CHAPTER 4

Understanding the Writing Process for Finance Professionals

In Chapter 3, we explored the communication process model to identify common barriers you will confront as business communicators. You were also equipped with the tools to overcome those barriers. In this chapter, we focus our attention on the writing process. Good writers are disciplined and follow a process. We leverage our finance and communication expertise in this chapter to walk you through the writing process and its application to the types of writing activities undertaken in the finance industry. In particular, we introduce you to:

• Using the three “P”s of writing preparation (purpose, people, placement)

• Conducting and incorporating research into your writing

• Proofreading and revising your writing using the four “F” words approach (format, filling, feeling, filth)

• Avoiding common writing errors

• Achieving the ABCs of business writing (accuracy, brevity, clarity)

Using the Three Ps of Writing Preparation: Purpose, People, Placement

So many of the problems that writers face share a common cause: The writer simply did not know what he or she was writing about. We are often so busy and so rushed that we start writing before we’ve really thought about why we are writing. Think about all of the e-mails you’ve written, especially those e-mails that you’ve written for work. How frequently have you actually stopped and thought critically about the answer to the following question: Why am I preparing this message? The truth is, if you don’t ask yourself that question, then you are not likely getting the most out of your messages. If you can’t answer that question clearly, then you really have to consider whether you should be writing the message at all. In this section, we talk about a simple method called the three Ps of writing preparation and how this method can make you a remarkably better writer (see Table 4.1).¹

Table 4.1 The three “P”s of writing preparation

Purpose	Identify what you want your audience to know, do, or believe as a result of reading your message.
People	Learn what you can about your audience and how that information can influence your style, tone, channel, appeal, and major points.
Placement	Consider the most appropriate organizational pattern for your major points.

Purpose

We like to think about message preparation as being similar to the traditional strategic planning process. In that process, the mission statement guides the organization in determining its goals, strategies, and tactics. In other words, the mission statement helps the organization make a series of important strategic decisions that result in the fulfillment of the organization’s mission. In mission-driven organizations, tactics are not undertaken if they do not support the mission. Strategic decision making becomes easier. When you are thinking about your message, try to approach the process in a similar fashion. So, you need to start the writing process with a mission statement or purpose statement.

A purpose statement is a sentence that identifies your audience and what you want them to know, do, or believe after reading your message. Before you jump into writing that next e-mail or letter, try to write a purpose statement. As we just said, the purpose statement is not just a couple of words, such as “to convince,” “to persuade,” “to inform,” or “to request.” Those expressions are too vague and provide you with little direction.

Consider a typical transmittal document in the finance world, a cover letter accompanying a small business loan proposal. With little thought to the purpose, most people, when asked, might say that the purpose is to get a loan. That purpose would lead to a letter similar to that in Box 4.1. On the surface, the letter appears to be adequate, but with a little more thought about the purpose, you will find that the letter is somewhat incomplete. As we demonstrate in the following text, inadequate attention to the purpose can lead to incomplete documents.

You can easily improve upon this cover letter by asking yourself what you want the reader to know, do, or believe after reading the letter. When considering that question, you will likely come up with an answer such as “I want the lender to review my application materials and contact me to discuss the terms of a loan offer.” This purpose reminds you of your audience and what you would like them to do upon reading the letter. It will remind you to consider all of the information you need to provide the reader in order to fulfill your mission, and nothing more.

Box 4.1 Poor loan proposal cover letter

In addition to your purpose statement, you should consider the four questions in Box 4.2 that help to clarify your purpose.

These questions help you to consider the secondary objectives for your message. The first question makes you think about the specific and immediate actions you want your audience to take. For example, you may want your client to take your advice about how to invest their retirement savings, but what you really want them to do right now is to create a budget to increase savings by $1,000 per month to direct toward a 401(k) plan. The second question is important, especially for internal communications. If you can tie your message to an important organizational goal, then people are more likely to respond. The third question is a simple reminder to consider how you’d like people to see you. Does your message accomplish that objective? The final question asks you to think carefully about how your message affects other people.

Box 4.2 Questions that clarify your message’s purpose

Let’s apply the questions in Box 4.2 to the purpose statement we provided to you for the cover letter accompanying a small business loan proposal. The purpose statement directly responds to Question 1. The purpose does not really address Question 2. The lender who reads the letter will want to know what’s compelling about your plans to use the loan. The supporting documents accompanying the cover letter will provide details about what you will do with the funds from a loan, but the cover letter should pique the lender’s curiosity. Question 3 addresses the impression you want to make in the cover letter. Because your credibility is so important in a letter of this type, you will want to strike a more formal tone than usual. You will also need to demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and thought thoroughly about the proposal process. Finally, Question 4 serves as a reminder to you that this is an opportunity to build a new business relationship or maintain an existing relationship.

