Framing Your Message, Part 2

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Norm Friedman

Framing

Last week, we looked at the prime location for workplace writers to frame their messages: the subject line of an email. For most of us, email is the most frequent medium of written communication, and the subject line box is sitting there yearning to be filled with something akin to a newspaper headline. So instead of just sticking Fundraiser in the subject line, let’s lead the reader into the email with Need three more fundraiser volunteers or Fundraiser program change or Fundraiser expected to draw 500 donors.

In this post, as promised, we’ll cite a few other opportunities to enhance reader interest and comprehension by making sure the reader knows where our message is headed.

What’s your lead?

Journalists (we’ve mentioned their sound approach before) craft an opening sentence that gives readers a solid sense of what an article is going to cover. We need to do the same in a letter, report, or PowerPoint.

If we’re composing a letter to ask Jo Doakes to serve on our Marketing Committee, do we begin with background on our organization and the committee’s purpose so she has a context? I don’t think so. The key to deciding which component of a message goes where is identifying with the reader, and I’m betting Jo wants to know pretty quickly why she’s receiving this letter. Otherwise, she might stop reading. So let’s begin with the invitation to serve.

Even meeting notes can borrow from the journalistic principle of the “inverted pyramid” by leading with the most important or interesting development at the meeting, rather than the one that occurred first. Sitting through meetings can be tedious enough; why make reading their summaries a similar experience?

Continual framing

Is there more to framing than announcing the thrust of the message at the beginning and then dispensing information in descending order of importance? Yes. We should also continually frame within a document at the beginning of many paragraphs and sentences to give the reader a smooth ride.

Transitional words and phrases depend on the subject matter, but it helps to build a repertoire of context-setters. “Moreover” and “In addition” alert the reader we are continuing the previous point. “On the other hand,” “Conversely,” and “Paradoxically” help the reader switch gears.” “Although” and “Despite” prepare the reader for contrasting points in the rest of the sentence. “Unfortunately,” “Obviously,” and “Surprisingly” prepare the reader while making writing more personal.

And we can frame by using subheads, as I’ve done twice in this post and covered on November 19 (http://www.normfriedman.com/blog/wp-admin/post.php?post=105&action=edit).

We all love stories, but the reality is that a narrative style almost never serves us well in workplace writing. Our emails, letters, memos, and other written works should tip our hand right at the beginning – and continue to reveal where we’re headed all the way through.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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Framing Your Email Message

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Norm Friedman

Framing

Skillful writers do their readers, and themselves, a favor by effectively framing their messages. They let their readers know at the outset precisely where they are going. Whether the message is an email, letter, proposal, news release, or PowerPoint, effective framing enhances the writer’s impact and enables the recipient to sail along without expending extra effort.

Ah yes, the essay

Remember when we learned how to write an essay back in middle school? A central ingredient was the thesis sentence, or topic sentence, which always appeared in the first paragraph – often in the opening sentence. Then, in the classic design, the next three paragraphs supported the thesis, and the conclusion creatively echoed the beginning. The theme of the essay was its spine.

Does this academic lesson have any application today when we are madly composing and reading email messages all day? Absolutely. In fact, email is the perfect medium to illustrate the importance of framing the message.

Subject line as thesis sentence

Where is the “thesis sentence” in an email? The subject line, of course. This means that rather than underusing that commanding space with a few generic words and then really getting to the heart of the matter in the body of the email, we should give the reader a helpful head start in the subject line.

Suppose you are sending Dan an email because you suddenly hope to add an item to a meeting tomorrow morning. Knowing that Dan has been putting together a packed agenda and won’t see your email until the end of the day, will you make your subject line one of these?

Meeting What about the meeting? (In fact, Dan might not even know which meeting you’re referring to.)
Breaking news Okay, that’s intriguing … and really vague.
Need a favor Dan is not likely to be in a charitable mood if he sees this at 5:30 and has eight other emails to read before he leaves.
You’re not gonna believe this I hope Dan is your best friend at work.
Tomorrow’s agenda Now we’re finally getting warm. But we can do better.

