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Build Your Business Writing Vocabulary

Posted by Mary Cullen on Thu, May 14, 2009
 

Here are four websites that will help you build your vocabulary, in order of value to business writers:

  1. Word of the Day – Learn a new word every day at Merriam-Webster Online. This site is most useful because the words chosen are valuable for precision in business writing.
  2. Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day – another site similar to Merriam-Webster. (I just learned from Blue Pencil Editing that Dictionary.com has an application available for the iPhone and iPod Touch for easy mobile access.)
  3. Vocabulary Tests – Take quizzes and make your own vocabulary lists at Vocaboly.com.
  4. Free Rice – Presents more obscure words, but very valuable since this organization donates rice to the World Hunger Fund for each word you define correctly. It’s a wonderful charity and concept, but be warned – this site can be addictive!
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Comments

Nice resources, Mary. 
 
Though I have to say, while improving one’s vocabulary is definitely a laudable pursuit, there are pitfalls to be aware of. So many business people I know seem to think that using big words is impressive, when actually shorter, more familiar ones are often more persuasive. They’re also less likely to lead you into an embarrassing malapropism. I always tell my clients to “write like you speak”. 
 
So I would urge people to use these tools, but with the caveat that you should never try out a new word until you’re fully confident of its meaning!
Posted @ Wednesday, May 25, 2011 7:00 AM by Clare Lynch
Thanks for your clarification, Clare. So true! 
 
Last year, a woman in a (thankfully one-on-one) coaching session complained about her manager. She claimed he was lazy and reluctant to embrace new initiatives. Her comment, “He’s become sedimentary.” (Is he so immobile he’s turned into a rock?! I think she meant sedentary.) I suspect this illustrates your point. 
 
I always remind business people to “write to express,” not “write to impress.” Clarity is most important, and format, structure and word choice all affect this.
Posted @ Wednesday, May 25, 2011 7:00 AM by Mary Cullen
We migrated and combined our business writing blog and our newsletter articles to this more streamlined blog format, to create a single point of information for our clients and readers. Search functionality is greatly improved, to also help you find resources.  
 
Unfortunately, we could not copy over all comments and social media share indicators in migrated articles. We did copy/paste those comments that directly added clarity to articles.  
 
We hope you enjoy this centralized location for all our public business writing tips and advice!
Posted @ Saturday, July 16, 2011 1:04 PM by Instructional Solutions
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