Table

of Contents

Introduction - The Basics and Beyond…………………………………….3

Overall Business Grammar Correction Process…………………………4

Step One -
Identify Your Particular Grammar Errors………………………….……4

Step Two -
Clarify Your Understanding of Your Particular Grammar Errors……..6

Step Three -
Practice Corrections Until Correct Use is Your Habit of Practice……7

Recommended Grammar Resources…………………………….……….8

About Mary Cullen.………………………………….…………..………..…8

About Instructional Solutions.…………………………………..………..…9

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 The Basics and Beyond

Correcting business grammar can be vexing. There are so many grammar rules
that it can feel overwhelming, but in reality there are logical, methodical steps
that lead painlessly to correct grammar.

Approach business grammar correction logically, and it is easy to correct.

A Word of Reassurance and Caution

For business writers, it is imperative to separate two distinct writing skills:

Substance - The content of your documents.

Syntax - The words and sentences you use to express this content. Grammar
is a component of syntax.

While business grammar is very important, please know that the substance of your
business documents is extremely important. For example, if an email is disorganized
and omits relevant information, beautiful grammar will not resolve the weak substance.
As my grandmother used to say, that’s like “putting lipstick on a pig.” The grammar may
be perfect, but the document still fails because of weak content.

Non-native business writers often feel challenged by grammar, forgetting that they
possess the analytical and substantive skills required for strong content!

It’s beyond the scope of this guide to address substance. That requires a business
writing course, but be certain you plan, organize, and draft your documents before you
worry about grammar. Substance precedes syntax in business writing. Focusing on
grammar before your thoughts are clear, or before you have a draft completed, typically
leads to analysis paralysis. It’s not productive.

Address grammar when you edit your documents, not when you begin.

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Overall Business Grammar Correction Process

To correct your business grammar, you must first identify your typical grammar errors so
you know where to focus your correction efforts. Then, systematically eliminate those
errors and establish correct habits of practice.

Here are three simple steps to begin correcting your grammar:

1. Identify your particular grammar errors.

2. Clarify your understanding of your particular grammar errors by consulting
trusted, credible grammar resources.
3. Practice correcting this particular grammar error until the correct use is your
habit of practice.

Step One: Identify Your Particular Grammar Errors

Every business writer makes different errors. The first correction step is diagnosing
which grammar errors you tend to make.

I vividly remember working with a non-native scientist who repeatedly told me his
“writing was terrible and his grammar so weak.” He was very bright and articulate and
had earned a Ph.D. At first glance, his business writing did appear weak and full of
errors. However, when I reviewed his sample documents more carefully, I discovered
that he made two major errors repeatedly. He consistently both fragmented his
sentences and he fused his sentences together, creating incomplete thoughts and run-
on thoughts. These two errors profoundly affected the professionalism and clarity of his
work documents and email.

But — and this is a big but — he consistently made two errors. That’s all.
Admittedly, those two errors had a big impact, but there were just two errors.

When we corrected those two grammar errors, it became very clear that he was actually
a strong business writer. His organization was clear, information was well sequenced,

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and he included relevant information. His writing was clear and strong once these two
errors, which presented often, were eliminated.

In all our business writing courses, your instructor will clearly identify your entrenched
errors so you will know exactly where to focus your attention and how to correct it.

Based on your grammar quiz, and especially the writing exercises you submitted, your
instructor will identify your particular grammar errors. Your instructor will also
recommend resources and a correction approach.

If you are not enrolled in one of our business writing courses, and don’t have a
professional assessment of your business grammar errors, here are some ways to
diagnose your own grammar errors. A professional assessment is always best, but if
that is not possible:

1. Ask a strong writer to assess three sample

documents that you wrote at work. Ask your
reviewer to identify all grammar errors. Ideally,
ask an English teacher or professional writer
as many people “just know” something is
wrong but can’t link it to the actual grammar
rule.

2. Run Microsoft Word’s Grammar Check and list the grammar errors identified.
Grammar Check is far from infallible, but it will provide a loose diagnosis.

3. Don’t bother taking grammar quizzes. They are useful as a secondary test
after a review of your actual writing, but grammar quizzes alone are not
accurate indicators of actual grammar usage in actual business writing. (As
proof, there are many studies showing how strongly non-native students
perform on the standardized SAT and ACT college-entrance verbal objective
test, but then score poorly on the verbal written test.) Nothing diagnoses your
writing better than a professional assessment of your actual writing.