A trick to effective emailing is allocating several extra seconds to the crucial task of composing the subject line. That takes discipline because we’re often in a rush to start composing the message, but remember the thesis sentence concept. Devoting extra seconds to the subject line winds up saving time because we’ve established the theme before the message section even begins.

So how’s this? Time for extra agenda item tomorrow? Notice that this subject line conveys much more information – and a pleasant, professional tone because of the question mark. We’re not demanding extra time on the agenda; we’re hoping for it.

Just don’t ruin it

So now we have a real ace of a subject line, but let’s maintain our discipline. If we next write something like I apologize for this last-minute request, but something important just came up that really needs to be discussed tomorrow morning because it affects nearly everyone on our team, we have taken nearly 30 words saying what we had pretty much covered in the subject line. We get points for acknowledging that we’re putting the squeeze on, but we haven’t earned any other points.

Trick #2

The one-two punch to writing compelling, economical emails is taking those extra seconds to create an informative subject line and then complementing the subject line. Don’t simply repeat it with more words.

Then what would complement Time for extra agenda item tomorrow? Obviously, Dan is now intensely curious why we want to disrupt his meticulously planned agenda, so he deserves to know what’s up. Maybe it’s this: Because the Indians just scheduled their championship parade the same day as our annual meeting, we need to determine an alternative date.

When our subject line and opening sentence cover that much ground, we often have little more to write before we hit “send.”

In next week’s post we’ll look at additional ways to frame our message.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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An Embarrassment of Glitches II

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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Once again, I have come across an online article containing a treasure trove of common writing problems. See what you spot in this paragraph.

A lot of the time, an employee who has recently been promoted to a supervisor role doesn’t always have the resources available to them to be a successful leader. By sending your employee through a supervisor training series, it will teach them the fundamental topics that any manager would need in order to lead in the most effective manner.

First sentence

Pardon me while I go overboard in sharing what caught my eye as “teaching moments.” Here’s the opening sentence again: A lot of the time, an employee who has recently been promoted to a supervisor role doesn’t always have the resources available to them to be a successful leader (29 words).

1. “A lot of the time” is a lot of words to say “Often” or “Frequently.”
2. We don’t need “recently”; that’s implied.
3. I like “supervisory role” more than “supervisor role.” Picky, picky.
4. We don’t need “doesn’t always” because that’s pretty much the same thing as “A lot of the time.”
5. We can shorten “have the resources available to them” to simply “have the resources.” If you have them, they’re available.
6. Because “employee” is singular, “them” (plural) is wrong. We can avoid the somewhat clumsy “him or her” repair by changing “an employee” to “employees” and, of course, making the verbs agree.
7. I’d change “be a successful leader” to “become a successful leader.”
8. And last, I think a word like “help” sharpens the implication here. The right resources don’t guarantee success, but they sure help.

The opening sentence now reads something like this: Often, employees who have been promoted to a supervisory role don’t have the resources to help them become a successful leader (20 words).  

Second sentence

By sending your employee through a supervisor training series, it will teach them the fundamental topics that any manager would need in order to lead in the most effective manner (30 words).

Because it’s spring break time, I’ll go easy on you and just offer what I hope is a marked improvement in syntax and brevity – without all the explanation: Sending new supervisors to a training series will give them the fundamentals they need to lead effectively (17 words).

Bottom lines

1. Notice that I didn’t recast either sentence. They were reasonably sound in structure and clarity. But they lacked polish. The editing process is our opportunity to buff up our raw material.

2. Longer isn’t better. As readers we crave brevity, so why not strive to do that for our readers?

Now you can head to Cancun or Panama City or wherever spring breakers go these days.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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You’ve Got Style

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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One of many ways to refine our writing is developing a personal style guide. Some employers have a style guide to help ensure consistency and correctness across all departments, but most don’t. That shouldn’t stop you, however, from maintaining your own.

