Improving Writing Techniques

To further improve your business communication, you can develop techniques that clarify your writing and emphasize, when appropriate, the most important points of your message.

Sentence errors detract from the readability of your message and make your reader have to work harder to understand your message.

Read the following sentences, and identify the error.

Walking down the hall, Sharon's folders fell to the ground.

The error in this sentence is a

A. lack of parallelism.

B. comma splice

C. fragment

D. dangling modifier

We will be visiting our accounts in California, Oregon, and visiting our accounts in Washington.

The error in this sentence is a .

A. lack of parallelism

B. comma splice

C. fragment

D. dangling modifier

Before you decide whether to use passive or active voice, you should consider the purpose of your message and the nature of the situation.

Read the scenario, and then fill in the blanks.

Your company works with freelance writers, and Van, your colleague, is responsible for processing the freelancers' invoices. Last week, Van accidentally input $560 instead of $650 on one of the invoices. The writer hasn't contacted you about the error yet, and you need to e-mail her to let her know that there was a mistake and that she should receive the rest of her payment soon.

The following sentence is an excerpt from your e-mail: "Van made an error when he was processing your invoice."

The sentence excerpted from the e-mail uses (passive or active) voice. Given the purpose of your message, this voice ( is or is not ) appropriate.

You work in Madison, Wisconsin. It is January and the area has been hit with bad weather. Another weather front is expected to arrive this afternoon and dump another foot of snow. Your branch manager decides to close the office early today. He asks you to send an e-mail to all the staff informing them of his decision.

Which would be the best first sentence of your e-mail?

A. The office will close at noon today because of the snowstorm.

B. Channel 7 News just announced during its morning weather report that a major blizzard is coming our way, so the office will be closed today.

C. Weather forecasters are predicting a blizzard this afternoon, so, as a result of this news, our supervisor has decided to close the office at noon so people can travel home safely.