Free Report Helps Improve Your Writing

TheWritingFormula.com has launched a free 8 page ebook titled "Hear, they're and every wear" aimed at businessmen with reports to write, students creating essays, website owners building content and would be authors. The ebook provides a practical solution to avoiding those common writing mistakes that can turn off your audience and promises an instant improvement in writing copy.

"These common mistakes such as mistaking its and it's, affect and effect and the use of apostrophes are really holding ordinary people back with their writing as they are both hard to understand and annoy the readers," says Tony Hetherington of http://www.thewritingformula.com/. "My approach is to show people how to solve the problem and then to get on with their lives. It doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to be complicated and it doesn't have to hold anyone back. My simple, step-by-step approach will work every time and will improve your writing instantly."

"Hear, they're and every wear" may be just eight pages long but there's a lot crammed into it;

• How to deal with these common errors
• Common errors and how to avoid them – such as its/it's, affect/effect and more.
• How to ignore those archaic rules that "they" insist we get wrong.
• Errors that spell checkers cause.

"The idea behind this free ebook is to demonstrate that my methods work and can work for everyone," explains Tony. "If this and the other ebooks in the series help people succeed then I'm delighted as it's about time that genuine help was offered – too many self-interested copy writers want you to fail so that you continue to use their inflated services. I believe in practical, no-nonsense, common sense solutions that allow you to get your message across."

Tony Hetherington is a writer, editor and communications consultant with over 25 years experience and has worked with some of the biggest companies in the world. He now enjoys helping businesses large and small get more customers, make more sales and grow through better writing and communications.

"Forget those 2-300 page books that only a grammarian would love that are bought and then gather dust try this free 8 page practical guide and instantly improve your writing," says Tony.

"Hear, they're and every wear" is a free extract from the forthcoming ebook The Writing Formula and is available now to download by visiting http://www.thewritingformula.com/mistakes.html

New E-Book Improves Poor E-mail Writing Skills

Write It Well, a training and consulting company that helps people improve their business writing skills, has released a new edition of its popular book about writing e-mail, which now includes a section about instant messaging and using handheld devices.

E-Mail - A Write It Well Guide: How to Write and Manage E-Mail in the Workplace addresses a fundamental yet largely overlooked skill in every career level of business: how to write professional, effective email. Poorly written e-mail can sabotage careers, threaten productivity, and negatively affect a company's image, while effective e-mail increases productivity and improves the workplace environment. E-Mail - A Write It Well Guide offers a practical tool for improving e-mail writing--an important skill that helps people advance their careers and keeps businesses competitive.

"E-mail writing is business writing," states business writing expert and President of Write It Well, Natasha Terk. E-mail has become the primary method of business communication, surpassing the telephone as our preferred communication tool in the workplace (Datamonitor report, September 2007).

While most people already sense that this is the case, most of us don't stop to consider the implications for our careers. "It's time for employers and employees to face the reality that e-mail writing skills could make or break a career," comments Terk. "While most of us understand that poorly written e-mail can waste time, we forget that poorly written e-mail can also create costly misunderstandings, catapult deadlines, delay deliverables, impact people's opinion of you, and sabotage your career."

Employers should also take note. A Write It Well survey found that more than half of American workers spend a third of their day reading and responding to e-mail and nearly 75 percent said that they could make better use of that time. Wasted time affects a company's overall productivity and financial statements and in today's increasingly global economy, companies rely on e-mail to allow large teams across various time zones to work together efficiently on projects. When extreme time differences are combined with various languages, poorly written e-mail can be detrimental to a project's results and deteriorate team dynamics, both of which directly affect a company's bottom line.

Poorly written e-mail can also affect a company's public image. In a recent Write It Well survey, a whopping eighty-eight percent of respondents said that poorly written e-mail leaves a poor impression of not only the writer, but the writer's organization as well.

In addition to image, productivity and financial problems, poorly written e-mail can have serious legal implications. IT security and control firm Sophos recently found that seventy percent of businesses are concerned about data leakage via e-mail, and fifty percent of employees have sent e-mail with sensitive information to the wrong person causing corporate embarrassment, compliance breaches, and the loss of business-critical information. Whether by accident or because they didn't think carefully, people send inappropriate and damaging e-mail everyday.

"In high stakes business litigation, the first place I look for smoking gun evidence that may win (or lose) the case is the e-mail server," said Jonathan W. Hughes, a director of the San Francisco law firm Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin.

