I remember when I was younger and how I truly hated writing. If I had a paper due in school I would wait until the absolute last night before it was due to start writing. In doing that I would always set myself up for failure. My papers ended up being a mish-mosh of…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…