Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
1/January 7, 2013
CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
Do Not Assume
Proofread Effectively
a. In General
b. Eliminate Cut-and-Paste and
Header/Footer Errors
Avoid Taboo Words, Including
Absolutes
Check Your Spelling
Beware of Hazardous Homophones
Correct Accidental Words
Eliminate Slipshod Synonyms
Be More Precise
Eliminate Danglers
Change Words That Have Two (or
More) Meanings
Change Subjective Modifiers
Delete Useless Words
Simplify Your Language
Make Subject and Verb Agree
Avoid the Passive Voice; Use the
Active Unless Doing So Would Be
Inappropriate
a. In General
b. Dont Anthropomorphize
Avoid Expletives
Watch out for Pronouns
Avoid Colloquialisms
Avoid Jargon
Indicate Numbers Properly
Don't Put Too Much Space between
the Subject and the Verb
Reorganize To Help Eliminate
Confusion
Shorter Sentences Are Best
Manage Multiple Modifiers
Don't Use the Verb To Be So Much
Maintain Parallel Construction in
Lists
Apply Effective List Syntax
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
1.
Do Not Assume
If you absolutely must make an assumption, be certain to somehow footnote it or
comment parenthetically that you have made an assumption that you will correct
or verify later. For example, do not assume that ASFE is an acronym for
American Society of Foundation Engineers, or that Dr. Someone is a Ph.D., as
opposed to a D.Eng., D.Ed., or Sc.D. The most serious mistakes FOPP
participants make occur because of assumptions, almost all of which they could
have avoided by placing a telephone call.
2.
Proofread Effectively
a. In General
Given that words in an instrument of professional service equal numbers, and that
many contain numbers, too, proofreading is essential. (Design professionals have
had to pay $150,000 and more just for one misplaced decimal point. They've had
to pay far more because of wording problems.) Proofreading is not reading
something over and over again: It is an art. Read critical passages backwards, so
your eye will not skip ahead. Check certain features serially; e.g., check all
headlines separately; check all subheads separately; check listing methods
separately to help ensure consistency; and so on. (Also refer to no. 26, Maintain
Parallel Construction in Lists.)
Whenever you can check something against a source document, do so. For
example, I (as any client representative) will be most upset if you spell my name
incorrectly, bollix ASFEs address, write Silver Springs instead of Silver Spring,
etc.
Note that gross errors should be catchable even with reading-it-over-and-overagain proofing. If gross errors exist in one of your submissions to FOPP, I (just
as any client representative) will be offended, because you apparently dont care
enough about me to consider me worthy of the high-quality deliverable I selected
you to provide. This disrespect (for which I pay! At home its free) will anger me,
just as it would any client representative. (An attorney for the other side in a
dispute would lead the jury to conclude you are not particularly professional,
despite all the money you're paid.) Please do not insult me.
b. Eliminate Cut-and-Paste and Header/Footer Errors
Cutting and pasting makes it easy to make mistakes; so does the reuse of headers
and/or footers. FOPP staff tends to grade such mistakes harshly in hopes that our
unfair attitude reminds you to be particularly careful about checking your cut-andpaste work and headers and footers in the future. Bear in mind that the first report
submission is your research plan or research proposal. Your second submission is
your draft final report. If you title your second submission what you titled your
first submission, we will penalize you heavily, because you should have read this
warning.
One way to remind yourself to check cut-and-paste inserts and headers and
footers: Use a different typeface or type color for any reused material. Revert to
the appropriate typeface or color only after you have double-checked what you
have reused.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Be More Precise
Think things through in order to be precise. For example, I believe this research
assignment will help me implies I believe that performing this research
assignment will help me, but it doesn't say it. Likewise, when you list things in
order of preference, are you listing them in descending order or ascending order?
(I also cover this in no. 28, Consider Other List Issues.) Beware, too, of using the
wrong word because you didnt think something through; e.g., writing on a faxcover sheet, I attach a copy of my letter. In fact, you cannot attach anything by
fax; you only can append. (Also review no. 41(d), Enhance Your Correspondence
Style/Attach, Append, Enclose.) And in that respect, realize that you cannot
append my research topic, nor can you enclose it (in an envelope) or attach it
(via staple or paper clip) to a letter, because a topic has no physical form.
Eliminate Danglers
A dangler (or misplaced modifier) is a modifying clause that typically appears
at the beginning of a sentence, and fails to modify the word it is intended to. In
fact, the first word after the dangler is the word that the dangler modifies.