In many cases, thinking your way through a clear purpose and the four questions in Box 4.2 will take a few moments, but those few moments will result in better communication. With careful consideration of the purpose, the cover letter can be improved and look like the one in Box 4.3.

Box 4.3 Improved loan proposal cover letter

You may be saying to yourself, “The improved letter is longer than the poorly written letter. I thought you said shorter was better.” We do believe you should be as concise as possible. However, in being concise, you must still accomplish your goals as a writer. Therefore, shorter notes are not always better if they leave out important information and fail to achieve your strategic purpose.

People

As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, you will want to know as much about your audience as possible. You need to be able to answer the WIIFM question and know how the reader might react to your message. Being able to predict their reaction will help you determine how you will organize the information in your message (see section “Placement” in the following text). Knowledge of your audience will also help you make important strategic choices, such as the degree of formality you should achieve in your writing, the language you use, and the channel you select for sending your message. It’s also important to consider secondary audiences and not alienating them.

When planning your messages, consider the tactics in Box 4.4 to help you build messages that suit your audience.

Think about the language you will use and how it will set your audience’s frame of mind. Use plain language with familiar words, which shows your audience you can speak their language and have common ground. Be courteous and positive. Try to highlight positive information, without obscuring reality. We all have to deliver bad news, such as telling a customer that he or she is being denied credit. Being sensitive to how we deliver that news is important. Instead of writing something like “Your credit application has been rejected,” you can say, “We are unable to extend credit to you at this time.”

Box 4.4 Planning a message that suits your audience

Cultivating a “you” view means that you typically want to keep the focus on your audience. Audiences care about themselves before anything else, and people see the world from their own perspective. So, instead of writing something like “I am sending the February sales data report to you tomorrow,” write, “You can expect to receive the February sales data report from me by tomorrow.” And finally, before writing your messages, think about how your audience will benefit from adopting your ideas or following your advice. Focus on audience benefits, not the features of your ideas.

Placement

In addition to thinking about purpose and people, you should also consider the placement of content in your message. In other words, how will you organize your message, given your purpose and audience(s)? In this section, we offer tips for placing your content in such a way as to have a maximum impact on your audience.

For our students at Central Connecticut State University, we recently developed a business-writing guide called the CCSU Guide to Writing. The guide is meant to help students think critically about the content they will need produce when writing business messages. The CCSU Guide to Writing (see Box 4.5) can be adapted to meet the needs of myriad business-writing situations, such as informative e-mails, memos, business plans, and analytical reports. We hope the guide will also help you think through your approach to writing.

Box 4.5 The CCSU writing guide

First, your messages will need to communicate the issue(s) or problem(s) being addressed in the message. When you communicate the issue(s) or problem(s) to your audience, you will need to consider their perspective. What do they know? What do they need to know? Provide your audience with the information necessary to understand the situation and the key issue(s) or problem(s) that will be addressed in your message. This vital background information will create context for your audience and set the appropriate frame of mind.

In addition to communicating the issue(s) or problem(s), you will also need to clarify your approach to the issue(s) or problem(s). You can approach any issue or problem from a number of different angles, using different theories, models, or philosophical approaches. You should clarify your approach for the reader. This means that you will have to discuss why the approach is most suitable to the situation and what about the situation makes your approach the best. You may also have to acknowledge other approaches and contrast them to your own. The less your audience knows about your approach, the more detail you will need to provide.

You should be your own best critic. Scrutinize your approach; put it to the test. Run the variables of the situation through your chosen approach (e.g., best and worst case scenarios). Analyze available data and information using your approach. Describe the outcomes to your audience, using examples when possible.

Finally, most business-writing situations are persuasive in nature and require you to offer resolutions to issue(s) or solutions to problem(s). Make actionable recommendations, whenever possible. Describe what the reader should do, justify the recommendation(s), provide an implementation plan, and suggest how success can be assessed.

Placement for Approach

The CCSU Guide to Writing will help you think through the information you will need to present to your audience. The placement of information in a message depends on whether you plan to use a direct or an indirect approach (see Table 4.2).

In business, audiences tend to prefer a direct approach. A direct approach requires the writer to state the main idea(s) early in the message, followed by relevant information or details or both. However, it will sometimes benefit you and your message to use an indirect approach. In an indirect approach, you provide the relevant information or details or both first, followed by the message’s main idea(s).

