Business Communication for

Career Readiness
High Impact Business Writing
Module 2

with Sue Robins, M.S.

 Lesson 1: Spelling and
Word Misuse
Learning Objectives
• Recognize spelling differences based on
country
• Know how to select the correct word form
• Utilize correct spelling rules
and exceptions
• Know common word choice
errors and their corrections
British vs. American English
British vs. American English

• -ou instead of –o, as in

colour vs. color
• -re instead of –er, as in
centre vs. center
• -ise instead of –ize, as
in realise vs. realize
 Common Errors

• “I” before “e” except after “c”

– Thief, believe, priest
– Receive not recieve; ceiling not cieling
• Or when sounded “EYE” or “AY”
– Einstein, stein, Heidi
– Eight, vein, veil
• Exceptions
– Neither, weird, foreign, leisure
I Before E, if Taken with Caffeine

"I before E Wherein we're canoeing to a new

Except after C, sovereign state
Unless pronounced A While deicing a kaleidoscope on a hot
As in 'neighbor' or 'weigh'" jadeite plate
Education is forfeit for reinforcing such And kneeing obeisance to an overseeing
rules! king
Sound a feisty reveille while eyeing the Our plebeian lips kissed his counterfeit
schools! ring.
Neither will our heirs be agreeing to Then we unveiled their sleight-of-hand
deceptions trick
Once seeing, herein, these sufficient Deifying a heifer, with effect atheistic
exceptions: And falling from the heights with a loud
We were seized by a feeling seismic crunch
For fleeing on the ceiling We reignited the nonpareils we had
To a leisurely meal heisted for lunch.
With Keith, Sheila, and Neil So I before E
We drank madeira, so foreign, in Except after C
steins Unless pronounced A?
Along with a surfeit of weird blueish False decreeing, I say!
wines
Being foolish, took codeine, ate ancient ©1995 by Jef Raskin
proteins
Therein guaranteeing these ogreish
scenes
 Pronouns and Contractions
• Pronouns and pronoun-linking verb
contractions which sound similar
 Pronouns and Contractions
• Pronouns and pronoun-linking verb
contractions which sound similar
1. Who’s vs. whose
Ex: Who’s going to find out whose car is
blocking the alley?
 Pronouns and Contractions
• Pronouns and pronoun-linking verb
contractions which sound similar
1. Who’s vs. whose
Ex: Who’s going to find out whose car is
blocking the alley?
2. Their vs. They’re
Ex: They’re very happy to see that their
house was still there after the flood.
 Pronouns and Contractions
• Pronouns and pronoun-linking verb
contractions which sound similar
1. Who’s vs. whose
Ex: Who’s going to find out whose car is
blocking the alley?
2. Their vs. They’re
Ex: They’re very happy to see that their
house was still there after the flood.
3. Your vs. You’re
Ex: You’re going to get your money back.
Yes, it’s ok to start a
sentence with..

And
However
But
Additionally
 Common Errors
Words we spell incorrectly because we
pronounce them incorrectly:

Diffrence VS Difference
 Common Errors
Similar sounding words that have different
meanings such as, accept/except.

• Except for the parents, the team

accepted the loss gracefully.
• We will only accept properly addressed
packages, except those that contain
brownies which will be opened and
consumed if mis-addressed
 Common Errors
Words that are inappropriately used to
sound more formal such as, utilize/use.
• She utilized the talents of the word
processing staff to create more effective
registration forms.
• At first he used a stick to prop open the
door, then utilizing his engineering
knowledge, he designed a no-fail
doorstopper.
• The witch used her cauldron to make a love
potion, then utilizing its sound reflecting
surface, broadcast her haunting melody.
 Common Errors
Words that are used incorrectly such as
unique

Incorrect: The purple cow was very unique.

Correct: The purple cow was unique in her

coloring as was the blue-striped one standing
next to her.