On the Importance of Word Order in English
English is a strange language. A case in point can be made with these two …
Hopium
If you thought the 2008 financial crisis signaled the end of “irrational exuberance”, the overly …
Strike Superfluous Words from Your Writing
“Make every word tell”: this sound advice from The Elements of Style speaks not …
… and other nonsense words you’ll want to know
We rarely tolerate nonsense, but we have a soft spot for “nonsense words”. They seem …
No Chicanery – But a Take on Chicane
English has many words with multiple meanings. Can we say there’s an art to using …
Make Those Needless Words Vanish
Can you write fewer words and keep the meaning you intended? Of course! If you …
Slash Those Superfluous Words
Good composition includes slashing all needless words from your business writing. But to do that, you …
10 Tips to Tidy Up Your Holiday Messages
A Nitpicker’s Guide to Fixing Common Writing Gaffes Before you write another batch of holiday …
Editing: The Last Mile of Effective Writing
Ask children to describe their dream job and the response will be clear: a firefighter …