Comments on: Corporate English

By: Precise Edit

Precise Edit — Sun, 02 May 2010 18:48:15 +0000

I don’t agree that this style is taught at the higher education level. However, this style may be rewarded, leading to the same result.

By: Cecily

Cecily — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:58:37 +0000

I presume Richard meant quotation marks.

If you Google:
cecily jones
you get every page that has cecily OR jones.
But if you Google:
“cecily jones”
you only get pages that have an EXACT match of that specific sequence of characters.

Another really useful tip is the minus sign to exclude a word. So, if one Cecily Jones is a golfer and you’re not interested in her, you would Google:
“cecily jones” -golf -golfer
and only get pages about Cecily Jones that don’t mention golf.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:24:46 +0000

Richard, I didn’t know about the parentheses thing. COOL. Thanks. There isn't any parentheses thing. Google tells you that parentheses are completely ignored in searches.

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:05:32 +0000

I’m a recent subscriber to DWT, which I really enjoy reading each morning.

I think the George Orwell essay should be compulsory reading for all writers, whether journalists, copywriters, authors, etc.

And perhaps tested on its content!

By: Nelida K.

Nelida K. — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:13:33 +0000

Hi Maeve,

I am by profession a certified translator of English, native in Spanish. Can you just imagine what a headache this is for us translators? This is a sure way to send us running to the nearest available shrink…..