All writers strew less-than-perfect turns of phrase in their first drafts, unnecessary words and phrases that slow down writing. Here are five stylistic flaws that can be eliminated in revision. 1. Unnecessary prepositional phrases EXAMPLE: After all my hard work, the superintendent’s compliment was gratifying to me. BETTER: After all my hard work, the superintendent’s … Read more
Although I know they are a time-suck, slideshows with intriguing titles or photos often lure me in. The most recent to attract my attention was about “freaky coincidences.” Because the format was the kind that requires two clicks for each slide–one for the photo and one for the caption–I was ready to stop after the … Read more
According to a story in the NY Times, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh studied the 279 most popular songs from 2005 looking for references to drugs and alcohol. I’d like to see a study that tracks the repetition rate of nonstandard English in popular music. The Pennsylvania study found that some genres mention drugs … Read more
The word pidgin refers to a language used as a means of communication between people who do not share a common language. The word pidgin derives from a mispronunciation of the English word business. The term “Pidgin English” was first applied to the commercial lingua franca used in southern China and Melanesia, but now pidgin … Read more
Irony and its adjective ironic have joined the class of carelessly used words–like literally and awesome–that drive many language lovers wild. As early as 1926 H.W. Fowler decried the use of irony and ironic to refer to happenings that are merely coincidental or odd. For example, if I run into you in Walmart and an … Read more
Grammar consultants are in great demand these days by employers who fear that the inability of their employees to speak and write grammatically gives their businesses a black eye. In addition to including English lessons in their employee training programs, some administrators go so far as to correct subordinates as they go about their work. … Read more
Thanks to today’s instant communication, words used by one blogger or celebrity catch on at an astounding rate, spilling over into advertising, entertainment, and website comments. One evening I became aware of two television ads airing back to back. One was for a telephone service; the other for a car. Both hammered the word crazy … Read more
1. Know the Rules This doesn’t mean to simply remember what you learned — or what you think you learned — five or fifty years ago. Careful writers continuously educate and reeducate themselves about grammar, syntax, usage, and style. In preparing to write my posts over the last few years, I have engaged in extensive … Read more
Dave Frohnmayer, President Emeritus of the University of Oregon, defines the New Tribalism as, the growth of a politics based upon narrow concerns, rooted in the exploitation of divisions of class, cash, gender, region, religion, ethnicity, morality and ideology, ‘a give-no-quarter and take-no-prisoners’ activism that demands satisfaction and accepts no compromise. I believe that much … Read more
Editing, the skill set practiced by the other half of my writer/editor dual personality, is a pleasurable pursuit for me. It enables me to practice problem solving, help people express themselves, and improve my own writing. But as I peruse some of the prose I examine professionally — more than a million words each year … Read more
Wordplay is a fertile field for study in English. Although the following forms of humor should be used sparingly if at all, writers should be familiar with them and their possibilities. 1. Malapropism A malapropism, the substitution of a word with a similar-sounding but incongruous word, may be uttered accidentally or, for humorous effect, may … Read more
Proofreading is the last line of defense for quality control in print and online publishing. Be sure to conduct a thorough proofread of all documents before they are printed for distribution and of all Web pages before they go live, using these guidelines. But before you proof, you must edit. (This post explains the difference … Read more