Insurance Marketing — Three Grammar Rules You Didn’t Learn in School

17 April, 2013

As technology grows and becomes the center of how we live and work, it should come as no surprise that how we write and use technology continues to evolve. That's right, English is an evolving language. New words are added to the dictionary every year. Today, who doesn't know what LOL means?

What you learned in grade school may not hold true today. Should you dare to split an infinitive? Sure, go for it. Can you ever end a sentence with a preposition? Yes, you can, if you do it right. Do you still need to put double spaces between sentences? Sorry, that has gone away with the typewriter.

This month, we will be looking at grammar rules that may not have learned in school.

Sentence spacing

Back in the day when we were still using typewriters, each character took the same amount of space. The i used as much space as the w. So, adding two spaces between sentences made sense and looked better.

However, today's fonts are proportional and require different amounts of space. Using a singular space between sentences is now the norm when using computers to write. Not only does it look better, it takes up less space. Both the Associated Press and the Chicago Manual of Style support single spaces between sentences.

Working the numbers

Numbers can be tricky. When do you spell them out and when do you use the figures? It is mostly a style choice, but if you want to be consistent with Associated Press, here are a few simple rules:

RULE: Spell out one through nine, anything larger gets a figure. 

  • Example: The new insurance marketing blog received nine hits in the first hour, 100 hits the first day, and now receives 2,000 hits each day.

RULE: Don't start a sentence with a numeral, no matter how large or small. You may need to rework your sentence to avoid it.

  • Incorrect: 11 people witnessed the accident that disabled the woman for life.
  • Correct: Eleven people witnessed the accident that disabled the woman for life.

RULE: However, you can start a sentence with a year.

  • 1776 was a transformative year for Americans.

RULE: Percentages always use figures and "percent" is written out.

  • Example: Workers’ compensation insurance sales increased 20 percent in 2012.

The long and the short of months       

Wondering when to abbreviate months? It’s quite simple. If there is a date involved, then some months should be abbreviated. However, if you are just mentioning the month or a month and year, then spell it out.

When abbreviating, follow these guidelines from the Associated Press:

  • Jan.
  • Feb.
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • Aug.
  • Sept.
  • Oct.
  • Nov.
  • Dec.

Examples:

  • Insurance sales spiked in December 2012 after the marketing campaign.
  • The new marketing campaign is set to kick off Dec. 30, 2013.
  • Insurance sales peaked in November.

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