Writing

Blog: from the proofreader's chair

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Using italic type

Roman (that is upright type) is the standard text typeface, but for various reasons italic type (that is slanted to the right) is...

Abbreviations, contractions and acronyms - what are they?

Abbreviations, contractions, and acronyms are ways of shortening a word or phrase but sometimes can be confusing for a novice writer. I...

Overcapitalization

I discuss here the wrongful overuse of capital letters in text. Why does it matter? Excessive use of capital letters in a text can give...

Knowing how to use colons

There are many who consider the colon and semi-colon to be identical punctuation stop marks and use both without discrimination, while...

5 key steps for writing perfect emails

Today life is a bit of a rush, especially on the work front and mistakes are understandable but a hazard. Failure to check your work and...

English usage writing and myths

There are several myths about English grammar and typography that are widely held but have little or no validity. A few are discussed...

Pitfalls in writing

When writing, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, there are numerous pitfalls to avoid and what follows is just a selection of the most...

Analogies, metaphors, and similes – what are they?

Although there are similarities in their purpose, there are distinct differences between analogies, metaphors, and similes. Analogies An...