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44 Common Confusions to Annoy the Grammar Police

44 Common Confusions to Annoy the Grammar Police post image

The following 44 examples of commonly confused words and phrases have also been visually represented in a set of two infographics that can be found here (part one) and here (part two). You can order the poster, which integrates both parts 1 and 2, here. Index Advance vs. Advanced Affect vs. Effect Altogether vs. "All… Read more

21 Homographs That'll Make Your Facebook Friends Scratch Their Heads

21 Homographs That'll Make Your Facebook Friends Scratch Their Heads post image

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no ham in hamburger, no egg in eggplant, neither apple nor pine in pineapple. French fries weren't invented in France, and English muffins weren't invented in England. Furthermore, quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is not from Guinea… Read more

How to Write a Book - The 10 Phases

How to Write a Book - The 10 Phases post image

You have finally decided that you want to write a book. You have determination, grit, and a laptop, but where do you start? If you plan carefully and then work through all of the steps that it takes to go from a blank page to thousands of written word, then you will be able to… Read more

Ten Important Triggers for Persuasive Writing

Ten Important Triggers for Persuasive Writing post image

Persuasive writing is also referred to as argumentative writing, because it argues a point that the writer is trying to present. When you write using a persuasive style, you want to incite your readers to response or to create a topic that prompts a thorough discussion. You must open with a statement about the issue… Read more

How to Write a Descriptive Essay

How to Write a Descriptive Essay post image

One of the keys to writing a descriptive essay is to create a picture in your reading audience’s mind by engaging all five of their senses – smell, sight, touch, taste and sound. If you can do this, then your essay is a success, if not, then you have a lot of work to do… Read more

Review: 10 Sites That Check For Plagiarism

Review: 10 Sites That Check For Plagiarism post image

Checking your papers and posts for plagiarism is important if you run a serious business, write an essay for college, or are finishing up an important official release. You should make certain that everything that you publish is original, because you don’t want the owner of the content to come after you and accuse you… Read more

Can Bad Grammar Influence Google Rankings?

Can Bad Grammar Influence Google Rankings? post image

In the world of modern SEO so much time is spent keeping up with Google's newest algorithm updates - whether they be called Penguin, Panda, or after some other furry animal(!) - that some of the other important aspects of gaining high rankings for valuable keywords are overlooked. One of these factors, highly worthy of… Read more

The 10 Most Controversial Essay Topics of 2013

The 10 Most Controversial Essay Topics of 2013 post image

UPDATE: Check out our new infographic with awesome essay topics for 2014! There is nothing like a controversial topic to get the blood flowing through your veins, and nothing like defending your corner of the moral landscape against the opinions of others who “just don’t get it!” Controversy lights up tired lecture halls, and treads… Read more

Capitalization in Titles 101

Capitalization in Titles 101 post image

Very few people know which words should be capitalized in a title. In fact, the majority of people adopt rules from others who don’t know either. This usually takes on one of two forms: capitalizing every word, or capitalizing words containing three or more letters. Where blog posts and internal work communications are concerned you… Read more

10 Ways to Improve Your English Writing Skills Today

10 Ways to Improve Your English Writing Skills Today post image

Learning to write English can be a frustratingly slow process. Every time you think you have written a word-perfect piece, some wise guy comes along and points out a mistake that you just don’t see anything wrong with. But before you snap your pencil and throw your books out of the window, take a deep… Read more

22 (More) “Oh So Very British” English Idioms (Part 2)

22 (More) “Oh So Very British” English Idioms (Part 2) post image

Ah, the British! Our friends across the pond that love nothing more than spending their days using alternative word combinations rather than saying exactly what they mean. Oh, and drinking tea and dressing up in their best clothes for dinner each evening…Okay, perhaps I've been watching too much Downton Abbey. Anyway, once again it’s time… Read more

22 “Oh So Very British” English Idioms (Part 1)