Even with so much at stake, more professionals are entering the workforce without the ability to express themselves clearly in writing. According to The National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges, schools and colleges today neglect writing and, as a result, many college graduates enter the workforce with poor writing skills. Yet, writing is a fundamental business skill. In fact, a recent survey by the Commission found that half of all companies assess writing skills during the hiring process and when making promotion decisions.

The solution is for companies to invest in business writing skills - and specifically, e-mail writing. "E-mail writing is a specific skill that needs to be learned," explains Terk. "Our book, E-Mail - A Write It Well Guide, is a training tool designed to improve the reader's e-mail writing skills in a very practical way." With a six-step writing plan and a focus on job relevance, readers are rewarded with immediate results. "This book should be required reading for both Internet newbies and new entrants to the workplace," comments David Krane, Director of Corporate Communications for Google, Inc.

Designed for use by individuals, teams, or as part of classroom training, E-Mail - A Write It Well Guide is cost-effective and flexible. A facilitator guide allows trainers, managers, and team leaders to lead their own e-mail workshop, and customized training programs led by the Write It Well staff are also available. According to Jill Furman, HR Director, WW Training & Development and HR Communications for Sybase, Inc, "This book has great advice for crafting clear messages, sending the right message to the right people, and avoiding the tendency to let e-mail take over our lives."

E-Mail - A Write It Well Guide, ISBN 978-0-9637455-9-0, is now available at amazon.com and bookstores nation-wide for $21.99. Visit http://www.writeitwell.com/ for more information about Write It Well's books, on-site training, and facilitator guides.

New Guide Shows How to Use Readability Formulas to Achieve Better Results in Writing and Reading

What causes low literacy or poor reading with many readers? Statistics show that many adult readers are not literate enough to comprehend most text above a fifth-grade reading-level. This may be true, but it is not the reader's fault for failing to comprehend certain texts - rather it is the writer's fault for failing to write for his readers. To help writers and non-writers write text that their readers can understand, ReadabilityFormulas.com has published a free e-book called "Can YOU Read Me Now? : How to Use Readability Formulas to Write for Your Target Audience," available at http://www.readabilityformulas.com/

"Can YOU Read Me Now? : How to Use Readability Formulas to Write for Your Target Audience" helps writers and non-writers, organizations and businesses, use readability formulas to evaluate what they write and determine if their readers can understand what they write.

Presently, there are more than 200 readability formulas developed by various scholars. Only a handful of these formulas are reliable to determine the reading-level of text. "Can YOU Read Me Now?" covers the most popular readability formulas, and helps you:

1) use readability formulas on your own materials;
2) choose the best readability formula for your document;
3) calculate the grade-level or reading-level of your text;
4) write for the right audience using readability formulas.

"In school our teachers taught us the basics of good English: how to write, how to use correct grammar, and how to use proper style usage, but most teachers failed to teach us how to write for our readers' reading-level," says Jesse Dawson, author of the e-book.

Writing at a higher reading-level has adverse effects in all industries - health, insurance, publishing, military, etc. If readers cannot understand what you write, then readers become bewildered and frustrated and won't read the text. "If readers can't understand your text, how do you expect your readers to react or act to your message?" says Dawson. "This results in communication breakdown, low response rates, customer dissatisfaction, and so on."

Good readability means readers can understand and recall what they have read, according to Dawson, who adds, "Scholars, writers and researchers have been using readability formulas since the 1940s to achieve the best writing results."

All industries benefit from using readability formulas on their materials, such as:

1) Schools, colleges and universities use readability formulas to make sure students can understand their assignments, homework, tests, books, and handouts;

2) Insurance agencies use readability formulas to make sure their policy holders can understand their insurance documents, driving policies, and legal documents;

3) Corporations use readability formulas on their sales literature to increase response rates from their target market;

4) Hospitals use readability formulas on outpatient pamphlets, brochures, business letters, and correspondence with patients; and

5) Concerned parents use readability formulas to pre-screen (or find) books that their kids (with autism or special abilities) can read and comprehend.

To achieve good readability with all of your documents, download the 60-plus page e-book, "Can YOU Read Me Now? : How to Use Readability Formulas to Write for Your Target Audience," for free at http://www.readabilityformulas.com/

A New Web 2.0 Approach for Interactivity Between ESL Students and Teachers

The most active English language learning forum on the Web, http://www.englishforums.com/, recently unveiled a new Web 2.0 approach for interactivity between ESL students and teachers. New features such as embedded audio, YouTube integration, and a new Q&A style to the site aim to provide a more comprehensive learning environment for the community's audience of nearly one and a half million monthly visitors.