Consider this example from an actual FOPP submission:
As requested, this letter provides my preferred choices for the required
research project.
As written, the sentence says that FOPP asked the letter not the author of the
letter to provide preferred choices. And what about provide? Can a letter
actually provide its authors choices, or does it indicate or identify those choices?
A more accurate approach might take this form:
As you requested, I am submitting this letter to indicate my preferred
choices for the required research project.
Then we could shorten the sentence by eliminating what should be obvious, to
derive:
What if the community sanctions you? Does that suggest that the community
trusts you implicitly? Or does it imply that the community really distrusts you?
Because sanction has two, diametrically opposed meanings, either interpretation
would be correct. The same holds true for oversight. Is it something you miss or
the process of trying not to miss anything?
And what about verbal? It means oral and it means written, because oral
communication and written communication both are enabled by words. Note, too,
that e-mail (or E-mail) has one meaning, but email has two (at least).
11.
12.
not mean that using useless words is right or wise. An example from a FOPP
submission:
This area presents many different challenges.
Of course the challenges are different! If they weren't, many would not exist. I
had five different ideas. Well, of course your five ideas were different. If two
were the same, you'd have had only four ideas.
We also see references to past experience. Unless we specifically say present
experience or future experience, one has to assume that the experience in question
is from the past, making past experience equal experience, which means past is
useless.
I will obtain and review [something] also is a popular phrase, although how one
reviews something one cannot obtain I don't know. As such, obtain and becomes
useless. In a similar manner, some folks like to write I will review available
information. The same concept applies: If it isn't available, you cannot review it,
making available useless. Note, however, that readily available has a different
meaning; i.e., I will only review the stuff I can get my hands on quickly.
What about this phrase:
I will identify possible options.
If an option were not possible, it wouldn't be an option.
Be mindful, too, about words and phrases that are useless because of the tense of
the verb. As an example:
All our lines currently are busy.
The verb are is in the present tense, meaning the action is happening now. Just as
it would be illogical to say all lines are busy in the future or are busy in the past,
so is it unnecessary to say they are currently busy. Are busy says the same thing,
making currently useless. In a similar manner, a vague reference to the future is
useless when you use the future tense; e.g., I will be more careful means the same
as I will be more careful in the future. Note, however, that it does not mean the
same as I will be more careful next Wednesday.
Think about the words you use. If they don't add anything, delete them.
13.
important reason to do so. Note, too, that language that obviously tries to sound
formal can make the author sound stuffy or pompous. In addition, it can lead to
convolution. For example, why write We will provide you with the report. when
you can just as easily say We will give you the report. or We will deliver the
report to you on.? Likewise, why write I am writing regarding my assignment.
when you can write I am writing about my assignment. or better yet I write
about my assignment.? Honestly, isn't I want you to write better. better than I
would like you to write better.? Isnt it better to use simpler words than to utilize
them?
Lately I've noticed FOPP participants' overuse and misuse of however. Except
when it is used to begin a sentence, however should be set off by commas; e.g., I
like to eat meat, however, it gives me gas. The common error is to leave off the
comma after the word, possibly from the mistaken belief that however and but are
interchangeable. They are not and, more often than not, but is the better word: I
like to eat meat, but it gives me gas.
14.
Right:
Some situations are more difficult to discern, but if sixth-graders can do it, you
should be able to, too. If you do not score 100% on the following quiz, admit to
yourself that you need to spend an hour or so relearning some things. Which of
the following are correct, and which are not?
Jim, as well as Tom, were slated for promotion.
Either the two project managers or Larry were opposed to holding the
FOPP seminar in Paris.
Drinking and driving makes for a deadly mix.
Client retention and cultivation is a business essential.
Jerry, in addition to everyone else in the class, love the FOPP program.
Jerry and everyone else in the class loves the FOPP program.
10
15.
Avoid the Passive Voice; Use the Active Unless Doing So Would Be
Inappropriate
a. In General
The passive voice usually deadens writing, often makes it difficult to follow
(leading to confusion), and worst of all can encourage you to leave out vitally
important information. What is the passive voice? It is sentence structure that fails
to identify who or what took the action indicated by the verb, or does so in a
convoluted fashion, by making the subject of the verb the object of the preposition
by. Example:
The ball was hit by John.
Too often, especially when we're in a hurry, we can forget the by part, and thus
write, The ball was hit, or A decision was made not to conduct the testing.
