As a virtual assistant, it's vital that your work be of a quality that is beyond reproach when you write. What are some of the resources you should have and refer to frequently? Read on and see if you have these in your own personal library.

What Resources Must Every Virtual Assistant Have

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If you are a virtual assistant, undoubtedly you will eventually have a client that wishes you to rewrite something he or she may have penned or typed, or you may even decide to write something of your own. It’s not always an easy task to find just the right words to capture the essence of what is being said in an interesting and accurate manner.

1. Choose a well-known thesaurus.

What is it you might ask? A thesaurus is just the tool you need; it’s a book that has a classified list of synonyms. You remember what a synonym is from your days in English class at school, right? According to the Encarta English Dictionary (provided in Microsoft Word 2007), a synonym is a word that means the same, or almost the same, as another word in the same language, either in all of its uses or in a specific context. Examples of synonyms in this sense are “environment” and “surroundings” and the verbs “tear” and “rip.”

2. Choose a good dictionary.

Why would you want to use a good dictionary? According to Wikipedia, a dictionary is “a collection of words in a specific language, often listed alphabetically, with definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information;[1] or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon.”

Now, listen up here — did you read this? Look at this. You get in one dictionary definitions (what does it mean), etymologies (the history of words), phonetics (what does it sound like) — a dictionary is a stocked warehouse of excellent data to help you make your articles rich in content.

3. Use a good manual of style.

I know of two popular manuals of style by which you can base your writing on that I refer to frequently. One is the “Chicago Manual of Style and the other is the “Associated Press (AP) Stylebook.” I refer to these two frequently – you know, just to keep me in line.

While these are not the only choices you have in a good style guide, the important thing for virtual assistants to remember is to let your clients know which one you typically use. Your choices for either manual are both hardcover and online. An important point here is that style guides contain the acceptable uses of punctuation and grammar.

You can always check Wikipedia or other sources on the Internet to see if you can find a good write up on just what a style guide is, its capabilities, and a good list of the various types out there.

4. Use a good spell-checker.

I cannot stress this enough. A virtual assistant MUST (underlined for emphasis again) ensure that their words are spelled accurately. This not only is important for your image, but also for the image of your client. Don’t skip this step.

So what have we learned in this article? A virtual assistant has to be thrifty in their use of time, as well as being the best of the best. Oftentimes, there will be resources available to us that we don’t even know that can save us an immense amount of work. It’s not always an easy task to find just the right words to capture the essence of what is being said in an interesting and accurate manner. Incorporate the four major resources above, and you will be well on your way to ensuring that your material is rich in content.

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