Table 4.2 Situations for using direct and indirect approaches

Direct approach	Indirect approach
Delivering good news	Delivering bad news
Engagement letter	Investor proposal letter—new product
Request for proposal	Explaining reduction in dividends
Price quotes	Credit denials

How do you know when an indirect approach is appropriate? The best way to be able to answer that question is to know the first two Ps: purpose and people. When you need to provide routine information; share good news; or ask your audience to take action that they are willing to take, use a direct approach. When you need to share bad news; overcome audience disagreements; or ask your audience to take action that they will likely resist, you should use an indirect approach. In other words, you need to gauge your audience’s reaction to the message to determine which approach is most appropriate. So, now you may be asking why an indirect approach is best when the message elicits a negative response from the audience. The indirect approach works best in these situations for a couple of reasons.

First, if you know the information you are sharing will cause distress for your audience, then an indirect approach will give you the chance to soften the impact of negative information. If you have ever received a loan denial letter, you will have noticed that it likely started with a phrase, such as “Thank you for your contacting us to discuss available loan options. We understand that this may come at a difficult time, however based on careful review of the information provided ....” Most people understand that if the message doesn’t open with “congratulations,” then they were likely rejected. Using a buffer in an indirect approach gives the reader time to come to terms with the conclusion before actually reading it.

Second, persuasion attempts that are likely to be met with resistance use an indirect approach because of selective perception processes. We know that people will disregard information that runs counter to their own ideas. In some cases, your audience will begin to refute your argument once they know you’re going to ask them to do something they don’t want to do. If you were going to ask a department manager to slash his or her workforce by 10%, you would not want to open the message with that statement. That manager will either shut down mentally and not listen to the rationale or will counter argue with the rationale. By providing the rationale before making your request, you increase the odds that the audience will at least listen to the argument.

Placement for Memory

In addition to thinking about using a direct or indirect approach, you should also think about placing information within a document in a way that makes it easy for your audience to remember. Here are some tactics you can employ to make your supporting points easier to remember.

Not all supporting points in a document are created equally. Some of your arguments will have greater impact on your audience than others. Therefore, you should take advantage of the primacy–recency effect, which suggests that people tend to best remember information that they see first or last. Your most impactful supporting points should be placed either near the beginning of your message or near the end of the message. Avoid burying your best supporting points in the middle of the message.

When you provide your readers with a long list of details or many key pieces of information, try to find natural ways to organize that information and make an effort to present the information in those natural categories.² These “chunks” of information are easier for our audience to remember.³ Consider the vague assortment of information presented in Table 4.3.

Now consider the information in Table 4.3 and compare it to Table 4.4. Which of those two lists is easier to memorize?

The list in Table 4.4 should be easier to memorize. The information is organized into four categories. This simple act of organizing information makes it not only easier to memorize but also easier to lock away into your long-term memory. Try to apply this idea into your communications. Your audience will retain the information and be better able to recall it later when they need it.

Table 4.3 Unorganized pieces of information

Adidas	Bond
Adventure	Fifteen
Puma	Deposit
Credit	Asics
Horror	Seventy
Eight	Collateral
Debit	Comedy
Fantasy	Drama
Thirteen	Nike
Reebok	Forty

Table 4.4 Chunked pieces of information

Popular shoe brands	Numbers
Reebok	Eight
Adidas	Forty
Puma	Fifteen
Asics	Seventy
Nike	Thirteen
Common banking terms	Movie genres
Bond	Fantasy
Collateral	Comedy
Credit	Horror
Debit	Adventure
Deposit	Drama

Conducting Research for Writing in Finance

There may be times when finance professionals are required or need to conduct research in order to become more knowledgeable on a topic for a report, for a client, or to improve the depth of their knowledge in a particular area. In academic research, we start the research process by choosing a topic that interests us; in the real world of business, however, the topic will generally present itself. For example, a company CEO asks a financial analyst to determine if a target business is a worthwhile investment.

Before diving into research, it’s important to go through some simple preparatory exercises to ensure that the research process is efficient and effective. We provide a summary review of the research process’s eight important elements. For a detailed exposition of business research and methodology, we recommend Essentials of Business Research: A Guide to Doing Your Research Project by Jonathan Wilson.

1. Create a list of key search terms. Brainstorm search terms or key words that will help to research the topic. If you don’t know anything about the topic, it may be helpful to conduct a cursory search via a search engine to at least have an idea of where to begin.

2. Write a goal or purpose statement. What exactly is it you need to discover by researching this topic? The statement should be detailed enough to guide your research. For example, our financial analyst may ask if investing in the target business will provide a rate of return greater than the required return.

3. Develop questions to guide the search. What questions do you have about the topic? Use the purpose statement to guide your thought process. Group questions into subtopics, if warranted. These subtopics may become headings in the finished research report. Expanding upon the example of researching a target business, our financial analyst may ask: What drives company revenue? What do you need to know about the business, the business strategy, and how the management runs it? What do you need to know about the industry within which the company operates? What is the company’s competitive position? Has there been any suspicious activity on the financial statements? Have there been large changes in assets or liabilities? What are the company’s financial ratios? How do the financial ratios compare to those of other companies in the same industry? How have the financial ratios changed over time?

