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Month: July 2007

Vivid Language Paints a Picture

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What does it mean to use vivid language in your writing? Language that is vivid paints a picture for your readers, so that they can clearly envision what you are talking about. Vivid language is very important to descriptive writing. Let’s look at the sentence: I took a trip to the mountains. Does this paint … Read more

Parallelism Prevents Bumpy Communication

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Parallelism is one rule you learned from your English teacher that is appropriate for all sorts of writing. Parallelism makes your thoughts easier to understand, with limited danger of making it more stilted or overly formal. For example, “apples are sweet, but lemons are sour,” which is parallel, is less bumpy than “apples are sweet, … Read more

The Dictionary of Concise Writing

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Serious bloggers understand the importance of concise writing. Unfortunately, great writing tips on brevity are scattered among many resources. Fortunately, a book called The Dictionary of Concise Writing crossed my desk. Written by Robert Fiske, The Dictionary of Concise Writing is the definitive guide to fat-free writing. This book literally contains its subtitle – more … Read more

Word of the Day: Ombudsman

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Ombudsman (ŏm’bŭdz’mən) is a term that appeared in Sweden and then was integrated into many other languages. Originally, it used to refer to an official that investigates the complaints from the citizens against the government. Nowadays, the term can also be used to describe any independent and impartial person used by private or public organizations … Read more

“Putting on Airs” or Expressing One’s Thoughts?

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Daniel’s word of the day on July 15, 2007, rhetoric, is an example of a useful word that some people might find offensive. Really. In the movie Alone With a Stranger, a man becomes furious when his brother uses the word rhetorically — “as casually as I tie my shoes!” The detectives on Law and … Read more

Then or Than?

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Many people confuse the words then and than. They’re separated by just one little letter, and lots of people even pronounce them nearly the same way. Then (rhymes with Jen) is a word that’s used to mark time, or show a sequence of events. For example: First, preheat the oven to 325. Then, grease a … Read more

The Blogger Spelling Test

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Bloggers do get a misspelled word once in a while (some bloggers more often than that, but anyway). If you want to test your skills you can try the Blogger Spelling Test. There are 15 questions with common misspelled words. Most of them are quite easy, just don’t run through the questions or you might … Read more

Breaking the Lockjam and Buttoning Down the Hatches

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The President has invited some factions to Washington to break the lockjam. The copywriter who came up with this statement confused two common English expressions used to convey a state of of inaction: deadlock and logjam. The term “deadlock” refers to a stoppage brought about by the opposition of two forces, neither of which will … Read more

Word of the Day: Rhetoric

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Rhetoric (rĕt’ər-ĭk) is the skill of using language effectively or persuasively. It comes from the Greek rhêtôr (orator). Notice that rhetoric was one of the three original liberal arts in Greece, together with dialectic and grammar.

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Where and Whence

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A few years ago a TV special aired with the title “The From Whence We Came Awards.” I don’t recall what the awards were for. I just remember reacting to the use of “from” with the word “whence.” “Whence” is not synonymous with “where.” Whence means “from what place/source/origin.” Examples: The wealthy man never forgot … Read more

Ready, Set, Write!

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One of the biggest problems people have with writing is getting started. A blank page (or computer screen) can be intimidating, but prewriting is a great way to overcome that intimidation. Here are some prewriting activities to help get the words flowing out of your brain and onto the page: Listing: Listing is one of … Read more