"With growth in the international marketplace, now is a great time for people to increase their competitive advantage by learning English," says Francis West, founder of EnglishForums.com. "Our goal is to give ESL students a friendly online community where they can interact with teachers and improve their English at their own pace using the most current technologies."

The community was recently modified from a traditional forum thread setup to a Q&A format between students and teachers. The change, in addition to the new high-speed search function, allows students to learn more productively and work on improving their English language skills by listening to audio examples of pronunciations, watching integrated videos, and finding answers to common ESL questions without having to dig through multiple forum threads saying the same thing.

The recent changes to EnglishForums.com, to introduce a more Web 2.0 environment, have contributed to a twenty percent increase in visits to the community.

The company also runs a sister site, an online Spanish language learning community, at http://www.forodeespanol.com/

10 Ways To Drive New Business with Blogging

Blogging is not simply a tool for computer whizz kids, it is an effective business tool that is used by an increasing numbers of corporate's to drive new business.

Max Worton, a search engine marketing consultant at Web Efforts
(http://www.webefforts.co.uk/) explains the 10 ways that a blog can be used to drive new business:

1. Community Building

As you write on your specialist area you will start to build up a subscribed base of readers. These readers will no doubtably be your target audience, and will probably want to get in touch with you to talk about more things.

2. Competitive Positioning

If you had a minute to tell your customers how you are different, wouldn't that be great. However, how do you buy a minute of their time. You will write useful articles in your blog! Show them good work, and they will want to know more about you.

3. Brand Building

You could pay thousands of pounds to put your brand in front of someone, but why not use the spare capacity in your team to build a blog, and get your branding for free.

4. Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine’s like Google continually spider the internet with automated robots that look for new and fresh content. This new information is being continually indexed by their system, and the more pages that get indexed by Google, the greater chances of your pages appearing on the search engine.

5. Industry Positioning

In business, we really want to be dealing with industry experts. If you are an expert, tell the world on your blog. Just remember, finding experts isn't easy, think about how long it took to build up your contacts.

6. Manage your reputation

Have you been misquoted? Is there a rumour about your business? Do you have a ways of dealing with any negative press? With a blog you do. This is a good way to manage your online reputation.

7. Building Relationships

1-2-1 selling must be the most powerful medium, because there's lots of interaction. On the web you can achieve this interaction by creating blogs that allow a 2 way communication using the 'comment on article' function.

8. Publicity

You can now pay for publicity on the internet, which means you can guarantee traffic to your blog. All you need to do is post your best article, and your blog can be attracting visitors in days.

9. Viral Marketing

Social media sites such as MySpace and Facebook, as well as social bookmarking sites like digg and delicious can produce incredible results. All you need to do is post a sucessuful press release t on these sites in the right areas. If a press release goes 'viral' your blog will get a surge in subscribers and possibly attract some very high quality customers.

10. Low Cost

Yes, one of the most tempting points of all, setting up a blog isn't expensive. Just ask us.

I am sure there are more benefits that I have missed off. If you can think of some more, please post them below, or at this link www.webefforts.co.uk/Blog

Social Media: The Next Frontier in Employee Communication

Social media has begun to improve companies' ability to enhance employee communication, say experts at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global consulting firm.

"When properly rolled out, social media and Enterprise 2.0 tools can help companies meet their No. 1 internal communication goal -- engaging employees," said Michael Rudnick, global intranet and portal leader at Watson Wyatt. "Instead of simply mass e-mailing information or posting to an intranet in hopes employees will see it, social media tools help employees actively participate in creating and sharing information. This shift to employee- generated content has resulted in employees' becoming more engaged online."

However, at the moment, many companies are focused on the risks of social media. Executives often express concern about giving employees the ability to create content, and many information technology departments are blocking employee access to the most popular external social media tools.

Rudnick says these concerns are reminiscent of the productivity fears raised, and subsequently disproved, when the Internet was introduced into the workplace in the mid-1990s. The way for employers to address these concerns is to do just as they did 10 years ago -- setting clear guidelines for acceptable use while adopting social media for a productive, internal purpose.

"Companies need a plan to introduce these new technologies into the workforce. Simply deploying the technology is not enough -- and can even be counterproductive," Rudnick said. "However, employers that avoid social media altogether are missing an important opportunity and running the risk of alienating Generation X-ers and Millennials. Embracing the technology with proper planning, guidelines and change management for its use are effective approaches to ensuring success."