Writers commonly use an expletive phrase (discussed in no. 16, Avoid Expletives)
to introduce a sentence or clause written in the passive voice; e.g., It was a
terrible thing. In professional material you prepare, terrible thing would be an
opinion. The question thus becomes, whose opinion? To answer that question: I
thought it was a terrible thing. or I believe just about all of us thought it was a
terrible thing.
The active voice is usually better (but see no. 21, Don't Put Too Much Space
between the Subject and the Verb) following the simple sentence structure of
Subject (noun (preferably) or pronoun)
Verb
Object
Verb
Preposition
Object (of
By applying a simple active structure, we would get, John hit the ball, or John
Doe, the client's representative on site, told me about 11:00 AM on March 31,
while we were both on site, that he decided to forgo the testing we had proposed
in our letter of February 13.
b. Dont Anthropomorphize
Note that the use of anthropomorphization to get around the passive can be mindbendingly bothersome; e.g., This research assignment will analyze the reasons for
bad writing. Assignments dont analyze things; people do. How much more
effective it would be to write, I will analyze the reasons for bad writing.
16.
Avoid Expletives
11
The words it and there have no meaning (are expletives) when used with
(typically) the verb to be, as in, There are far too many ding-dong requirements
in this course. Write with fewer words, not only to give your words more power,
but also to reduce:
the number of words needed to relate an idea;
the intimidation created by too many words and, thus, delays in reading
them;
a desire to not have to read your stuff because it's always long-winded; and
opportunities for confusion.
To write without expletives, which are usually unnecessary, just eliminate them
and reconstruct the sentence. Doing so with the above, we derive:
... far too many ding-dong requirements in this course.
The easy conversion is:
This course has far too many ding-dong requirements.
While you're at reconstruction, however, you could say that has is really kind of a
dead word. After all, verbs should connote action whenever possible, and has
doesn't do much of that. Thus, you could say:
This course is plagued by far too many ding-dong requirements.
But why use the passive voice, where the subject of the action (the ding-dong
requirements that do the plaguing) becomes the object of the preposition by? By
converting the sentence to the active voice, we would get:
Far too many ding-dong requirements plague this course.
Now we're getting somewhere! Except we can ask, How many too many is far
too many? Far can be a misleading word, because it reflects your opinion, and
your opinion is hardly a universal. As noted in no. 11, Change Subjective
Modifiers, your far too many may be someone else's not really a lot. Either be
exact without conveying an opinion 15 ding-dong requirements or eliminate
the use of misleading words. Choosing the latter, we would get:
Too many ding-dong requirements plague this course.
How many are too many?
Many ding-dong requirements plague this course.
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Oh, and some of the ding-dong requirements don't plague the course? As long as
you could categorize more than one of the requirements as ding-dong, you
could/should write:
Ding-dong requirements plague this course.
The result is a sentence that uses half the words as the original, loses no accuracy,
and gains power. After you practice this type of approach for a while, you will
discover that you can do this type of editing quickly. You need to. Remember:
Your words equal numbers.
17.
13
Avoid Colloquialisms
Colloquialisms are a form of jargon, except they sometimes don't make sense,
given that they tend to be subjective. For example, one FOPP participant said his
firm was well-rounded. I'm confident this made perfect sense to him, but I had no
idea of what he meant. Also avoid colloquialisms that are too informal for
professional correspondence; e.g., Here ya go. and Wazzup?.
19.
Avoid Jargon
Avoid jargon or the argot of your profession. Do not assume others are familiar
with it. If you must use it, be sure to explain it when you introduce it at first.
Example:
We provide computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) services. In fact,
our CADD services are...
20.
14
Don't Put Too Much Space between the Subject and the Verb
Here's a sentence taken from a FOPP submission:
Many factors, including regional economies, requirements for local or
specific expertise, individual office profit pressures, company culture,
logistical considerations, and scheduling deadlines create impediments for
movement of work between offices.
By the time we get to the verb (create), we've forgotten what the subject was.
Several possible improvements would make the sentence easier to follow and, as
such, more considerate of the reader.
One fix is to delete the useless words Many factors, including, to derive:
Regional economies, requirements for local or specific expertise,
individual office profit and loss pressures, company culture, logistical
considerations, and scheduling deadlines create impediments for
movement of work between offices.
Realistically, that's not a good fix, because the expansiveness of the subject still
gets in the way of comprehension. A better improvement is:
Many factors create impediments for movement of work between offices.
These include regional economies, requirements for local or specific
expertise, individual office profit and loss pressures, company culture,
logistical considerations, and scheduling deadlines.
