16 Misquoted Quotations

Many quotations attributed to famous people are at best paraphrases — though often superior to the original. Others might be subtly altered in the retelling, sometimes with little impact on their effect, at other times irresponsibly changing the meaning.

50 Synonyms for “Idea”

What’s the big idea? Or, more appropriately, what kind of idea is it? Many ways of expressing the idea of an idea await your consideration; here’s an extensive but not necessarily comprehensive list (including other connotations and meanings of the various synonyms):

A Quiz About Missing Connections

Writing is often compromised by a writer’s failure to think a sentence through to its logical conclusion. Often, along the way, a small but crucial word or phrase is omitted that leaves a gap in a parallel construction, thereby contributing to the reader’s confusion. In each sentence below, determine the missing element, then check my revisions at the bottom of the page to see how our solutions compare.

75 Synonyms for “Hard”

It’s easy to write about how hard something is, because so many synonyms exist for that vague word and its more formal cousin difficult. Many of these terms are somewhat interchangeable (that’s why they call them synonyms), but even then, the senses are often slightly distinct; do a little more research on usage when you find a promising variation for that abstract (or is it abstruse?) phrasing you’re attempting to finesse.

A Quiz on Treatment of 75 Compound Words

Open, hyphenated, or closed? Usage guides, dictionaries, and style manuals may differ in their treatment of the following words, so there’s not necessarily one right answer — except for the purposes of this exercise: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word Forms

Many common words and phrases are identical except for a strategic letter space — apart and “a part” come to mind — and though knowing which form to use in a sentence is often obvious (as in that example), the difference can be subtle. Here are some of the less clear-cut pairs.

50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Have you noticed how many terms for musical phenomena have been adopted into general discourse? Sometimes it’s difficult to determine whether the musical term was later associated with a general definition, or whether the general usage came first, but take note of these musically derived or related words.

A Quiz About Misplaced Modifiers

Modifying phrases intended to provide clarity can be counterproductive if placed in the wrong position in a sentence. Repair the improper installation of modifiers in the following sentences, then compare your solutions with my revisions at the bottom of the page.

10 Types of Wordplay

Humorous works of fiction are easily enlivened when the author resorts to one or more of the following categories of playing with prose.

100 Words for Facial Expressions

Face it — sometimes you must give your readers a countenance-based clue about what a character or a subject is feeling. First try conveying emotions indirectly or through dialogue, but if you must fall back on a descriptive term, try for precision.

4 Books That Show You How to Write

No, that headline doesn’t read “Four Books That Tell You How to Write.” The verb is show, and that’s exactly what I mean. This post does not list writing guides, but if you want to learn how to create a memorable reading experience, follow the excellent examples below.

A Quiz About Clarity

Writers usually don’t mean to be duplicitous when they write one thing when they mean another; it’s just that what they intended to communicate is not what they communicated. The following sentences demonstrate some of the types of misunderstandings that result from careless composition.

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