Punctuation isn’t just minutia—it shapes tone and clarity. Let’s analyze the suspensive hyphen, which is supported by major style guides and helps simplify compounds.
Articles Tagged writing tips
Hyphenation Headaches: Navigating -ly Adverb Rules
Should “cost effectively” be hyphenated? Learn the rules for compound modifiers, -ly adverbs, and hyphenation from The Chicago Manual of Style and beyond.
One House, A Third Writing Process: A Video Essayist’s Approach
A third member of the Brenner household, Sean, describes how his unique writing process merges his parents’ styles and is shaped by video storytelling demands.
One House, Two Writing Processes, Part 1: Getting Started
Discover how two writers—an editor and a journalist—navigate their unique creative processes, starting with idea generation, brainstorming, and research!
Making Sense of Title Style Rules
When you copyedit for different clients in different styles, it’s important to note the specific rules of each style, such as how to capitalize titles of works.
To Have and to Receive: Two Usages of Have
As a main verb, “have” is one of the most common lexical verbs in English. Learn about how emphasis can shift the meaning of “have” and thus, your sentence.
Such Examples as These
Lots can be learned from the experiences of others. An editing forum sparked this deep dive into using a comma for restrictive and nonrestrictive phrases.
Maybe, May Be Not: Don’t Sweat the Difference Too Much
The English language is fluid and constantly shifting with the times. This may result in the occasional grammatical error, but not all errors are worth a fuss.
Caroling the Lie/Lay Distinction
The distinction between the words “lie” and “lay” can be confusing for both writers and editors. Let’s break it down using well-known holiday carols.
On Account of My Pet Peeve
I’m not usually peevish about language use, but “on account of” is a pet peeve of mine. Here’s why it’s okay to use it anyway.