A good example of how employers can adopt social media internally is to enhance their static intranet with more dynamic Web 2.0 technology. On most intranets, news is posted primarily by a limited number of communicators. A social media-driven intranet allows most, if not all, employees to create information and participate in a companywide dialogue. Content can be contributed in a variety of ways, including blogs, blog feedback, wikis, vlogs, podcasts and other Web 2.0 tools. This more collaborative approach provides for relevant and up-to-date content on intranets without dramatically increasing the burden on a company's communications function.

However, guidelines, training and change management about appropriate use, along with strong firewalls (to keep prying eyes out), are needed to ensure that social media is used productively and sensitive information is not inappropriately or inadvertently disseminated, Rudnick said.

Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Learn English Online with the Englishlink Word of the Day Blog

Englishlink has launched its newest addition to their English language community, The Word of the Day Blog. Englishlink provides English as a Second language students with online English lessons of the highest quality from the comfort of their own home or office. Englishlink focuses on developing English language skills though high-quality native-speaker teacher guided online instruction, inspiring a passion for languages, and uniting students with a sense of community.

The addition of the Word of the Day blog to the Englishlink site provides students with a place to learn new vocabulary in the context in which it is used. Simple and clear definitions help students to understand how to use a new word, not simply memorize a definition.

Englishlink's 'e-mail me the Word of the Day' functionality gives ESL learners in all corners of the globe - including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Russia - a daily hit of English.

Website: http://www.englishlink.com/

More Than Half of Americans Never Read Political Blogs

For every political persuasion, it seems like there is at least a handful of political blogs which chart attitudes and opinions on campaigns, issues and candidates relevant to that political leaning. One always hears about a blog breaking news before the "mainstream media" actually covers it. But are people really reading these blogs? The answer is no, as over half of Americans (56%) say they never read blogs that discuss politics. Just under one-quarter (23%) say that they read them several times a year and just 22 percent of Americans read blogs regularly (several times a month or more).

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,302 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 15 and 22, 2008 by Harris Interactive.

While it could be said that blogs are just a younger person's folly, in our study this is not the case. Just one in ten (19%) Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) regularly read a political blog and only 17 percent of Gen Xers (those aged 32-43) say the same. Matures (those aged 63 and older) are actually the generation most likely to be political blog readers as just over one-quarter (26%) say they regularly do so followed by 23 percent of Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62). Also, one hears of the rabid blogs on both sides of the political aisle, but just 22 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats regularly read blogs. Independents are the ones slightly more likely to read these, as just over one-quarter (26%) say they regularly read political blogs.

Looking at those who regularly do read political blogs, over half (54%) read one or two at least once a week with an additional 22 percent reading 3-4 at least once a week. And, while they may read these, they do not comment on them. Over two-thirds (69%) of those who regularly read blogs did not comment on one in the previous week. Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to comment. One-third of Republicans (34%) commented in the previous week compared to 28 percent of Democrats.

Perception of Blogs

One of the criticisms about blogs is their accuracy. Since anyone can write a blog or comment on one, there is no sense of fact checking. Well, only one in five (22%) regular blog readers say the information they read on blogs is less accurate when compared to the mainstream media while three in ten (30%) say it is more accurate and almost half (48%) say just as accurate. Besides accuracy, there is also a value issue. When compared to the mainstream media, one-third of regular blog readers (33%) say the information they read on blogs is more valuable, half (49%) say just as valuable and just 18 percent say it is less valuable. Republicans are more likely to find value (41%) and accuracy (37%) in the information they read on blogs than Democrats are (25% and 21% respectively).

So What?

With the bruising primary season so far, one would think that political blogs would be a logical place for many Americans to turn to for more information, but this is obviously not the case. Much was made of the power of the blogs in 2004 – for both Republicans and Democrats, and, as the campaign season changes from the primary into the general, this could still be what happens. Or, maybe the novelty of blogs has faded. As the cable news channels all have seen their viewership rise with each passing debate, primary and caucus, maybe political news watchers are leaving the Internet for their political information and going back to television.

Source: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/

Career Expert Says "Too General" Resumes Written Too Often

Job seekers who have ever used a single resume to apply for dozens of jobs, may want to rethink their approach. Research indicates that this strategy is a major pitfall in people's job search.

Katy Piotrowski, an experienced career counselor and author of the recently-released book The Career Coward's Guide to Resumes, has seen first-hand how detrimental a vague resume can be to a job seeker's success in landing interviews.

"Job seekers frequently say to me, 'I wanted to keep my resume more general so that I can use it for a lot of different opportunities.' After observing the job search results of literally thousands of job seekers, I've discovered that when it comes to resumes, the general approach doesn't wok very well," says Piotrowski.

