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Prodigal vs. Prodigy

Prodigal means “to spend wastefully.” So, what does that have to do with the biblical parable of the prodigal son, and what does being prodigal have to do

1 2024-11-27 03:47 查看原文

Writing Clinic #1: The Informal Email

Welcome to the first edition of the Writing Clinic. The piece edited today is an informal email that one of our readers crafted to salute friends and

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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

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 Examples of How a Comma Can Change Meaning

Omission of a lowly comma often alters the intent of a sentence, as demonstrated in the following examples, each followed by discussion and a revision.

1 2024-11-29 02:14 查看原文

The Dash Family's Roles

The en dash is the oft-neglected middle sibling of the horizontal-line family of symbols that serve to connect words and numbers for various reasons.

1 2024-11-28 19:17 查看原文

5 Functions of Quotation Marks

This post discusses the use of quotation marks to distinguish dialogue, parts of compositions, phrases as phrases, scare quotes, and epithets.

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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 Cases When Hyphenation Doesn’t Help

Writers are often confused by the complexity of hyphenation rules, mistakenly omitting them when their presence would help clarify meaning and inserting them

1 2024-11-30 15:46 查看原文

3 Types of Superfluous Use of Semicolons

Proper use of semicolons is sometimes seen as such a challenge that some teachers of composition recommend not using them until one develops a more

1 2024-11-30 10:06 查看原文

How to Focus When You're Writing

Do you ever find yourself distracted when you’re writing?

1 2024-11-27 07:47 查看原文

The Right Climate

With some words, a single letter can completely change the meaning. Take the letter 'c' and the words climactic and climatic. There's not much difference in

1 2024-11-28 08:48 查看原文

How to Write a Great Blog Post

Blog posts might look straightforward, but if you’ve ever tried to write one, you may have found it was harder than you expected.

1 2024-11-27 14:34 查看原文

10 Types of Hyphenation Errors

I’ve written more than once about hyphens, including this previous post, but it remains a troublesome topic, so I’ll approach it from this direction, too: the

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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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Finding, Founding, and Funding

Find, found, and fund could conceivably be related on the basis of the notion of obtaining something, but the words (except in the case of the link between

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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

25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About

Of course, all you really need in order to write is a notebook and pen. But there are lots of software packages that can make life easier for writers.

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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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Verb Review #1 Run and Drink

Native English speakers frequently make mistakes with the irregular verbs run and drink, even in contexts that call for standard usage:

2 2024-12-13 04:55 查看原文