North, south, east, west — when is capitalization best? Obviously, when the directional term is part of a current or historical proper name — for example, North Dakota and West Germany, respectively — capitalization is nonnegotiable. But many lesser-known geographical designations aren’t as obvious. Here’s a rundown of some examples: Four of Australia’s seven states … Read more
You know you must streamline your writing, but the devil’s in the details. Here are some specifics about what to look for: 1. Remove Redundancy Avoid double-teaming terms like “a period of one week,” “end result,” “free gift,” and “personal opinion.” Watch for phrases that echo the quality in question: “oval in shape,” “larger in … Read more
Here’s a writing challenge for you: I’ve listed foreign expressions, mostly in Latin, that offer wisdom or otherwise encapsulate a thought-provoking idea. Select one (or more) that resonates with you and employ it as a writing prompt. Note the evocative strength of “Alis volat propiis,” or the motivating force of “Audentes fortuna juvat.” Can you … Read more
Over the past months we received many emails from readers who wanted to connect with Daily Writing Tips on social networks. We finally made this possible on the two largest networks: Facebook and Twitter. If you have a Facebook account please visit Facebook.com/DailyWritingTips and click on the “Like” button to connect with us. Once you … Read more
George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, has been celebrated far and wide (including on this site) for his essay “Politics and the English Language.” The moral force of his argument is undeniable: Orwell, a socialist, witnessed the, well, Orwellian, tyranny of the Soviet Union and feared the power of propaganda and the … Read more
Below you’ll find seven classes of noun/verb agreement you need to understand. 1. Indefinite Pronouns Most indefinite pronouns correspond to singular verbs: “Someone has left her plate on the table.” “Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion.” “Each boy is responsible for his actions.” To confirm, test for the proper verb form by writing … Read more
I’ve noticed that I’ve been overlooking more mistakes in these posts recently — or perhaps it’s just that I haven’t been making fewer errors as I go along, as I would have expected after six months’ worth of almost daily submissions. Thanks to astute site visitors who (usually) politely point out typographical errors, I note … Read more
“Linguistic register” refers to the concept of adapting one’s use of language to conform to standards or traditions in a given professional or social situation, and writers and editors will benefit from recognizing the distinction between registers. The five general categories follow: Intimate register is the highly informal language used among family members and close … Read more
I recently heard Don Van Natta Jr., author of a book about presidential golfers called First Off the Tee(2003), being interviewed on the radio. In describing the golfing habits of U.S. presidents, he commented that Woodrow Wilson was “the most prolific golfer.” Calling a golfer “prolific” struck me as odd. I’m used to hearing writers, … Read more
You have a story that everybody wants to hear, but how do you get people to your blog? The perfect blog post is about more than just great content. In fact, the way you format your post is almost paramount to the actual content itself. Readers may not even realize that they like these formatting … Read more
The word often is a good example of the way our language goes round and round. Old English had the word oft, meaning “frequently.” It also had the word seldan, which meant “rarely,” and is the source of our word seldom. It is thought that oft morphed into often by analogy with seldan. Then seldan … Read more
Every masterful writer has a unique voice: Think James Joyce’s avant garde stream of consciousness, Mark Twain’s just-folks dissection of the human condition, Ray Bradbury’s nostalgic haze of poetic reverie, Bill Bryson’s mirthful menageries of adjectives and adverbs. Great writers, whether literary giants or popular favorites, are the soloists of the writing choir. Most people, … Read more