Business Writing With Style

Does your company have formal writing guidelines? Many companies do, just so everyone knows it's "e-mail" not "email," or vice versa. But what about general writing advice? Most companies leave you to your own devices when it comes to punctuation and grammar. Writing guru Dan Santow's Word Wise blog always contains useful writing tips. His latest explains how to use quotation marks correctly.

The Grammar Girl also serves up guidelines on punctuation, grammar, and other writing rules. Her latest is on the dreaded comma splice and how to avoid it.

These and other blogs shouldn't be just for word geeks. Nothing detracts from your message quicker than a big ol' typo in your first sentence (or anywhere else, for that matter). To help you get started, download BNET's 10 Grammar Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid (and feel free to pass it along to the next person who uses the word "irregardless").