Instead, when writing a resume, job seekers should clearly identify the type of position they're interested in achieving, such as Marketing Manager or Quality Specialist. In some cases, job seekers may also consider identifying the industry they're interested in, such as Publishing or Real Estate.

"Job seekers should ask themselves what kind of position they're aiming for before writing their resume. Their answer to this single question will drive every step they take in creating an effective resume, so it's important to choose a career target that's right for you and is clear to potential employers," says Piotrowski.

To help job seekers identify their career target, Piotrowski recommends trying the following strategies:

• Use the title of a specific job to which you want to apply. This is the easiest approach. Just rip the title right off the job description.

• Consider the roles you've held before. If you've liked your former work, stick with one of those job titles as your career role target.

• Bump yourself up a level. If you've liked your former work but are looking something more challenging, consider aiming up one level higher. For example, if you've worked as an Accountant, maybe you want to aim for Accounting Manager or Controller.

• Poke around on a job search site for ideas. Simply log on to a job search site, plug in the types of activities you like to do, and let the search engine do the work.

• Spend more time defining a career role before you write your resume. If you're still struggling with stating a career target, it may make sense for you to go back one step to first define the kind of work you want to do. Although this will delay the resume-writing process for awhile, it can ultimately save you years of wasted time in a career fit that's wrong for you.

The Career Coward's Guide to Resumes is available at all major bookstores and from the publisher (http://www.jist.com/ or 1.800.648.JIST). To speak with the author, contact Natalie Ostrom.

Critical Aspects of Dissertation Process Finally Revealed

Some might find dissertation to be rewarding while some may find it utterly dreadful. Oeinet has stepped forward to reveal critical aspects in dissertation editing.

Overcome The Psychological Barrier

The greatest psychological challenge to writing a dissertation is that it requires one to claim as an expert. When writing a thesis, one needs to see oneself as an expert ready to take the place among the other experts and authorities in the respective field. This claim to be an expert in a particular area is a psychological leap that most of our educational experiences don't prepare us to take. "When were you ever regarded as an expert on anything as a student?"

This is the real secret of success behind a successful dissertation. A student's success is no longer measured by the ability to learn the right answers. Instead the success comes from the ability to ask new questions and provide new answers as an expert.

In reality, the entire education process can be summarized by the phrase: "Learn the right answers." The right answers were defined by the "experts" - lecturers, author of those academic materials and thse that grade the exams, essays and papers.

How Long Should A Good Dissertation Take?

Most of the time academics confuse time with quality. When a project takes a long time, it's almost always believed to be more valuable than one completed more quickly. While this is common belief, it is incorrect.

Most dissertations can be completed in a year or less, with two exceptions. The first is when the study requires data collection or longitudinal research over a long period of time. For example, if the research design requires observation over a two year period, one won't be able to complete the dissertation in a year or less.

The second is if one do not work consistently on their dissertation. Likewise, one can not expect to work on the dissertation in a random manner and expect to finish quickly.

Importance Of A Good Relationship With Dissertation Advisor

Working well with dissertation advisor is an important aspect of a successful dissertation process. The more a student and his/her advisor respect each other and work well together, the better and easier the dissertation process will be.

A good advisor will support a student to grow as a scholar, while helping him/her to navigate the dissertation process so as to complete it easily. However poor advisory relationships are created when there is a difference in level of emotional match between advisor and advisee.

The lack of this emotional match may have great impact on the dissertation process and success. Common problems that might show up are:

• When one need reassurance from the advisor but he/she doesn't return the phone calls or not being constructive as would expect

• Feel stressed and worried about what the advisor impression of oneself during the last meeting, which didn't turn out well

• The fear and relationship tension impact the capacity to actually get the work done.

OEI Consulting (http://www.oeinet.org/) offers professional, reliable, and expedited thesis consultation and dissertation editing. This company provides timely research and dissertation related consulting that includes dissertation statistics and dissertation editing services for graduate and doctoral students at very competitive prices.

The Future of Language Learning

English language expert and writer Paul Parry believes he has identified a new niche in language learning.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown predicts two billion people worldwide will be learning or teaching English by 2020, and Mr Parry hopes his new website, EnglishLanguageExpert.com, will lead the way in providing a new style of learning tool.

"With so many people learning and improving their English right around the world, I did some research on the resources available to them," says Mr Parry.

"What I found was that of course there are the obvious ones, such as language schools and expensive online lessons, but I discovered that there was relatively little in terms of a simple, accessible resource which covers all the major points of English grammar, punctuation and writing in one portable location."