Once you have determined which grammar errors you make, list them in
the order of frequency.

1.
2.
3.

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 4. Etc.

Remember, everyone makes different errors. It’s critical that you first identify your errors
so you know where to focus your attention. That said, there are common business
grammar errors we commonly see in client documents.

The most common errors made across all client documents in 2015-2016 were:

1. Fused or run on sentences

2. Sentence fragments
3. Me, myself, and I errors
4. Hyphen errors
5. Comma errors, especially in introductory clauses

Step Two: Clarify Your Understanding of Your Particular Grammar

Errors

After identifying your particular business grammar errors, you can now narrow your
correction approach intelligently and turn your attention to your specific errors.

The first step is clarifying your understanding about that particular grammar rule and
practice using this rule correctly.

The very best grammar resource on the Internet is

Note:
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab. It is a free
All instructor
resource and very credible. You can trust this resource
assessment and
fully.
feedback in our
Visit the Purdue University Online Writing Lab business writing
(OWL): courses uses the
same grammar term
Use the search function and search for your as the Purdue OWL
grammar error. search terms, so
you will be able to
Review the grammar rule. There are clear
find your correction
explanations, and exercises if you wish to
information easily.

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 practice.

Now that you have narrowed your focus and are only addressing one grammar issue, it
will be very easy to review the grammar rule and practice applying it.

Important: If you identified multiple grammar errors in your business writing,

focus on correcting only one grammar error at a time. Once you use that
grammar construction correctly in your writing, move on to the next grammar
error.

Step Three: Practice Corrections Until Correct Use is Your Habit

of Practice

Week One: Print out three emails you wrote in the past. Comb every
sentence. Correct the grammar error.

Week Two: Print out three emails you wrote this week. Repeat the corrections
for this one grammar error. (Most likely, there will be fewer instances, since your
awareness is heightened.)

Week Three: Print out three emails you wrote this week. Repeat the
corrections for this one grammar error. (Most likely, you will find few, if any,
errors, as your focus and habit becomes stronger.)

Continue this pattern each week until your grammar use is correct
and habitual. For entrenched grammar errors, it typically takes three
weeks of practice to fully correct use.

Remember, focus on one grammar error at a time. Move on only when writing this
grammar rule correctly is your habit of practice.

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Recommended Grammar Sites

Instructional Solutions Business Writing Info blog, Business Grammar

Category - Use the search function for particular grammar terms or browse the
examples and clarifications of business grammar issues.

Grammar Girl - For detailed exploration of individual grammar issues.

Purdue University Online Writing Lab - Most comprehensive grammar

resources available online.

About Mary Cullen

Mary founded Instructional Solutions in 1998. She is an internationally recognized
business writing trainer and executive writing coach with two decades of experience
helping thousands of individuals and businesses master the strategic skill of business
writing. She has developed global business writing training projects for Boeing, DuPont,
FedEx, Liberty Mutual, Shell Oil, the US Army, and USAA.

Her expertise is business writing, information flow across an enterprise, and business
communication technologies. Her blog, Business Writing Info, is read by more than
20,000 monthly readers from six continents, and was cited in The Wall Street Journal
online and Business Week. Instructional Solutions’ client newsletter, Writing for
Business, reaches over 8000 subscribers each month.

Prior to founding Instructional Solutions, Mary taught writing at Boston College and the
University of Massachusetts college system. She holds a B.A. in English from the
University of Rhode Island, an M.A. in English Literature from Boston College, and a
C.A.G.S. in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of New Hampshire.

She lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband and two children. An admitted
word nerd, she enjoys yoga, running, cooking, and tinkering with new technologies.

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About Instructional Solutions
Instructional Solutions is an industry leader in business writing training.

In business since 1998, we have helped hundreds of companies and over 16,000
individuals improve their writing at work. We are the preferred vendor for many major
corporations, including Boeing, FedEx, DuPont, Liberty Mutual, Shell, USAA, and the
US Army, as well as many smaller companies. You may view a partial client list by
industry here: Partial List of U.S. and Global Clients.

All of Instructional Solutions’ business writing courses include 


detailed grammar assessment and correction strategies.

Tell us about your business writing goals and challenges. 


We’ll recommend the right course to help you write better at work.

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Best Course

© Instructional Solutions, 2016, and all subsequent modifications thereafter.

All rights to this document reserved.

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