A blog about language, workplace writing and our experiences
First, let’s explain prepositions: they’re those little words that hang off phrases and usually indicate direction in some way—for example, for, on, over, as, to. Prepositions are mostly easy (and intuitive) to use, if English is your first language. But you probably have moments when two prepositions both ‘sound right’ in a phrase. So, which to choose? Let’s look at …
Both answers may be right, because the collective noun works differently for different generations. If you’re talking about recent generations, you might refer to the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, the Millennials and Generation Z. When you do, you probably say ‘the Baby Boomers are’ but ‘Gen X is’. In other words, you probably use plural verbs/pronouns for one …
Stop With All The Capitals! What a bore to read text that shouts at us. In particular, have you noticed how many nouns get a capital letter these days? We know only proper nouns need a capital letter, so what’s the problem? Why so many capitals? It could be that many people aren’t sure what a proper noun is—for example, …
Some people are naturally good writers; others are not so good. Yet, as with most skills, if you are trained in writing techniques, and you keep practising, you can usually improve what you produce. Sometimes, however, poor writing at work is just a symptom, not the actual problem. Long flowery sentences, muddled thinking and an illogical structure may indicate the …
In part 1 of this article, we shared tips on setting up for team writing —that is, developing a workable document structure, allocating writers based on their skills and knowledge, and establishing ground rules. But once everyone starts writing, how do you keep the process simmering along nicely? Here are tips on keeping that process tidy and in order: For …
You probably work as part of a team on many writing projects. Working together, multiple writers bring all the ingredients for a successful writing project—subject expertise, writing skills, ideas and perspectives, and labour. But team writing has its challenges—conflicts over ownership of sections and chapters, noncompliance with deadlines (especially when there’s conflict over ownership), and problems with document continuity and …
American style is already evident in Australia, and fast becoming the norm in some sectors. So, we asked a colleague working in the US for her tips on what’s happening in American English. In other words, we wanted to know about the trends there that will eventually hit our shores. On her advice, we discovered the style mecca that is …
Tempted to start a sentence with a conjunction—say, And or But or So or even Or? Go right ahead. We’re talking about a contentious topic. Some people refuse to use a conjunction anywhere except between two clauses. But (and I have just annoyed those people), grammar has bowed to common sense, and we may now use a conjunction to start …
Like throwing on a cap for the beach but a fedora for the races, you need to change your writing hat for informal and formal occasions. Casual writing sounds much different from writing that travels formal channels or conveys serious content. In fact, it often sounds like a spoken conversation. Sentences tend to be shorter (because you assume a certain …
This story is a tricky one. A client speaks English as his second language, and he does so impeccably. His English is precise, because he knows the rules of grammar better than most people who speak and write English as their first language. Knowing all the rules makes him confident about correcting the expression of others (including me), and he …