EnglishLanguageExpert.com, which also provides English language tips by email and has a growing band of subscribers, has been running since April 2007, but it was the prospect of the forthcoming Beijing Olympics which got Mr Parry thinking.

Hosting the Olympic Games has spurred an English-learning frenzy all over China. People are learning English to be more "internationalised," as organisers put it.

"Why should someone in China or anywhere else who wants to improve their English have to travel to a language school or pay for an expensive online course?" he asks. "So I produced an accessible, affordable ebook which can be downloaded and referred to for all the key information."

Today, 300 million people speak English in China and another 350 million in India. In fact, more children are learning English in Chinese schools than in British schools.

As Mr Brown says: "There are millions of people in every continent who are still denied this chance to learn English -- prevented from enjoying many of the benefits of the internet, commerce and culture. No one - however poor, however distant - should be denied the opportunity that the English language provides."

Indeed, China's government has decided that English language lessons should be a requirement in Chinese schools from the age of six, with 20 million more children a year starting lessons. In Beijing alone, 200,000 adults also take English lessons outside the school system.

And Mr Parry believes in his Prime Minister's plan that "in the next 10 years at least one billion more people in the villages, towns and cities of every continent will have access to resources, materials and qualifications from the UK."

Mr Parry is also convinced that education ebooks will, when the growth of hand-held reading devices (such as Amazon's Kindle) reaches a tipping point, become the future of global language learning.

Website: http://www.englishlanguageexpert.com/

Advertisers Waste Millions on Easily Cured Copy Errors

Hurriedly written ads are costing advertisers millions in both ad placement costs and lost revenue. And the problem doesn't stop there.

Sales letters, web pages, e-mail promotions, and even company brochures carry the same errors that render many print ads useless.

Copywriter Marte Cliff has identified 7 major copy mistakes commonly made by advertisers. According to Cliff, one of the most prevalent is failure to include a "Reason Why."

"I call them the 'I'm here' ads," Cliff says. "They're often placed by service providers and small businesspeople who know they should market themselves, but who either don't have the expertise or don't take the time to craft materials that showcase what they have to offer."

This type of ad merely states a presence. It creates no excitement and offers no benefits.

Good marketing - in print, on the web, or on the air - gives readers and listeners a compelling reason why they should use one specific service provider, shop in one particular store, or buy one exact brand. It creates a compulsion in the reader or listener to take action.

The cure for this kind of ad requires the advertiser to spend a little time thinking about his or her product or service and how it is different or better than its competition.

"You have to first know the reason why people should do business with you," Cliff says. "Then demonstrate that reason in your marketing materials. Great marketing conveys a bit of the advertiser's enthusiasm."

To learn the other 6 mistakes, plus more marketing tips, e-mail: fixmistakes@getresponse.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Marte Cliff is a freelance copywriter. She specializes in web copy, e-mail campaigns, sales letters, and article marketing.

Poor Writing Giving You Headaches?

"Everyone knows that American corporations lose billions of dollars each year because their employees can't write," says William T. Buckley, co-author of the newly-published Editor's Secrets: 10 Keys to Stronger Writing in 30 Minutes.

"For instance," he points out, "U.S. insurance companies alone lose more than $1 billion annually due to careless writing by claims personnel -- not counting their other workers. Schools and colleges try, but appear to be losing ground in the 'writing crisis,' which has reached the point where one study concludes that some two-thirds of university graduates cannot write a simple letter."

Adds Buckley, who's also a writing coach: "We wrote this book because American employers can't wait for education and remediation to catch up. They need workers who can write well right now."

Laura Winterroth, co-author of Editor's Secrets and Managing Director of TD Consulting Group, has been in the business of bringing people's writing up to speed for more than 15 years.

"We've been on the 'fixing end' of America's writing morass and have coached and trained thousands of writers in the workplace," she says. "What became clear to us was that we were seeing the same set of underlying problems, over and over again, plaguing those who had to write on the job and elsewhere -- everything from reports to memos to proposals to dissertations, even e-mails.

"Our solutions to these 'universal' problems make up the 10 Keys of our title," says Winterroth. "As we've coached people to improve the effectiveness of their writing, we have witnessed firsthand non-writers becoming good writers, and good writers better writers.

"We thought it was high time to take what we had learned about the real problems of writing, and the real frustrations of writers," explains Winterroth, "and to distill this knowledge -- as Editor's Secrets -- into a compact resource for a wider audience."

Editor's Secrets directs readers with a two-pronged approach to better writing: Know how to become a self editor; know how to apply the few guiding principles of the 10 Keys on the job or in school to create work that is clearer, shorter, and more effective.

