Posts Tagged ‘grammar’

Polish Your Writing to Professionalism: Three Tips for Self-Editing

The ability to write without errors is crucial, whether you are writing for the whole world to see, or just your department. Even a few typos can make a writer look beyond unprofessional — errors imply laziness and poor presentation in much the same way that a stained shirt shows a lack of effort at a business meeting.

But, important as good spelling and grammar are, errors can slip… » Continue

April 17 2008 | By Thursday | Tagged: editing, grammar, proofreading, spelling, writing | 14 comments»

Eliminate Common Writing Mistakes

Let me just say, spell-check is not your friend. While it is ostensibly a useful service intended to help improve the quality of your written work, it is in actuality the product of a plot between Bill Gates, Richard Stallman, and Kim Jong Il, who are working together to undermine America’s public image in preparation for a non-violent overthrow of our country and our way of life… » Continue

October 26 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: credibility, grammar, mistakes, spelling, writing | 62 comments»

How To Correctly Use Apostrophes

A common grammar-nazi pet peeve is the incorrect use of apostrophes.

Traditionally known as the greengrocer’s apostrophe because of signs like “Orange’s $1.99″, I think we could start calling it the newspapers’ apostrophe [note correct use of apostrophe] because of the amount of errors print editors seem to glance over.
Be aware of the its/it’s exception. You should only use an apostrophe with the word “it” when you want to indicate… » Continue

May 7 2007 | By Craig | Tagged: grammar, writing | 15 comments»

Mistakes My Grammar Made

Tech Republic wants you to be nicer to your grammar.

These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we’re in a hurry, quickly dashing off e-mails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I’m being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It’s expected. It’s no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that there’s… » Continue

June 7 2006 | By Chris | Tagged: Communication, grammar, howto | 2 comments»

FAQ on Grammar

Over at Dr. Grammar, it has a page on grammar frequently asked questions (with answers). This is pretty handy - It is sorted so it is very easy for you to find the questions and answers. An example on a FAQ:

Like or such as?
Like or such as? Patricia O’Conner says, “It’s a matter of taste–either is acceptable. To my ear, like sounds better; such as has a more formal… » Continue

September 12 2005 | By Leon | Tagged: faq, grammar, writing | 1 comment»