepeople think there should be no general standards of this kind, that whatever com-municates in a given case is all right. Businesspeople, however, generally accept thestandards for correct usage that educated people have developed over the years. Theseare the standards that you have studied in your English composition classes and that

appear in textbooks. Businesspeople expect you to follow them. These standards of correctness have one basic purpose: to assist in communicating.To some people the standards of correctness appear arbitrary or unnecessary. But suchis not the case. They are designed to reduce misunderstandingto make communi-cation more precise. When you communicate precisely, you practice good ethics bymeeting your readers needs for understandable messages. It is only in this light thatwe can justify studying them. The practical value of these standards is easily illustrated. Take, for example, thefollowing two sentences. Their words are the same; only their punctuation differs. Butwhat a difference the punctuation makes!

The teacher, said the student, is careless.

The teacher said, The student is careless.

People judge you andyour company by thecorrectness of yourcommunication.

Businesspeopleexpect you to followthe generally acceptedstandards of English.

These standards ofcorrectness assist incommunicating.

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504 PART 6 Cross-Cultural Communication, Correctness, Technology, Research

Or what about the following pair of sentences? Who is speaking, the Democrats orthe Republicans? The commas make a difference.

The Democrats, say the Republicans, will win.

The Democrats say the Republicans will win.

Here are two more sentences. The difference here needs no explanation.

He looked at her stern.

He looked at her sternly.

Because the standards of correctness are important to your communication in busi-

ness, this chapter will review them. The review is not complete, for much more spacewould be needed for complete coverage. But the major standards are covered, thosethat most often present problems in your writing. For your convenience, the standardsare coded with symbols (letters and numbers). You should find these symbols useful inidentifying the standards. Your instructor should find them useful as grading marks toidentify errors in your writing. You probably already know many of the standards of correctness, so the followinginformation will not all be new to you. To help you determine how much you know anddo not know, you should take the self-analysis test at the end of the chapter or on thetextbook website. This will enable you to study the standards selectively. Because theself-analysis test covers only the more frequently used standards, however, you wouldbe wise to review the entire chapter.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N M A T T E R S

Can You Detect the Differences in Meaning the Punctuation Makes?

Whats the latest dope?

Whats the latest, dope?

The groom was asked to call the guests names as they arrived.

The groom was asked to call the guests names as they arrived.

A clever dog knows its master.

A clever dog knows its master.

Everyone, I know, has a problem.

Everyone I know has a problem.

Do not break your bread or roll in your soup.

Do not break your bread, or roll in your soup.She ate a half-fried chicken.

She ate a half fried chicken.

I left him convinced he was a fool.

I left him, convinced he was a fool.

In the parade will be several hundred children, carrying flags and many important officials.

In the parade will be several hundred children, carrying flags, and many important officials.

The play ended, happily.

The play ended happily.

Thirteen people knew the secret, all told.

Thirteen people knew the secret; all told.

The following reviewcovers the majorstandards. Theyare coded for yourconvenience.

Take the self-analysistest to determine yourpresent knowledge of thestandards.

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STANDARDS FOR PUNCTUATIONThe following explanations cover the most important standards for correctness in

punctuation. For reasons of accuracy, the explanations use some technical words. Evenso, the illustrations should make the standards clear.

Apostrophe: Apos 1Use the apostrophe to show the possessive case of nouns and indefinite pronouns. Ifthe word does not end in s,add an apostrophe and an s. If the word ends in s,add onlyan apostrophe.

Nominative Form Possessive Form

company companys

employee employees

someone someones

companies companies

employees employees

Proper names and singular nouns ending in ssounds are exceptions. To such wordsyou may add either an apostrophe and an sor just an apostrophe. Add only an apostro-phe to the nominative plural.

Nominative Form Possessive Form

Texas (singular) Texass, Texas

Jones (singular) Joness, Jones

Joneses (plural) Joneses

countess (singular) countesss, countess

boss (singular) bosss

Apos 2Use an apostrophe to mark the place in a contraction where letters are omitted. Do notuse it to make personal pronouns possessive (its, hers).

it is = its

has not = hasnt

cannot = cant

Brackets: BktsSet off in brackets words that you wish to insert in a quotation.

The use of this type of mentor [the personal coach] may still be increasing.

Direct supervision has diminished in importance during the past decade [thereport was written in 2005], when 63 percent of the reporting business firms thatstarted programs used teams.

Colon: Cln 1Use the colon to introduce an enumeration, a formal quotation, or a statement ofexplanation.

Enumeration:Working in this department are three classes of support: clericalsupport, computer support, and customer support.

Formal quotation:President Hartung had this to say about the proposal: Anysuch movement that fails to get the support of the workers from all divisions failsto get my support.

Explanation:At this time the company was pioneering a new marketing idea: It wasattempting to sell customized products directly to consumers through its website.

Use the apostrophe toshow possession.

Mark omissions incontractions with theapostrophe.

Use brackets to set offwords that you insert in aquotation.

Use the colon tointroduce formalstatements.

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Cln 2Do not use the colon when the thought of the sentence should continue without inter-ruption. If introducing a list by a colon, the colon should be preceded by a word thatexplains or identifies the list.

Not this:Cities in which new sales offices are in operation are: Fort Smith,Texarkana, Lake Charles, Jackson, and Biloxi.

But this:Cities in which new sales offices are in operation are Fort Smith,Texarkana, Lake Charles, Jackson, and Biloxi.

Or this:Cities with new sales offices are as follows: Fort Smith, Texarkana, LakeCharles, Jackson, and Biloxi.

Comma: Cma 1Use the comma to separate independent (main) clauses connected by a coordinating

conjunction. Some coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or,and nor. (An indepen-dent clause has a subject and a verb and stands by itself. A coordinating conjunctionconnects clauses, words, or phrases of equal rank.)

Only two components of the index declined, and these two account for only 12percent of the total weight of the index.

New hybrid automobiles are moving at record volumes, but used-car sales arelagging behind the record pace set two years ago.

Make exceptions to this rule, however, in the case of compound sentences consist-ing of short and closely connected clauses.

We sold and the price dropped.

Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.

Cma 21Separate the items listed in a series by commas. In order to avoid misinterpretationof the rare instances in which some of the items listed have compound constructions,it is always good to include the comma between the last two items (before the finalconjunction).

Good copy must cover facts with accuracy, sincerity, honesty, and conviction.

Direct advertising can be used to introduce salespeople, fill in betweensalespeoples calls, cover territory where salespeople cannot be maintained, andkeep pertinent reference material in the hands of prospects.

The DuPont Color Popularity Report conducted in 2005 indicated that in NorthAmerica silver, white, blue, and black cars were the top five colors favored bythe public.

Do not use the colonwhen it breaks thethought flow.

Use the comma toseparate clausesconnected by and, but,or, and nor.

