Tone in business writing I’m sure we’ve all experienced struggling with the tone of a business document or email. We know something doesn’t sound right but are not sure how to fix it. My latest two blogs look at tone: Use the right tone in business writing – writing techniques that create tone. Check your tone […]
Improve your writing and grammar with an online course While you’re working from home, why not brush up on your writing and grammar skills? All my courses are straightforward and easy to use. Yes, some of the grammar topics are complex, but I explain concepts simply and clearly and the courses are chunked into small manageable sections. You […]
Consistency matters in board papers I’ve read a lot of board papers lately and been reminded of the need for consistency at every level of a paper. Consistent messaging provides clarity while inconsistent messaging leads to questioning and distrust. When your formatting, word choice and styles are consistent, no feature stands out to distract readers […]
Subscribe to Mary Morel’s e-newsletter to receive regular writing and grammar tips. This edition covers hyphens, the Brexit Oxford comma debate and why we procrastinate.
Holiday reading Every year, the Grattan Institute in Australia, sends the prime minister six books to read over the holidays. This year, the prime minister received: From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage, Judith Brett (Text Publishing, 2019) Kindred, Kate Legge (Melbourne University Publishing, 2019) Order without Design, Alain Bertaud (MIT Press, 2018) The Strange Death of Tory Economic […]
State of literacy If you live in Australia, you may have watched a Four Corners’ documentary about how so many young Australians are struggling with literacy in this digital age. If you have school-aged children, why not brush up on your own grammar so you can help them? Register now for one of my grammar courses: Grammar, Punctuation […]
Emerging again Some of you may have noticed that you haven’t received my ‘monthly’ e-newsletter for a while. I have been busy writing a young-adult novel that I started a couple of years ago. Writing it has reminded me why I both love and hate writing. I love it because ideas float around my head […]
Sign in versus log in Years ago, I recall spending ages deciding whether to use ‘sign in’ or ‘log in’ (or even ‘log-in’ or ‘login’). I can’t remember what I decided at the time, but I was interested to read GOV.AU and find that ‘sign in’ seems to have won. GOV.AU says: ‘Consider using ‘sign in’ and […]
Monthly writing and grammar tips Numbers in business and technical writing In business writing, a generally accepted rule is to spell out numbers from one to nine and use numerals for 10 and above. Some organisations change at 11 rather than 10. Numerals are usually used in scientific and technical writing, and increasingly I am […]
February edition, 2019 Seven tips to kick-start your writing From time to time, we need to stand back and re-assess our writing skills to make sure our writing is clear, concise and engaging. Just write It’s a truism that the more you write, the easier and quicker it becomes. Just don’t expect writing to be […]