4. List potential sources. Make a list of sources that you can use to research the topic. These may include websites, books, journals, databases, and other sources that are company provided, publicly available online, or available at libraries. For example, our financial analyst may seek out financial reports at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) EDGAR database, industry reports at Hoovers, and materials available from investor days and investor conference call transcripts at the company investor relations website. A thorough researcher will seek out sources of information that others may not have considered.

5. Take thorough notes during research. Create a document within which to take notes for each source being utilized in the search. Use your purpose statement and prepared questions to guide you in searching each source. Keep thorough notes on search terms used and locations searched in case you need to return to a search. Thorough notes will also make the research process more efficient, eliminating repetition of the same search and providing a clear path to follow when documenting the research process and creating citations and references.

6. Gather data, if necessary. In most finance research, statements or ideas may require data-driven research and thus need to be supported with statistics. Data may be collected manually by the researcher, for example, from company annual reports or from online providers such as Google Finance. Some data may be published and either publicly available or available for purchase from data providers, for example, government-provided census data and SEC filings, or Standard & Poor’s.

7. Develop the thesis. Once you have completed enough research on the topic, the purpose statement can be strengthened into a thesis statement, which is written from the researcher’s point of view and can be strongly supported by the research. In our case, it may be that the target business is not a worthwhile investment because the estimated return on investment is less than the required return.

8. Write the report. Using your questions or subtopics, create an outline for your report and write the body of the report. The body proves your thesis statement using the notes you captured from researching each of the sources. Ensure sources are properly cited as you work. Finally, write the introduction, which should include the first statement of the thesis, and a conclusion including a restatement of the thesis and a summary of the main points. Include a list of references, ensuring all works cited are included and properly referenced. Proofread your work, and enlist a colleague or friend to proofread for you.

Proofreading and Revising Using the Four F Words

Jason created the four F words approach a few years ago to help his students develop a disciplined approach to proofreading and revising (see Figure 4.1).⁴ The four F words process takes you through four steps that focus the writer’s attention on increasing levels of detail. Even with the four F words process, you will still occasionally make mistakes that go unnoticed. After all, nobody is perfect. The process will, however, help you avoid becoming the person from whom writing mistakes are expected frequently. The four F words of proofreading and revising will help you produce clean documents and maintain your professional reputation.

Format

The first F word asks you to take a big picture look at your document. You are asking yourself if the document looks the way it is supposed to look. Assess the document’s formatting. In doing so, you can ask a few simple questions to guide you through this step in the process.

Does the Document Meet Your Organization’s Standards?

Many companies have standards for how documents should look. They often offer templates and guides to reinforce the company’s brand image through a consistent appearance. Before anything else, you should make sure that you’re following your organization’s standards for document design.

Figure 4.1 The four “F” words of proofreading and revising

Do the Key Ideas Jump Off the Page?

Most readers first approach a document by skimming it. We are all so busy that we try to quickly find the information that matters to us. To help readers find important points, use mechanical devices that cause the ideas to jump off the page. For example, we can write important ideas in bold, italic, underlined, or a combination of font styles. In addition, you can use one or more of the following (but be careful not to overuse):

• Bulleted and enumerated lists

• Color

• Tables and figures

• ALL CAPS

• Headings and subheadings

Is the Document Readable?

Readability refers to how easily a message can be read and understood. One of the easiest ways to enhance a document’s readability is to avoid what we call the WALL OF WORDS effect. You are familiar with wall of words documents; they are the documents that have long sentences, long paragraphs, and use full justification. These documents are difficult to skim because the text runs from the left margin of the page to the right margin with little use of white space. A busy reader may jump to the next document rather than spend the time trying to break through the wall of words.

Filling

In Step 2 of the process, you can move beyond the document’s appearance and begin looking at the content. You are trying to determine if, given your purpose, the content is adequate. We have provided you with a few questions to help guide you through Step 2 of the process.

Is the Purpose Clear?

We discussed the importance of your purpose statement earlier in this chapter. We hope that you always develop a clear purpose before you begin the writing process. However, it is a good idea to check your purpose to make sure it is clear. If your purpose is not clear to you, how will it be clear to the reader?

Is All Necessary Information Included and Organized?

Answering this question effectively requires that you first have a few key pieces of information yourself. First, you need to have sufficient content knowledge about the message’s topic. Do your research. Make sure you have collected information from credible sources and that you have both quantitative and qualitative information. When you make claims, you will need the evidence to support them.

In addition to sufficient content knowledge, you also need to understand your audience thoroughly. You need to determine what information they have and what information they need, the questions they may ask, and the emotional response they will have to the information. Try to answer the WIIFM question. To be convincing, you also need to understand what forces will move your audience to say yes to your requests and what forces are holding them back from saying yes. To be most effective, you will need to make sure your content is appropriate for your audience.

