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Course: Business Writing and Grammar Essentials Seminar

Writing is a required skill for many working professionals. Whether you write emails, proposals, evaluations, recommendations, customer communications, or even blog posts and social media posts, your writing should be clear, concise, grammatically correct and properly punctuated.

In this seminar, you will learn the basics of proper business writing along with numerous tips and tricks to help you figure out correct grammar, word usage and punctuation. In-class exercises offered throughout the seminar will reinforce what you've learned and will help you to sharpen your skills on the spot.

Programs Associated with this Course

Workshop in Business Writing and Grammar Essentials
Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications

Testimonials

“The seminar was great and I learned a lot in just a few hours. As a foreigner, I was struggling with some minor grammar issues that we discussed in class and it immediately made a difference. Our instructor, Glynis, is a real treasure. She brought some common grammar mistakes to our attention and gave us very valuable advice on how to avoid them.”
—Elena Ivanova

“Since the class, my writing has improved, and I’m catching a lot of my errors before I use Grammarly.”
—Bruce Jones, Jr.

Who Should Attend

This seminar is designed for professionals at any level in any career field or industry who want to write clearly, concisely, effectively and correctly. And, it’s ideal for anyone who wants a writing and grammar basics refresher.

Benefits

Gain confidence in your writing ability
Improve your writing immediately
Obtain the results or reactions you want from your written communications
Set yourself apart from other employees
Improve your chances of advancement

Topics/Syllabus

The formula for successful business writing
The steps for writing effectively
Composing, editing and proofreading your work
Writing best practices
Grammar and punctuation
Commonly confused and misused words
Email best practices
Writing resources

We also will address your writing, grammar, and punctuation questions while having a little fun along the way!

Part I: Formula for Successful Business Writing: 4 W’s

Who: Audience:
What: The Ask Result(s): What result(s) do you want? What actions/reactions want from audience?
Why: Motivation: How to get audience to do what you want
When: Give a deadline

Part II: Steps for effective business writing

Gather/obtain necessary information
Brain dump
4 W’s
Organize and prioritize
Compose
Edit
Proofread

Part III. Writing Best Practices

Subject/verb agreement
Verb tense agreement
Active vs. passive voice
Parallel construction
Dangling and misplaced phrases and clauses

Part IV: Grammar and Punctuation

Oxford (serial) comma
Terminal punctuation
Word capitalization
Plurals
Quotation marks
Subject/verb agreement
Verb tense agreement
Collective nouns

Part V. Commonly Confused and Misused Words

I vs. me
Me vs. myself
E.g. vs. i.e
It’s. vs. its
Eager vs. anxious
Effect vs. affect
That vs. which
There vs. their vs. they’re
Your vs. you’re
Who vs. whom
Fewer vs. less
Lie vs. lay

Part VI: Email Best Practices

Part VII. Resources

FAQ

Are there course materials?
There are no required textbooks for this course. It is highly recommended for participants to bring in some of their own writing samples about which they have grammar, punctuation, or word-choice questions.

Do I get DePaul credit for this class?
No, but some DePaul CPE courses have been approved for CEU credits. This is a professional education class with different requirements than courses taken for academic credit.

How big is the class?
Class size is limited to allow for a more interactive environment in the classroom. Most classes have fewer than 20 students.

For More Information, Contact:

Jurate Murray

Email: jmurray9@depaul.edu
Phone: +1 312-362-5913

Upcoming Class Offerings

Business Writing and Grammar Essentials Seminar

Dates: 04/29/2025 - 05/6/2025
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Meeting Pattern Tuesday
Location: Online
Cost: $465.00
Registration Deadline: 04/28/2025 - a $75 late fee will be assessed after this date for late registrations
Final Deadline: 04/29/2025

Program Brochure

Paper Registration

If you wish to register for a class via a paper form, click here.

Student Policies

Click here for a list of our student policies.
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Contact Us

For general inquiries, please email us or call 312-362-6300.