The book is currently available at http://www.tdgroupusa.com/ publications and at Amazon.com.

Refining your writing process is key to your writing success

Many struggling writers are convinced there is a secret to the success of more confident writers. There is in fact a secret but it is one that you too can embrace to improve your writing. The simple truth is that refining your own personal writing process to your unique strengths and weaknesses can not only make writing easier it can also improve writing as well. Every writer's writing process includes the same basic five elements: inventing, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing; however, in order for the writing process to improve writing that process must be tailored to fit the individual writer's strengths and weaknesses.

Invention is one area that many beginning and struggling writers simply do not spend enough time on. Many beginning writers believe any time not spent writing is a waste of time. However, experienced writers know that the more time spent thinking about and preparing for the writing task then the less time that will need to be spent on actually writing. Invention might simply include thinking but writers can also use various methods to brainstorm from free writing to clustering. Experiment with many types of brainstorming and invention to determine which methods work best for you.

Organization is also a key part of writing preparation that many novice writers do not give proper attention. Depending on the length and complexity of the writing task this can take a lot of time or very little time, but do not overlook this important element.

Writing is of course an obvious part of the writing process, but many struggling writers simply overlook the fact that multiple drafts can make a big different in the quality of the work produced. The more time a writer allows between drafts then the more effective the drafting process can be.

Many poor writers believe that proofreading is the same as revising and editing, however experienced writers understand that revision is the reworking of content so that all ideas are fully expressed, transitions are clear between topics, and organization is effective. Experienced writers know that proofreading is more closely associated with editing but even then editing is more than simply proofreading for the simple surface errors of spelling and punctuation. Editing is looking at the structure of sentences and paragraphs as well as looking at grammar and word choice. Revision and editing should include at least two more draft but may require more depending on the writer's weaknesses.

It is quite simple. Creating an individual writing process can improve writing and make writing easier as well. Scratch the surface of any successful writer and you will find an individual writing process.

Expressive Writing Appears to Change Thoughts and Feelings About Cancer

Expressive writing -- writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings -- may help change the way cancer patients think and feel about their disease. In one of the first studies published in an oncology journal about the benefits of writing therapy, researchers say those who immediately reported changes in thoughts about their illness also reported a better physical quality of life three weeks later.

"Previous research suggests expressive writing may enhance physical and psychological well-being," said Nancy P. Morgan, M.A., writing clinician and director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center's Arts and Humanities Program. "But most of those studies involved three to five writing sessions that were conducted in a controlled laboratory setting. Here, we found that just one writing session in a busy cancer clinic where the patients are frequently interrupted can still have a positive impact on patients." The study appears in the February issue of The Oncologist.

Morgan and her colleagues conducted their study in the clinic waiting area of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center between July and November 2006. It included a pre-writing survey, twenty minutes of expressive writing, a post-writing survey, and an optional follow-up survey that was completed by telephone 3 weeks later. Seventy-one (71) adult leukemia or lymphoma patients (51 percent male, 49 percent female) attending an appointment with a medical oncologist for treatment or follow-up participated in the study.

All participants completed the pre-survey, while 63 (88 percent) completed the 20-minute expressive writing exercise, responding to prompts including: How has cancer changed you and how do you feel about those changes?

"We were interested in assessing psychological and social outcomes following the writing, including quality of life, benefit finding, and reports of whether the writing changed the way participants thought and felt about their cancer experience," Morgan said. "Thoughts and feelings, or the cognitive processing and emotions related to cancer, are key writing elements associated with health benefits, according to previous studies. Writing about only the facts has shown no benefit."

The post-survey indicated that 49 percent of participants who completed the writing exercise reported that writing changed their thoughts about their illness, while 35 percent reported writing changed they way they felt about their illness. At the three week follow-up, 54 percent of those completing all parts of the study reported writing changed their thoughts and 38 percent reported writing changed their feelings about their illness. Two factors -- younger age, and less time since diagnosis, were associated with more change in thoughts and feelings.

"In addition to the quantitative data highlighting participants' responses that the writing changed the way they thought about their cancer experience, we were interested in whether participants indicated in their writing that cancer brought about meaningful changes in their lives," Morgan said.

To analyze the impact of the writing exercise on patients, the researchers conducted initial content analyses of the compositions, examining each text for themes, words, and phrases indicative of the transformative nature of the cancer experience. Of the 63 texts, 60 contained evidence of transformation brought about by the cancer experience. Many of the changes expressed in the writing were positive and related to feelings about family, spirituality, work, and the future. As one patient wrote, "Don't get me wrong, cancer isn't a gift, it just showed me what the gifts in my life are."

