This question used to drive me nuts. Most folks know that my “formal” training in putting words together is fairly minimal, so for a long time I didn’t know that there were different types of editors, let alone what they were called. Editing was just the process of making written text better – I didn’t… Continue Reading
As a ghost blogger, I frequently write about the 7 this and 5 that. Everyone, even people who don’t like numbers, seems to love numbers in blog headlines. The number tells the reader how much they will learn in that post. Well, I am not part of the “everyone.” Mostly because, as a ghost blogger,… Continue Reading
I believe that a person with a basic understanding of the language ought to be able to understand content published for the general population – even if they encounter a word they haven’t seen before. Obviously, text books, scientific articles, philosophical debates, and the such are likely to contain words that will send the reader… Continue Reading
This blog originally started as a guest blog for my friend Elizabeth Bachman; lately, however, I’ve been wanting to refer to the content, so I thought I’d spin it for myself. While I’d rather write a presentation than give one, I sit through them with some regularity. And I’ve sat through some really BAD presentations.… Continue Reading
In a blog that I don’t think I’ll publish, I discussed the importance of proper pronunciation. That rant focused on how commonly people drop Rs from words such as “library” and “February.” And while I do find that tendency annoying, the blog itself was just a little too pissy – even for me. That said,… Continue Reading
Last time, I talked about 2 of the 7 bogus grammar ‘errors’ you don’t need to worry about as explained by author Ben Yagoda. I was having a day of Latin grammar references that needed attention, so I skipped the so-called rules that I couldn’t directly connect to Latin. However, I’m so pleased that someone… Continue Reading
A recent Grammarly blog included a great sign that actually had very little to do with the blog itself. The sign reads, “What do you do when you realize that Latin grammar makes more sense than English grammar?” I’ve never actually studied Latin, so I don’t know for sure that it makes more sense grammatically,… Continue Reading
Erika Napoletano is someone I stumbled upon a few years ago – don’t ask me how, I have no clue. I subscribe to her blog – I don’t read it often, but they all still live in my inbox. I love her work because she talks straight, thinks along the same lines I do, and… Continue Reading
When being specific could be wrong, when referring to a person of unknown gender, it is better to be general than specific. And, job positions ought to be neutral. Male or female, someone is a server or a flight attendant. However, I believe people are taking gender neutrality too far. The idea for this blog… Continue Reading
I read a very interesting article, Paper beats computer screens, which validated my decision to not get an e-reader a few years ago. Apparently, comprehension and assimilation of text on a screen is not as good as for text on paper. Citing a Norwegian study of 10th graders as well as some supporting science out… Continue Reading