HOME
AboutUs/Policy
Audit
Free Tools
Boost Morale
Change
Corp.Comm.
Comm.Plan
CommUnicate
Comm.Skills
Conflict Res.
Corp.Culture
Creativity
CrossCultural
Diversity
Emp.Engagement
E-Newsletters
HR / HRD
ManagerCom
Negotiation
OnlineCourses
Presentations
PowerPoint
Publications
Social Media
SpeechWriting
Surveys
Teamwork
Training
eCards
Videos
Web Hosting
Writing
e-mail me

Get free communication ideas, tools and tactics by registering to receive our TGIM newsletter.
Get the Thank God It's Monday newsletter
Email:

The Seven Sins of Confused Writing The Seven Sins of Confused Writing

Whether you're writing a business memo, report, or presentation, make sure you avoid these very common writing mistakes:

1. It's and Its: - "It's" is a contraction meaning "it is." Example: It's hot today. "Its" is a possessive form. Example: I read the book with all of its 500 pages.

2. You, Your, and You're: While the previous example is a grammatical error, the confusion of you and your is often a typo. You're is the contraction of "you are" and some people confuse it with your. Examples: You're a good person. Your sincerity is admirable.

3. Lose and Loose: Loose can have several meanings in English and is used as an adjective, adverb, or a verb (although that's not very common). Here are some examples: Unattended children ran loose through the store. That person has a pretty loose reputation. But lose is always a verb: His boss told him to lose his negative attitude while serving customers.

4. Compliment and Complement: - If you like your colleague's way of expressing herself, you'll compliment her on her communication skills. Complement is most commonly used to indicate that something completes a set or matches it well. Example: His positive attitude complements his wide knowledge of the product, making him a very effective salesman.

5. Principal and Principle: A principle is a basic truth, policy or value. (The Ten Principles of Effective Management.) Principals are the key persons holding responsibilities in schools or organizations.

6. Affect and Effect: Affect is a verb: it acts upon something, someone, or an emotion, while effect is both a noun and a verb, and hence comes the confusion. Let's see examples. Affect (verb): Because I have allergy, the weather affects me badly. Effect (Noun): The weather has a terrible effect on me. Effect (Verb): We will implement a new internal communication strategy to effect change. In this sentence, "to effect change" means "to cause change to happen."

7. Assure, Insure and Ensure: Assure, ensure, and insure all mean "to make secure or certain." Only assure is used with reference to a person in the sense of "to set the mind at rest": I assured the customer of our refund policy. Although ensure and insure are generally interchangeable, only insure is now widely used in American English in the commercial sense of "to guarantee persons or property against risk."

(c) Communication Ideas. This article is part of our Content For Communicators service. Add high value and interest to your publications: Get 12 volumes of articles and cartoons to publish in your print or electronic publications for $149.00

Send Page To a Friend

Free Communication Ideas In Our TGIM Newsletter Free Communication Ideas In Our TGIM Newsletter

Get free ideas, tools and tactics by registering to receive our TGIM newsletter.

Get the Thank God It's Monday newsletter
Email:

Send Page To a Friend

Instructor-Led Online Courses: All the Skills You Need to Succeed  Instructor-Led Online Courses: All the Skills You Need to Succeed

  • We offer a wide range of highly interactive courses that you can take entirely over the Internet.
  • All of our Ed2go courses include expert instructors, many of whom are nationally known authors.
  • Our online courses are affordable, fun, fast, convenient, and geared just for you.
      We offer two dedicated web sites one for individual learners to purchase courses as they need and pay online, and another for organizations with volume learners to purchase in bulk and provide employees with PINS to access their courses. See both systems below:
    • For Individual Learners

      Click a Department Below to Browse Our Course Catalog. (For companies that need group users, see next item below.)
       

