Is it "fewer" or "less"?

To decide when to use fewer and less in writing, decide if you are counting items or an amount. For example:

• There are fewer marbles in this jar than in that one (items).
• There is less water in this glass than in that one (an amount).
• She has less than $50 (an amount), but fewer than four $10 bills (a number).

Trust your ear: if you would use "much," (much more water) use "less"; if you would use "many," (many more marbles) use "fewer."

Use "less than" when describing a mass, a measurement, or a total, such as:

• The building was less than 50 years old, or less than 10 percent germinated.

In this case, "years" refers to a period of time, not individual years and a percentage is an amount.

To compare amounts or numbers, use more than, such as "she has more than 25 cats." "Over" describes a spatial relationship: the bird flew over the parking lot. "Over" also can describe the passage of time: over the past 15 years, they became friends.

For more information, please contact Mark Stadtlander at mark@ksu.edu.

Is it "fewer" or "less"?

Email Etiquette

E-mail is a great communications tool when used properly, but when used incorrectly it can become a hindrance to effectively working with others spread across the state as we are. Here are some basic rules for effective communication using e-mail.

There are three types of recipients on a standard e-mail message: To, CC, and BCC. When sending an e-mail message, only add direct recipients to the To field. That shows the message is directed to those recipients and they alone should act upon it. Recipients in the CC, or Carbon Copy, field are those who should not directly act upon the e-mail but simply be aware of what it contains. You could consider it an "FYI" field for e-mail.

BCC or Blind Carbon Copy, should only be used when sending e-mail to large distribution lists, and the only other recipients listed in this case should* *be* *in the To field. Those recipients will not be able to see each other's e-mail addresses, only the sender's address in both the To and From fields of the message. It is considered unethical to include BCC recipients on a message with other recipients listed in the To and CC fields since they will not be aware this message was sent to others.

Good e-mail is concise and covers only a single subject. Make sure the subject line effectively describes the point of the message. If you need to cover multiple topics, it is best to send multiple e-mails, so the recipients will see multiple subject lines.

Also, if the recipient should take a specific action or provide a response, it is best to prompt them. Use an "If-Then" format, such as, "I am available for a meeting tomorrow at 10:00 and 2:00. If one of those times works for you, please reply with that time and where you would like to meet. If not, please let me know a couple of times that would work for you." That will let the recipient clearly know that he or she must respond to this e-mail with specific information.

Look for more e-mail tips in the weeks ahead.

Russell Feldhausen

Email Etiquette

Writing for the Web

Many web surfers scan online articles looking for important items, rarely reading an entire story. Here's some tips to make sure your information doesn't get lost when people come to your Website:

• Summarize. Make your key points in the first paragraph.
• Use bulleted lists for important items or points.
• Write in short, clear sentences.
• Keep pages short. Readers don't like scrolling through a long page to find information.
• Place headings on articles. Bold-face, if appropriate.
• Link to more information.

Learn more about this by clicking the links below:

Web Teaching Articles: Writing for the Web

Web Content Tutorials: Writing for the Web

By Carrie Blaes

Writing for the Web

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 2

The "Communication Minute" below contained five hidden grammatical errors. Examples of correct usage appear below.

Like all grammatical "rules," these five usage suggestions have exceptions. Context, audience, and purpose will determine correct usage. And sometimes, there may be a better word choice altogether.

1) Because of/due to: Because of means as a result of; due to means attributable to.
CORRECT: "Because of our experiences..." "The participants' increased knowledge is due to their workshop experiences..."

2) Based on/on the basis of: Using based on at the beginning of a sentence can be problematic because the phrase is often a dangling modifier. For simplicity, use based on following a "to be" verb and on the basis of as an adverbial phrase.
CORRECT: "On the basis of my experience..." "Our conclusions were based on..."

3) While, since/although, whereas: While and since indicate time; although or whereas indicate conditional relationships.
CORRECT: "Although it's sometimes useful..." "Since last year, my writing has improved..."

4) Over/more than: Over is generally used to describe spatial relationships and passage of time; more than is used with numerals, figures, and amounts.
CORRECT: "More than half of the manuscripts..." "Over the past 10 years..."

5) Impact/affect: Affect means to influence; impact means to strike forcefully.
CORRECT: "...errors that affect us..." "The raindrops impacted the soil surface, causing runoff..."

For more resources and information on grammar tips, please contact Jennifer Alexander at jennalex@ksu.edu

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 2

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 1

Even if your job title isn't "writer" or "editor," you probably are, at least part of the time. Due to our experiences, we each develop pet peeves - usage errors that impact us as much as nails screeching on a chalkboard. While it's sometimes useful to browse style manuals, dictionaries, and other references to learn about the finer points of grammar, we usually just need a quick, straightforward answer. But correct usage of some terms is hard to remember. Over half of the manuscripts I edit contain the same common errors. Based on my experience making the same edits repeatedly, I think a quick review is in order.

Five often misused terms occur (incorrectly) in the previous paragraph. Did you spot them?

Examples of correct usage will appear in the next post.

Questions? Please contact Jennifer Alexander at jennalex@ksu.edu

HIDE AND SEEK -- THE GRAMMAR EDITION, PART 1