Because create impediments means impede, we could substitute the latter word to
get...
Many factors impede the movement of work between offices. These include
regional economies, requirements for local or specific expertise,
individual office profit and loss pressures, company culture, logistical
considerations, and scheduling deadlines.
15
23.
16
17
two modifiers with a comma. You do not do that with adverbs. As such, dirty,
blond hair would mean blond hair that had not been washed in a while, while
dirty blond hair would suggest a color; i.e., dirty blond. But what if the reader
doesnt know the rules of grammar as well as the writer? For that reason,
appropriate procedure would be to create a compound word; e.g., dirty-blond hair
or in-your-face, grammar instruction. (Adverbs ending in ly generally are not
hyphenated, because an ly ending makes a words adverb status obvious.)
Note proper procedure when two hyphenated words use the same base word; e.g.,
entry- to mid-level staff. Note that the hyphen after entry is followed by a space.
25.
26.
18
that an assignment description would indicate the purpose of the effort. Likewise,
we could shorten each recipient to recipients, to derive:
Task 2: Prepare a brief cover letter that describes my assignment and
requests recipients to respond.
And speaking of brief, is brief really required? What do you think? I believe this
section is fairly brief. Do you believe it is?
Now, concluding the digression, a more common form of lost parallel
construction occurs when writers mix verb items with noun items. Example:
In order to achieve well, I will:
develop a first draft,
draft review with Curly, Larry, and Moe,
prepare a final draft (draft paper essential),
document issuance, review, consideration, and redrafting,
recirculation, review, etc., and
final report.
The first item in a list sets the tone. Assuming you want to keep the first item as
is, you should make all other items follow the verb (develop)/object (a first draft)
format. Accordingly, we could revise the list as follows to obtain parallel
construction:
In order to achieve well, I will:
develop a first draft,
review the draft with principals of the firm,
prepare a final draft (on draft paper),
issue the document for review,
consider comments received,
redraft and reissue the document, and
prepare and issue the final report.
27.
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Project Manager Tucker Dowt: pulled his hair, rubbed his eyes, cried, and
fell asleep at his computer.
The list in this case is run-on no bullets or other item prefixes are used and I
have chosen to begin it with a colon. In my world, use of the colon is optional
when the list is both run-on and simple (i.e., list elements are separated by
commas). I decided to use the colon to advise you, Here comes a list.
You may have been taught, You don't need that colon when you separate list
items by commas, and you dont need a comma between the next-to-the-last list
item and the and or or that follows it. (That's the step-down rule; i.e., if you
separate by commas, delete the last comma, and, if you separate by semi-colons,
change the last semi-colon to a comma.) No matter how you do it, someone else
looking at your list may have been taught something different, and will assume
you are wrong. However, if you follow a consistent pattern, you will find it's
easier and, for the most part, others will begin to believe that maybe just maybe
you're right and they're wrong. The simplest method, I believe, is no step-down,
as shown below.
How would you prepare the simple list if it had to be (or you wanted it to be)
bulleted? A number of folks would use something like the following:
Project Manager Tucker Dowt:
Pulled his hair
Rubbed his eyes
Cried and
Fell asleep at his computer.
In preparing a bulleted list, simply imagine the list as a run-on sentence. As such,
the prior list would look like this:
Project Manager Tucker Dowt: Pulled his hair Rubbed his eyes Cried and
Fell asleep at his computer.
Clearly, that would be incorrect. Punctuation is needed to separate the listed
elements, and whats with the weird capitalization? Given that we are dealing
with a simple list, we could show it as a sentence like this:
Project Manager Tucker Dowt: pulled his hair, rubbed his eyes, cried, and
fell asleep at his computer.
or like this:
20
Project Manager Tucker Dowt pulled his hair, rubbed his eyes, cried, and
fell asleep at his computer.
The colon would be mandatory were we to bullet or otherwise prefix list
elements, to result in:
Project Manager Tucker Dowt:
pulled his hair,
rubbed his eyes,
cried, and
fell asleep at his computer.
What I call an intermediate list includes a comma and/or semi-colon in at least
one list element, making it wise to set off each element with a semi-colon rather
than a comma. Using bullets often makes the list easier to follow, but sometimes,
possibly because of space restrictions, you have to rely on a run-on format:
Poor Tucker had to:
follow every instruction, even those intended to confuse;
get the paper printed out in time to permit internal review;
have his mentor make insightful (yeah, sure) comments; and
go over the spelling two, three, or more times.