For example, you might have decided you prefer “email” to “e-mail,” “adviser” to “advisor,” and “stamping ground” to “stomping ground.” If you keep a mental or written list of these choices, you’ll save a few seconds of decision-making from time to time and avoid distracting your reader with inconsistencies.

You can also create a style guide for a particular document. Let’s say several members of your department have written sections for a brochure, and you are responsible for editing the copy. Program your antennae to catch inconsistencies like “health care” vs. “healthcare,” en dashes vs. em dashes, and italic vs. bold headings.

A key style guide decision – the serial comma

Back in elementary school we learned that placing a comma before “and” or “or” in a series of three or more words or phrases is optional. (The punctuation is called a “serial comma,” “Oxford comma,” or “Harvard comma.”) So either of these is correct:

We’re looking for a new VP, manager and associate. (No comma after “manager.”)
We’re looking for a new VP, manager, and associate. (Comma after “manager.”)

A fundamental step, therefore, in developing a personal style guide is determining whether you are a serial comma person or not. As you might guess, many writers are oblivious to the issue – because they’re correct either way – so you’re one up on them by staying consistent.

Which style is better?

It’s your call.  The “con” argument is that you’re going with the flow because most newspapers, magazines, and books omit the serial comma. The “pro” argument is that using the serial comma can eliminate ambiguity in a sentence like the following:

The courageous performers at our staff party were Al and Betty, Carol and Drew and Esther.

Hmm. There were three acts, but we don’t know who performed with whom. Did Drew partner with Carol or Esther? Inserting a serial comma solves the problem:

The courageous performers at our staff party were Al and Betty, Carol, and Drew and Esther. (Carol was the brave soloist.)
The courageous performers at our staff party were Al and Betty, Carol and Drew, and Esther. (Esther was the brave soloist.)

This example illustrates one reason I use the serial comma, but on occasion I need to reword or join the non-serial comma camp:

The best presentations were made by Jason, our HR director, and Kate.

Because I use the serial comma, I’m not being clear about whether Jason is the HR director or the HR director is a different person. Did two people make effective presentations or three? Changing the order or departing from my usual style solves the ambiguity:

The best presentations were made by Kate and Jason, our HR director. (Two people.)
The best presentations were made by Kate, Jason, and our HR director. (Three people.)
The best presentations were made by Jason, our HR director and Kate. (Three people – clear because the serial comma is omitted.)

Bottom line

Yes, once in a while the serial comma issue gets sticky, but for the most part adhering to your choice is an easy stride toward consistent style.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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High-Crime Area

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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In recent posts we’ve been identifying “alarms” we can set on commonly confused words, poorly understood punctuation rules, and other potential stumbling blocks. Today let’s look at a place in our writing that often contains errors: the title line.

Because most crimes committed in titles are capitalization mistakes, I can arm you for your quiz by sharing what I consider to be the three main rules:

• Capitalize all key words – nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and “subordinating conjunctions” (words like “as,” “because,” and “while” that join a main clause to a subordinate clause).
• Capitalize the first and last word.
• Capitalize all words over a certain length. Some experts start at four letters and some at five, so you’re wise to determine your threshold and stick with it. For this quiz, let’s say a word needs five or more letters for an automatic initial cap.

Now, which words need initial caps in these titles?

1. fitzwater and son sign third contract with city

2. employees say new parking policy is welcome change

3. health fair on for friday: talk it up

4. opening of new branch now set for july

And the answers:

1. Fitzwater and Son Sign Third Contract with City (If your style is to use initial caps for all words that are four letters or longer, you’d make it “With.”)

2. Employees Say New Parking Policy Is Welcome Change (Remember that “is” is a verb, and even a two-letter verb starts with a capital letter.)

