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Farther, Further: What's the Difference?

Some authorities offer differentiated meanings for farther and further, but the short answer to the question of which to use for what is that you can just

2 2024-12-21 17:03 查看原文

CAUTION: Merging Words

The lines between some word pairs like suit and suite, motive and motif, are beginning to blur. Here are six such pairs that may be worth your attention.

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Ever and Never

Ever and never are adverbs employed in strictly defined ways. Here are the parameters of usage for the two terms.

1 2024-11-28 19:18 查看原文

Intrusive Misuse of Colons

Writers often mistakenly introduce intrusive “colonization” where it is not necessarily. In each of the following examples, as explained in the discussion,

3 2024-12-19 20:07 查看原文

3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons

Semicolons serve one of two purposes: A semicolon can act as a weak period to separate two independent clauses so closely associated that dividing them into

3 2024-11-27 08:25 查看原文

5 Cases of Insufficient Punctuation

In each of the sentences below, the omission of one comma (two commas, in one case) obscures the intended meaning. Discussion and revision following each

1 2024-11-29 14:18 查看原文

3 Sentences with Punctuation Problems

Commas serve a vital function as a fundamental organizing tool within sentences, acting as buffers that keep syntactical elements in place and as signals that

1 2024-11-29 08:54 查看原文

3 Cases of Too Many Commas

This post illustrates several types of sentences that incorporate excessive punctuation. Each example is followed by a discussion and a revision.

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3 Types of Solutions with Semicolons

In each of the following sentences, a structural flaw is easily repaired by use of one or more semicolons in place of one or more commas. Discussion and

2 2024-11-28 16:24 查看原文

3 Errors in Using Parentheses

Parenthetical marks can cause difficulties for writers—and, as a result, for readers. In each of the following examples, parentheses are misused; discussion

1 2024-11-27 06:02 查看原文

7 Reasons to Publish a Blog

You still don’t have a blog? Below, check out seven arguments for writers joining the blogosphere.

2 2024-11-30 01:34 查看原文

Word of the Day: Pedantic

Pedantic (pə-dăn'tĭk) is an adjective that represents an excessive concern for precision and formal rules. It can also refer to the ostentation of knowledge.

1 2024-11-29 14:17 查看原文

Say What?

If you're telling a story, you can use two journalism training mnemonics to check that you have covered all the bases. These are the 6Ws and the WHAT formula.

1 2024-11-27 08:25 查看原文

3 Strategies for Combining Sentences

One approach to making prose more concise is to stitch together two related sentences by revising one so that it serves as a subordinate clause to the other

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What the heck are "learnings"?

Reader Paul wonders about

1 2024-11-30 20:11 查看原文

Word Games to Improve Your Writing

It’s hard work to increase your vocabulary by memorising long lists of words and definitions, or to improve your spelling by constantly writing out words you

1 2024-11-29 21:18 查看原文

Minimise Distractions When Writing: 4 Practical Tips

Perhaps you’ve managed to get into the habit of writing every day, but you’ve also acquired the distraction habit. You sit down at your computer, fire up your

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How To Write Every Day (and why you should)

If you aspire to be a writer, and read tips from well known authors, you’ll have come across the advice that you should write every day.

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Prevaricate vs Procrastinate

Two commonly confused words are prevaricate and procrastinate. They are similar in being quite formal, Latinate, words but have different meanings.

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Slink, Shrink, and Wink

Last week I found the word slinked in manuscripts submitted by two different members of my writers’ group. In both mss I drew a wavy line under it to

1 2024-11-29 04:04 查看原文