Hype reduces reading, sharing — even sales
When “king of usability” Jakob Neilsen cut the fluff from a web page about Nebraska, the neutral web page was 27% more useful.… Read the full article
Concise Writing
Grammar and spell check double-check
Don’t forget to use your brain, too
Spel chekers, hoo neeeds em?
— Alan James Bean, American astronaut
I’m sure you caught this news item last month.… Read the full article
Don’t forget to hyphenate compound modifiers
Hyphens change your meaning
Yes, “anal-retentive” is hyphenated. But the folks in my state — Missouri — apparently don’t care.
State officials recently left out the hyphen for the Show-Me State’s new license plates.… Read the full article
How to use air quotes
Don’t.
No punctuation transgression amuses me quite as much as the extraneous quotation mark. Because, “really,” when you inexplicably put “quotes” around a word or phrase, what is it that you’re “trying” to “say”?… Read the full article
What is the rule about splitting infinitives?
Is this approach still a grammar don’t?
It may be the most famous split infinitive of all time — Star Trek’s opening-sequence voice over:
“To boldly go where no man has gone before”
That’s a split infinitive, because the adverb “boldly” separates, or splits, the verb “to go.”… Read the full article
How to proofread like a pro
Rest, reformat, read aloud and review common errors
By Chris Smith
You spell-checked it, but that story still appeared with a grammar fail or typo. D’oh!… Read the full article
6 more conversational writing tips
Use your business casual voice
When my family moved from Tulsa to Houston, my siblings and I picked up the accent pretty quickly. When an aunt visited us from the Midwest, my 5-year-old brother proudly announced:
“I used to talk human, now I talk Texas.”
… Read the full articleHow to create a conversational tone in writing
To write like you talk, read your copy aloud
When Don Murray arrived in the newsroom for his first day on the job as writing coach for the Boston Globe, he turned to his new boss and said: “I can tell you who your three best writers are.”… Read the full article
How to develop tone of voice in writing
What writing style, word choices should you use?
The hardest job I’ve ever done was writing and editing a microsite for H&R Block. It was designed to let survivors know how to handle taxes for their loved ones who had died in the Sept.… Read the full article
How to write simple sentences
Think subject-verb-object for most of your sentences
The best way to make your sentences tighter and easier to understand is to simplify them. That is, write mostly simple sentences.… Read the full article