Use the comma toseparate (1) items in aseries and

FOXTROT Bill Amend

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Cma 22Separate coordinate adjectives in a series by commas if they modify the same noun andif no andconnects them. A good test to determine whether adjectives are coordinate isto insert an andbetween them. If the anddoes not change the meaning, the adjectivesare coordinate.

Miss Pratt has been a reliable, faithful, efficient employee for 20 years.

We guarantee that this is a good, clean car.

Blue office furniture is Mr. Orrs recommendation for the new conference room.(Office furnitureis practically a compound noun;bluemodifies both words.)

A big crescent wrench proved to be best for the task. (Theandwont fit betweenbigand crescent.)

Cma 3Set off nonrestrictive modifiers by commas. By a nonrestrictive modifierwe mean amodifier that could be omitted from the sentence without changing its meaning. Re-strictive modifiers (those that restrict the words they modify to one particular object)are not set off by commas. A restrictive modifier cannot be left out of the sentencewithout changing its meaning.

Restrictive: The salesperson who sells the most will get a bonus. (Who sells themostrestricts the meaning to a particular salesperson.)

Nonrestrictive:Diana Chan, who was the companys top salesperson forthe year, was awarded a bonus. (If the clause who was the companys top

salesperson for the yearis omitted, the meaning of the sentence is not changed.)

Restrictive:J. Ward & Company is the firm that employs most of the physicallydisabled in this area.

Nonrestrictive:J. Ward & Company, the firm that employs most of the physicallydisabled in this area, has gained the admiration of the community.

Notice that some modifiers can be either restrictive or nonrestrictive, depending on

the writers intended meaning.Restrictive:All the cars that were damaged in the flood were sold at a discount.(Implies that some of the cars were not damaged.)

Nonrestrictive:All the cars, which were damaged by the flood, were sold at adiscount. (Implies that the entire fleet of cars was damaged.)

Cma 41Use commas to set off parenthetical expressions. A parenthetic expression consists ofwords that interrupt the normal flow of the sentence. In a sense, they appear to be stuckin. In many instances, they are simply words out of normal order. For example, thesentence A full-page, black-and-white advertisement was run in the Daily Bulletincontains a parenthetical expression when the word order is altered: An advertisement,full-page and in black and white, was run in theDaily Bulletin.

This practice, it is believed, will lead to financial ruin.

Merck, as The Wall Street Journalreports, has sharply increased its allianceactivity.

Although in such cases you may use dashes or the parentheses in place of commas,the three marks differ in the degree to which they separate the enclosed words fromthe rest of the sentence. The comma is the weakest of the three, and it is best usedwhen the material set off is closely related to the surrounding words. Dashes arestronger marks than commas and are used when the material set off tends to be longor contains internal punctuation marks. Parentheses, the strongest of the three, areprimarily used to enclose material that helps explain or supplement the main wordsof the sentence.

(2) adjectives in a series.

Use commas to set offnonrestrictive modifiers

(those that could be leftout without changingthe meaning of thesentence).

Use commas to setoff (1) parentheticalexpressions (commentsstuck in),

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Cma 42Use commas to set off an appositive (a noun or a noun and its modifiers inserted toexplain another noun) from the rest of the sentence. In a sense, appositives are paren-thetical expressions, for they interrupt the normal flow of the sentence.

UPS, our primary shipper, is leasing a new distribution center in China.

St. Louis, home office of our Midwest district, will be the permanent site of ourannual sales meeting.

President Cartwright, a self-educated woman, is the leading advocate of onlinetraining for employees.

But appositives that are required for the sentence meaning are not set off by commas.

The wordliabilitiesis not understood by most people.

Our next shipment will come on the shipAlberta.

Cma 43

Set off parenthetical words include such transitional expressions as however, in fact, ofcourse, for example, and consequently with commas.

It is apparent, therefore, that the buyers resistance was caused by anovervigorous sales campaign.

After the first experiment, for example, the traffic flow increased 10 percent.

The company, however, will be forced to adopt a more competitive pricingstrategy.

Included in this group of parenthetical words may be introductory interjections (oh,alas) and responsive expressions (yes, no, surely, indeed, well, and and so on). But ifthe words are strongly exclamatory or are not closely connected with the rest of thesentence, they may be punctuated as a sentence. (No. Yes. Indeed.)

Yes, the decision to increase product placement advertising has been made.

Oh, contribute whatever you think is appropriate.

Cma 44When more than one unit appears in a date or an address, set off the units by commas.

One unit:December 30 is the date of our annual inventory.

One unit:The company has one outlet in Ohio.

More than one unit: December 30, 1906, is the date the Johnston Company firstopened its doors.

More than one unit:Richmond, Virginia, is the headquarters of the new salesdistrict.

Cma 51

Use the comma after a subordinate clause that precedes the main clause.Although it is durable, this package does not have eye appeal.

Since there was little store traffic on aisle 13, the area was converted intostorage space.

Cma 52Place a comma after an introductory verbal phrase. A verbal phrase is one that containssome verb derivative: a gerund, a participle, or an infinitive.

Gerund phrase:After gaining the advantage, we failed to press on to victory.

Participle phrase: Realizing his mistake, Ron instructed his direct reports to keepa record of all salvaged equipment.

(2) apposition words(words explaining

another word),

(3) certain parantheticalwords (in fact, however),and

(4) units in a date oraddress.

Use the comma after (1)introductory subordinateclauses and

(2) introductory verbalphrases.

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Infinitive phrase:To increase the turnover of automobile accessories, we mustfirst improve their display area.

Cma 61Use the comma only for good reason. It is not a mark to be inserted indiscriminatelyat the writers whim. As a rule, the use of commas should be justified by one of thestandard practices previously noted. Do not be tricked into putting a comma between the subject and the verb.

The thought that he could not afford to fail spurred him on. (No comma after fail.)

Cma 62Take exception to the preceding standards wherever the insertion of a comma will helpclarity of expression.

Not this:From the beginning inventory methods of Hill Company have beenhaphazard.

But this:From the beginning, inventory methods of Hill Company have beenhaphazard.

Not this:Ever since she has been a model worker.

But this:Ever since, she has been a model worker.

Dash: DshUse the dash to set off an element for emphasis or to show interrupted thought. In par-ticular, use it with long parenthetical expressions or parenthetical expressions contain-ing internal punctuation (see Cma 41). Most word processing software will usuallyallow you to insert a dash with a special character code. Depending on the software,you either insert the code through a combination of keystrokes or by selecting the char-acter from a character map. You can also make the dash by striking the hyphen twice,

without spacing before or after.Budgets for some past years2006, for examplewere prepared withoutconsulting the department heads.

The test proved that the new process is simple, effective, accurateand moreexpensive.

Only one personthe supervisor in chargehas authority to approve a policyexception.

If you want a voice in the governmentvote.

