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December 5, 2000
BUSINESS LETTERS--PART VI
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This week we continue our study of standard American business letters. While many forms are used by a variety of companies today, we offer a traditional model that has worked well for decades.
Last week we looked at the closing of the letter. This week we'll discuss the signature area.
When you have typed the closing, click the return key four times and type the writer's name, followed by his or her title:
Sincerely,
Clyde Smith
Director of Human Resources
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To provide space for multiple signatures, the general rule is to provide four lines of space followed by the name (and title) for each person who will sign the letter:
Sincerely,
John Smith
President
Mary Doe
Trustee
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Do not use a prefix before the writer's name, such as Mr. or Dr., but you may use a suffix following the name:
Sincerely,
Clyde Smith, Ph.D.
Director of Human Resources
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Within the four lines of signature space, the writer's name should be legibly signed (not printed). Titles are not included in the signature space. Use blue or black ink--never pencil.
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Occasionally the writer may sign his or her first name only or a nickname if that is how he or she is known to the reader. However, the full name with title, if applicable, is typed below the signature.
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SPELLING OR WRITING TIP
When using a computer for writing tasks, remember to save your writing every thirty minutes or so. If your machine loses power or hits a glitch, you will lose all your hard work unless you've saved it to the hard drive or a disk.
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WORD OF THE WEEK:
TACT (takt): The ability to appreciate a situation and to do or say the fitting thing. Discretion; diplomacy.
Jennifer displayed a great deal of tact in pointing out the error to her boss.
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YOUR GRAMMAR AND WRITING QUESTIONS
QUESTION: Could you explain the difference between "toward" and "towards"?
GRAMMARCHECK: While "toward" is preferred, both forms (which mean "in the direction of") are acceptable:
Can you point me toward the nearest post office?
Can you point me towards the nearest post office?
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QUESTION: What is a "bib"?
GRAMMARCHECK: Your abbreviation probably refers to "bibliography" which is a list of sources that follows a formal or academic document.
There are many types of bibliographies; some list the works of a specific author or publisher. Others list sources of information. An annotated bibliography provides a brief overview of the cited work, while a selected bibliography (or "bib") lists only those works which are most meaningful to a text or useful to readers. A working bib lists all the references consulted for a particular body of work while a final bib lists only those which are cited in the work.
Be sure to use the appropriate bibliography when one is required.
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QUESTION: When referring to the federal government, should the following be capitalized?
--more than twenty federal agencies--
--to see that their federal efforts--
--local, state, and tribal governments--
--managers of state programs--
GRAMMARCHECK: It depends on how you refer to the government, as indicated by the following:
any federal government (non-specific)
the U.S. Federal government (specific)
None of your above examples should be capitalized because they refer to no specific program by name.
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QUESTION: What is wrong with this sentence?
"People are often appealed to convert to a different religion or to try the different choices of different religions."
GRAMMARCHECK: We see two problems. The first is the positioning of "often" while the second has to do with a missing word ("to").
Do not separate parts of a verb phrase. Thus, "often" should come after "People" and before the first verb word ("are"):
People often are appealed to convert to a different religion or to try the different choices of different religions.
However, the second problem arises from the dual need of the word "to" in this sentence, first as a preposition ("appealed to") and again as part of an infinitive ("to convert"). To correct the phrasing of your sentence, it would read thus:
People often are appealed to to convert to a different religion or to try the different choices of different religions.
As you can see, it reads awkwardly. Let's try something else:
People often are encouraged to convert to a different religion or to try different religions. [If "encouraged" doesn't quite fit your meaning, you can always substitute another word choice that doesn't require a preposition.]
This example also prevents the repetitive use of "different" in this sentence.
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QUESTION: After a colon appears in a sentence, does the first word after the colon need capitalization?
GRAMMARCHECK: Probably not. Not capitalizing the first word following a colon seems to enjoy more widespread use, but either way is fine. An exception is when the first word following a colon is a quote. A colon should be used to introduce only longer quotes, not short ones.
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