I see two ways to improve this sentence. The first is to replace the pronoun "It" with a noun, e.g., "The new policy really ..." This will avoid any possible confusion over the antecedent of the pronoun. Second, the primary meaning of "elevate" is "to make higher." A more appropriate word would be "improve," meaning "made it better." And it wouldn't hurt to drop the adverb "really."

--Joe,

Is this letter to your mom or your boss? Different audiences have different expectations. In any case, the sentence is schizophrenic. "It really made my life easier" is informal and breezy. "Helped my crew elevate its performance" is sporting a stuffed shirt. I'd guess the letter is aimed at a professional audience. In this case, avoid "really" (that flabbiest of all words) and write "It made my life much easier." Avoid "elevate its performance" (fancy-pants phrase) and write "helped my crew perform better."

--Robert Rosser, University of Maryland, Europe

While this sentence isn't wrong it makes for rather difficult reading. I would try something along the lines of this sentence, "As a supervisor, it made my life easier and helped my crew elevate its perfromance."

--John Lugg, Homeschool Student

Business writing is more formal and standardized by convention. For example the number of lines skipped betweeen the date, the address, salutation, body, closing, and enclosures. If it's a personal letter, a comma is more correct and a colon would look stuffy (formal).

--Sarah May, Omaha, NE Omaha Public Schools

One of the advantages for me is not having to be at a specific place at a specific time. This is great for me as I (1) write best during the late night to early morning hours and (2) have health issues that have often prevented me from attending class in person.

One disadvantage calls to mind the old adage, "out of sight, out of mind." If you don't have to physically attend a class, it may be difficult to schedule your time to include working for your online class.

Another disadvantage is the loss of feedback from your classmates and instructors that you would otherwise have in a face-to-face classes. Yes, you can email, blog, and instant message but many times people will hold back what they want to say or what they think because once it is put in writing, it is "official." We don't want to be thought stupid, rude, or unthinking so we don't participate as easily in distance learning situations when the other participants are basically unknown to us.

The best online classes, IMHO, are those where the participants already have developed a relationship (at a minimum) with their instructor and their classmates.

--Leslie Antley, University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, Texas

The advantages of distance learning are numerous. You can have access to teachers across the globe and you can communicate with these instructors via e-mail or snail mail. On online classes you can talk about class topics and discuss the issues that surround the topics with other students, you can have direct access to Internet links for a more enriched learning experience, and you can meet other students from around the globe. And these are just a few of the advantages.

There are also disadvantages to distance learning. You can’t speak face to face with your teacher, it’s harder to catch cheaters, and it communication between you and your teacher isn’t often instantaneous.

--John Lugg, Homeschooled Student

I'd tried distance learning twice. Once it was a positive experience and once it was terrible. Differences- on the positive side. Though the class met online using Blackboard, students could also go to the community college and talk face to face with the professor. Questions asked online were answered w/in 24hrs. Course in LIbrary Science was at AA level. The second time (and a terrible 2 semsters) the course was via satelite bounced to 5 sites across Ohio. (Bounced b/c there were constant boondoggles that didn't get fixed). This was a masters level course toward degree. Prof. rarely got back to the students. One time, not enough test materials were forwarded to the location where we met for satelite mtgs. But most irritating was lectures were often interrupted w/technical problems. We'd sit for 30-45 minutes. Once it was 2-1/2 hrs! There was little collegiate experience. I already had a master's from a traditional campus and I sorely missed the regular interaction w/profs and other students. I would be very hesitant to go into a degree program though DL.

--Sarah May, Omaha Public Schools

When the person doing the stand-up (at the remote site) ends the broadcast, the presenter that is in the studio thanks her for the intervention. At the same time, the on-site reporter thanks the studio reporter for the "invitation to speak". They can't really say bye on tv so the main role of this thanks-thanks dialog is of an acknowledgment of the end of the intervention. It serves more as a polite (and TV-acceptable) way to say "bye".

No one is actually doing any favor or helping out with something, this is why "you're welcome" is not appropriate. Saying "you're welcome" assumes a giver-receiver status, which is not the case here (the two reporters are just working together; there is not really a situation of one helping another).

Hope it helps! --George, Montreal,Canada, McGill University

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