Exclamation Mark: ExUse the exclamation mark at the end of a sentence or an exclamatory fragment to showstrong emotion. But use it sparingly; never use it with trivial ideas.

Weve done it again!

Congratulations! Your outstanding performance review qualifies you for merit pay.

Hyphen: Hpn 1Use the hyphen to indicate the division of a word at the end of the line. You must dividebetween syllables. It is generally impractical to leave a one-letter syllable at the end ofa line (a-bove) or to carry over a two-letter syllable to the next line (expens-es). If you turn on the hyphenation feature of your word processing software, you canlet it automatically take care of hyphenating words. This feature permits you to set ahyphenation range. The wider the range, the fewer words that will be hyphenated andthe more ragged your margin; the narrower the range, the more words that will behyphenated and the smoother your right margin. You also have the option of controlling

Do not use the commawithout good reason,such as between thesubject and the verb.

Use the commawherever it helps clarity.

Use the dash to showinterruption or emphasis.

Use exclamation marksto show strong feeling.

Mark word divisions withhyphens.

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the hyphenation you desire. You can accept what the program recommends, suggest adifferent place to hyphenate, or tell it not to hyphenate.

Hpn 21Place hyphens between the parts of some compound words. Generally, the hyphen isused whenever its absence would confuse the meaning of the words.

Compound nouns:brother-in-law, cure-all, city-state, foreign-born

Compound numbers twenty-one through ninety-nine:fifty-five, eighty-one

Compound adjectives (two or more words used before a noun as a singleadjective):long-termcontract, 50-gallon drum, five-day grace period, end-of-

month clearance

Prefixes (most have been absorbed into the word): co-organizer, ex-chairperson,anti-inflation, self-sufficient

Hpn 22

A proper name used as a compound adjective needs no hyphen or hyphens to hold ittogether as a visual unit for the reader. The capitals perform that function.

Correct:a Lamar High School student

Correct:a United Airlines pilot

Hpn 23Two or more modifiers in normal grammatical form and order need no hyphens. Par-ticularly, a phrase consisting of an unmistakable adverb (one ending in ly) modifyingan adjective or participle that in turn modifies a noun shows normal grammatical orderand is readily grasped by the reader without the benefit of the hyphen. But an adverbnot ending in lyis joined to its adjective or participle by the hyphen.

No hyphen needed:a poorly drawn chart

Use the hyphen:a well-prepared chart

Italics: Ital 1For the use of italics for book titles, see QM 4. Note that italics also are used for titlesof periodicals, works of art, long musical compositions, and names of naval vesselsand aircraft.

Ital 2Italicize rarely used foreign wordsif you must use them (wunderbar, keiretsu,oobeya). After a foreign word is widely accepted, however, it does not need to beitalicized (carpe diem, faux pas, verboten). A current dictionary is a good source forinformation on which foreign words are italicized.

Ital 3Italicize a word, letter, or figure used as its own name. Without this device, we couldnot write this set of rules. Note the use of italics throughout to label name words.

The little wordsellis still in the dictionary.

The pronoun whichshould always have a noun as a clear antecedent. (Withoutthe italics, this one becomes a fragment.)

Parentheses: ParensUse the parenthesis to set off words that are parenthetical or are inserted to explain orsupplement the principal message (see Cma 41).

Place hyphens betweenthe parts of compoundwords.

Do not place hyphensbetween (1) propernames and

(2) words that only followeach other.

Use italics for (1)publication titles,

(2) foreign words andabbreviations, and

(3) a word used as itsown name.

Set off parentheticalwords with parentheses.

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Electronic reference tools, like reference books, allow

writers to look up facts when they need them. All kinds

of reference materials are available electronically, from

T E C H N O L O G Y I N B R I E F

Software Enhances the Usefulness of Reference Tools

David Ricks phenomenal illustrations (Blunders in International Business,2006)show readers that even large corporations make incredible mistakes.

As soon as Owen Smith was elected chairperson (the vote was almost 2 to 1),he introduced his plan for reorganization.

Period: Pd 1Use the period to indicate the end of a declarative sentence, an imperative statement,or a courteous request.

Declarative sentence:The survey will be completed and returned by October 26.

Imperative statement: Complete and return the survey by October 26.

Courteous request:Will you please complete and return the survey by October 26?

End a declarativesentence, an imperativestatement, or a courteousrequest with a period.

dictionaries to grammar and style guides, encyclopedias,

ZIP code directories, quotation databases, maps, and

much, much more. These programs vary widely in their

similarities to and differences from print reference books.

Often they enhance the printed form,

giving the user more ways to use them.

Electronic dictionaries let you search for

words the traditional way, with wildcards,

as soundalikes (homophones), by words

in their definition, and more. In the bottom

screen, you see a search on the Merriam-Webster website for the word fuchsiain a

reverse dictionary by searching its defini-

tion for the words redand flower. As you

can see in the middle screen, the software

identified 19 words with these search

terms. Sometime you may recognize the

word the minute you see it on the list; other

times youll need to review the definitions

and perhaps check any illustrations. If you

were unsure of the spelling, you could

search by its beginning or ending letters.

Also, you may know the word begins with

fuand ends with a,but not know the middle of the spell-

ing. You could use the asterisk (*) wildcard, searchingwith fu*ato find it.

Electronic dictionaries go beyond the printed diction-

ary by providing audio as well. The user here, looking up

the wordfuchsia, would simply click on the sound icon

to hear the word pronounced. Additionally, electronic

dictionaries often link to other definitions to help users

understand the meaning when words in the definition

are unclear. Such dictionaries, as well as all reference

software, help writers to choose words that communi-

cate clearly and to be correct in their writing.

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Pd 2Use periods after abbreviations or initials.

Ph.D., Co., Inc., a.m., etc.

But omit the periods and use all capitals in the initials or acronyms of agencies,networks, associations, and such: IRS, NBC, OPEC, EEC.

Pd 3Use ellipses (a series of periods) to indicate the omission of words from a quoted pas-sage. If the omitted part consists of something less than a sentence, three periods arecustomarily placed at the point of omission (a fourth period is added if the omission isa sentence or more). If the omitted part is a paragraph or more, however, a full line ofperiods is used. In all cases, the periods are separated by spaces.

Logical explanations, however, have been given by authorities in the field. Someattribute the decline . . . to recent changes in the states economy. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Added to the labor factor is the high cost of raw material, which has tended to elimi-nate many marginal producers. Moreover, the rising cost of electric power in recentyears may have shifted the attention of many industry leaders to other forms ofproduction.

Question Mark: QPlace a question mark at the end of sentences that are direct questions.

What are the latest quotations on Disney common stock?

Will this campaign help sell Microsoft products?

But do not use the question mark with indirect questions.

The president was asked whether this campaign would help sell Microsoft

products.He asked me what the latest quotations on Disney common stock were.