3. Health Fair on for Friday: Talk It Up (“It” is a pronoun, and “up” is the final word.)

4. Opening of New Branch Now Set for July “Now” is an adverb; “set” is a verb.)

Caps in email subject lines and subheads

Some writers – a minority – treat subject lines like titles. Why? We were never instructed to do so, and deciding which words get initial caps needlessly consumes time and opens us up to errors. Moreover, an inconsistent subject line like Need you to set Goal for Fund Drive can distract the reader, who’s wondering why “you” and “set” didn’t get initial caps.

Do yourself a favor. Just write Need you to set goal for fund drive.

And for that matter, I recommend doing the same in subheads. Write them the way headlines are written in the newspaper. Those professional journalists know what they’re doing.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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Alarm #3: Re-verberations

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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Reverberations are loud echoes, and a key to catching unwanted echoes in our writing is setting alarms on common traps so the lack of economy comes through loud and clear. Redundancies like “ATM machine” and “Please RSVP” are well known, but many others seldom get mentioned.

We’ll address many of those redundancy traps in future posts, but today let’s stick with the alarm we should set on “re-.” That said, how would you improve the following sentences?

1. Now I’ll ask you a few questions that require you to reflect back on your schooling.

2. We need to make sure we don’t revert back to our marketing missteps during the last campaign.

3. Clyde’s productivity seems to be regressing back toward his low point last summer.

4. Please repeat your idea again now that Claire has joined the conversation.

You nailed ’em, right? That alarm you just set on “re-” enabled you to catch the redundancies immediately. The words “reflect,” “revert,” and “regressing” all refer to something in the past, so “back” is superfluous in the first three sentences. “Back” should be deleted.

As for “repeat … again” in the fourth sentence, that’s usually redundant, but what if you have already repeated something once? Then it’s true that you are now repeating yourself again (expressing something for the third time). At a noisy party you might need to ask several people to repeat themselves again during the evening, but ordinarily “again” is redundant after words like “repeat” and “redo.”

Another “re” word

Having nothing to do with the previous examples, one more word beginning with “re” that we need to handle with care is “reason.” Check out these sentences:

1. Let me tell you the reason why I advocated the July date.

2. The reason Cliff was late was because he forgot to set his clock ahead. 

You’re ahead of me again, aren’t you? Even though “reason why” is reasonably well accepted, you saw in #1 that all we need is “the reason” or “why,” not both. And in #2 we don’t need “reason” and “because.” Each of these sentences is more concise:

Cliff was late because he forgot to set his clock ahead.
The reason Cliff was late was that he forgot to set his clock ahead.
The reason Cliff was late was forgetting to set his clock ahead.

If you are inferring from these three improved sentences that “reason” deserves two alarms –one telling us to be on guard for a redundancy later in the sentence and one warning us that starting a sentence with “The reason” is often unnecessary – I agree with you.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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“Fraternal Twins”

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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How many errors do you spot in these two sentences?

1. In his remarks at the all-staff meeting, our CEO inferred that a new vacation policy would go into effect in July 2015.

2. Based on my neighbor’s description of the resort and its surroundings, I’m inferring we’ll find a new trail to hike every day.

Yes, “all-staff” should be hyphenated in #1, “effect” (not “affect”) is correct, and writing “July 2015” without a comma is correct because there is no date – just a month and year. In #2,  yes, “its” without an apostrophe and “every day” as two words are right. So what’s wrong?

The only error is “inferred” in the first sentence. It should be “implied” (or “hinted,” “suggested,” etc.). Let’s review.

“Infer” and “imply” are fraternal twins, not identical twins. They go together, in a way, but they’re not interchangeable. When you imply you express something ambiguously – either purposely or inadvertently – and then the recipient of your message needs to infer what you meant.

The common error is using “infer” instead of “imply,” as in this example: Are you inferring that I’m not qualified for the position? Here, the speaker or writer is using the wrong twin. The question should be Are you implying that I’m not qualified for the position?” But there is some inferring going on, right? The speaker or writer is inferring (interpreting, concluding, etc.) that someone is doubting his or her qualifications.

