The Write Place

Get Your Prepositions Right

April 26, 2012 – 5:26 pm Something that I notice almost every day -- whether I’m reading the paper, listening to the radio, or watching TV -- is the misuse of prepositions. A preposition is defined in my dictionary as “…a word governing a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element…”. ...

Tags: preposition usage, writing style

Posted in General | 44 Comments »

More Commonly Confused Words/Terms (4)

March 29, 2012 – 11:57 am Here's another one in my ongoing series about common errors used in everyday English. It’s another excerpt from my "list" of words and/or terms that I notice are commonly confused in everyday writing and speaking. Some of these words/terms are used in informal speech as "colloquialisms" but should not be used ...

Tags: common errors, mistakes, writing help

Posted in General | 67 Comments »

Avoid Redundant Words and Phrases

February 28, 2012 – 2:29 pm My dictionary defines “redundant” as meaning “superfluous; not needed…”. When writing in English, it is very easy to get into the bad habit of using two or three words when one will suffice. Redundant words and phrases are those that tend to make the language more complicated and cumbersome than ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 74 Comments »

More Everyday Writing Errors: Commonly Confused Words/Terms (3)

January 30, 2012 – 10:39 am This is another in my ongoing series about common errors in everyday English. It's another excerpt from my "list" of words and/or terms that I notice are commonly confused in everyday writing and speaking. Some of these words/terms are used in informal speech as "colloquialisms" but should not be used in ...

Tags: writing errrors, writing help, writing style

Posted in General | 57 Comments »

Writing Help Top 10 For 2011

December 29, 2011 – 6:14 pm Thanks to master of the online universe Google, total traffic to my writing help websites actually dropped in 2011. According to my latest stats, the total number of visits to my two primary “writing help” websites this past year was about 4.4 million (3.6 unique visitors), from more than 220 ...

Tags: apa, Letter Writing, mla, writing help

Posted in General, Letter Writing | 38 Comments »

Do You Find Texting To Be Vexing?

November 29, 2011 – 2:47 pm I recently had a somewhat heated discussion with someone I know about the “appropriateness” of people texting while they are spending time with another person(s). My position was/is that I find it rude and off-putting when I am with a person one-on-one and -- the moment there is the slightest ...

Posted in General | 32 Comments »

More Everyday Writing Errors: Commonly Confused Words/Terms (2)

October 31, 2011 – 9:37 pm This is another in my ongoing series about common errors in everyday English. Commonly Confused Words/Terms (No. 2) This is from my "list" of words and/or terms that I notice are commonly confused in everyday writing and speaking. Some of these words/terms are used in informal speech as "colloquialisms" but should not ...

Tags: writing errors, writing help

Posted in General | 40 Comments »

Everyday Writing Mistakes: Commonly Confused Words/Terms (1)

September 29, 2011 – 1:53 pm A few years ago, in the newsletter that preceded this blog, I published a series of short articles that clarified numerous words, terms and expressions that are commonly used incorrectly and/or inappropriately in everyday writing and speaking. There are quite a few of these words and terms to cover, so ...

Tags: writing errors, writing help

Posted in General, Letter Writing | 57 Comments »

Top 5 Writing Help Articles…

August 30, 2011 – 7:30 pm In addition to general writing information and letter templates, my main “writing help” website contains more than 70 articles that I have written about specific aspects of writing and publishing. The following is a list of the five (5) most popular of those articles as accessed by website visitors over ...

Tags: writing help

Posted in General | 8 Comments »

Try To Write (and Say) It Right…

July 31, 2011 – 10:23 pm I’ve never been one to be overly pedantic about English usage. I know that English is a living language that is constantly evolving. Nevertheless, as a person who works with the language each and every day, there are times when I just have to grit my teeth so that ...

Tags: word usage

Posted in General | 70 Comments »