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Hub You - Does Punctuation Really Matter in Email?
It's long been held that trust goes a long way in building strong long term design relationships. Building all your hopes and dreams with one designer could leave you high and dry when they up their rates after you've committed to a job. So how do you go about finding a trustworthy graphic design company?Word on the street Some of the hippest young gunslingers are to be found hanging out in the gin palaces and opium dens of the ghetto. To the uninitiated this might seem like a frightening place to look for someone trustworthy to carry out your design bri
Do you notice the semicolons in the last example? The rule is when an item in a series already contains a comma, use semicolons to distinctly separate the items.
Some folks who don’t like the serial comma will say that in the above examples they agree with using it to clarify entities; however, they will opt not to use it when the meaning might appear transparent. Here’s a caution for you: readers pick up patterns in punctuation very quickly. If the patterns are consistent, they have very little problem getting meaning. But if the patterns vary, they can quickly become confused and begin to wonder what the various uses are and how they should interpret the data.
Our goal, as I mentione
Many people get confused by the term marketing. To clear a common misconception up, marketing is not a synonym for sales. Sales is the process of selling a product or service, while marketing is the process of creating customers and keeping current customers. Sales is part of marketing, but it's not the bulk of it. Marketing covers a lot of things, advertising, promotions, publicity, public relations, customer service, and more. Surprisingly, many businesses don't think of marketing as an important process, but it is the most important part of running a business. Af
Writers have been confused by the comma for ages. Either they overuse commas or underuse them. Either way, using too many or too few can cause confusion. In particular, confusion often occurs with whether to use commas after introductory phrases and whether to use commas when listing a series of items. Read on for answers to both questions.
Commas after introductory phrases
The way we use punctuation over time influences how meaning is applied to those marks of punctuation. The comma causes a tremendous amount of controversy in writing and carries an enormous amount of weight. Look, for example, at the sentence below: “She sat in a caf? drinking coffee, wearing clogs and a scarf upon her head.”
What do you see? No, really; what do you SEE? Do you see a woman with clogs on her head along with a scarf? That’s exactly what you should see. Based on the punctuation (and wording) the image is that of a woman with shoes on her head. This sentence can be made clearer simply by changing the punctuation and moving the “and”: “She sat in a caf? drinking coffee and wearing clogs, a scarf upon her head.”
How about leaving a comma out? Does meaning become unclear without a comma? Consider this: “When Margaret ate pizza dripped from her chin.”
Not a very pretty sight, eh? Add a comma, and you’ll know what was dripping from her chin (though what she was actually eating is still unclear): “When Margaret ate, pizza dripped from her chin.”
Commas in series
What about using the comma when listing items in series? Do you put the comma before the “and” or do you leave it out? “We’ll be preparing the budget, writing the proposal, and presenting the data at the conference.”
If you put it in, you are a fan of the serial comma right along with me! If you left it out because you remember being told the “and” replaced the comma, then you might be struggling with what I’m going to say next: the serial comma helps to clarify information for the reader. When the serial comma is used, the reader can identify distinct entities in sentences easier. Hold on! No rebellion just yet. Let me give you an example where the serial comma can help information become clear: “My favorite meals are macaroni cheese and crackers peanut butter jelly and toast and fruit.”
Based on what you see here, how many foods do I like? Five? Three? Depends on where the commas are. Take a look:
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly and toast, and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly, and toast and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese, and crackers; peanut butter, jelly, and toast; and fruit.” (3)
Without the comma distinctly separating each of the entities in the series, the reader is left to decide on the combinations of foods that make up the meal. Putting the commas in—-especially the serial comma—-helps the reader know in what combinations I like them.
Do you notice the semicolons in the last example? The rule is when an item in a series already contains a comma, use semicolons to distinctly separate the items.
Some folks who don’t like the serial comma will say that in the above examples they agree with using it to clarify entities; however, they will opt not to use it when the meaning might appear transparent. Here’s a caution for you: readers pick up patterns in punctuation very quickly. If the patterns are consistent, they have very little problem getting meaning. But if the patterns vary, they can quickly become confused and begin to wonder what the various uses are and how they should interpret the data.
Our goal, as I mentioned
When a business is engaged in a marketing campaign and it is obvious things are not going correct it is often better to stop the marketing campaign immediately rather than to continue and try to evaluate and fix the problem gone bad.Why you ask? Well simple really if you continue and you are confusing your customers, then you are diluting your brand name and changing a perhaps longtime image in your customer’s mind and you can actually lose customers?Additionally we have all heard the saying that you only get one chance to make a first impression, so i
What do you see? No, really; what do you SEE? Do you see a woman with clogs on her head along with a scarf? That’s exactly what you should see. Based on the punctuation (and wording) the image is that of a woman with shoes on her head. This sentence can be made clearer simply by changing the punctuation and moving the “and”: “She sat in a caf? drinking coffee and wearing clogs, a scarf upon her head.”
How about leaving a comma out? Does meaning become unclear without a comma? Consider this: “When Margaret ate pizza dripped from her chin.”
Not a very pretty sight, eh? Add a comma, and you’ll know what was dripping from her chin (though what she was actually eating is still unclear): “When Margaret ate, pizza dripped from her chin.”
Commas in series
What about using the comma when listing items in series? Do you put the comma before the “and” or do you leave it out? “We’ll be preparing the budget, writing the proposal, and presenting the data at the conference.”
If you put it in, you are a fan of the serial comma right along with me! If you left it out because you remember being told the “and” replaced the comma, then you might be struggling with what I’m going to say next: the serial comma helps to clarify information for the reader. When the serial comma is used, the reader can identify distinct entities in sentences easier. Hold on! No rebellion just yet. Let me give you an example where the serial comma can help information become clear: “My favorite meals are macaroni cheese and crackers peanut butter jelly and toast and fruit.”