When people used a greater number of positive emotion words in their writing, they also reported more change in how the writing affected their thoughts and feelings about the illness. Greater reports of change in thoughts were significantly related to reports of better physical quality of life at follow-up.

"Waiting for your appointment in the clinic can be a time of anxiety and stress for cancer patients," said Bruce D. Cheson, M.D., head of Hematology at Lombardi and a co-author on the study. "I'm pleased to see that so many of our patients were interested in this kind of therapy. Our study supports the benefit of an expressive writing program and the ability to integrate such a program into a busy clinic."

Preliminary results from this study coincided with one of the largest gifts in the history of arts in healthcare and the Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program. Trustees of the Robert M. Fisher Foundation created a $1.5 million endowment fund in memory of Cecelia F. "Cookie" Rudman, a longtime volunteer at the cancer center. The Fund allows Morgan to expand her program to ensure all patients and caregivers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center can participate in the arts programs offered. Each new patient receives a writing journal at the patient orientation.

"We're grateful to the patients who assisted our research team in carrying out an innovative study," Morgan said. "They enabled us to better understand the benefits of expressive writing."

Interactive English Language Enrichment Book Launches

To help boost children's literacy and reasoning, British educationalist Ian Miles has published his first interactive 'blanked verse' collection, Rhyme and Reason, on Lulu.com ( http://www.lulu.com/content/2089776 ).

Mr Miles, an Oxford graduate of 25 years' wide educational experience and director of IanGenuity EPLC, a teaching and performance consultancy, wrote these 200+ verses over a few years to help develop students' literacy, comprehension, reasoning and spelling skills and is now launching them potentially worldwide.

The collection's child-friendly 'voice' covers a broad range of everyday experience and imagination, encouraging observation and deduction. Young readers spot or deduce each verse's blanked rhymes by their sound and sense, and enjoy putting in the puzzle's final pieces as a co-creative achievement.

Trials have brought cheerful, positive results with a wide variety of young people discovering language patterns and fresh realms of activity and experience. Parents report many interesting discussions arising on topics such as popular science and technical history, the natural world, folk customs and (of course) the vagaries of English life and language.

Val Thrupney, seasoned teacher and parent, comments: “Rhyme and Reason offers a challenge that's also fun, from an accomplished natural writer who clearly loves bringing children and knowledge together. Youngsters do, and others will, really enjoy the reward of completing these entertaining and thought-provoking rhymes!”

The collection comes with an answer key which could be removed by adult mentors preferring to keep children's minds at work.

Punctuation Man Breaks with Associated Press, Endorses Serial Comma

Punctuation Man, a leading authority on punctuation and teaching punctuation to elementary school children, today announced his decision to fully support the use of the serial comma.

Shunned by the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, the serial comma is still widely accepted by educators, grammarians, and literary circles, including Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, and the Chicago Manual of Style. The announcement coincides with the National Education Association's (NEA) "Read Across America" child literacy program, to be held nationwide on Monday, March 3.

There is no small debate about the serial comma (also known as the Oxford Comma). It is a comma used before a coordinating conjunction (such as "and") before the last item in a series of three or more. For example: The flag is red, white, and blue.

Enter Jeff Rubin -- aka Punctuation Man -- a former newspaper reporter turned newsletter publisher, public speaker, and founder of National Punctuation Day, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary on September 24. Jeff and his wife, Norma, travel the nation to teach children the basics of punctuation with Punctuation Playtime, a live assembly program that is also offered to teachers, schools, and school districts as an instructional DVD.

"I am inundated with questions from people across the United States about punctuation, and many involve the serial comma," says Rubin. "Speaking as Punctuation Man, I hope to resolve one of punctuation's nagging issues and provide clarity. I recommend the use of the serial comma because it helps make clear the meaning of a sentence."

For example, according to AP style, how many horses in the following sentence were in the race -- three or four?

"The horses thundered toward the finish: black and gold, red and white, blue and teal and yellow."

When punctuated using a serial comma, the meaning is clear. Four horses raced neck and neck: black and gold, red and white, blue and teal, and yellow.

Here's another example from a book dedication: "To my parents, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II."

"Punctuation counts," says Rubin. "A misplaced comma can alter the meaning of a sentence.

"Style should never get in the way of clear communication. The proper use of the serial comma should be taught, used, and accepted universally."

Punctuation Playtime: http://www.punctuationplaytime.com/
National Punctuation Day: http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/