4. I am not surprised by my former classmates, when they tell

me how much writing they have to do on the job, they however

are people who went into fields like law, marketing, and

advertising. I did not go into such a field—or so I thought.

In fact, I chose accounting partly to escape words.

5. Little did I know that even an accountant spends

fifty percent of his or her work time writing! Everything

from memos and accounting footnotes to shareholder's

reports. Needless to say an accountant who can crunch

numbers, but cannot state clearly what it means will not do

well, clients want something more than the numbers; lucid

analysis. They want to know the numbers' meaning for them.

For example the profitability of their subdivisions. Or the tax

implications of taking certain losses in one year, instead of

to wait. What is more to the point, they want to be told these

things clearly and concisely, not to be handed vague

language or language so rife with grammatical errors as to

distract them or undermine their confidence in the analysis

generally. (You might be shocked to see what big effects

even small mechanical errors have on a readers assessment

of a writer and a writers' competence. Confidentially,

believe it or not I was once informed by a friend that

I had been denied a certain choice job interview on

the basis of my leter of application in which I had

carelessly mixed up "there" and "their".)

6. I have been lucky at the firm of Boswell and Anthony.

The reason being that my supervisor there edits my draft

of memos, gives me writing handbooks to review, and even

tutors me at times. As a result, he and I both feel that I've

made progress – or what he kindly calls "progress and a

half". However, I cannot stress this enough: with

almost any other supervisor, I would now be worrying

about keeping my job. When it comes to writing a

prospective employee should not expect "on-the-job

training"; once again, I have been lucky.

Stop here until you are

asked to continue.

7. Another thing I've learned since leaving school, is that

strong writing skills are valuable outside of work also. Last

year, my grandfather died, he left me some money and

objects in his will, but the most special part of his legacy

to me was the inscription in a book on sailing lore. "Dear Joe,"

he wrote, "By the time you read this, I will be away on the

final great sea voyage of this life. I may well not see you

ever again, and the thought brings tears to my eyes.

8. I myself produced some tears in reading Grandpa's last

few words to me, which included reminiscences of times

we shared together, since my childhood. I had never been

aware of written words potential private power until that.

I mean power that a letter to a friend can have. Or leaving

a simple note to one's wife on the fridge.

9. Nor is home the only after-hours sphere of life, where the

effective use of words makes a difference. No one is just an

employee somewhere and a family member; every individual

is also a member of a community, and in that community as

it turns out, there is always one issue or another which

affect that person directly.

10. Only last night, I attended a town hall meeting on the

subject of illegal toxic dumping not far from my home. After the

Town Solicitor delivered a brief, noncommittal formal report, the

Mayor asked, Do any members of the public have comments

to make at this time?" At those words, I felt a lump rise in my

throat and that I should say something. After all, I had a

great deal at stake.

11. I am proud to say that I got up enough courage to speak

last night and that my words seemed to break the ice; after I

spoke five or six other critics of the Town Solicitor's report

did the same. I would not pretend however that my statement

made the biggest contribution of the evening, one of my

neighbors whose name is Jane Shaw gave a speech that

residents of our town will not soon forget. Reading from

the back of an envelope (like Abraham Lincoln). Jane cited

statistics from the latest research on methane, then said,

"Our children's future health is at stake, but this towns

officials issue deliberately vague reports containing no

true plans for action. Our children's future health is at stake

but this town's mayor still accepts large contributions for

his next campaign from the very individuals responsible

for this great hazard".

12. To conclude, I am not yet as effective as Jane when it

comes to writing and speaking, however, thanks to my

supervisor's efforts at work (mostly with word choice and

organization) I am on my way. Once again, though, I was

lucky to find such patience in my supervisor: few like him exist

13. Those four years ahead of you at school remain your

one best shot at putting your verbal house in order.

What is more, your success at getting a job, at keeping

a job, at being promoted to a better job, and at positive

effects in life beyond your job depend largely on doing

just that. Words being the essential medium for most

commitments and pursuits in life.

14. Because I did not use my college years to improve

my writing, even I still lag behind regarding certain

aspects of writing, with all the special help that luck

has brought me. (I think, for example, that I may still

have some problems with my grammar and punctuation.

I just hope you didn't notice any!)

15. All best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

Joe Petry

Back to The Items on This Web Site

1.	Read the following letter all the way through at your normal rate, without regard for errors it may contain.
2.	Read it again, this time checking for grammar and punctuation.
3.	If you find an error, circle it, then use the righthand column to state as best you can (with or without technical terms of grammar) the nature of the error.
4.	Stop at the line after paragraph 6 until you meet with a tutor and he or she asks you to continue.