To vs. Too vs. Two — the Saga Continues
This month’s “vs.” selection deals with three words that are often confused, even though one of them refers to a number. If you listen to someone speak, you’ll notice that some version of this...
You Can’t Blame It All on Auto Correct…It’s Time to Take Responsibility!
These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t been a victim of the autocorrect feature on their mobile device at least once. That thing seems to have a mind of its own. It often creates...
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should: The Case Against Using Big Words in Your Writing
If you’ve been writing for a long time, you’re well read and/or well educated, and you happen to have a large vocabulary, it’s not uncommon to want to show it off. After all, long and complicated...
Principal vs. Principle…Seldom Used and Often Confused
For this installment of our ‘vs.’ post, we thought principal and principle could use some clearing up. Many of you rarely have an opportunity to use either one in your writing, so mix-ups are a common...
How to Tell the Difference Between an Active Sentence and a Passive Sentence
In an earlier blog post, we briefly touched on the subject of active sentences and passive sentences. Usually called active voice and passive voice, this designation affects the meaning and effectiveness...
Different Types of Dashes and How to Use Them In Your Writing
Dashes are used in all types of writing for many different reasons. To the untrained eye (which is almost everyone, including lots of seasoned writers) these dashes are all the same. However, all dashes...
Attention, Writers and Editors! Beware the Dangers Lurking in Large Type…
If you’ve ever had to look through an article or other piece of writing that was presented in a large font, you may have missed some rather obvious errors. Whether the writing was your own or someone...
3 Ways to Create an Effective Writing Outline
Whether you’re creating a monthly report, a term paper, a website or a short story, a writing outline is usually a good starting point. A proper outline helps you organize your thoughts and ideas and...
A Simple Guide for Metaphors and Similes
If you’re like a lot of writers, students, business people or others who use words to make a point or tell a story, you’ve been confused about metaphors and similes at one time or another. That’s...
Flare vs. Flair…and Why It’s So Tricky to Tell Them Apart
For this month’s edition of our “vs.” post, the words “flare” and “flair” came to mind. Flare and flair are a couple of homophones that differ in spelling and in meaning, yet figuring out...
Tip for Writers: How Not to Take an Editor’s Corrections Personally
For a productive writer in any genre, there is rarely time to get down about editorial corrections or criticism. Yes, it may sting sometimes and no writer enjoys seeing their work dissected and critiqued,...
Does the “I Before E Except After C” Rule Work In Every Situation?
Here’s a classic grammar rule that we’ve all heard a time or two. In fact, if you went to any school from kindergarten through grade 8, you’ve probably heard it hundreds of times. “I before E,...