Category Archives: English

8 Tips to Improve Your Writing Style

April 30, 2008 by aaron
Your writing style is your voice on the internet. Do you speak like James Earl Jones or Napoleon Dynamite? Remember that your words on the page are all that stand between you and your reader. They should catch the reader’s eye and draw them in. The following tips will help you improve your writing style. Find your voice. While styles grow and mature over time, there should always be some continuity in your writing.
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8 Tips for Structuring Your Writing

April 29, 2007 by aaron
The structure of writing matters as much as the content because an overly loose structure is just as difficult to read and enjoy as badly written content. The following eight tips will help you to find your own specific writing style while providing a few “best practice” tips. These tips will apply to anything you write be it a blog post or dissertation. The introduction should be helpful and interesting. The first thing people will see in any type of writing is the introduction, and most people won’t read any further if the first couple sentences don’t interest them.
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8 Tips for Improving the Content of Your Writing

April 14, 2007 by aaron
The content of writing is separate from style and structure because content is what you write not how you write. The following tips apply just as well to academic essays as to blog posts, so feel free to cherry pick the suggestions that apply best to your writing. Pick an an interesting, significant topic. Too many times posts are done on something insignificant or unoriginal. It doesn’t really matter if you write a gorgeous tutorial or a powerful, inspiring and riveting essay if it just explains something most people already know about.
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How to use the elusive comma

April 18, 2007 by aaron

The comma has the most uses of any single punctuation mark making it one of the hardest for people to use properly.

The Basics:

  1. They join sentences and ideas.
    • I am going on vacation for the summer, and I hope it doesn’t end up like last year.
    • If you are happy person, life seems much better.
    • However, it is best to just do it.
  2. They aid reading and offset less important information.
    • Members, welcome! — If this does not have the comma then literally it is a command to the members to welcome.
    • However, no matter what your excuse is, it doesn’t change the fact that you were late.
  3. They separate adjectives and list items.
    • I was attacked by a big, angry dog.
    • Tom, Fredrick, Negussie and Andy play football every day.
    • I am going to the grocer, butcher and florist.
  4. They format numbers, dates, titles, and places.
    • 39,552,923
    • I was born on August, 22 1967 in Columbus, Ohio.
    • James Pratt, M.D., won the Nobel prize in medicine.
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The Apostrophe

April 16, 2007 by aaron
The apostrophe is one of the easiest punctuation marks to use–assuming that is, that people care enough about their feelings as to not misuse and abuse them. The Basics: The apostrophe has three valid uses: They show possession or ownership John’s apple Class’s books They indicate omitted letters and words. It’s (it is) Ya’ll (You all) They indicate the plurals of numbers, abbreviations, letters and words. 1990’s Ph.D’s f’s Beyond the basics Below are sentences that one may find in normal writing, and not all of the apostrophes are used correctly.
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8 Tips to Write Better Paragraphs

April 19, 2007 by aaron
Paragraphs are not just the thing you put five of in a longer essay, they are the unit of though and of idea. All things in life are made up of smaller things, and these smaller things are made up of even smaller things. In writing we begin with letters which combine to make words; words combine to make sentences; sentences combine to make paragraphs, and paragraphs combine to make things we don’t need to worry about here.
Read More ⟶

8 Tips to Improve Your Writing Style

April 30, 2008 by aaron
Your writing style is your voice on the internet. Do you speak like James Earl Jones or Napoleon Dynamite? Remember that your words on the page are all that stand between you and your reader. They should catch the reader’s eye and draw them in. The following tips will help you improve your writing style. Find your voice. While styles grow and mature over time, there should always be some continuity in your writing.
Read More ⟶

8 Tips for Structuring Your Writing

April 29, 2007 by aaron
The structure of writing matters as much as the content because an overly loose structure is just as difficult to read and enjoy as badly written content. The following eight tips will help you to find your own specific writing style while providing a few “best practice” tips. These tips will apply to anything you write be it a blog post or dissertation. The introduction should be helpful and interesting. The first thing people will see in any type of writing is the introduction, and most people won’t read any further if the first couple sentences don’t interest them.
Read More ⟶

8 Tips for Improving the Content of Your Writing

April 14, 2007 by aaron
The content of writing is separate from style and structure because content is what you write not how you write. The following tips apply just as well to academic essays as to blog posts, so feel free to cherry pick the suggestions that apply best to your writing. Pick an an interesting, significant topic. Too many times posts are done on something insignificant or unoriginal. It doesn’t really matter if you write a gorgeous tutorial or a powerful, inspiring and riveting essay if it just explains something most people already know about.
Read More ⟶

How to use the elusive comma

April 18, 2007 by aaron

The comma has the most uses of any single punctuation mark making it one of the hardest for people to use properly.

The Basics:

  1. They join sentences and ideas.
    • I am going on vacation for the summer, and I hope it doesn’t end up like last year.
    • If you are happy person, life seems much better.
    • However, it is best to just do it.
  2. They aid reading and offset less important information.
    • Members, welcome! — If this does not have the comma then literally it is a command to the members to welcome.
    • However, no matter what your excuse is, it doesn’t change the fact that you were late.
  3. They separate adjectives and list items.
    • I was attacked by a big, angry dog.
    • Tom, Fredrick, Negussie and Andy play football every day.
    • I am going to the grocer, butcher and florist.
  4. They format numbers, dates, titles, and places.
    • 39,552,923
    • I was born on August, 22 1967 in Columbus, Ohio.
    • James Pratt, M.D., won the Nobel prize in medicine.
Read More ⟶

The Apostrophe

April 16, 2007 by aaron
The apostrophe is one of the easiest punctuation marks to use–assuming that is, that people care enough about their feelings as to not misuse and abuse them. The Basics: The apostrophe has three valid uses: They show possession or ownership John’s apple Class’s books They indicate omitted letters and words. It’s (it is) Ya’ll (You all) They indicate the plurals of numbers, abbreviations, letters and words. 1990’s Ph.D’s f’s Beyond the basics Below are sentences that one may find in normal writing, and not all of the apostrophes are used correctly.
Read More ⟶

8 Tips to Write Better Paragraphs

April 19, 2007 by aaron
Paragraphs are not just the thing you put five of in a longer essay, they are the unit of though and of idea. All things in life are made up of smaller things, and these smaller things are made up of even smaller things. In writing we begin with letters which combine to make words; words combine to make sentences; sentences combine to make paragraphs, and paragraphs combine to make things we don’t need to worry about here.
Read More ⟶