Lola Ayangbayi, PhD

BEA.EL.AY Stories • 7th April 2021

TO HIRE A WRITING COACH OR NOT?

Have you ever wondered whether to work with a writing coach for writing your book? Not to worry, such thoughts are not out of place, and it’s worth knowing what a writing coach can do for you as a self-publishing author.

BellaNaija • 15th July 2020

Lola Ayangbayi: 5 Proofreading Tips for an Error-Free CV

Before sending in an application or uploading a CV to apply for a job, you must proofread it to catch mistakes, like typos or grammatical errors, that could cost you a job interview. Not only will proofreading save you from shooting yourself in the foot, but it will also show professionalism.

Medium • 23rd March 2022

Writing: It Takes More Than Good Grammar

Writing: It Takes More Than Good Grammar

Of what use is perfect grammar if your writing is disorganised and does not achieve any goal? Although many have accused me of belonging to the grammar police because I often get hung up about writing mechanics, I know that flawless grammar is only one, albeit essential, ingredient of good writing. So, what are the other ingredients? Like cooks, many writers follow trusted guidelines for achieving outstanding results. I’m no different.

Gleaned from thos

Medium • 24th August 2021

Are You a Writer?

Before you dismiss the quote in the image above because “you are not a writer,” consider these words from Anne Janzer in her book, The Workplace Writer’s Process:

“If writing is any part of your job and you are paid to put thoughts into words, you’re a writer…If writing effectiveness contributes to your job performance, you are a writer.”

My version:

Regardless of your job title or business or whether you only write emails, proposals, or promotional content, if having money in your wallet ca

Medium • 12th August 2021

5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Workplace Writing.

#1. Cut to the chase

Put the important information first; background or supporting information can come afterwards. Many work environments are fast-paced, so people don’t have time to filter through “long stories.”

#2. Avoid using contractions

It’s common knowledge that contractions are inappropriate in formal writing. However, some workplaces have a semi-formal culture and write in very relaxed tones. In such set-ups, you may find employees using contractions for internal communications. I

7th December 2020

VITAL THINGS TO NOTE WHEN WRITING THE BODY OF A FORMAL OR BUSINESS EMAIL.

As required of any written piece, your email should be clean, clear, and concise. In a typical business setting, time is precious, and people tend to skim over emails a lot. This means that if important information is not ‘jumping out’ at them, they could miss it. The easiest way to help the recipient get the gist of your email is to make sure it is:

Error-free — check for typos, ambiguous words, clumsy sentences, etc. Errors remain one of the biggest reading turn-offs, plus they make you appea

30th November 2020

VITAL THINGS TO NOTE WHEN WRITING THE GREETING OF AN EMAIL

In my last article, I discussed how to write the subject of an email. Today, we’ll look at the greeting.

In a business or formal email, keep familiarity at bay. You can’t go wrong with a formal greeting, e.g. Dear Mr Samuels.

Address the recipient(s) by their titles and last names, except if you know that it is acceptable for you to do otherwise. Doing this keeps things formal, yet personal.

Always put in your best effort to find out and use the recipient’s title. Getting this wrong is an eas

27th November 2020

VITAL THINGS TO NOTE WHEN WRITING THE SUBJECT OF AN EMAIL

If you answered ‘no’, allow me to share some useful tips with you as I know a thing or two about writing formal or business emails.

To make this an easy read, I’ll start by discussing how to write the subject of an email. I’ll cover other parts in subsequent articles.

The tone of an email is set by its subject, greeting, and arguably, signature. Today, I’ll focus on the subject.

A good subject gives enough information about the content of the email without being too long.

For example, instea