Based on what you see here, how many foods do I like? Five? Three? Depends on where the commas are. Take a look:
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly and toast, and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly, and toast and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese, and crackers; peanut butter, jelly, and toast; and fruit.” (3)
Without the comma distinctly separating each of the entities in the series, the reader is left to decide on the combinations of foods that make up the meal. Putting the commas in—-especially the serial comma—-helps the reader know in what combinations I like them.
Do you notice the semicolons in the last example? The rule is when an item in a series already contains a comma, use semicolons to distinctly separate the items.
Some folks who don’t like the serial comma will say that in the above examples they agree with using it to clarify entities; however, they will opt not to use it when the meaning might appear transparent. Here’s a caution for you: readers pick up patterns in punctuation very quickly. If the patterns are consistent, they have very little problem getting meaning. But if the patterns vary, they can quickly become confused and begin to wonder what the various uses are and how they should interpret the data.
Our goal, as I mentione
This article introduces the Data Protection Act 1998 - does your business comply?What is Data Protection? Data Protection is the area of Law that Governs what may or may not be done with personal information. Such personal information may be in manual (hand-written, print outs etc) or electronic (Stored on a computer) form. It applies to the processing of personal data by “Data Controllers”.Understanding the terms used. 1. Data Controller – any person/business who controls processing of personal data.2. Personal Data – information (el
Not a very pretty sight, eh? Add a comma, and you’ll know what was dripping from her chin (though what she was actually eating is still unclear): “When Margaret ate, pizza dripped from her chin.”
Commas in series
What about using the comma when listing items in series? Do you put the comma before the “and” or do you leave it out? “We’ll be preparing the budget, writing the proposal, and presenting the data at the conference.”
If you put it in, you are a fan of the serial comma right along with me! If you left it out because you remember being told the “and” replaced the comma, then you might be struggling with what I’m going to say next: the serial comma helps to clarify information for the reader. When the serial comma is used, the reader can identify distinct entities in sentences easier. Hold on! No rebellion just yet. Let me give you an example where the serial comma can help information become clear: “My favorite meals are macaroni cheese and crackers peanut butter jelly and toast and fruit.”
Based on what you see here, how many foods do I like? Five? Three? Depends on where the commas are. Take a look:
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly and toast, and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly, and toast and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese, and crackers; peanut butter, jelly, and toast; and fruit.” (3)
Without the comma distinctly separating each of the entities in the series, the reader is left to decide on the combinations of foods that make up the meal. Putting the commas in—-especially the serial comma—-helps the reader know in what combinations I like them.
Do you notice the semicolons in the last example? The rule is when an item in a series already contains a comma, use semicolons to distinctly separate the items.
Some folks who don’t like the serial comma will say that in the above examples they agree with using it to clarify entities; however, they will opt not to use it when the meaning might appear transparent. Here’s a caution for you: readers pick up patterns in punctuation very quickly. If the patterns are consistent, they have very little problem getting meaning. But if the patterns vary, they can quickly become confused and begin to wonder what the various uses are and how they should interpret the data.
Our goal, as I mentione
I know most of us hate cold calling. But for many businesses it can be a cost-effective way to generate quality leads.If cold calling is accepted in your industry then you should consider making it a prospecting tool. A benefit is that you connect directly with people who are likely to need or want what you offer. And, because cold calling is an active form of prospecting you can use it to fill holes in your pipeline when other lead generating methods are falling short.So, if you decide to make cold calling part of your lead generating system, here are
Based on what you see here, how many foods do I like? Five? Three? Depends on where the commas are. Take a look:
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly and toast, and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, jelly, and toast and fruit.” (5)
“My favorite meals are macaroni, cheese, and crackers; peanut butter, jelly, and toast; and fruit.” (3)
Without the comma distinctly separating each of the entities in the series, the reader is left to decide on the combinations of foods that make up the meal. Putting the commas in—-especially the serial comma—-helps the reader know in what combinations I like them.
Do you notice the semicolons in the last example? The rule is when an item in a series already contains a comma, use semicolons to distinctly separate the items.
Some folks who don’t like the serial comma will say that in the above examples they agree with using it to clarify entities; however, they will opt not to use it when the meaning might appear transparent. Here’s a caution for you: readers pick up patterns in punctuation very quickly. If the patterns are consistent, they have very little problem getting meaning. But if the patterns vary, they can quickly become confused and begin to wonder what the various uses are and how they should interpret the data.
Our goal, as I mentione
“Must Project Managers be technically savvy?” This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product.I agree! To be an effective Project Manager, you must know the ins and outs of your solution. You must be capable of designing and developing the solution yourself.Here are 5 fundamental project management tasks that Project Managers can'
Do you notice the semicolons in the last example? The rule is when an item in a series already contains a comma, use semicolons to distinctly separate the items.
Some folks who don’t like the serial comma will say that in the above examples they agree with using it to clarify entities; however, they will opt not to use it when the meaning might appear transparent. Here’s a caution for you: readers pick up patterns in punctuation very quickly. If the patterns are consistent, they have very little problem getting meaning. But if the patterns vary, they can quickly become confused and begin to wonder what the various uses are and how they should interpret the data.
Our goal, as I mentioned at the start of this article, is complete clarity for our readers. Clarity overcomes misunderstandings and helps to establish our credibility as authors. Our readers trust us and will cooperate with us to the degree that we have credibility with them. If we’re inconsistent, our credibility is damaged; then they may not be so willing to work with us. So much depends upon the comma...
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