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Mistake-Free Grammar and
Proofreading
Get a firm grip on grammar rules, learn
to proofread with perfection — and enjoy yourself
in the process!
"Made proofreading
and grammar fun (Is that possible?)."
- H. Cope, secretary
Solutions Inc.
 You bet it's
possible! Mistake-Free Grammar & Proofreading is nothing like grammar classes at school. This workshop is really fun! It's exciting and
engaging. And most of all, it's effective in refreshing you on the basics
of business English.
In one fast-moving day you and your staff will learn:
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The 16 grammar
rules every professional must know |
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All about
capitalization and punctuation |
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Painless proofreading
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Techniques
for finding errors in numbers, prices, codes, dates, etc. |
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The six key
spelling rules (and their most troublesome exceptions) |
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Commonly misused
words and how to use them correctly |
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The right way
to present numbers |
You'll get it all in one day. And
you'll learn it in such a way that you'll never forget it.
Who should attend?
Anyone who
wants his or her written communication to be letter-perfect. It's ideal
for managers, secretaries, technical writers, editors, and proofreaders
who:
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Never received
training in these skills |
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Have been out
of school for a while and need to brush up |
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Use English
as their second language and would benefit from some additional
training |
Mistake-Free Grammar &
Proofreading takes you and
your people on an adventure. The goal? To catch the grammar mistakes that
can hurt your credibility.
You'll start by finding out how well you understand grammar now. (Don't
worry: You're not "graded," and no one is singled out or embarrassed.)
Then you'll put on your safari hat, because you're going on a butterfly
hunt. Not for real butterflies, but for the grammar principles that can
be just as elusive.
Each time you "catch" one -- and are sure you understand it fully -- you move on to the next.
When you've caught all 10 butterflies, you win. And just to prove it, you'll
check your grammar understanding at the end of the day. You'll be amazed
at how much -- and how well -- you've learned.
Mistake-Free Grammar &
Proofreading is designed according to the latest research on how
adults learn. It's fast-moving, so you stay interested. It's engaging,
so you learn by doing. And it's fun, so you happily give it your all.
In this high-energy training, you and your staff will try your luck
with Butterfly Bingo; hone your usage skills with Grammar Bull's Eye;
and "question the answers" with Punctuation Jeopardy.
The result? The information comes alive for you. You easily see the
practical applications. And it sticks with you in a way that pure "book
learning" never can.
Professionals praise Mistake-Free Grammar
& Proofreading :
"All of the grammar rules that took me 18 years to learn and forget
were replenished today in less than eight hours."
- Ida Pinson, support secretary
Clemson University
"Never a dull moment!"
- Stefany Richards, secretary
Foothill Engineering Consultants
"I've never laughed as much learning grammar.
CareerTrack is still doing things right."
- Karen Walker, recreation supervisor
City of
Westminster
Program Agenda
Basics of proofreading
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How to
increase your proofreading
speed — without sacrificing accuracy |
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Are you an editor
or a proofreader? How to determine which skills your job
really requires |
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Spotting common
typographical errors |
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The reference
books you need |
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How to correct
writing without changing the meaning |
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Creating a
comfortable environment for proofreading |
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Overcoming
monotony and staying alert when proofreading |
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Creating distance
from your work so you can catch your own errors |
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An ingenious
way to proofread numbers |
Rules to remember
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A review of
basic grammar skills |
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The rules of
subject/verb agreement |
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The correct
usage of modifiers (Ever wonder what a "misplaced modifier" is?)
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Noun/pronoun
agreement (Choose one: "The company supports {its/their} employees.")
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Active vs.
passive voice: how to increase your writing's impact |
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Who vs.
whom; me vs.
myself — never be confused again! |
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Further/farther;
affect/effect; continual/continuous; and other frequently misused
words |
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How to avoid
sexist language |
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Lay
vs. lie; disinterested vs. uninterested; imply vs. infer: commonly
confused word pairs |
Punctuation
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The six most
frequently missed rules for using commas |
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How to use
semicolons to improve the "flow" of your sentences |
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How and when
to use colons |
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When you
should use quotation
marks — and when you shouldn't (Does the period go inside
or outside the quotation marks?) |
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Where to place
apostrophes in words ending in "s" |
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Dashes and
parentheses (Did you know they are opposites?) |
Spelling and form
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How good is
your spelling? A fun exercise will tell you |
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How to use
your word processor's spell-check correctly (and when you can't
rely on it) |
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Capitalization
rules (Accounting Department or accounting department? |
Marketing Director or marketing
director?
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How to fix
run-on sentences |
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When to use
numbers and when to use words (50 or fifty?) |
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Tricks for
catching duplicate words and left-out letters |
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How
many spaces to use after commas, quote marks, colons, dashes, and
periods
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 Back
to the "Corporate Seminar" Index
Contact
us and bring this Seminar to your organization
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