Bull's Eye Business Writing Tips:
Getting to Your Writing Target

Tip #4:   Avoid sexist language in
business writing. 

Write it right: Some tips for more effective
letters and memos:

Several years ago "he" was the standard pronoun of indeterminate gender and "Dear Sir" was used when the receiver of your correspondence's sex was unknown.  However, today it is politically incorrect and definitely not acceptable to ignore women in business.  It's not good business to offend people with sexist words and images.  Good writers look for ways to avoid using "he."  Here are some hints: 

1. Use "their"  instead of "his" or "her" ("she"/"he") whenever possible by making the person plural in the sentence. 
   
2. Alternate references to "his" and "her."  For example, in one paragraph describe a child as "she" and in another use "he." 
   
3. Try to avoid words that use the suffix "man" in the traditional sense of "male." 

To send the above exercise answers to Gloria for her comments and review,  copy the questions,  paste  them into an email, answer them,  and send to Marsha@basic-learning.com.   All of Our Weekly Tips: Index of Tips 401 to 500 Index of Tips 301 to 400 Index of Tips 201 to 300 Index of Tips 101 to 200 Index of Tips 1 to 100 See this week's tip You can always see the FREE Weekly Business Writing Tip. But you must be on my mailing list to receive the answers!  Please share these FREE tips with your friends. For those who are first-timers, sign up by sending me an email.

These business writing tips brought to you by:
Bull's Eye Business Writing 
10 Easy Guides for Getting to Your Writing Target
By Gloria Pincu, M.A. , President of Basic Learning Systems, Inc.
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