Quotation Marks: QM 1Use quotation marks to enclose the exact words of a speaker or, if the quotation isshort, the exact words of a writer. Short written quotations are quotations of four lines or less, although authorities donot agree on this point. Some suggest three linesothers up to eight. Longer writtenquotations are best displayed without quotation marks and with an indented right andleft margin.

Short written quotation:Ben Bernanke sums up his presentation with thisstatement: The central bank will remain vigilant to ensure that recent increasesin inflation do not become chronic.

Oral quotation:This really should bring on a production slowdown, said Ms.Kuntz.

If a quotation is broken by explanation or reference words, each part of the quota-tion is enclosed in quotation marks.

Will you be specific, he asked, in recommending a course of action?

QM 2Enclose a quotation within a quotation with single quotation marks.

Professor Dalbey said, It has been a long time since I have heard a student say,Prof, we need more writing assignments.

Use a series of periodsto show omissions.

End direct questions withthe question mark.

Use quotation marks toenclose a speakers orwriters exact words.

Use single quotationmarks for a quotationwithin a quotation.

Use periods inabbreviations.

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QM 3Always place periods and commas inside quotation marks. Place semicolons andcolons outside the quotation marks. Place question marks and exclamation pointsinside if they apply to the quoted passage only and outside if they apply to the wholesentence.

If we are patient, he said, we will reach this years goals. (The comma andthe period are within the quotation marks.)

Is there a quorum? he asked. (The question mark belongs to the quotedpassage.)

Which of you said, I know where the error lies? (The question mark applies tothe entire sentence.

I conclude only this from the unions promise to force the hand ofmanagement: A strike will be its trump card.

QM 4

Enclose in quotation marks the titles of parts of publications (articles in a magazine,chapters in a book). But italicize the titles of whole publications or underline if youare handwriting.

The third chapter of the book Elementary Statistical Procedure is titledConcepts of Sampling.

Anne Fishers timely article, Fatal Mistakes When Starting a New Job, appearsin the current issue of Fortune.

Semicolon: SC 1Use the semicolon to separate independent clauses that are not connected by aconjunction.

The new contract provides wage increases; the original contract emphasizedshorter hours.

Covered by this standard are independent clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs(transitional expressions) such as however, nevertheless, therefore, then, moreover, andbesides.

The survey findings indicated a need to revise the policy; nevertheless, thepresident did not approve the proposed revision.

Small-town buyers favor the old model; therefore, the board concluded that bothmodels should be marketed.

SC 2You may use the semicolon to separate independent clauses joined by and, but, or, ornor(coordinating conjunctions) if the clauses are long or if they have other punctua-tion in them. In such situations, you may also use the semicolon for special emphasis.

The OCAW and the NUPNG, rivals from the beginning of the new industry,have shared almost equally in the growth of membership; but the OCAWpredominates among workers in the petroleum-products crafts, includingpipeline construction and operation, and the NUPNG leads in memberships ofchemical workers.

The market price was $6; but we paid $10.

SC 3Separate by semicolons the items in a list when the items have commas in them.

The following gains were made in the February year-to-year comparison: FortWorth, 7,300; Dallas, 4,705; Lubbock, 2,610; San Antonio, 2,350; Waco, 2,240;Port Arthur, 2,170; and Corpus Christi, 1,420.

Periods and commas goinside quotation marks;

semicolons and colonsgo outside; questionmarks and exclamationpoints go inside whenthey apply to the quotedpart and outside whenthey apply to the entiresentence.

Use quotation marks toenclose titles of parts ofa publication.

Use the semicolon toseparate independentclauses not connected bya conjunction.

You may chooseto separate with asemicolon independentclauses joined by aconjunction.

Use the semicolon toseparate items in a listwhen the items containcommas.

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Elected for the new term were Anna T. Zelnak, attorney from Cincinnati; Wilbur T.Hoffmeister, stockbroker and president of Hoffmeister Associates of Baltimore;and William P. Peabody, a member of the faculty of the University of Georgia.

SC 4Use the semicolon between equal (coordinate) units only. Do not use it to attach a de-pendent clause or phrase to an independent clause.

Not this:The flood damaged much of the equipment in Building 113; making itnecessary for management to close the area and suspend some employees.

But this:The flood damaged much of the equipment in Building 113, making itnecessary for management to close the area and suspend some employees.

Or this:The flood damaged much of the equipment in Building 113; thus, it wasnecessary for management to close the area and suspend some employees.

STANDARDS FOR GRAMMARLike the review of punctuation standards, the following summary of grammatical stan-dards is not intended as a complete handbook on the subject. Rather, it is a summary ofthe major trouble spots that business writers encounter. If you learn these grammaticalprinciples, you should be able to write with the correctness expected in business.

AdjectiveAdverb Confusion: AADo not use adjectives for adverbs or adverbs for adjectives. Adjectives modify onlynouns and pronouns; and adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Possibly the chief source of this confusion occurs in statements in which the modi-fier follows the verb. If the modifier refers to the subject, an adjective should be used.If it refers to the verb, an adverb is needed.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N M A T T E R S

Spell Check

Eye halve a spelling chequer

It came with my pea sea

It plainly marques four my revue

Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist aches is maid

It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the error riteIts rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it

I am shore your pleased two no

Its letter perfect awl the weigh

My chequer tolled me sew.

Sauce unknown

Use the semicolon onlybetween equal units.

Do not use adjectives foradverbs.

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Not this:She filed the records quick.

But this:She filed the records quickly. (Refers to the verb.)

Not this:John doesnt feelbadly.

But this:John doesnt feelbad. (Refers to the noun.)

Not this:The new cars lookbeautifully.

But this:The new cars lookbeautiful. (Refers to the noun.)

It should be noted that many words are both adjective and adverb (little, well, fast,much). And some adverbs have two forms, one the same as the adjective and the otherwith ly(slowand slowly, cheapandcheaply, quick and quickly).

Acceptable:All our drivers are instructed to drive slow.

Acceptable:All our drivers are instructed to drive slowly.

SubjectVerb Agreement: Agmt SVNouns and their verbs must agree in number. A plural noun must have a plural verbform; a singular noun must have a singular verb form.

Not this: Expendituresfor miscellaneous equipment wasexpected to decline.(Expenditures is plural, so its verb must be plural.)

But this: Expendituresfor miscellaneous equipment wereexpected to decline.

Not this:Thepresident,as well as the staff, werenot able to attend. (Presidentisthe subject, and the number is not changed by the modifying phrase.)

But this:Thepresident,as well as the staff,wasnot able to attend.

Not this:Theres several reasons why we should act.

But this:There are several reasons why we should act.

Compound subjects (two or more nouns joined by and) require plural verbs.

Not this:Thesalespeople and theirmanageris in favor of the proposal.(Salespeople andmanagermake a compound subject, butisis singular.)