Realistically, the bulleted format makes the list so easy to follow, commas would
do instead of semi-colons, but then the rules start getting too complex. Simple =
comma. Intermediate = semi-colon, especially so because you might have to
convert to run-on later, and then look at what would happen if all you had were
commas:
Poor Tucker had to: follow every instruction, even those intended to
confuse, get the paper printed out in time to permit internal review, have
his mentor make insightful (yeah, sure) comments, and go over the
spelling two, three, or more times.
A complex list often has sentences intermingled with phrases, punctuation of
several types, and so on. In these cases, the simplest way of handling the list is
through bullets, with each bullet marking the beginning of a sentence or a list
inclusion that (rules of grammar be damned) is treated like a sentence, even
though it isn't one. As an example:
Tucker Dowt took the following steps to develop his report. He:
Obtained information on the most effective ways of developing a
questionnaire.
21
28.
topic no. 6,
topic no. 1,
topic no. 24, or
topic no 5.
22
29.
30.
31.
Capitalize Properly
a. Proper Nouns
We capitalize (i.e., use an initial capital) for proper nouns like John or Los
Angeles. Some folks go way beyond that, by capitalizing words like Engineer,
Schedule, and so forth. If you do this because of some valid stylistic preference of
the firm, so be it (but I'd sure ask why the preference exists, just to learn). And be
certain to apply such weird capitalization consistently, so people are not confused
(and cannot claim to have been confused) because of inconsistency. In one report
I reviewed, the author referred to a group of cities known collectively as the
Northern Coast area. Two sentences later he changed it to the Northern Coast
Area, and in the paragraph after that, he changed it again, to northern Coast
area. A word to the wise: If you intend to employ weird capitalization, do a
separate proofreading sweep through which you check for nothing except
consistency in capitalization. (Also refer to no. 42, Be Consistent.)
b. Personnel Titles
23
Be mindful that a persons title within an organization, when merged with the
persons name, usually is capitalized, but otherwise is not. Thus, we could have:
Program Manager John Bachner seems awfully full of himself.
The program manager, John Bachner, seems awfully full of himself.
John Bachner, program manager, seems awfully full of himself.
Likewise, Tom is a principal of the firm, not Principal, but it would be
correct to write Firm Principal Tom Jones.
c. For Purposes of Differentiation
Do not use initial caps to differentiate one type of something from another; e.g.,
do not use Engineer to mean the engineer of record, and engineer to mean some
other engineer. Problems can arise when one of the words is capitalized when it
shouldnt be, or when the other is lower-cased when it shouldnt be. At the very
least, use an acronym to differentiate, so that you could refer to the engineer of
record as the EOR or EoR.
Were aware of a firm that for many years used Site to refer to the site of a
project, and site to mean a nonproject site. Doing so is unwise. Again, an acronym
of some kind seems called for, where, for example, the 3.5-acre site of the new
Smith Capital Assets Building is referred to as the Smith CAB site; SCAB would
also be a possibility, although a somewhat unpleasant one.
d. Acronyms
We create acronyms by using partial capitalization (such as EoR, above) or all
caps (e.g., EOR) to signify that what weve created is an acronym (a symbol) and
not a word (like SCAB and not scab from the example in no. 31d, above).
Using capital letters to designate an acronym does not mean that the term
being symbolized must be capitalized; e.g., ESA is an acronym for
environmental site assessment, not Environmental Site Assessment. Accordingly:
Our firm conducts environmental site assessments (ESAs).
e. Publication Titles
When referring to a title (of a book, newspaper, magazine article, blog, ezine, et
al.), use initial caps for every word except articles (a, an, and the), conjunctions
(and, or, but, et al.), and prepositions (to, on, behind, etc.), unless the article,
preposition, or conjunction is the first word of the title. The alternative is to
capitalize the first letter of every word of the title, which tends to look weird. (If
you were taught that you dont capitalize little words like is, you were taught
wrong.) Important: Titles should be shown in an italic font or should be within
quotes (see no. 36, below). Generally speaking, more substantial works, like
24
books, are italicized, but that does not mean italics would be incorrect to indicate
the title of a magazine or magazine article. When both a magazine and an article
are involved, or something similar, consider italicizing the more significant of the
two; e.g.:
Please refer to the Limitations section of our report, Subsurface Study
for the Beanstock High-Rise.
f. Academic Degrees
When referenced formally, the degree receives initial caps; e.g.:
George somehow earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
Otherwise, initial caps do not apply; e.g., He earned a bachelors degree or a
masters degree; I forget which.
