Qualities of an Effective Translation Service
Here’s the thing about translation…you may need it all the time or only once in a long while, but it had better be accurate when you do it. Not many blunders will make you or your organization look...
When to Put an Apostrophe Before the ‘s’ and When to Put It After
Apostrophes play a big role in writing the English language. Not so much in an “understanding the meaning” kind of way, but more of a “proper punctuation” kind of way. If you forget the apostrophe...
Then vs. Than…Yes They Do Have Different Meanings!
If you needed even more evidence of how one letter can make a big difference, ‘then vs. than’ is a great example. People make mistakes with these two words all the time, but they often slip by unnoticed...
Your vs. You’re…One Trick to Guarantee You Never Get It Wrong Again!
Occasionally mixing up the odd words that happen to sound similar is understandable. If you do a lot of writing, it may even be expected. However, this your and you’re confusion has reached epidemic...
Why Accurate Fact Checking Is So Critically Important to Your Writing
It’s easy to think of “fact checking” as an activity reserved for term papers, essays and other writing that require historical accuracy. However, the need for correct factual information in writing...
For All Intensive Purposes…and Other Commonly Misused Phrases
Sometimes, to make your ideas flow from one to the next or to hammer home a point, you use a common phrase to get the job done. We all do it from time to time, but there is a problem. It seems that many...
3 Headline Tips that Will Draw Your Reader In Like a Magnet
Opinions may vary about precisely how long you have to make an impression on a potential reader once they have seen your headline, but most seem to agree it’s less than five seconds. Most also agree...
Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Automatic Grammar Checkers to Correct Your Writing
In an earlier post, we gave details on some of the problems associated with the Google Translate tool. Well, there’s another type of automated tool that often makes intelligent writers look foolish,...
What are Expletive Constructions and Why Should I Avoid Them?
Whether you write professionally, churn out the odd report as part of your job, or write papers and stories in school, structural and grammatical missteps are part of the process. One such misstep is known...
Self-Editing Tips Every Writer Should Know
No matter what you are writing, editing must be part of the process if you hope to impress your audience. Professional editing, with human experts going over your work, is always the best approach, but...
Farther vs. Further…Is There Really a Difference?
When it comes to writing just about anything, a great deal of confusion, head shaking and fist pounding comes from the use of farther and further. It’s pretty interesting how the difference of one letter...
7 Business Writing Blunders that Will Make You Look Foolish
Speeches, documents, articles, blog posts, news releases, websites, even inter-office memos are all examples of business writing. They are also prime opportunities for you to make some common business...