Writing Archives - Page 29 of 42 - Hot Pepper Communications

How to use 3 keyboard keys you’ve never used

There’s probably a good chance you know most of the punctuation symbols on your keyboard, but there’s an even better chance there are three you don’t know. In fact, you might not even know their names, let alone how to use them. Well, I’m going to explain what they are and how to use them.

Dashes and hyphens: what’s the difference?

First off, no matter what anyone tells you, this is not the dash key: That’s a hyphen on that key. Also, pressing it twice does not equal a dash. There are three main symbols that are often mistaken: hyphen, en dash, and em dash. I’ll discuss those in this article. Others, such as the figure… Continue reading Dashes and hyphens: what’s the difference?

Difference between “between” and “among”

“Between” and “among” are two commonly confused words, but remembering the difference is fairly straightforward.

Why I advocate for the use of Ms.

Indulge me for a minute or two, as I get a bit political in this post. I debated posting on this topic, but ultimately opted in favour of it given its connection to language and usage. While many seem to believe that the English honorific “Ms” was a recent invention of feminists, its actually as… Continue reading Why I advocate for the use of Ms.

5 ways to wake up your lazy writing

Over the last 28 years, I have edited a lot of documents. In that time, I’ve seen my fair share of lazy writing; actually, I may have seen even more than my fair share. I’ve noticed that much of the lazy writing often falls into a handful of categories. Here are 5 ways to wake up… Continue reading 5 ways to wake up your lazy writing