Feeling

It is important that you make sure that your messages demonstrate respect for your audience and strike the appropriate tone. Your audience will evaluate your professional image based, in part, on the messages you write. In this step of the process, you are trying to be a collegial professional and a good steward of your professional image. To guide you through Step 3 of the process, try to answer the following questions.

Do You Make Polite Requests?

Just because you may find yourself in a position of authority does not mean that manners don’t matter. Even when making directives, please remember that you are asking people to complete tasks. Use of “please” and “thank you” will serve you well throughout your career. For example, consider the difference between the following two sentences:

• You must have the report to me by 8 a.m. tomorrow.

• Please complete the report by 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Both sentences include a request for action. In both cases, you can expect the report by 8 a.m. However, the second sentence demonstrates more respect for the audience by using “please.” As the expression goes, you can catch more flies with honey.

Do You Avoid Abstract Words and Phrases?

We have made the point more than once about the importance of using language that your audience understands. Not only is it important to help your audience better understand the information you are sharing, but considering your use of language is also a matter of respect. It is disrespectful to use language that your audience will not understand.

Are Your Emotions in Check?

When we allow our emotions to dictate what we write, we often win short-term emotional boosts at the expense of fulfilling our document’s true purpose. Do your best to keep your purpose in mind and moderate your emotions.

Do You Make the Effort to Soften the Blow of Bad News?

As you will see in Chapter 5, you will be called upon to write bad news messages. You will find yourself in positions where you must say no to requests, fire employees, deny promotions, cut relations with vendors, deny customer claims, and write many other uncomfortable messages. Please remember that how you handle such situations can have lasting consequences. Do your best to be considerate of your audience’s feelings when delivering bad news.

Filth

Now that you know the document looks right, has the appropriate content, and treats your audience with respect, you can take a look at spelling, grammar, and mechanics. These errors are like little pieces of filth that are detrimental to your document’s clarity and your reputation.

Use Word Processing Power

When using word processing programs, you have certainly encountered those red and green squiggly lines underneath your sentences that indicate an error of some type. You should always stop and review those sentences. However, use your brainpower to determine if an error actually exists. Avoid blindly accepting changes that the program suggests. Word processing programs are not written by professional copy editors. As a result, these programs occasionally identify nonexistent problems (i.e., cry wolf), fail to identify real problems (i.e., miss the boat), and offer incorrect solutions to real problems. Word processing programs are amazing little tools, but like all tools, we must engage our brain while using them or suffer the consequences.

Change the Medium

Finding our own errors is not easy to do. Just because you produce a document using a program such as Microsoft Word doesn’t mean that you must proofread it using that software or using a computer screen. Try printing out important documents and reviewing them on paper. Changing the medium slows down our brains a little.

Trick Yourself

Another reason why we often miss our own errors is that we don’t expect to see them. When you draft a document, you think about what you want to write before you actually write it down. How often does the version in your mind have errors? Based on the ideas of selective perception, if you don’t expect to see errors, you won’t. One thing you can do to trick yourself and work against selective perception is to proofread your documents from the last line to the first. Start at the end and work to the beginning.

Read Aloud

Another way to slow down your brain is to read your messages aloud. You read aloud at a slower rate than you read quietly to yourself. Reading aloud helps you find small errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics because you will likely stumble in places where errors exist. This tip also helps you make sure you’ve struck the appropriate tone.

The ABCs of Writing: Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity

While making your final revisions, please remember that your goal is to achieve the ABCs of writing. Your messages need to be accurate, brief, and clear. Often, the pieces of filth that we are looking to eliminate in Step 4 of the proofreading and revising process work against the ABCs of writing. In this final section of the chapter, we share with you some ideas that will help make your writing accurate, brief, and clear. Because this book is meant to be a brief guide, we do not provide you with an exhaustive list, just those ideas that you can easily put into practice today. For a more complete treatment of writing, we recommend the following supplementary resources:

• The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. This book is a must-have resource for any professional who takes writing seriously. It provides the basic rules for writing in the plain English style. And, according to the authors, “It concentrates on fundamentals: the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.”⁵ Jason has owned his copy of the book since 1997 and always keeps it handy. You should do the same. In fact, you can download a PDF copy of the book from www.goodreads.com.