So when we make an inference are we on the sending or receiving end of a message? We are receiving. We are inferring – or deciphering or surmising – something that was not expressed clearly or fully. It was implied.

You can think of “imply” and “infer” as fraternal twins, or it might be more helpful to think of them as an elegant pen and pencil set. They go together neatly, but each has its distinct purpose.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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Making Sentence Parts Fit

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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Steel yourself. We’re going to revisit a fuzzy topic from English class: the “dangling modifier.” Oh, yeah. Now what was that all about?

The principle – simpler than you might think – is merely that we need to correct any modifiers that are misplaced in a sentence. Let’s practice.

The classic: The dangling participle

What’s wrong with this sentence?

Listening to Leslie’s report, an idea popped into my head for a great sponsorship opportunity at the fall conference.

“Listening to Leslie’s report” is a “participial phrase” because it starts with a participle (-ing verb), “listening.” Now, who was doing the listening? The writer of the sentence. But what does the sentence say? It says an idea was listening. As far as I know, ideas can’t listen; people do.

So what word must follow the comma after the opening phrase? Aha, “I.” The easy fix is something like this: Listening to Leslie’s report, I suddenly got an idea for a great sponsorship opportunity at the fall conference.

(If you remember the term “dangling participle” from school better than “dangling modifier,” just know that “dangling modifier” labels the overall problem and “dangling participle” is the type of dangling modifier that starts with an -ing verb, a participle.)

Now that it’s all coming back to you, let’s tackle another: Trying to master the hula hoop, I snapped a great picture of my granddaughter.

See what’s amiss? Most likely I didn’t take the picture while hula-ing. And here we can do the repair by just rearranging the two parts of the sentence so “granddaughter” is adjacent to “trying”: I snapped a great picture of my granddaughter trying to master the hula hoop.

Other danglers

Although taking a second look at participles in the editing process is a fine way to start catching dangling modifiers, we need to be aware that not every dangling modifier starts with an -ing word. For example, they often start with “As”:

As one of Kids Korner’s most valued volunteers, I am delighted to invite you to serve on our Board of Trustees.

Uh-oh. Who is the valued volunteer? The recipient of the letter or the braggy writer? We know what was intended, but that’s not what was said. This is better: As one of Kids Korner’s most valued volunteers, you are invited to serve on our Board of Trustees. Or this: I am delighted to invite you, as one of Kids Korner’s most valued volunteers, to serve on our Board of Trustees.

How about this one? Perched on a crest overlooking Fowler Falls, you are sure to love the scenic Manchester Inn.

Doubting that the recipient of this letter is perched on a crest, I might write this instead: You are sure to love the scenic Manchester Inn, perched on a crest overlooking Fowler Falls.

Final point

Be aware that dangling modifiers don’t always appear at the end of the sentence. For example: Our 8:30 meeting on Friday has been expanded to 90 minutes, realizing that we now have two additional issues to discuss.

Who is doing the realizing? The “I” is omitted, but we can easily work it in: Realizing that we now have two additional issues to discuss, I have expanded our 8:30 meeting on Friday to 90 minutes.

As you can see, fixing dangling modifiers is simple. The trick is recognizing them.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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Alarm #2: It’s About Time

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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Last week’s post introduced the notion of setting an alarm on words and phrases that can lull us into making an error or failing to write concisely. To continue the theme, here are a few sentences that each need an edit. Try your hand and then see if you want to set a new alarm or two.

1. Because my car tires are hardly new, I check their air pressure on a monthly basis.

2. Stella served as committee chair for a period of time and then joined the professional staff.

3. I currently know of several three- and four-year-old homes for sale in our development.

The answers

1. Because my car’s tires are hardly new, I check the air pressure monthly. Set an alarm on “basis.” That word is often part of a fat phrase like “on a monthly basis.” All you need is “monthly” or, if you prefer, “every month.” Instead of “on a daily basis,” write “daily” or “every day” (two words, not “everyday”).

