Obviously, the education we get in school and college is important, but some things simply get in the way. One obstacle to good writing is that once we leave school, we need to begin to write for completely different purposes, and old habits tend to die hard. In our professional lives, we write to inform, to(…)
It’s often said that the first step to writing well is to imagine yourself as the reader. Whether you’re writing an article for a magazine, a memo for your colleagues, or a short advertisement on Craigslist, before you start, stop and think about your typical reader. Picture your reader actually reading the piece you are planning(…)
You can tighten up your writing by getting rid of unneeded words. Here are a few examples: Advance planning. Just say planning. Isn’t all planning done in advance? Past experience. Past adds nothing to your sentence. Absolutely essential. It’s either essential or it isn’t. What’s the difference between essential and absolutely essential? Predict in advance.(…)
Writers who are pressed for time sometimes make hilarious mistakes — particularly when they are writing headlines. It is important to check your writing to make sure that your sentences are unambiguous. Here are a few examples of ambiguity: Kids Make Nutritious Snacks Iraqi Head Seeks Arms Milk Drinkers Are Turning to Powder Panda Mating(…)