But this:Thesalespeopleand theirmanager arein favor of the proposal.

Not this:Received in the morning delivery wasanink cartridge and tworeamsofcopy paper. (Ink cartridge andreamsare the subjects; the verb must be plural.)

But this:Received in the morning delivery wereanink cartridgeand tworeamsof copy paper.

Collective nouns may be either singular or plural, depending on the meaningintended.

The committee havecarefullystudiedthe proposal. (Committeeis thought of asseparate individuals.)

The committee has carefullystudiedthe proposal. (The committeeis thought ofas a unit.)

As a rule, the pronouns anybody, anyone, each, either, everyone, everybody, neither,nobody, somebody, and someonetake a singular verb. The word nonemay be eithersingular or plural, depending on whether it is used to refer to one unit or to more thanone unit.

Eitherof the advertising campaignsiscostly.

Nobodywho watches the clockis successful.

Noneof the workers understands his assignment.

Noneof the workers understandtheir assignments.

Adverbial Noun Clause: ANDo not use an adverbial clause as a noun clause. Clauses beginning with because,when, where, if,and similar adverbial connections are not properly used as subjects,objects, or complements of verbs.

Verbs must agreein number with their

subjects.

Compound subjectsrequire plural verbs.

Collective nouns may besingular or plural.

The pronouns listed hereare singular.

Do not use an adverbialclause as a noun clause.

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Not this:The reason wasbecausehe did not submit a report.

But this:The reason was thathe did not submit a report.

Not this:A time-series graph is where(or when) changes in an index such as

wholesale prices are indicated.

But this:A time-series graph is the picturing of . . .

Awkward: AwkAvoid awkward writing. By awkward writingwe mean word arrangements that areunconventional, uneconomical, or simply not the best for quick understanding.

Dangling Modifiers: DngAvoid the use of modifiers that do not clearly modify the right word in the sentence.Such modifiers are said to dangle. They are both illogical and confusing. You can usuallycorrect sentences containing dangling constructions by inserting the noun or pronoun

that the modifier describes or by changing the dangling part to a complete clause.Not this:Believing that credit customers should have advance notice of the sale,special letters were mailed to them.

But this: Believing that credit customers should have advance notice of thesale, we mailed special letters to them. (Improvement is made by inserting thepronoun modified.)

Or this:Because we believed that credit customers should have advancenotice of the sale, special letters were mailed to them. (Improvement is made bychanging the dangling element to a complete clause.)

Dangling modifiers are of four principal types: participial phrases, elliptical clauses,gerund phrases, and infinitive phrases.

Not this:Believing that District 7 was not being thoroughly covered, anadditional salesperson was assigned to the area. (Dangling participial phrase.)

But this:Believing that District 7 was not being thoroughly covered, the salesmanager assigned an additional salesperson to the area.

Not this: By working hard, your goal can be reached. (Dangling gerund phrase.)

But this:By working hard, you can reach your goal.

Not this:To succeed at this job, long hours and hard work must not be shunned.(Dangling infinitive phrase.)

But this:To succeed at this job, one must not shun long hours and hard work.

Not this:While waiting on a customer, the watch was stolen. (Dangling ellipticalclausea clause without a noun or verb.)

But this: While the salesperson was waiting on a customer, the watch wasstolen.

However, several generally accepted introductory phrases are permitted to dangle.Included in this group are generally speaking, confidentially speaking, taking all things

into consideration,and such expressions as in boxing, in welding,and in farming.Generally speaking, business activity is at an all-time high.

In farming, the land must be prepared long before planting time.

Taking all things into consideration, this applicant is the best for the job.

Sentence Fragment: FragAvoid the sentence fragment. Although the sentence fragment may sometimes be usedto good effect, as in sales writing, it is best avoided by all but the most skilled writers.The sentence fragment consists of any group of words that are used as if they werea sentence but are not a sentence. Probably the most frequent cause of sentence frag-ments is the use of a subordinate clause as a sentence.

Avoid awkward writing.

Avoid dangling modifiers(those that do not clearlymodify a specific word).

Some introductoryphrases are permitted todangle.

Avoid sentencefragments (words usedas a sentence that arenot a sentence).

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Not this:Believing that you wil l want an analysis of sales for November. We havesent you the figures.

But this: Believing that you will want an analysis of sales for November, we have

sent you the figures.Not this:He declared that such a procedure would not be practical. And that itwould be too expensive in the long run.

But this:He declared that such a procedure would not be practical and that itwould be too expensive in the long run.

Pronouns: Pn 1Make certain that the word each pronoun refers to (its antecedent) is clear. Failure toconform to this standard causes confusion, particularly in sentences in which two ormore nouns are possible antecedents or the antecedent is far away from the pronoun.

Not this:When the president objected to Mr. Carter, he told him to mind his ownbusiness. (Who told whom?)

But this:When the president objected to Mr. Carter, Mr. Carter told him to mind

his own business.Not this:The mixture should not be allowed to boil; so when you do it, watch thetemperature gauge. (Itdoesnt have an antecedent.)

But this:The mixture should not be allowed to boil; so when conducting theexperiment, watch the temperature gauge.

Not this:The Model Qis being introduced this year. Ads inUSA Today, The WallStreet Journal,and big-city newspapers over the country are designed to getsales off to a good start. It is especially designed for the business person who isnot willing to pay a big price.

But this:The Model Qis being introduced this year. Ads in USA Today, The WallStreet Journal,and big-city newspapers over the country are designed to getsales off to a good start. The new model is especially designed for the businessperson who is not willing to pay a big price.

Confusion may sometimes result from using a pronoun with an implied antecedent.

Not this:Because of the disastrous freeze in the citrus belt, it is necessary thatmost of them be replanted.

But this:Because of the disastrous freeze in the citrus belt, most of the citrusorchards must be replanted.

Except when the reference of which, that,and thisis perfectly clear, it is wise toavoid using these pronouns to refer to the whole idea of a preceding clause. Many timesyou can make the sentence clear by using a clarifying noun following the pronoun.

Not this(following a detailed presentation of the writers suggestion forimproving the company suggestion plan): This should be put into effect withoutdelay.

But this:This suggestion plan should be put into effect right away.

Confusion may also result when using a pronoun with a group noun as the antecedent. For reference to the group as a singular entity:

Not this:The committee gave their decision on the new proposal they reviewed.

But this:The committee gave its decision on the new proposal it reviewed.

For reference to the group as individual units:

Not this:The presenter polled the audience for its interpretation on the data.

But this:The presenter polled the audience for their interpretation on the data.

Pn 2The number of the pronoun should agree with the number of its antecedent (the word itstands for). If the antecedent is singular, its pronoun must be singular. If the antecedentis plural, its pronoun must be plural.

A pronoun should referclearly to a precedingword.