22 “Oh So Very British” English Idioms (Part 1) post image

An idiom is an expression or saying that means something other than its literal translation, and the British English language has hundreds, possibly thousands to get your head around. Learning British idioms will not only improve your creative writing skills, but also increase your everyday conversational skills. Here are 21 idioms you’ll find British English… Read more

Business English Writing: The Golden Standard

Business English Writing: The Golden Standard post image

Whether you work in an office or at home, chances are the bulk of your work requires you to communicate with clients and stakeholders via the written word. But here’s the deal; most business-related courses don’t put enough emphasis on business writing standards, which means that even the most educated business people make common errors… Read more

6 Reasons You Should Check Your Grammar Before Publishing

6 Reasons You Should Check Your Grammar Before Publishing post image

It goes without saying that a good workman always double-checks his work, and never was a double-checking process more necessary than when publishing written work. Every day, people all over the world miss out on golden opportunities through simple grammar errors. These errors cause unnecessary stress and get us into sticky situations because of laziness… Read more

12 Nasty Punctuation & Grammar Errors That Make You Look Weak

12 Nasty Punctuation & Grammar Errors That Make You Look Weak post image

English is difficult, there’s no doubt about it. Yet just as you think you’ve mastered the difficult concepts of English grammar and punctuation, nasty little errors trip you up and make you look weak on paper. These errors become blindly obvious when pointed out by a smug friend or tutor - leaving you to walk… Read more

20 Ridiculous Sounding English Words You've Never Heard Before

20 Ridiculous Sounding English Words You've Never Heard Before post image

Many, many years ago, when computers were still the size of wardrobes and the world wide web was a really scary spider’s lair in a science fiction writer’s imagination, my Dad gave me a pair of huge dictionaries that he had picked up from a second hand bookshop. He was always keen on me bettering… Read more

10 Ways a Missing Hyphen Can Make You Look Like a Silly Sausage

10 Ways a Missing Hyphen Can Make You Look Like a Silly Sausage post image

The hyphen is certainly a contender for “least used punctuation mark”, and it hasn’t exactly attracted many fans over the years, either. Winston Churchill once said hyphens were “a blemish to be avoided wherever possible”, and Woodrow Wilson remarked that the hyphen was “the most un-American thing in the world”. Yes, there was indeed a… Read more

15 Punctuation Errors Your English Teacher Would Spank You For

15 Punctuation Errors Your English Teacher Would Spank You For post image

Do you remember how hard your English teacher had to work in order to brush up your English skills? How you had to slave over sentence structure, objects and subjects and the correct use of grammar? However, then you left school and all of a sudden the rules were out of the window and text… Read more

10 Essential Writing Tips to Help You Become a World Class Engineer

10 Essential Writing Tips to Help You Become a World Class Engineer post image

Engineers are the backbone of the modern world. They design and construct our world, bringing new innovation to our lives. But one thing engineers often take for a given is that their ideas, concepts and plans will be understood by others responsible for executing their vision. And this is where problems arise. Poor communication means… Read more

10 Oh! So Very English Sayings You Must Learn

10 Oh! So Very English Sayings You Must Learn post image

The good old English! Just when we think we’re beginning to get to grips with their language, they start coming at us with all these sayings that make no sense whatsoever. There are hundreds of these metaphorical constructions, each presenting a head-spinning riddle for non-native speakers. But if you want to become fluent enough to… Read more

Does Grammar Still Matter in 2013?