The decoy was starting the sentence with “Because.” That’s fine.

2. Stella served as committee chair for a period and then joined the professional staff. Set an alarm on “period of time,” which might be the most common fat phrase we have. It’s as though “period of time” has become one word, but all we need is “period” or “time,” not both. (And steer clear of “point in time” too. All we need is “point.” At what point did you spot the error?)

The decoys were “chair” and “and.” Using “chair” (instead of “chairwoman” or “chairperson,” for example), is fine and often preferred, and “chair” should not get an initial cap here. (It would get a capital “C” directly before the name, such as in “Chair Stella Smith,” because then it’s like writing “Dr. Stella Smith” or “Ms. Stella Smith.”)

And we don’t want a comma after “and” because there is no new subject. We’re still talking about Stella.

3. I know of three- and four-year-old homes for sale in our development. Watch out for “currently”; often it’s unnecessary, as here. The words “I know” establish that we are in the present, so we don’t need “I currently know.”

The decoy was the weird-looking hyphenation, but putting a space after “three-” is how we’re supposed to write “three- and four-year-old.”

The alarms

Did you notice that each alarm related to time? Here they are again: Watch out for “basis,” as in “on a yearly basis”; “period of time,” instead of “period” or “time”; and “currently” when it’s already clear to the reader we’re in the present.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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Alarm #1: The Lonely “Only”

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Norm Friedman

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I often emphasize a particular metaphor in my writing workshops for employee groups: that if we’re at all accomplished in any area – whether it’s writing or rappelling or retrofitting – we surely have a highly developed “alarm system” that contributes to our proficiency. We have expertise partly because our brain is loaded with signals that let us know when we need to slow down, pay attention, make an adjustment.

One path, then, to continual improvement of our writing is a commitment to expanding our alarm system, whether a new alarm pertains to word usage, grammar, punctuation, style, or any other aspect of our effectiveness as a writer.

To introduce what will be the first of many posts about alarms you might like to have working for you, let’s look at the word “only.” Why did I call it “lonely” in the title? To my mind, no other word comes close to “only” in how frequently we drop it into the wrong spot in a sentence. It’s all alone in first place.

Good news all around

The good news about this error is that it’s not terribly serious because usually the misplacement doesn’t obscure the clarity of the sentence. And the other good news is that fixing the misplacement is almost always simple. Let’s look at a few examples:

1. We only spent three days in the city. That’s clear enough, but only spent? No. What we meant was only three days. This slight slip-up is typical because we tend to stick “only” in front of the verb when we write or speak, even though it often belongs elsewhere: We spent only three days in the city. Yes!

2. DeFillippo had only called plays at San Jose State in 2011. This sentence from Sunday’s newspaper is short but ambiguous. Did the Browns’ new offensive coordinator only call plays, as opposed to fulfilling additional duties? Did he call plays only at one school? Did he do this only in 2011?

My guess at what was intended is this: DeFillippo had called plays only at San Jose State in 2011. If I’m right, moving “only” and giving it double-duty clarifies the meaning: only at one school and only in that year.

3. We only reviewed sales figures in the morning. Taken literally, this would seem to mean that the sales figures were only reviewed when more could have happened. For example, the figures could have been analyzed statistically or used in forecasting, but most likely the real meaning is one of the following two:

A. We reviewed only sales figures in the morning. (We could have gone over other data – such as expenses – but only sales figures were discussed.)

B. We reviewed sales figures only in the morning. (The topic of sales figures did not come up in the afternoon session.)

And we can always reword if putting “only” where it belongs sounds at all awkward: A. In the morning the only data we reviewed was sales figures. B. We reviewed sales figures in the morning only. 

So even when the meaning will be clear to the reader if we don’t react to the alarm we have set on “only,” we can easily spiff up our writing when we do react. I only watched two episodes is clear, but I watched only two episodes is better writing.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

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