From cave paintings to the internet, homo sapiens—and our thick-browed forebears—have worked to develop new means of conveying information and opinions.
Confusion abounds when writers write about writing, right? Misspellings, typos, grammar flubs and syntax errors are not interchangeable. Here’s help for keeping them straight.
For those who didn’t clamor to diagram sentences in Mrs. Pickering’s English class, some basics of syntax and structure can be elusive. Here are a few stumbling blocks to sidestep.
As Valentine’s Day nears, let’s look at poems, song lyrics, even entire plays—as well as Oscar acceptance exhortations—that offer techniques and takeaways for communicators.
Lists and quote intros are laden with extraneous words. Wield your paring knife accordingly.
Crystallizing your purpose, objective and process is crucial to focusing your messages and fine-tuning how you convey them.
As we roll into 2020, let’s remind ourselves to prioritize the reader’s takeaways, key on clarity and brevity, and use punctuation judiciously.
Wolfie didn’t plop himself down at the keyboard without first rolling ideas around in his noodle, and neither should you. Cogitate and percolate, so you won’t have to hyperventilate.
Needless introductory verbiage just wastes time—the reader’s and your own. Save yourself the keystrokes, and say what you mean to say.
Eliminate redundancies, substitute potent words for tepid phrasing, and pinpoint your focus as you rewrite.
Whether you’re assigning a project or being asked to deliver one by a certain date and time, you should be candid, specific and courteous.
Writing clearly requires precise usage, correct spelling and good grammar, but effective communication also demands proper deployment of commas, dashes and other such marks.
The same sorts of annoyances you see while commuting can nettle readers. Here are examples of roadway cloggers and their linguistic equivalents—with solutions for the latter, at least.
Writers can engage or alienate readers through the voice they use to discuss a given topic. Try this approach for offering guidance, insights and even professional anecdotes.
Rather than emulating venerated authors, seek out the clunkiest online offerings you can find, and overhaul them. It’ll sharpen your eye—and your verbal scalpel.
