Instructors: Download PDFs of the exercise and its key at the bottom of this post.

In many workplaces, employees communicate with one another using the collaboration platform Slack, which was designed to mirror a social media network. For this reason users sometimes forget they are composing work messages and fall into overly casual language. To ensure that communicators demonstrate professionalism on texting platforms such as Slack, they should consider the following etiquette guide:

Subscribe to continue reading

Subscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.

Type your email…

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

[Instructors: Download PDFs of the exercise and key found at the bottom of this post.]

Errors in written documents reflect poorly on the sender, especially in business. When you work for an organization, you represent that company, so anything you send out that contains errors bounces back on the firm. The usage errors shown below are among the most common—and the most annoying to bosses.

It vs. They

It is singular; they is plural. A company is a single entity, so when referring to a firm, use the pronoun it.

Incorrect: Spark Creative Services has offices in Santa Barbara and Los Olivos. They are a full-service event agency.

Correct: Spark Creative Services has offices in Santa Barbara and Los Olivos. It is a full-service event agency.

[This rule of avoiding the singular they pronoun is independent of the pronouns used by nonbinary individuals.]

Assure/Insure/Ensure

Assure is what you do to remove doubt to a living being.

I can assure you that Spark will deliver a superior event.

Insure is the business of an insurance company.

Aetna insures Spark’s fleet of trucks.

Ensure means guaranteeing something.

Spark ensures that every corporate event it creates will deliver superior results with a money-back guarantee.

Make the correct choice in the following sentences:

1. Bekins Moving Company assured/insured/ensured the company’s CEO that its move would be seamless.
2. Mayflower has been moving families since 1927. It/They specialize(s) in interstate moves.
3. GEICO assures/insures/ensures large government groups as well as individuals and is known for its commercials featuring a gecko.
4. The physical therapist assured/insured/ensured her client that doing the exercises multiple times a day would lead to a better range of motion.
5. Gordon & Grand Spas assures/insures/ensures quality installations of its hot tubs.
6. Amazon Prime offers a two-day delivery policy on many of its wares. It/They will stand by that promise.
7. The Sundance Institute offers various programs for filmmakers. It/They has/have a superior reputation.
8. State Farm assures/insures/ensures cars, homes, farms, and ranches. It/they has/have a solid reputation.
9. With its meticulous insulation work, the roofing company assured/insured/ensured the clients that the new roof would take only a week to complete. It/they assured/insured/ensured the roof from leaks for five years.
10. Will Geico assure/insure/ensure drivers with a poor driving record?
11. When some employees expressed concern about receiving their annual bonuses, the manager assured/insured/ensured them the extra pay would come by the end of the year.
12. The warranty for the copy machine assured/insured/ensured that the new part would be free.

Key

1. assured
2. It
3. insures
4. assured
5. ensures
6. It
7. It/has
8. insures/It/has
9. assured/It/ensured
10. insure
11. assured
12. ensured

GrammarErrorsThatDriveBossesNuts

GrammarErrorsThatDriveBossesNuts:KEY

Intended for classroom use only–posting or wide distribution with authors’ permission only (c) The Guffey Team, 2024

Business communication instructors know that revision is key to teaching writing. By guiding students through the revision process, instructors instill helpful techniques.

Generative AI (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and others) has provided instructors with new ways to teach writing, particularly for idea generation and revision.

This exercise consists of three components corresponding to the three PDF files below:

(1) The assignment sheet with instructions, purpose and objective; a first draft of the writing assignment generated by Copilot; and notes to instructors

(2) An optional marked-up copy of the first Copilot draft with comments and edits in MS Word

(3) A possible final draft of the edited Copilot message.

AI Editing Exercise–Assignment, First Draft, Notes

AI Editing Exercise–Possible Final Draft

AI Editing Exercise–Optional Tracked Changes