Categories for Writing

Tips to Adding Oomph to your Writing

We’re not always so lucky as to be able to write about compelling and interesting topics. In fact, most of the time our topics aren’t exactly inclined to get the blood pumping. But our writing shouldn’t have to reflect that. With the intention of getting lots of people to read what we write, we want to make it a good experience for them.

Just imagine that you’re the one who’s reading. Would you read until the end, or would you stop in the middle of the first paragraph thinking it’s too boring to deserve your time?

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Apostrophes and Plurals: What’s the Deal?

When plurals are involved, people often get confused as to how they should use apostrophes. That’s just it — you don’t even need to use them half the time.

There are three ways to present plurals, not limited to the elusive apostrophe + s combo:

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The Difference Adding an –e Makes

Not only does adding an e at the end of a word change the pronunciation in many cases, it also changes the meaning of the word entirely. This is an all-too-common mistake that we thought was worth bringing attention to. This is also a case where autocorrect doesn’t have your back. Because, with or without an e, these words aren’t misspelled. So it’s up to you to know the differences. And we’re here to show you.

To illustrate these differences, the following examples will be used to demonstrate the impact of adding an e:

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Who vs. Whom & Who’s vs. Whose

Has reading the title confused you yet? That’s ok. We’re here to give you the who’s who on all the whos — complete with examples. Let’s start with the singulars and move on to the plurals later.

Who/Whom
Put simply, who is the subject and whom is the object of a sentence. There is a very easy trick to use to know you’re always using the right one. Rework the sentence using he or him, and that will give you your answer: who = he, whom = him.

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To Hyphenate, or Not to Hyphenate?

What’s the difference between state-of-the-art technology and technology being state of the art? Compound modifiers are two or more words expressing a single concept, as in the previous example. Hyphenating in this context is very commonly done the wrong way. So we’re here to clear things up.

Depending on where in a sentence you use compound modifiers decides whether or not you hyphenate them.

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The Breakdown on Brackets

Brackets are components of punctuation that are often misunderstood. People either use them too much when they get so caught up in side notes that the entire sentence loses direction, or they’re not sure when to use them properly and avoid them altogether.

When the appropriate time comes, brackets can add value to a sentence by clearing some things up. Here’s the rundown on brackets, so you know how to find a happy medium in your writing.

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Waste vs. Waist: Know Which to Throw Away and Which to Put a Belt Around

Having come across this mistake on more than one occasion recently, we thought it was worth bringing some attention to.

This is an example where autocorrect won’t catch your mistake. So, here are these two homophones, clarified:

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The Importance of Reading for Writers

Just like visiting art galleries helps artists hone their craft, the same goes for reading for writers. Of all languages ever spoken, English contains the most words (over 250,000). That leaves us with the biggest capacity for vocabulary. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? That really makes it a waste not to indulge in the beauty of words. Especially if you’re a writer.

What was the last good book you read? If you had to think about it, it’s been too long. Writers should always be reading. Exposure to good writing will make you better at it. To fully benefit from this influence, you should be selective of what you read. Only feed your subconscious with words worth being there. Because once they’re in there, without even thinking about it, you’ll start using them in your own writing.

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Incorrectness: When It’s OK To Be Intentionally Wrong

Sometimes it’s OK to use words that aren’t real words or be grammatically wrong on purpose. Whether for stylistic reasons of for comedic effect, there are times when you can get away with being deliberately incorrect and not have proofreading or editing services call you out on it.

Typically, incorrectness dwells in works of fiction and opinion pieces (like online articles, blogs, etc.) where setting a specific tone and writing in a specific style is necessary. There is a fine line to pulling this off successfully, though. And you need to be very obvious about it.

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Conjunction, What’s Your Function?

Conjunctions are a quintessential part of our everyday language. Being one of the nine parts of speech (along with nouns, verbs, articles and such) their job is to connect.

Unfortunately, conjunctions are frequently used the wrong way. It happens so often that you’d need an extra strong magnifying glass to spot it (or a really good proofreader). Lucky for you, we’re here to clear things up when it comes to conjunctions. The following are the different types of conjunctions and when to use them.

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Tips to Adding Oomph to your Writing

Categories for Writing

Tips to Adding Oomph to your Writing

Apostrophes and Plurals: What’s the Deal?

The Difference Adding an –e Makes

Who vs. Whom & Who’s vs. Whose

To Hyphenate, or Not to Hyphenate?

The Breakdown on Brackets

Waste vs. Waist: Know Which to Throw Away and Which to Put a Belt Around

The Importance of Reading for Writers

Incorrectness: When It’s OK To Be Intentionally Wrong

Conjunction, What’s Your Function?

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