English for Careers

by Smith, Leila R.

• ISBN13: 9780130934475
• ISBN10: 013093447X
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

KEY BENEFIT: Designed to keep pace with current workplace needs and the emerging 21st century culture, this book offers a lively, accessible, and user-friendly alternative for the many (including those with poor English skills) who dread the thought of barebones traditional grammar and communication instruction and its overkill of rules. KEY TOPICS: With a focus on "real-world" English skills that contribute to good workplace communication, this book emphasizes principles that reflect the oral and written communication of today' s Standard English, as used by well-informed people. MARKET: For office managers, accountants, executives, office personnel department heads and sales people

Table of Contents

Dear Student	xi
Pretest	xv
About the Author	xvii
Acknowledgments	xix
Tools of the Trade Parts of Speech	1	(25)
Read, Recap, Replay
Who or What	2	(5)
Doing, Having, Being, and Helping	7	(3)
The Modifiers	10	(4)
The Connectors	14	(5)
Versatile Tools	19	(1)
Dictionary Data	20	(3)
Checkpoint	23	(1)
Special Assignments	24	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	24	(1)
Practice Quiz	25	(1)
Secret Life of a Sentence Revealed Fragments, Run-Ons, Comma Splices, Correct Sentences	26	(23)
Read, Recap, Replay
Identity, Action, Independence	27	(4)
Fragments, Anyone?	31	(3)
Capital Punishment	34	(2)
Three Important Connections	36	(5)
Making More Connections	41	(3)
Full Stops Ahead	44	(1)
Checkpoint	45	(1)
Special Assignments	46	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	46	(1)
Practice Quiz	47	(2)
Ain't is in the Dictionary Dictionary Use in the 21st Century	49	(21)
Read, Recap, Replay
All Shapes and Sizes	51	(4)
Misspellers Anonymous	55	(4)
Cracking the Code	59	(3)
An Owner's Manual	62	(4)
Checkpoint	66	(1)
Special Assignment	67	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	68	(1)
Practice Quiz	68	(2)
Apples, Tigers, and Swahili Plural, Compound, Proper, and Inclusive Nouns	70	(23)
Read, Recap, Replay
Safety in Numbers	71	(3)
The Eccentric S	74	(2)
Plurals Out of Uniform	76	(2)
Compounds and Propers	78	(4)
Banishing Bias from Business English	82	(5)
Vocabulary Building	87	(2)
Checkpoint	89	(1)
Special Assignments	89	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	90	(1)
Practice Quiz	91	(2)
Be Kind to the Substitute Week Pronouns	93	(24)
Read, Recap, Replay
Just Between You and Me	94	(4)
Me, Myself, and I	98	(3)
A Tale of a Lizard's Tail	101	(1)
A Whodunit	102	(4)
Everybody Needs Milk	106	(4)
A Gaggle of Geese	110	(3)
Checkpoint	113	(1)
Special Assignments	113	(2)
Proofreading for Careers	115	(1)
Practice Quiz	116	(1)
Looking for the Action? Then Find the Verbs!	117	(25)
Read, Recap, Replay
Timely Tips	119	(3)
Delinquent Verbs	122	(3)
Dictionary Data	125	(2)
Identifying Subjects and Verbs	127	(3)
Making the Subject and Verb Agree	130	(4)
If I Were a Millionaire	134	(1)
A Swarm of Bees	135	(2)
Checkpoint	137	(1)
Special Assignment	138	(2)
Proofreading for Careers	140	(1)
Practice Quiz	140	(2)
Words that Describe Adjectives and Adverbs	142	(21)
Read, Recap, Replay
Pointers for Pointers	143	(2)
Three Little Words	145	(2)
I Don't Want No Broccoli	147	(2)
Good, Gooder, Goodest??	149	(3)
To Ly or Not to Ly, That is the Question	152	(2)
More Shakespeare / More Comparisons	154	(4)
Checkpoint	158	(2)
Special Assignment	160	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	160	(2)
Practice Quiz	162	(1)
The Taming of the Apostrophe Possessives and Other Apostrophe Usage	163	(16)
Read, Recap, Replay
The Ubiquitous S	164	(3)
Before or After?	167	(4)
More Apostrophes	171	(3)
Checkpoint	174	(2)
Special Assignment	176	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	177	(1)
Practice Quiz	177	(2)
The Pause that Refreshes ,.!?	179	(23)
Read, Recap, Replay
Wine, Women, and Song	180	(1)
For Adjectives Only	181	(2)
Independents' Day	183	(1)
Curtain Raisers	184	(3)
Four Easy Commas	187	(2)
A Comma Medley	189	(2)
To Comma or Not To Comma	191	(3)
Uncommon Commas	194	(1)
In Conclusion .!?	195	(3)
Checkpoint	198	(1)
Special Assignment	199	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	200	(1)
Practice Quiz	200	(2)
Punctuation Potpourri (,.!?;:''-'-_)	202	(20)
Read, Recap, Replay
The Halfway Mark ;	203	(3)
An Easy Mark :	206	(2)
Plagiarism's Enemy ''	208	(2)
Half a Dash -	210	(4)
Wild Apostrophes '	214	(2)
Good Marksmanship -( )	216	(2)
Checkpoint	218	(1)
Special Assignment	219	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	219	(1)
Practice Quiz	220	(2)
A Business Dictionary Specialized Business Vocabulary	222	(19)
Read, Recap, Replay
Account Executive Through Byte	223	(2)
Certificate of Deposit Through Exchange Rate	225	(2)
Exemption Through Markup	227	(2)
Merit Rating Through Power of Attorney	229	(2)
Promissory Note Through WYSIWIG	231	(2)
Spelling and Pronunciation for Mavens	233	(3)
Checkpoint	236	(1)
Special Assignment	237	(2)
Proofreading for Careers	239	(1)
Practice Quiz	239	(2)
Weather or Knot Homonyms, Prepositions, Pronunciation	241	(21)
Read, Recap, Replay
Confusing Pears	242	(3)
An Apple Has a Peel	245	(3)
Lettuce Devise a Device	248	(3)
Bee Quite Quiet	251	(2)
Do's and Don'ts for Prepositions	253	(2)
Let's Talk Business	255	(3)
Checkpoint	258	(1)
Useful Definitions	258	(1)
Special Assignment	259	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	260	(1)
Practice Quiz	260	(2)
Sentence Power Writing Great Sentences	262	(24)
Read, Recap, Replay
Secret Review	263	(5)
TLC for Pronouns	268	(4)
Ladies with Concrete Heads and Parallel Parts	272	(3)
The Beeline	275	(3)
Don't Let Your Verbals Dangle in Public	278	(4)
Checkpoint	282	(1)
Special Assignments	282	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	283	(1)
Practice Quiz	283	(3)
Sincerely Yours Workplace Writing	286	(113)
Read, Recap, Replay
Looking Good	287	(4)
Choosing the Right Parts for the Right Places	291	(6)
Producing Written Communications	297	(9)
Sounding Good	306	(4)
Writing for Multimedia	310	(4)
Barbara Moran
Checkpoint	314	(1)
Special Assignment	315	(1)
Proofreading for Careers	315	(1)
Practice Quiz	315	(2)
APPENDIXES
A Pop Quizzes	317	(26)
B Spelling and Vocabulary for Careers	343	(3)
C Final Rehearsal	346	(4)
D Mini Reference Manual-Read and Replay	350	(14)
E Recap and Replay Answers	364	(35)
Index	399