Usually avoid usingwhich, that, and thistorefer to broad ideas.

The number of a pronounshould be the same asthat of the word to whichthe pronoun refers.

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Not this:Taxes and insurance are expenses in any business, and it must beconsidered carefully in anticipating profits.

But this:Taxes and insurance are expenses in any business, and they must be

considered carefully in anticipating profits.Not this:Everybody should plan for their retirement. (Such words as everyone,everybody, andanybodyare singular.)

But this:Everybody should plan for his or her retirement.

Pn 3Take care to use the correct case of the pronoun. If the pronoun serves as the subject ofthe verb, or if it follows a form of the infinitive to be,use a pronoun in the nominativecase. (The nominative personal pronouns areI, you, he, she, it, we, and they).

He will record the minutes of the meeting.

I think it will be he.

If the pronoun is the object of a preposition or a verb, or if it is the subject of an

infinitive, use the objective case. (The objective personal pronouns are me, you, him,her, it, us, them.)

Not this:This transaction is between you andhe. (Heis nominative and cannotbe the object of the prepositionbetween.)

But this:This transaction is between you andhim.

Not this:Because the investigator praised Ms. Smith and I,we were promoted.

But this:Because the investigator praised Ms. Smith andme,we were promoted.

The case of a relative pronoun (who, whom) is determined by the pronouns use inthe clause it introduces. One good way of determining which case to use is to substitutethe personal pronoun for the relative pronoun. If the case of the personal pronoun thatfits is nominative, use who. If it is objective, use whom.

George Cutler is the salesperson who won the award. (He,nominative, could besubstituted for the relative pronoun; therefore, nominative whoshould be used.)

George Cutler is the salesperson whomyou recommended. (Objectivehimcouldbe substituted; thus, objectivewhomis used.)

The possessive case is used for pronouns that immediately precede a gerund (averbal noun ending in ing).

Ourselling of the stock frightened some of the conservative members of the board.

Heraccepting the money ended her legal claim to the property.

Parallelism: PrlParts of a sentence that express equal thoughts should be parallel (the same) in gram-matical form. Parallel constructions are logically connected by the coordinating con-

junctions and, but, and or. Care should be taken to see that the sentence elementsconnected by these conjunctions are of the same grammatical type. That is, if one ofthe parts is a noun, the other parts also should be nouns. If one of the parts is an infini-tive phrase, the other parts also should be infinitive phrases.

Not this:The company objectives for the coming year are to match last yearssales volume, higher earnings, and improving customer relations.

But this:The company objectives for the coming year are to match last yearssales volume, to increase earnings, and to improve customer relations.

Not this:Writing copy may be more valuable experience than to make layouts.

But this:Writing copy may be more valuable experience than making layouts.

Not this:The questionnaire asks for this information: number of employees, whatis our union status, and how much do we pay.

But this:The questionnaire asks for this information: number of employees,union affiliation, and pay rate.

Use the correct case ofpronoun.

Express equal thoughtsin parallel (equal)grammatical form.

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Tense: TnsThe tense of each verb, infinitive, and participle should reflect the logical time ofhappening of the statement. Every statement has its place in time. To communicate thatplace exactly, you must select your tenses carefully.

Tns 1Use present tense for statements of fact that are true at the time of writing.

Not this:Boston was not selected as a site for the headquarters because it wastoo near the coast. (Boston is still near the coast, isnt it?)

But this:Boston was not selected as a site for the headquarters because itistoonear the coast.

Tns 2Use past tense in statements covering a definite past event or action.

Not this:Mr. Burnssaysto me, Bill, youll never become an auditor.

But this:Mr. Burnssaidto me, Bill, youll never become an auditor.

Tns 3The time period reflected by the past participle (having been . . .) is earlier than that ofits governing verb. The present participle (being . . .) reflects the same time period asthat of its governing verb.

Not this:These debentures are among the oldest on record,beingissued inearly 1937.

But this: These debentures are among the oldest on record,having beenissuedin early 1937.

Not this:Ms. Sloan,having beenthe top salesperson on the force, was madesales manager. (Possible but illogical.)

But this:Ms. Sloan,beingthe top salesperson on the force, was made sales

manager.

Tns 4Verbs in subordinate clauses are governed by the verb in the main clause. When themain verb is in the past tense, you should usually also place the subordinate verb in apast tense (past, past perfect, or present perfect).

Inoticed[past tense] the discrepancy, and then Iremembered[same time as mainverb] the incidents that had caused it.

If the time of the subordinate clause is earlier than that of the main verb in pasttense, use past perfect tense for the subordinate verb.

Not this:In early July, wenoticed[past] that he exceeded[logically should beprevious to main verb] his quota three times.

But this:In early July, wenoticedthat hehad exceededhis quota three times.

The present perfect tense is used for the subordinate clause when the time of thisclause is subsequent to the time of the main verb.

Not this:Before the war we contributed[past] generously, but lately we forget[should be a time subsequent to the time of the main verb] our duties.

But this:Before the war we contributedgenerously, but lately wehave forgottenour duties.

Tns 5The present perfect tense does not logically refer to a definite time in the past. Instead,it indicates time somewhere in the indefinite past.

The tense of each verbshould show the logical

time of happening.

Use present tense forcurrent happenings.

Use past tense for pasthappenings.

The past participle(having been . . .)indicates a timeearlier than that of thegoverning verb, and thepresent participle (being. . .) indicates the sameperiod as that of thegoverning verb.

Verbs in the principalclause govern those insubordinate clauses.

Present perfect tense(have. . .) refers to theindefinite past.

Use of present perfecttense indicates timesomewhere in theindefinite past.

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Not this:Wehave audited your records on July 31 of 2005 and 2006.

But this:Weauditedyour records on July 31 of 2005 and 2006.

Or this:Wehave auditedyour records twice in the past.

Word Use: WUMisused words call attention to themselves and detract from the writing. The pos-sibilities of error in word use are infinite; the following list contains only a few of thecommon errors of this kind.

Dont Use Use

a long ways a long way

and etc. etc.

anywheres anywhere

continue on continue

different than different from

have got to mustin back of behind

in hopes of in hope of

in regards to in regard to

inside of within

kind of satisfied somewhat satisfied

nowhere near not nearly

nowheres nowhere

over with over

seldom ever seldom

try and come try to come

Wrong Word: WWWrong words refer to meaning one word and using another. Sometimes these wordsare confused by their spelling and sometimes by their meanings. Since the spell check-er wont find these errors, you need to proofread carefully to eliminate them. Here area few examples:

affect effect

among between

bow bough

capital capitol

cite sight, site

collision collusion

complement complimentcooperation corporation

deferential differential

desert dessert

except accept

implicit explicit

imply infer

plane plain

principal principle

stationary stationery

Use words correctly.

Check the spelling andmeanings of wordscarefully.

