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Dawn Rosenberg McKay

Writing Effectively

By , About.com Guide   September 30, 2011

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Have you ever thought about how much writing you do everyday? No matter what your job is, there seems to be writing involved. Even in our lives outside work, we are always writing something. Whether it's composing a simple memo to a co-worker, sending an email message to a client, posting a comment on a blog, or sending a note to your child's teacher, it seems we just can't put our pens down ... or more accurately keep our hands off our keyboards.

Sometimes I find it hard to find the right words to express my thoughts. And this is coming from someone who writes for a living! When you are engaged in an "in person" conversation you can read someone's facial expression and respond immediately. That way, if the words leaving your mouth are misinterpreted you can quickly correct them. Not so with writing. Once you hit send, it's hard to take back your words. For that reason, you are under a lot of pressure to make sure your written correspondence conveys the message you want it to. Following are some resources you can use to help you polish your writing skills.

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Comments
September 8, 2010 at 11:33 pm
(1) Mike Broderick :

Grammar is important, too. for example , I believe you used the word “everyday” incorrectly. Here is a statement of the rule:
The one-word modifier everyday and the two-word phrase every day are not interchangeable (despite store ads that say, “Lowest prices everyday” – incorrect).

Everyday (one word) is an adjective meaning “encountered or used typically or routinely; a synonym is ordinary.

Every day (two words) literally has the same meaning as “each day.”

A simple way to test which is appropriate is to substitute “each day” in place of “every day / everyday.” If “each day” works, we want to use every day (two words); if “each day” does not work, we want everyday. For example, “We have low prices every day” = “We have low prices each day”; therefore, every day is correct – and everyday is incorrect. On the other hand, since we may not correctly rephrase “This is an everyday event” as “This is an each day event,” the one-word adjective everyday is correct.

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