Excerpts

Dear Student Despite learning the advanced technology of your chosen field, you may not get the job you want if your communication ability is inadequate. Someone who does get the job may lose it when it's discovered that the employee can't spell or write a clear, correct sentence. Others may keep their jobs but be stuck at a dead end, unable to advance to meaningful careers because of poor or mediocre oral or written communication. THE EMPEROR'S GRAMMAR In the year 1414, Sigismund, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, said (in Latin) to an important church official who had objected to His Majesty's grammar: "Ego sum rex Romanus et supra grammaticam." (I am the Roman king and am above grammar.) If you are a Roman king, don't bother to read on. For the rest of us, the language we use, both spoken and written, significantly affects our ability to earn a good living, advance in a career, and even enjoy good social contacts. THE FRESH START Most of us enjoy the feeling of making a fresh start when we begin a new course. The new textbook, perhaps a new CD-ROM and a new notebook, fresh pencils, and a ballpoint that writes as though it will never run out--these all contribute to the enthusiasm and the resolve to do well. You can turn this fresh start into a successful experience that you enjoy and that will help your career. THE LANGUAGE OF CAREERS What kind of language does a business, professional, or technical career require? "Career English" is not a special or separate language. It is the language of network television newscasters and is often calledStandard English.It includes the English principles you already know, those you learned in the past and forgot, and those you wish you had learned. DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS We all use several language styles to help communicate successfully with different people in various situations. Imagine talking with a group of adults at a party; now picture yourself warning a young child away from a hot stove. Think about how your communication style would differ. Perhaps you use slang or possibly a regional or ethnic dialect in everyday conversation with certain friends and family. You might use a different communication style with other friends or acquaintances. We all vary our communication style with the circumstances. Standard English is the name of the style essential for success in business, professional, and technical careers as well as in many personal relationships. With a good command ofEnglish for Careers,you can communicate confidently and correctly for your career and with business and professional colleagues. THE SYSTEM You learn only the Standard English usage principles needed by adults to communicate successfully and confidently in the workplace. I've left out or simplified the grammar terms and rules. You'll focus only on principles needed for oral and written communication of today's Standard English, as used by well-informed people. Most adults need instruction in Standard English for careers to be sure of being right. The information you need is presented in an interesting and amusing way that makes learning efficient. ENGLISH FOR CAREERSIS DIFFERENT This book is different. You don't browse through it. You don't read it like other books. What you DO is learn your way through it! CHAPTER ORGANIZATION STARTING PAGES Each of the 14 chapters has starting pages that include a painting of people at work in a particular field, objectives, and an introduction to that chapter's topics. These pages also tell you exactly what skills and knowledge you should expect to acquire by the time you complete the chapter. READ, RECAP, REPLAY Next come unique learning steps calledRead, Recap,andReplay.When youRead,you get information i