Business Writing
Explore expert articles on business proofreading and editing. Find out what it takes help clients refine their business communications, enhance clarity, and maintain a polished tone. From reports to proposals, learn practical strategies for elevating the quality of business documents and ensuring they make a lasting impression.
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5 Questions to Ask When Editing a Listicle
5 Questions to Ask When Editing a Listicle
Published Aug 03, 2022
Last Updated Sep 23, 2025If you edit articles or blog posts for business clients, at some point you’ll probably need to edit one of the most popular formats out there nowadays – the listicle. As the name suggests, a listicle is a piece of writing that organizes its sections as a numbered list – just like this post, in […]
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Plagiarism in Business Writing
Plagiarism in Business Writing
Published Jun 28, 2022
Last Updated Nov 26, 2024While plagiarism is less obviously a problem in business writing than in, say, creative or academic writing, it can still be an issue. And a good proofreader may need to highlight plagiarism in their client’s work. But what does plagiarism look like in the context of business writing? And how do you address it? In […]
Proofreading Tips: Numbers in AP Style
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State Abbreviations in AP Style
Published Sep 26, 2021
Last Updated May 27, 2025The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is, at its core, a guide for newspapers and other media publications. However, it has become a popular style guide for professional or corporate writing across various industries, with many businesses following AP style for their blog articles and web content. So, if you’re proofreading for clients in the US, […]
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Proofreading Tips: Abbreviations in AP Style
Published Jul 11, 2021
Last Updated Aug 01, 2023AP style is commonly used by journalists, marketers, and PR specialists, whose writing often includes abbreviations. So, if you’re proofreading a document that uses AP style, you’ll need to know how abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms should be presented. With that in mind, then, this guide covers how abbreviations should be used in AP style. Becoming […]
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A Proofreader’s Guide to Dates in AP Style
Published Jun 13, 2021
Last Updated Jul 23, 2025The Associated Press Stylebook is the go-to style guide for many writers, news outlets, and businesses. And if your clients use AP style, you’ll need to know how it works. With that in mind, here we’ll look at what proofreaders should know about dates in AP style, including: The basic date format (and when you […]
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How to Capitalize Titles in AP Style
Published May 30, 2021
Last Updated Dec 16, 2024AP style – as set out in The Associated Press Stylebook – is commonly used in business writing and journalism. But did you know that the AP Stylebook has advice on how to present titles of works, such as books, films, and musical compositions? It’s important to be aware of these rules so you know […]
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Style Guides for Business Writing
Published Dec 10, 2020
Last Updated Nov 26, 2024Style guides are vital resources for proofreaders and editors. But the best style guide to use may depend on the type of writing at hand. So, which style guides are best for business writing? Here, we’re going to look at some examples, including: The Associated Press Stylebook The Chicago Manual of Style The Business Style […]
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Editing Tips: A Quick Guide to Formal Writing
Published May 31, 2020
Last Updated Aug 07, 2023One key stylistic distinction for proofreading is between informal and formal writing. But what is formal writing? What makes it formal? And when should a document use a formal style? In this post, we look at what you need to know to work on formal documents. What Are the Key Stylistic Features of Formal Writing? […]
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An Introduction to the AP Stylebook
An Introduction to the AP Stylebook
Published Apr 23, 2020
Last Updated May 16, 2023The AP Stylebook is the go-to style guide for anyone working in journalism. But why is this guide so popular? And what do you need to know about it as a proofreader? Let’s take a look. What Is The Associated Press Stylebook? The Associated Press Stylebook is created by the Associated Press (AP), a major […]
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A Brief Guide to Proofreading for Websites
A Brief Guide to Proofreading for Websites
Published Apr 26, 2018
Last Updated May 28, 2025Is proofreading for websites different from other types of proofreading? The answer is yes! You can’t always apply the same proofreading techniques and guidelines to different kinds of documents. Academic proofreading, for instance, is very different to proofreading web copy. This is one reason why proofreaders haven’t yet been replaced by robots. Crucially, reading on […]