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Few writers would write “Bob love tuna sandwiches.” They would write “loves.” In the present tense, if the subject of a verb can be replaced by he, she, or it, the verb probably needs that final “s.” Because the name “Bob” can be replaced by he, the verb needs that “s.” When you write in…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/subjects-and-verbs-must-agree-in-person/
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Unless you are a recognized expert about a topic, your reader will have no reason to believe what you write. For example, I could tell you, “You shouldn’t eat eggplant. It’s bad for you.” You will ask, rightly, “What makes you an expert on eggplant?” Unless the reader has a reason to believe that you…
This is easier to demonstrate than explain in technical terms. Consider this sentence: “I am taller than she/her.” Which pronoun do you use, “she” or “her”? I often hear people use “her” in cases like this, but this is incorrect. This sentence implies the final verb is, as in “I am taller than she is.”…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/interject-and-isolate-statements-for-impact/
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Most people are familiar with using an apostrophe-S to show possession. Consider this sentence. “Bob’s dog is old.” In this sentence, Bob owns or possesses the dog. Simple. Where this gets tricky, however, is when you have multiple owners of multiple things. Let’s say that Bob and Mary each have one cat and that those…
In classical argumentation, you build a case for some idea. You present facts, theories, and assumptions. Then, you reveal the conclusion. If you have done your job well, the conclusion will be the inevitable result of the discussion. If you start with the idea, you either confuse your reader (because he or she won’t have…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/lead-the-reader-to-your-conclusion-2/
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I am a former high school English teacher. It's been quite a few years, but I still have a great appreciation for the work high school teachers do. It's important! Now that the school year is coming to a close, I want to provide high school teachers with a gift to say "Thank you for…
Thank you, high school teachers for another great year! As a gift, you can get two top books at a 73% discount. Share with every U.S. high school teacher you know. preciseedit.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/super-discount-for-h-s-teachers/
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Acronyms are great. They allow you to repeat titles, names, and concepts easily. The problem is that your reader may not know what they mean, and this hurts communication. Our advice is simple: the first time you use an acronym, write out the full name first and add the acronym in parentheses. Do this for…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/spell-out-your-acronyms/
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HUPA is an acronym for “Hey, You! Pay Attention.” HUPA is our term for any phrase, word, or strategy that is specifically intended to grab the reader’s attention. HUPAs can be created in many ways. When you start a sentence with attention getting words such as now and thus, you are using a HUPA. Any…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/use-hupas-sparingly/
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For lists made from a series in a sentence, use this sample as a guide.These employees aresmart,knowledgeable,friendly, andefficient.If you were to write this out as a sentence, you would have the following: “These employees are smart, knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient.”When creating a list, you use the same punctuation.In the sample above, noticethe commas after each…
A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition (e.g., of, on, under, around) and ends with the object of a preposition. Consider this sentence. “The gun was under her pillow.” In this sentence, the prepositional phrase is “under her pillow.” When a writer begins to string phrases together, he makes the writing difficult to understand and…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/break-up-strings-of-prepositional-phrases/
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Academic and technical writing are far different than literary writing, such as novels and poetry. The primary purpose of academic and technical writing is to provide information about a defined topic to a specific audience. Whether you write graduate papers, professional journal articles, dissertations, white papers, manuals, websites, reviews, or similar documents, you are writing…
preciseedit.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/from-bad-to-good-technical-and-academic-writing/
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This is a great question, and it is one I don't often see. On the other hand, it reflects a concept that confuses many people: parallelism. Correct use of “rather than” “Rather than” indicates a parallel structure in which two things are compared. To be grammatically correct, the two things being compared need to be…
preciseedit.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/correct-use-of-rather-than/
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Every complete sentence has a subject and predicate. We have used the term subject many times, but you may not be familiar with the term predicate. Basically, the predicate is the main verb in the sentence and everything that modifies or extends it. Consider this sentence. “The man with the broken nose stumbled on the…
Citing your sources means giving credit to published experts for ideas you are presenting. This may seem counterintuitive. If you wish to be perceived as an expert in some topic, then the last thing you want to do is let your readers know that your information comes from someone else. Right? Actually, there are two…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/cite-your-sources-to-build-credibility/
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Let me give you three quotes that are particularly appropriate here (one of which you have already seen). 1. It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly. (C. J. Cherryh) 2. Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it’s where the game is won or lost. (William Zinsser) 3. Rewriting is…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/major-writing-process-editing/
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The pyramid structure is familiar to journalists. It involves starting with broad information and proceeding to specific details. Good descriptions do the same. They start by providing a broad look at the thing described and proceed to detailed information. Here’s an example. The library was empty of books. Shelf after shelf was covered only in…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/use-the-pyramid-structure-to-provide-descriptions/
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You identified your main and supporting ideas. You organized them logically. You know who your readers are, what they expect, and why they are reading your document. The next step is writing. As you write, think about how the reader will perceive you (or the organization you represent). What impression do you want to give?…
300daysofbetterwriting.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/write-in-the-appropriate-style-and-tone/
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