32.
33.
Go around Each (and Other Words That Have the Same Effect), He, She
25
Each singularizes, and that can create a problem when the group referred to
comprises males and females. As an example of singularization, Each FOPP
enrollee participates in the seminar. Nonetheless, we'll commonly see
constructions that ignore this obviousness; e.g., Each of the FOPP participants is
supposed to bring their brain with them. The subject of the sentence is each
(participants is the object of the preposition of) and, as a consequence, their is
wrong. (I also discuss this in no. 17, Watch out for Pronouns.) The correct
sentence would then get us into awkwardness, given that we'd have Each of the
FOPP participants is supposed to bring his or her brain with him or her,
respectively. Aside from the fact that some folks may assume you cannot tell boys
from girls, the sentence just sounds bad. You could make it somewhat better by
eliminating the last five words, to derive ...is supposed to bring his or her brain.,
but that sounds awkward, too. Some people get around this through the construct
s/he when the nominative form is involved, but that truly is awful.
Is it possible that the language developed over a time when males dominated and
now it just cannot be fixed? No! The solution is simple: Pluralize. Get rid of each
which, more often than not, is unnecessary: FOPP participants are supposed to
bring their brains with them. (Some pedants may spend hours debating the issue
of brains vs. brain, saying that the singular makes it clear that each participant has
only one brain. But we have better things to do with our time.)
Note that each does not have to be present for this guidance to apply; e.g., instead
of writing, A professional needs to be mindful of their ethics. try Professionals
need to be mindful of their ethics.
34.
26
35.
36.
37.
38.
27
is. For example and that is do not mean the same thing; i.e., get i.e. and e.g.
right.
39.
40.
41.
28
Thomas A. Gogo
Associate
d. Attach, Append, Enclose
The issue here is precise language. No matter what Bill Gates and other
language-batterers would have you believe, you cannot attach by e-mail. The
pervasiveness of the usage (like ugh logon instead of log on) causes one to
say, Im not going to fight city hall on this one. Still, append or, possibly,
embed is better (in my judgment), because you cannot attach anything to
anything in cyberspace, nor can you attach when it comes out of the
recipients printer; only the recipient can attach. The same applies when you
send something by fax; you can append, but you cannot attach. You could,
however, attach, using the quote marks to indicate you are using a word
that doesnt really mean what it says. Note, too, that you cannot enclose things
via e-mail or fax, because theres nothing to enclose it in. But you could
enclose. Nitpicking pettifoggery? Perhaps. But I prefer to think of it as
being (or becoming) extremely sensitized to the accuracy of the words one
selects, because professionals are supposed to be precise. Remember, a
plaintiffs attorney might allege or imply that, because you were not precise in
your language, you probably were not precise when it came to your
calculations. By contrast, the obvious precision of a professional has actually
discouraged claims from being filed.
e. Letterhead
29
If you are providing a covering letter of some type, use letterhead. If you do
not, I will assume that you do not hold me in high enough esteem; that you
use letterhead only for the good client representatives.
f. Transmittal Sheet
A preprinted, fill-in-the-boxes transmittal sheet says to me, We like treating
our client representatives like numbers rather than people. Its so much easier
to put checkmarks in boxes than it is to use some type of personal greeting. If
you feel compelled to use such a transmittal sheet, then be certain to use the
Remarks box to handwrite something that conveys personality; that shows
me what is written was prepared by a person and not a robot.
42.
Be Consistent
If you do something debatable or wrong consistently, you at least convey an
image of being careful to do it the same way. The it could be a manner of
punctuation, capitalization, or whatever. However, when you capitalize, say,
Consultant in one sentence, but then write consultant in another, your
inconsistency reflects a lack of understanding, a lack of quality control, and an
attitude that could be inferred to be, I just dont care.
43.
DRAFT
44.
45.
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When preparing a short list of examples, do not end the list with etc., et al., and so
on, or other words to that effect, because doing so defeats the purpose of having
examples. Consider the following sentence, for example:
Refer to letters of the alphabet, such as A, B, C, and so on.
By using and so on, I perverted the meaning of such as, making it equal all the
choices, not just a few example choices, because and so on is inclusive and thus
refers to the letters D-Z. The correct approach would be to write,
Refer to letters of the alphabet, such as A, B, and C.
and in that way provide examples only. I could also write,
Refer to letters of the alphabet; i.e., A, B, C, et al.
which would be acceptable because i.e. means that is, not for example; see
no. 38, Get e.g. and i.e. Right.
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