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STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF NUMBERS: NOQuantities may be spelled out or expressed as numerals. Whether to use one form or

the other is often a perplexing question. It is especially perplexing to business writers,for much of their work deals with quantitative subjects. Because the proper expressionof quantities is vital to business writers, the following notes on the use of numbers arepresented.

No 1Although authorities do not agree on number usage, business writers would do well tofollow the rule of nine. By this rule, you spell out numbers nine and below. You usefigures for numbers above nine.

The auditor found 13 discrepancies in the stock records.

The auditor found nine discrepancies in the stock records.

Apply the rule to both ordinal and cardinal numbers:

She was the seventh applicant.She was the 31st applicant.

No 2Make an exception to the rule of nine when a number begins a sentence. Spell out allnumbers in this position.

Seventy-three bonds and six debentures were destroyed.

Eighty-nine strikers picketed the north entrance.

No 3In comparisons, keep all numbers in the same form. If any number requires numeral

form, use numerals for all the numbers.We managed to salvage 3 printers, 1 scanner, and 13 monitors.

No 4Use numerals for all percentages.

Sales increases over last year were 9 percent on automotive parts, 14 percenton hardware, and 23 percent on appliances.

On whether to use the percent sign (%) or the word, authorities differ. One good ruleto follow is to use the percentage sign in papers that are scientific or technical and theword in all others. Also, it is conventional to use the sign following numbers in graph-ics. The trend in business appears to be toward using the sign. Consistent use of eitheris correct.

No 5Present days of the month in figure form when the month precedes the day.

June 29, 2008.

When days of the month appear alone or precede the month, they may be eitherspelled out or expressed in numeral form according to the rule of nine.

I will be there on the 13th.

The union scheduled the strike vote for the eighth.

Ms. Millican signed the contract on the seventh of July.

Sales have declined since the 14th of August.

Spell out numbersnine and under, anduse figures for highernumbers, except asfollows:

Spell out numbers thatbegin a sentence.

Keep in the same form allnumbers in comparisons.

Use numerals forpercentages.

Use figures for daysof the month when themonth precedes the day.

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No 6Use either of the two orders for date information. One, preferred by The Chicago

Manual of Style,is day, month, and year:

On 29 June 2008 we introduced a new product line.

The other is the conventional sequence of month, day, and year. This order requiresthat the year be set off by commas:

On June 29, 2008, we introduced a new product line.

No 7Present money amounts as you would other numbers. If you spell out the number, alsospell out the unit of currency.

Twenty-seven dollars

If you present the number as a figure, use the $ with U.S. currency and the appropri-ate abbreviation or symbol with other currencies.

U.S., Canada, and Mexico US $27.33, Can $27.33, Mex $27.33

Euro countries 202.61

Japan 2,178.61

Thailand B7,489.91

No 8Usually spell out indefinite numbers and amounts.

Over a million people live there.

The current population is about four hundred thousand.

Bill Gatess net worth is in the billions.

No 9Spell out a fraction such as one-halfthat stands alone (without a whole number) orbegins a sentence. However, if this results in long and awkward wording or if thecontext is technical, use the numeric form.

Two-thirds of all jobs in the United States are jobs in the information industry.

The median price of a home rose by 6 percent this year.

No 10Except in legal documents, do not express amounts in both figures and words.

For legal purposes:25 (twenty-five)

For business use:either the figure or the word, depending on circumstance

SPELLING: SPMisspelling is probably the most frequently made error in writing. And it is the leastexcusable. It is inexcusable because all one needs to do to virtually eliminate the erroris to use a dictionary and a spell checker. Unfortunately, spell checkers cannot detect acorrectly spelled, but misused, word. We must memorize to spell. Thus, becoming a good speller involves long, hardwork. Even so, you can improve your spelling significantly with relatively little effort.Studies show that fewer than 100 words account for most spelling errors. So if youwill learn to spell these most troublesome words, you will go a long way toward solv-ing your spelling problems. Eighty of these words appear in Figure 171. Although

For dates, use either day,month, year or month,

day, year sequence, thelatter with year set off bycommas.

Present amounts likeother numbers, spellingunits when numbersare spelled and usingappropriate symbols orabbreviations when infigures.

Usually spell indefinitenumbers and amounts.

Spell out fractions thatstand alone or begin asentence. Use numericswith whole numbers andin technical contexts.

Only use both words andfigures for legal reasons.

Spell words correctly.Use the dictionary.

See Figure 171 forthe 80 most commonlymisspelled words.

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absence

accessible

accommodate

achieve

analyze

argument

assistant

balloon

benefited

category

cede

changeable

committee

comparative

conscience

consciousdeductible

definitely

dependent

description

desirable

despair

development

disappear

disappoint

discriminate

drunkenness

embarrassment

equivalent

exceed

existence

forty

grammar

grievous

holiday

incidentallyindispensable

insistent

irrelevant

irresistible

irritable

leisure

license

misspelling

necessary

ninety

noticeable

occasionally

occurrence

panicky

parallel

paralyze

pastime

persistent

possesses

predictableprivilege

proceed

professor

pronunciation

pursue

questionnaire

receive

recommend

repetition

ridiculous

seize

separate

sergeant

sheriff

succeed

suddenness

superintendent

supersede

surprise

trulyuntil

vacuum

vicious

weird

Figure 171

Eighty of the Most

Frequently MisspelledWords

English spelling follows little rhyme or reason, a few helpful rules exist. You would dowell to learn and use them.

Rules for Word Plurals1. To form the plurals of most words, add s.

price, prices

quote, quotes

2. To form the plurals of words ending in s, sh, ch,andx,usually add esto the singular.

boss, bosses

relinquish, relinquishes

glitch, glitches

tax, taxes

3. To form the plural of words ending iny,if a consonant precedes they,drop theyandadd ies.But if theyis preceded by a vowel, add s.

company, companies

medley, medleys

key, keys

Other Spelling Rules1. Words ending in ceor gedo not drop the ewhen adding ousor able.

charge, chargeable

change, changeable

notice, noticeable

service, serviceable

2. Words ending in ldo not drop the lwhen adding ly.

final, finally

principal, principally

These three rules coverplurals for most words.

These rules cover fourother trouble areas ofspelling.

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3. Words ending in silent eusually drop the ewhen adding a suffix beginning with avowel.

have, having

believe, believable

dine, dining

time, timing

4. Place ibefore eexcept after c.

relieve conceive

believe receive

Exception: when the word is sounded as long a.

neighbor weigh

Exceptions:

either Fahrenheit height

seize surfeit efficient

sufficient neither foreign

leisure ancient seizure

weird financier codeine

forfeit seismograph sovereign

deficient science counterfeit

CAPITALIZATION: CAPUse capitals for the first letters of proper names. Exceptions include names designedor used by the owner to begin with lowercase such as eBay, iOmega, and nVidia.Common examples are these:

Streets: 317 East Boyd Avenue

Geographic places:Chicago, Indiana, Finland

Companies:Qualcomm

Title preceding names:President Watkins

Titles of books, articles, poems: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free

Prodoctirity

First words of sentences and complimentary closes

The word number (or its abbreviation) when used with a figure to identify

something:Our supply of No. 10 envelopes is running low.

