Write for Business - Blog

Bring refers to movement toward the writer or speaker; take refers to movement away from the writer or speaker.

Please bring the new product data to the meeting, and remember to take the disks to Personnel beforehand.

(From Write for Business, page 226, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 38)

Capitalize the first word in a sentence that is enclosed in parentheses, and that does not appear within another sentence.

Some writers were unsure of the product's worthiness. (Exaggerating seemed necessary.)

Note: Do not capitalize a sentence that is enclosed in parentheses and is located in the middle of another sentence.

Pat and Meg both volunteered to do the copywriting (we were relieved), and they immediately began tossing ideas back and forth.

(From Write for Business, page 206, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 18)

Watch for too many "be" verbs (is, are, was, were) in your writing. Words such as is and are carry little meaning, so they force you to add a lot of explanatory words. The resulting sentences may sound clunky or awkward. When a car needs a tune up, it still runs, just not as smoothly as it should. The same holds true with writing that runs on "be" verbs. The following sentence, containing two "be" verbs (italicized), certainly labors along.

The reason for the positive work attitude is that our relationship with the union is strong.

Note below the same idea expressed without the "be" verbs. A much improved sentence, wouldn't you say?

The positive work attitude stems from our strong relationship with the union.

These additional examples show you how eliminating "be" verbs results in stronger sentences.

• With "Be" Verb: "Think-pair-share" is a learning technique in which participants are given time to reflect prior to pairing up.
• Without: The learning technique "think-pair-share" gives participants time to reflect prior to paring up.

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• With "Be" Verbs: A sales pipeline is a means to identify all sales opportunities within a company.
• Without: A sales pipeline identifies all sales opportunities within a company.

Tip: Many times another word in the sentence can become the main verb. For example, in the edited sentence above, identify replaces is as main verb.

"Be" Real
Now don't think that you should try to eliminate all "be" verbs from your writing. That is not necessary - or possible to do. (Note the "be" verb is.) Just realize that overusing them can cause problems.

In the "'be' heavy" passage that follows, each "be" verb is highlighted in bold italics, and related explanatory words are italicized. These words don't appear in four of the sentences in the "'be' light" passage. (One sentence still contains a "be" verb.) The second passage forms a tighter, more direct piece of writing.

• "Be" Heavy: Dupor Builders is a company that arranges partnerships between homebuyers and local volunteer builders. The buyer is responsible for financing the project as well as for helping with the planning and building of the home. The volunteers are individuals from varied backgrounds with unique building skills. The partnership managers at Dupor Builders are people who are mostly facilitators in a building project, charging the buyer only the actual costs of the materials. The literature that I have enclosed is important because it highlights the main steps in the process.
• "Be" Light: Dupor Builders arranges partnerships between homebuyers and local volunteer builders. The buyer finances the project and helps with the planning and building of the home. The volunteers are individuals from varied backgrounds with unique building skills. The partnership managers at Dupor Builders mostly facilitate each building project, charging the buyer only the actual costs of the materials. The enclosed literature highlights the main steps in the process.

Final thought: Think of the later stages in the writing process as troubleshooting - the process of identifying the causes of awkward or unclear ideas. When troubleshooting, you may discover that your writing lacks smoothness. You now know of one possible cause, using too many "be" verbs, and you also know how to fix the problem.

- Dave Kemper

Capitalize the first and all major words in the salutation of a letter, but only the first word in the complimentary closing.

Dear Sherry,

Dear Production Manager:

Dear Sir or Madam:

Best wishes,

Sincerely yours,

(From Write for Business, page 205, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 17)