Prepare to Proofread with a Power Pack

Whether you are back at your regular desk or still working from the kitchen table, take a look around your current workstation. Are you prepared to do your best proofreading? Are your proofing props in place? What environmental changes will facilitate letter-perfect proofreading where you work? Read more

Thank-you Note Writing: Make a List and Check It Once

Since January 1, we have used this blog space for discussing gratitude and the act of writing regular thank-you notes. Several of you have joined our community in the challenge of writing one thank-you note a day. I hope it is going well for you, and I want to pass along a simple idea a reader shared last week: Read more

Examples of the TBA Thank-You Note Writing Formula

Last week’s post rang true for many of you. Thanks to everyone who gave a “thumbs up” or commented—and a special thanks to all who committed to this habit in 2021. As a reminder, I’ve pasted a portion of it below: Read more

One Powerful New Year’s Writing Aspiration

For the past few days, I’ve heard a lot of voices saying, “I’m not really into new year’s resolutions” or “I’m not really a goal-setting person” or “I don’t make resolutions because they never last.” I guess I understand where they are coming from, but I’m the opposite. Read more

Pluralizing Last Names: The Most Popular Question of the Week

It won’t be a huge surprise that the question I have received the most this week through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter concerns addressing Christmas cards. Read more

A Blooper in the Society Pages: “Couple”

In recent weeks, several readers have brought up one of my most cringe-worthy grammar peeves: using the incorrect subject-verb agreement with couple. Read more

Bursting into Flames with This Week’s Wacky Word

Keep the “wacky words” coming! Thanks to all of you who have been commenting and adding to our wacky-word conversation these past few weeks. Please continue to post your questions and share your examples. This week’s winner is inflammable. Read more

Purge this Wacky Word from Your Vocabulary

Thanks to all of you who have been commenting and adding to our wacky-word conversation these past few weeks. Please continue to post your questions and share your examples. Meanwhile, get ready to purge this week’s wacky word from your vocabulary. See if you can spot the culprit in these sentences: Read more

Wacky Word Choice: Conversate or Converse?

Thanks to all of you who have been commenting and adding to our wacky-word conversation these past few weeks. Please continue to post your questions and share your examples. This week’s winner is conversate. Read more

Wacky Word Choice: Do You Go “Over” a Bridge?

Following virtual training sessions on Write It So They Read It: Technical Writing for Non-Technical Employees or Proof It! How To Be a Better Proofreader, participants send me questions about grammar and writing and punctuation they encounter at work. For the next four weeks, I’m reaching inside the figurative mailbag to answer questions from readers. Please tag me with your pesky punctuation or confusing word choice question, and I’ll be sure to answer. Read more