Does Grammar Still Matter in 2013? post image

The title should be corrected to read, "don't grammar matter none no more in 2013." No need to use your shift key to capitalize, or put a question mark. That key is such a bother. Verb-subject agreement can now go straight out the window, and double, even triple, negatives abound. The age of the social… Read more

Grammar Rules? The 10 Most Embarrassing Mistakes To Avoid

Grammar Rules? The 10 Most Embarrassing Mistakes To Avoid post image

Why care about grammar? Some of the greatest works and catchiest phrases are awful grammar. Whoever wrote "here's looking at you, kid" would have failed English, and "I can has cheezburger" is utterly beyond hope. "Good bye and good luck!" and "Can I have a cheeseburger?" would be far better grammar, yet less effective. Unfortunately… Read more

Improve Your Writing In 7 Easy Steps

Improve Your Writing In 7 Easy Steps post image

I think at some point, most people dream of writing the next Great American Novel. For most people, however, the dream is short-lived as it takes a lot of discipline, imagination, and skill to be able to write effectively and correctly in a way that connects with readers. The good news is, you CAN improve… Read more

How To Proofread - 5 Important Aspects

How To Proofread - 5 Important Aspects post image

Congratulations—you've finally mustered enough creativity and patience to finally finish your write-up. The hardest part is over, and now all you need to do is review your entire write-up for any grammatical or spelling error. Sounds easy, right? Be careful, though—if you do not do this last step carefully, you might jeopardize a supposedly high… Read more

The 12 Most Common Grammar Errors

The 12 Most Common Grammar Errors post image

Many people do misspell common words, confuse similarly spelled words, or sometimes simply use the wrong form of words like "there" and "their". In a family, friendly or informal setting, it doesn't matter as much when such words are misused or confused since we know what they intend to say. In a formal or business… Read more

10 Essential Proofreading Tips For Flawless Text

10 Essential Proofreading Tips For Flawless Text post image

In a nutshell, proofreading refers to the process of checking text in order to detect and correct all the spelling errors and typos that may have occurred during the writing process. Proofreading should be performed before posting content online, and it can be done either manually or with the help of various online tools -… Read more

Gradable and Non Gradable Adjectives

Gradable and Non Gradable Adjectives post image

Big can get bigger and even become the biggest, loud can get louder and even become the loudest, but why can’t perfect get perfecter or the perfectist? Because, my dear readers, there are gradable adjectives and non-gradable adjectives (otherwise known as absolutes.) Learning about these gradable and non-gradable adjectives will exponentially help your grammar. You… Read more

5 Things To Do When You Don't Feel Like Writing

5 Things To Do When You Don't Feel Like Writing post image

Not too long ago we penned a post regarding how to improve your writing. But what about when you don't feel like writing? There are times when you have a couple of hours to spare and you know you should be writing but simply can't find the motivation. Now, we could give you some motivational… Read more

Verbs Beginning With Ex Pt 2

Verbs Beginning With Ex Pt 2 post image

Not too long ago we gave you 50 awesome verbs beginning with ex, and we promised you a part 2 with more! Well, here it is, 40 more verbs beginning with ex. Why 40 and not 50 this time? Because we thought it would be fun if you guys came up with another 10 yourselves… Read more

Learning Tenses

Learning Tenses post image

"Oh those horrid tenses," I hear you cry. We feel your pain. But bear with them and persevere because tenses form the crux of the English language and we just can’t do without them. Trying not to confuse you any further than you probably are already, this post is designed to help you get a… Read more

How To Improve Your Writing

How To Improve Your Writing post image

Many aspiring writers have an urge to write but get stuck in the "I don't know what to write about" zone. So, to stimulate your creative senses we have come up with four writing exercises that will give you not just plenty to write about but also improve your writing threefold. The best place to… Read more

Using Verbs Beginning With Ex Pt 1

Using Verbs Beginning With Ex Pt 1 post image

Verbs starting with "Ex" make for awesome words, and there is such a huge amount it beggars belief. We picked 50 of our favorites, noted down their meanings, and made an awesome list so you can improve and expand your verb usage. It's probably a bit much to take in one go, so why not… Read more

Grammarly vs. Whitesmoke - A Comparison

Grammarly vs. Whitesmoke - A Comparison post image

Why would you need a grammar checking software? Imagine receiving a business letter and you find it has a lot of spelling and grammatical errors.  You would most probably think less of the sender, wouldn’t you?  Be reminded, though, that more than 60 percent of all business communications have some kind of grammatical error like… Read more