• HBR Guide to Better Business Writing by Bryan A. Gardner. This book represents a more modern take on writing and focuses exclusively on business writing. The appendixes are particularly useful as they contain essential grammar rules, punctuation rules, and business-writing etiquette guidelines.⁶

• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). This site offers comprehensive advice on all things related to writing. In particular, we recommend brushing up on your basic writing skills by using the OWL Exercises, which include exercises on grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, sentence style, and number writing. At https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ you can find the exercises online

• Wisconsin University-Madison Writing Center. This writing center, like many others, offers advice on avoiding 12 common writing errors and provides useful assistance. It covers topics such as parallelism and dangling or misplaced modifiers. You can find the guide and download it from the following website: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CommonErrors.html

Common Errors That Work Against the ABCs

Errors in punctuation and grammar usage can slow down your reader and cause confusion in interpretation. Let’s examine some common culprits.

Misuse of Apostrophes

Paul Simon’s song “American Tune” opens with the following: “Many is the time I’ve been mistaken and many times confused. Yes, and I’ve often felt forsaken and certainly misused.” We can’t help but wonder if that isn’t how the apostrophe feels. Writers frequently misuse apostrophes when they write possessives and contractions. Possessives and contractions are very different things, and we hope to help you avoid the confusion.

Why do people confuse possessives and contractions? They both frequently use apostrophes. For example, in the phrase Helen’s price quote, the word “Helen’s” is a possessive that needs an apostrophe. But possessives don’t always require an apostrophe. In the phrase, Your time is important, the word “your” is a possessive that does not require an apostrophe. Notice that we used the possessive “your” and not the contraction “you’re.” Contractions are shortened versions of words or word groups. In this case, “you’re” is short for “you are.”

Table 4.5 Guidelines for appropriate use of apostrophes

Rule	Example
Use apostrophe + s when the possessive noun is singular and does not end in “s.”	Helen’s price quote
Use apostrophe after the “s” when the possessive noun is plural and ends in “s.”	The advisors’ suggestions
Use apostrophe + s when the possessive noun is singular, ends in “s,” and can be pronounced after you add apostrophe + s.	Mr. Jones’s third-quarter estimates

Similarly, people frequently misuse the possessive “its” and the contraction “it’s.” So, how can you be sure if you’re using contractions such as “it’s” correctly? The best answer is to read the sentence aloud with the full word or word groups that are contracted by the apostrophe. If the words “it is” do not sound right in the sentence, then you probably don’t need a contraction. You probably need the possessive form “its.” For another example, consider the expression, You’ll see that our market research has uncovered a strong and growing market. Expand the contraction “you’ll” with the words “you will” and read the sentence aloud. It sounds right because it is right. This sentence needs a contraction, not a possessive. The apostrophe is in the appropriate place.

The poor apostrophe is commonly misused in another way. It is frequently put in the wrong place when used with a possessive noun. We are frequently asked if the apostrophe goes before or after the letter “s.” That’s a simple question with a simple answer. Unfortunately, many people use the wrong rule to derive the answer. They believe that if the possessive noun is plural, then the apostrophe follows the “s,” and if the possessive noun is singular, the apostrophe precedes the “s.” That rule is false. To help you use the apostrophe appropriately, follow the guidelines in Table 4.5.

Errors in Subject–Verb Agreement

A subject and its verb must both be either singular or plural. Although seemingly simple, this rule is difficult to follow because it is easy for us to get tricked. Compound subjects trick even the best writers. Compound subjects combine two subjects with the word “and.” When the two subjects represent one singular idea, the compound subject is singular. For example, Grammar Girl (another great online resource) notes that “peanut butter and jelly” is a singular compound subject because it is one dish. So, that compound subject should be paired with a singular verb. Let’s see that expression in action:

• Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite treat.

The compound subject “peanut butter and potatoes” is plural. The two foods are not one treat. They are two separate treats. Therefore, they should be paired with a plural verb, as in the following expression:

• Peanut butter and potatoes are my favorite treats.⁷

Sentences starting with “there” can cause good writers to pair the subject with the wrong verb tense. Bryan Garner argued that people tend to use singular verbs with “there” regardless of the sentence’s true subject. In his book, he used the following example: There is still market capacity and established competition to be considered. In this expression, the compound subject “capacity and competition” should be paired with the plural verb “are.” In these cases, we suggest an alternative solution. Do your best to avoid sentences that start with “there.” The expression in the preceding text could be written in the following way: Market capacity and established competition are still to be considered.

Errors in Hyphen Use

Use hyphens to combine compound modifiers, which are two words that act as one adjective and clarify the meaning of a noun. For example, in the expression five-year contract, the words “five” and “year” are modifiers of the word “contract.” Notice that a compound modifier is two words. Therefore, an expression such as nonbinding arbitration does not require a hyphen because “non” is a prefix, not a word. The same is true for other prefixes such as pre, ante, infra, pro, over, and post. The rule for hyphen use has an exception. Avoid using a hyphen when the compound modifier includes an adverb ending in –ly, such as newly minted PhD.