      All Courses (alphabetic listing)

      Basic Computer Literacy

      Computer Applications

      Graphic Design

      The Internet

      Web Page Design

      Web Graphics & Multimedia

      Web & Computer Programming

      Database Management & Programming

      PC Troubleshooting, Networking, & Security

      Certification Prep

      Digital Photography & Digital Video

      Languages

      Writing & Publishing

      Entertainment Industry

      Test Prep

      Personal Finance & Wealth Building

      Health Care, Nutrition, & Fitness

      Personal Enrichment

      Child Care & Parenting

      Art, History, Psychology, & Literature

      Math, Philosophy, & Science

      Accounting

      Grant Writing & Nonprofit Management

      Start Your Own Business

      Personal Development

      Business Administration

      Sales & Marketing

      Law & Legal Careers

      Health Care Continuing Education

      Courses for Teaching Professionals


      For Organizations / Group Learners
       

      Ed2go/HumaNext-Pro Catalog of Online Instructor-Led Courses

      We can provide your organizations with 20 or 2000 PINS for your employees to access our courses and learn online. Contact us to learn how at info@humanext.com or call: 1-973-427-3004

      Click a Department Below to Browse Our Course Catalog: (alphabetic course listing)
      Basic Computer LiteracyBasic Computer Literacy
      Learn computer basics, keyboarding, Windows, or the Macintosh operating system.
        Computer ApplicationsComputer Applications
      Become proficient with Excel, QuickBooks, Word, Access, PowerPoint, Crystal Reports, Publisher, and more.


      Graphic DesignGraphic Design
      Produce eye-catching photographs, ads, newsletters, catalogs, cards, and magazines with Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Microsoft Publisher and other powerful design tools.
      The InternetThe Internet
      Master the ins and outs of the Internet, Outlook, search engines, doing business online, and more.


      Web Page DesignWeb Page Design
      Create and post your very own site on the Web. Learn HTML, CSS, search engine positioning strategies, Dreamweaver, FrontPage, and more.
      Web & Computer ProgrammingWeb & Computer Programming
      Create truly interactive Web sites with JavaScript, CGI, JSP, and Java.


      Database Management & ProgrammingDatabase Management & Programming
      Save time and money and gain marketable new skills by learning to repair and network personal computers.
      PC Troubleshooting, Networking, & SecurityPC Troubleshooting, Networking, & Security
      Save time and money and gain marketable new skills by learning to repair and network personal computers.


      Digital Photography & Digital VideoDigital Photography & Digital Video
      Get the most out of your digital camera. Learn how to take, edit, and print professional-quality images and movies.
      LanguagesLanguages
      Prepare for your next vacation or open up new career opportunities by learning Spanish, French, English, or Braille.


      Writing & PublishingWriting & Publishing
      Become a better writer, get organized, and get published with our growing collection of writing courses taught by experienced professionals.
      AccountingAccounting
      Demand for accounting professionals exceeds supply. Increase your financial awareness and accountability while also gaining marketable new skills.


      Grant Writing & Nonprofit ManagementGrant Writing & Nonprofit Management
      Career opportunities are plentiful in the fast-growing nonprofit sector. Our expert instructors will prepare you to take advantage of unprecedented demand for grant writers, fund-raisers, managers, and more.
      Personal DevelopmentPersonal Development
      Learn film literacy, use hypnotic suggestion on yourself and others, research your family history, write your life story, move beyond divorce, assist your aging parents, and more.


      Business AdministrationBusiness Administration
      Master the fundamentals of supervision and management, become an administrative assistant, or gain priceless experience in customer service, project management, human resources, employment law, business analysis, logistics, manufacturing, supply chain management, purchasing, and more.
      Sales & MarketingSales & Marketing
      There are no shortages of opportunities for skilled sales and marketing professionals. Make sure you have what it takes to help any business meet its financial goals.

      Contact us for corporate volume arrangements: info@humanext.com



      Get the Thank God It's Monday newsletter
      Email:

      Send Page To a Friend





      |HOME| |AboutUs/Policy| |Audit| |Free Tools| |Boost Morale| |Change| |Corp.Comm.| |Comm.Plan| |CommUnicate| |Comm.Skills| |Conflict Res.| |Corp.Culture| |Creativity| |CrossCultural| |Diversity| |Emp.Engagement| |E-Newsletters| |HR / HRD| |ManagerCom| |Negotiation| |OnlineCourses| |Presentations| |PowerPoint| |Publications| |Social Media| |SpeechWriting| |Surveys| |Teamwork| |Training| |eCards| |Videos| |Web Hosting| |Writing|


      (c) 2002-2009 HumaNext LLC