As noted earlier, other standards are useful in clear communication. But those cov-ered in the preceding pages will help you through most of your writing problems. Byusing them, you can give your writing the precision that good communication requires.For further references on this topic, you will find several links to more detailed sourceson the textbook website. You also will find some interactive self-tests there to help you

review this material.

Capitalize all propernames and the beginningwords of sentences.

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17. Correctness of

Communication

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Companies, 2008

CHAPTER 17 Correctness of Communication 525CHAPTER 17 Correctness of Communication 525

Correct any punctuation or grammar errors you can find inthe following sentences. Explain your corrections.

1 Charles E. Baskin the new member of the advisorycommittee has been an employee for seven years.

2 The auditor asked us, If all members of the workgroup had access to the petty cash fund?

3 Our January order consisted of the following items;two dozen Post-it pads, cube size, one dozen desk blot-

ters, 20 by 32 inches, and one dozen gel roller pens,

permanent black.

4 The truth of the matter is, that the union representativehad not informed the workers of the decision.

5 Sales for the first quarter were the highest in history,profits declined for the period.

6 We suggest that you use a mild soap for best results butdetergents will not harm the product.

7 Employment for October totaled 12,741 an increase of3.1 percent over September.

8 It would not be fair however to consider only thispoint.

9 It is the only shrink resistant antiwrinkle and inexpen-sive material available.

10 Todd Thatcher a supervisor in our company is accused

of the crime.

11 Mr. Goodman made this statement, Contrary to ourexpectations, Smith and Company will lose money this

year.

12 I bought and he sold.

13 Soon we saw George Sweeney who is the auditor forthe company.

14 Sold in light medium and heavy weight this paper hasbeen widely accepted.

15 Because of a common belief that profits are too high wewill have to cut our prices on most items.

16 Such has been the growth of the cities most prestigiousfirm, H.E. Klauss and Company.

17 In 2006 we were advised in fact we were instructed toaccept this five year contract.

18 Henrys goofing off has gotten him into trouble.

19 Cyrus B. Henshaw who was our leading salespersonlast month is the leading candidate for the position.

20 The sales representative who secures the most newaccounts will receive a bonus.

21 The word phone which is short for telephone should beavoided in formal writing.

22 In last months issue of Fortune appeared Johnsons lat-est article Tiger! The Skys the Limit for Golf.

23 Yes he replied this is exactly what we mean.

24 Why did he say John its too late?

25 Place your order today, it is not too late.

26 We make our plans on a day to day basis.

27 There is little accuracy in the 60 day forecast.

28 The pre Christmas sale will extend over twenty six

days.29 We cannot tolerate any workers failure to do their

duty.

30 An assortment of guns, bombs, burglar tools, and am-munition were found in the seller.

31 If we can be certain that we have the facts we can makeour decision soon.

32 This one is easy to make. If one reads the instructionscarefully.

33 This is the gift he received from you and I.

34 A collection of short articles on the subject were

printed.

35 If we can detect only a tenth of the errors it will makeus realize the truth.

36 She takes criticism good.

37 There was plenty of surprises at the meeting.

38 It dont appear that we have made much progress.

39 The surface of these products are smooth.

40 Everybody is expected to do their best.

41 The brochures were delivered to John and I earlySunday morning.

42 Who did he recommend for the job.

43 We were given considerable money for the study.

44 He seen what could happen when administrationbreaks down.

45 One of his conclusions is that the climate of the regionwas not desirable for our purposes.

46 Smith and Rogers plans to buy the Moline plant.

47 The committee feels that no action should be taken.

48 Neither of the workers found their money.

C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G Q U E S T I O N S

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Companies, 2008


49 While observing the employees, the work flow was op-erating at peak perfection.

50 The new building is three stories high, fifteen years old,solid brick construction, and occupies a corner lot.

51 They had promised to have completed the job bynoon.

52 Jones has been employed by Kimberly Clark for twentyyears.

53 Wilson and myself will handle the job.

54 Each man and woman are expected to abide by thisrule.

55 The boiler has been inspected on April 1 and May 3.

56 To find problems and correcting them takes up most of

my work time.

57 The case of canned goods were distributed to thehomeless.

58 The motor ran uneven.

59 All are expected except John and she.

60 Everyone here has more ability than him.

A S E L F - A D M I N I S T E R E D D I A G N O S T I C T E S T O F C O R R E C T N E S S

The following test is designed to give you a quick measure

of your ability to handle some of the most troublesome punc-

tuation and grammar situations. First, correct all the errors

in each sentence. Then turn to Appendix A for the recom-

mended corrections and the symbols for the punctuation and

grammar standards involved. Next, study the standards that

you violate.

1 An important fact about this keyboard is, that it has thepatented ergonomic design.

2 Goods received on Invoice 2741 are as follows; 3

dozen blue denim shirts, size 1533, 4 mens gortexgloves, brown, size large, and 5 dozen assorted socks.

3 James Silver president of the new union had the privi-ledge of introducing the speaker.

4 We do not expect to act on this matter however until wehear from you.

5 Shipments through September 20, 2007 totaled69,485 pounds an increase of 17 percent over the year

ago total.

6 Brick is recommended as the building material but theboard is giving serious consideration to a substitute.

7 Markdowns for the sale total $34,000, never before hasthe company done anything like this.

8 After long experimentation a wear resistant high gradeand beautiful stocking has been perfected.

9 Available in white green and blue this paint is sold bydealers all over the country.

10 Julie Jahn who won the trip is our most energeticsalesperson.

11 Good he replied, sales are sure to increase.

12 Hogans article Retirement? Never!, printed in the cur-rent issue of Management Review, is really a part of his

book A Report on Worker Security.

13 Formal announcement of our Labor Day sale will bemade in thirty two days.

14 Each day we encounter new problems. Although theyare solved easily.

15 A list of models, sizes, and prices of both competing

lines are being sent to you.

16 The manager could not tolerate any employees failingto do their best.

17 A series of tests were completed only yesterday.

18 There should be no misunderstanding between youand I.

19 He run the accounting department for five years.

20 This report is considerable long.

21 Who did you interview for the position?

22 The report concluded that the natural resources of theSouthwest was ideal for the chemical industry.

23 This applicant is six feet in height, 28 years old, weighs165 pounds, and has had eight years experience.

24 While reading the report, a gust of wind came throughthe window, blowing papers all over the room.

25 The sprinkler system has been checked on July 1 andSeptember 3.

Documents

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