While editing client documents, I often encounter superfluous phrasing. I quickly edit it to its main message, using as few words as possible to make the message as strong as possible. When I think of it, I tweet examples to my Twitter accounts under the hashtag #shrinktip, a nod to an article I wrote with techniques… Continue reading 10 wordiness examples and how I shortened them
Category: Writing
Why you should use contractions when writing for the web
One rule I learned early on from my teachers is to never use contractions in writing. This was drilled into me during university as I wrote book reports and research papers. In fact, most formal writing abhors contractions. But there’s one place that loves contractions: web writing.The thing about people who read on the web—whether a blog about… Continue reading Why you should use contractions when writing for the web
Difference between compose and comprise
This is part of the difference between series. While editing client work, I often come across the misuse of compose and comprise. Here is the difference between the two:
5 alternatives you can use instead of “find out”
This week, I’ve been editing a thesis for a master’s student. One thing I noticed during my editing was that this student seemed to have a preference for the phrase “find out”.
When to write numbers in words
Writing numbers can be confusing. Time and again, I comes across people who don’t know when they should write out a number (like four) or whether they should use figures (like 26). What doesn’t help is that the main style guides don’t agree.
Should seasons be capitalized?
With the first day of spring just behind us (at least those of living in the northern hemisphere), I noticed at the time several memes, corporate advertisements, and status updates mentioning spring and the vernal equinox. Many of them capitalized spring. The thing though is that seasons aren’t capitalized. They aren’t proper nouns and, outside of… Continue reading Should seasons be capitalized?
Difference between allowed and aloud
This is part of the difference between series. Recently, someone asked me to explain the difference between the words allowed and aloud. Here’s the difference between the two.
Difference between forth and fourth
This is part of the difference between series. Recently, someone asked me to explain the difference between the words forth and fourth. Here’s the difference between the two.
Why you should ditch Grammarly and hire a professional
Even though my bread and butter is copyediting, I have a side job at the local university as an academic writing tutor in the Writing Centre. I had a student come in with a paper today. There were quite a few spelling, grammatical, punctuation, and clarity issues. Because she had used Grammarly, which her instructor… Continue reading Why you should ditch Grammarly and hire a professional
Jesus is afraid of the mall, or why punctuation matters
Recently, an incident occurred at one of the local malls (the largest mall locally, in fact) that prompted an armed police presence. People were, of course, commenting on news stories that local media were publishing on their social media accounts. Take a look at the first comment below taken from a Facebook post: Here, the… Continue reading Jesus is afraid of the mall, or why punctuation matters