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RE:WORDED
This is where we get to write all the stuff our clients don’t let us write.
You could say it’s our place to blow off a bit of steam — and drop the occasional F-bomb.

Semi Colon or Em Dash?

semi colon em dashWhen it comes to separating thoughts and clauses, this tends to be quite a complex distinction to make. Especially when you involve colons and commas as well. Oh, the joys of the English language! For the most part, a semi colon and an em dash are interchangeable — used to separate an afterthought (much like this one).

Just in case you wanted to know the full story, here is a more in-depth breakdown of each:

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Like vs. Such As

STRICTLY (1)This is a very common instance of confusion, although in most cases the two are interchangeable. Only a real stickler (or very dedicated editor) would single these out as errors. In any case, it helps to know what these words’ proper uses are.

Again, if used interchangeably, either like or such as are correct when introducing either a list or comparison:

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An Editor’s Favourite Words to Cut (And Ones to Replace them with)

30447722_sAll-too-common words are usually found at the start of sentences. Often, these words are just filler and set you up to write run-on sentences. The thing is, these words aren’t always necessary to your sentence. When overused, they do more harm than good. And more than anything, these words are boring, stale and lacking in any sort of life.

The following is a list of the most common words that editors either like to cut or replace in text to make the writing more dynamic and appealing. Just because we care so much, we’re including some potential replacements to make things easier. Otherwise, removing these words completely works as a solution in many cases as well.

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Tips to Ensure Professional Writing is Always Professional

26452116_sCatchy headlines, sales copy and fictional writing are inclined to break the rules of writing and get away with it. And all the power to them. That just means professional writing is easier to execute on account of its simple rules and expectations.

If you want your professional or business writing to always have a professional tone, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you don’t sound like a used car salesman when speaking to your current and prospective clients. (Using terminology like “used car salesman” is not one of them.) The following are some tips to keep in mind to ensure your professional business writing sounds like it means business.

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When to Drop the “s” at the End of Words

33078078_sWe see it all the time in all kinds of words: toward and towards, anyway and anyways, afterward and afterwards. Generally speaking, these words have the same meaning with or without the “s,” and both are correct, grammatically speaking.

For some reason, people tend to think that adding or removing this magical “s” can have the power to change words and meanings completely. Luckily, this is a simple concern to address because that is not the case.

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Inquire vs. Enquire

inquire vs. enquireHaving recently come across this particular distinction, we thought it would be noteworthy to clear it up.

Inquire, meaning to ask for further information, is generally interchangeable with enquire — which is more frequently used in British English.

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The Most Common US/CAN Spelling Distinctions

CAN-US SpellingIn the English language, we often come across words that are slightly varied in spelling. Coming across these variations, we think one way is correct over another. In most cases, however, it’s just a matter of US English or UK (or Canadian) English.

Is it shoveling or shovelling? Seeing words spelled in ways we’re not used to can make us question whether we’ve been spelling them wrong this entire time. The thing is, neither way is wrong. It’s just a matter of either preference or location. In fact, we probably use a combination of both US and Canadian spelling in our everyday writing.

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Distinguish Between Irregular Plurals

irregular pluralsThe following sets of irregular plurals are so commonly confused that you may not even know there were singular and plural versions of them. Especially when heard in spoken word, the wrong usage sounds perfectly correct. The following examples will demonstrate the beautifully obscure nature of the English language in all its inconsistent glory. After reading through these distinctions, you’ll know when to use the right plural or singular versions of these particular words.

Phenomenon/phenomena

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Tips to Avoid Repetition in Your Writing

repetitionIt happens to the best of us. Words that we use regularly like to hang out in our subconscious. And some linger for longer than others, eventually making their way into our writing through our natural flow of words.

The thing is, if we use certain words or phrases over and over, they start to lose individual impact. And that, sprinkled too much over the whole, weakens the entire body of writing.

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Which is the correct past tense?

18452561_sThe following examples ought to clarify the confusion many have regarding which version of the past tense to use. There seems to be a misconception that one is correct and the other isn’t, however, this isn’t the case. It’s actually very simple. In most of the following cases, both versions of the given words are acceptable, wherein one (-ed) is more widely used in North America and the other (-t) is used more so outside of North America (the UK, Australia, etc.).

Learned vs. Learnt

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