Errors in Number Use

The rules for number use in business are not so clear. However, you can avoid most egregious errors by following the guides we offer in Table 4.6.

In addition to the guides offered in Table 4.6, you should aim for internal consistency with your number use. In other words, use numbers consistently within a sentence. For example, in the expression We need 20 investors in 3 days, because the writer used the figure for 20, he or she also used the figure for 3.

Table 4.6 Guidelines for using numbers correctly

General use: Write numbers one through ten as words, write numbers above ten as figures, and write all numbers as words if they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
Wrong	Correct
We have 1 more day.	We have one more day.
We have twenty more days.	We have 20 more days.
20 days remain until the opening.	Twenty days remain until the opening.
Money and dates: Write sums greater than $1 as figures, write numbers in dates as figures if the day appears after the month, and write numbers in dates as ordinals if the day appears before the month.
Wrong	Correct
He invested fifteen million dollars.	He invested $15 million.
The loan payment is due on June fifth.	The loan payment is due on June 5.
The loan payment is due on June 5th.	The loan payment is due on the 5th of June. The loan payment is due on June 5.
Clock time: Write numbers as figures when expressed with a.m. or p.m., drop the colon and last two digits when referring to the top of the hour, and write numbers as words when written with the word “o’clock.”
Wrong	Correct
five p.m.	5 p.m.
5:00 p.m.	5 p.m.
5 o’clock	five o’clock

Errors in Capitalization

Writers commonly capitalize words that should not be capitalized, and they fail to capitalize words that require a capital letter. Here are some guidelines that will help you avoid those errors.

• Capitalize proper nouns (e.g., Canada).

• Capitalize titles when they precede the person’s name (e.g., President Miller).

• Do not capitalize titles when it follows the person’s name (e.g., Mr. Miller, president) or when it is not associated with a person’s name (e.g., president).

Errors in Use of Semicolons and Commas

Semicolons and commas are hard to work with. Here’s a simple guide for using semicolons. In sentences, semicolons are used to separate two independent clauses that have been combined to make a single sentence. For example, consider the following sentence:

My intern had a problem; he had to find his TPS report quickly.

Both the first clause (my intern had a problem) and the second clause (he had to find his TPS report quickly) are independent clauses. You would not separate those two clauses with a comma. In fact, if you separate two independent clauses with a comma, you are committing a style error called a comma splice. So, when do you use commas in sentences?

First, you can combine two independent clauses with a comma if you add a coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, or) after the comma. But in order to fix a comma splice this way, it must make sense for the two independent clauses to be joined by a coordinating conjunction. It does not make sense to combine the aforementioned clauses about the intern and his TPS report with a comma and coordinating conjunction. You could, however, use a comma and coordinating conjunction in the following example:

My intern had a problem, but he still had time to find his TPS report.

Second, use commas after an introductory clause such as in the following sentence:

If you have ever been to a conference, you probably worked hard to meet new people.

The first clause (if you have ever been to a conference) is dependent. That means it needs the second clause in order to be a complete sentence. A comma is needed to combine the two clauses.

Third, use commas to separate out a clause in the sentence, which is not central to the meaning of the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence:

We should host the conference on June 14, Flag Day, because our venue of choice is available.

The fact that June 14 is Flag Day is not central to the meaning of the sentence and is set off by commas.

Finally, use commas when words are repeated, such as in the following sentence:

I am very, very happy to see you.

You should also use a comma when two coordinate adjectives are used to describe a noun, such as in the following sentence:

She wrote a series of timely, insightful recommendations.

Using Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

Modifiers add description to other words in a sentence. A misplaced modifier is simply a word that is separated from the word it modifies. A modifier dangles when the word it modifies is not clearly stated in the sentence. When they are misplaced or dangling, modifiers can reduce a sentence’s clarity. We find that our students are unfamiliar with dangling and misplaced modifiers, but they understand them once they see a couple of examples. So, let’s take a look at the following example:

After leaving the meeting, the report’s recommendations started to make sense to her.

In this example, the modifier is misplaced. The introductory clause “after leaving the meeting,” is a modifier. What word does it modify? The sentence as written suggests that the report’s recommendations left the meeting. When an introductory clause serves as a modifier, the noun being modified should be the first noun following the clause. In other words, you can always ask “who or what” after the introductory clause. In this case, you can ask, “Who or what left the meeting?” The answer to that question should be the next noun you see in the sentence. The woman left the meeting, not the report’s recommendations. Therefore, we need to fix the sentence. Here is one way that it can be fixed.

After leaving the meeting, she started to make sense of the report’s recommendations.

Now let’s take the same example and commit a dangling modifier error. If we wrote the sentence in the following way, it would be a dangling modifier because the word being modified is not clearly stated.

After leaving the meeting, the report’s recommendations started to make sense.

