Imagine you buy something that doesn't work properly, or you pay for something which you didn't get. For example you pay for 5-star accommodation on holiday but the hotel is only 3-star. In both these situations, writing a complaint is a good way of getting your money back.
May 21st 2009 |
Writing skills
If any of you do business with Italian colleagues - particularly if they are in the Abruzzo region affected by Sunday night's earthquake, you might want to send them an email to show support. It can be difficult to know what to write to colleagues and clients when there's a major disaster, but showing that you are "human" and that you care is a gesture which is always appreciated.
April 8th 2009 |
Writing skills
Everyone likes to receive thanks for their help and support. (See
here for some examples of thanking and replying to thanks.)
April 2nd 2009 |
Writing skills
Although you do business with people around the world, it's easy to forget that not everyone knows the dates of your national holidays. You can avoid making your reader scratch his or her head in confusion by specifying the date.
February 5th 2009 |
Writing skills
Being able to write so clearly that your reader understands you immediately is a difficult skill to acquire. There are some things that can help you get your message across easily: planning what you want to say before you write means you can avoid unnecessary repetition of ideas; and eliminating technical words and jargon (unless you are writing to someone who is familiar with them) is also a good idea.
January 27th 2009 |
Writing skills
In her excellent
blog on business writing, Lynn Gaertner-Johnston gives her best
tip for writing: only include one idea per sentence.
Is this the worst ad ever for freelance work? How many mistakes can you spot?
July 24th 2008 |
Writing skills
A journalist on the Boston Globe was recently criticised for using non-standard English in an article. According to the critic, the column in which the article appeared qualified as "formal written English" and so shouldn't include non-standard English.
July 17th 2008 |
Writing skills
If you manage to get away for a week or two during the summer, it's a good idea to send your colleagues a postcard. You don't have to write very much, and you can use the same sort of abbreviations you use in emails (missing out subject pronoun, auxiliaries and so on).
June 19th 2008 |
Writing skills
I'm ashamed to say that the following instructions were written by a native speaker of English. How many errors can you spot? (Hint: look for spelling mistakes, and absence of punctuation.)
June 5th 2008 |
Writing skills