Not only is the modifier “after leaving the meeting” misplaced, it is also dangling because the woman who left the meeting is not mentioned. We can fix the dangling modifier the same way we fixed the misplaced modifier.

After leaving the meeting, she started to make sense of the report’s recommendations.

Using Passive Voice Without a Subject

Passive voice sentences lack clarity and are often longer and less direct than active voice sentences. Passive voice sentences follow the object– verb–subject pattern, and they occasionally omit the subject. Active voice is preferred because it tends to be more direct and clearer. The following sentences both have “Fran” as the subject and “the transaction” as the object. The first sentence is in active voice and the second sentence is in passive voice.

Active: Fran committed an error in processing the transaction.

Passive: An error in processing the transaction was committed by Fran.

Many writing pundits will tell you that the active voice is almost always preferred. Others, however, will argue that both sentences are clear about who committed the error. The problem with passive voice in business writing is really about identifying the subject. If an error was committed, the reader will want to know who committed the error. Consider the same sentence in passive voice without the subject.

Passive and no subject: An error in processing the transaction was committed.

Those who give you the advice to avoid passive voice want to make sure that the subject is always clear. The reader should know who is doing what. Business writers who want to be clear will use active voice because it tends to use fewer words. When they use passive voice, they work hard to ensure the subject is clear.

Avoid It Is or Was and There Is or Are Starters

One easy way to be more concise in your writing is to look for sentences that begin with some variation of “it is” or “there are.” When you see those two words, they can be deleted. With some minor changes, which usually include the deletion of a pronoun or relative pronoun, your sentences will be shorter without sacrificing clarity. Look at the following example of a sentence with a “there are” starter.

There are many factors that have contributed to our firm’s recent successes.

The sentence could be shorter and the first thing you can do is eliminate the words “there are.” You can also delete the relative pronoun “that.” You are left with the following shorter sentence.

Many factors have contributed to our firm’s recent successes.

You may be asking why eliminating a few words should matter so much. As we’ve discussed earlier, it’s important to appreciate people’s time. You should also think about the costs associated with the words you use. Every word costs time and money. Small changes over the course of a lifetime can result in large savings.

Avoid Flabby Expressions

Business writers sometimes fall into the trap of using expressions that are needlessly long. Writers do this because the longer, flabby expression sounds more formal. Unfortunately, these flabby expressions are not brief, and they may even reduce a sentence’s clarity. Be on the lookout for flabby expressions. Table 4.7 provides you with examples of flabby expressions and how they can be fixed.

Table 4.7 Flabby expressions and their concise counterparts

Flabby expression	Concise expression
We are of the opinion that	We think
Please feel free to	Please
Despite the fact that	Although
Due to the fact that	Because
At your earliest convenience	Soon
In respect of the matter	Regarding

Avoid Long Lead-Ins

Long lead-ins are words that appear at the beginning of a sentence that don’t add anything to the meaning of the sentence. These expressions often state something that is obvious to the reader. Consider the following expression:

This e-mail is to inform you of today’s schedule change.

“This e-mail is to inform you” represents a long lead-in. The reader is aware that the message is in e-mail format because he or she is reading the e-mail. In addition, the message is informing the reader about a change. Therefore, telling the reader that he or she is being informed is unnecessary. Consider the more concise expression as shown in the following:

Today’s schedule has changed.

Here’s another example of a long lead-in. Try to think about the sentence from the reader’s perspective.

I am writing this letter to thank those of you who attended yesterday’s meeting.

The reader knows it is a letter because he or she is reading it. The reader also knows you wrote the letter because you will have signed it. Therefore, the lead-in is unnecessary and inhibits brevity. Here is one way the sentence could be fixed.

Thank you for attending yesterday’s meeting.

Eliminate Redundancies

A redundant expression contains at least one unnecessary word because it creates repetition. Some redundant expressions are used so frequently that they can be hard to identify. For example, the expression absolutely essential is redundant. Something can be either essential or nonessential. There are no degrees of essentiality. If something is essential, it is essential. Therefore, modifying essential with absolutely is redundant. Here’s a list of other common redundant expressions. You can find a rather lengthy list at about.com.⁸

• Advance warning

• Filled to capacity

• Final outcome

• Rules and regulations

• Visible to the eye

• Repeat again

Conclusion

In this chapter, we hope to have provided you with simple tools for becoming a better business writer. You should have learned that good writers follow a process in how they prepare for the writing process, do research, and conduct proofreading and revising. We also provided you with some tools to help you achieve the ABCs of business writing: accuracy, brevity, and clarity.

Box 4.6 provides you with a summary of this chapter’s takeaways. In Chapter 5, we turn our attention to advice for writing common finance documents.

Box 4.6 Chapter 4 takeaways