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Posted: Jan. 15th 2015

Words matter. Whether you are writing a dissertation or a short story, you must choose your words carefully.

Why?

Posted: Jan. 6th 2015

Professional Editor's Corner: This or That? Take 2

1. Aggravate or Annoy

To aggravate is to make worse or more severe. To annoy is to bother.

If we hug her and tell her how sorry we are, we’ll just aggravate her loss.

You annoy me when you jump on the bed while I’m studying.

2. Attain or obtain

Posted: Dec. 1st 2014

In a previous article, we learned that verbs can function as NOUNS (gerunds). Today, we’ll learn how to make verbs into ADJECTIVES (words or phrases that describe). Now you might wonder why we would be so cruel as to force verbs to do more than one job, that is, to wear multiple hats. The answer is simple. We want more bang for our buck. Like all consumers, we want variety. Choice. But we don’t want to pay more. So we do some repurposing.

Posted: Nov. 14th 2014

In my last post on Admissions Essay Writing, I explained that winning essays require not only perfect grammar but also honesty, individuality, and imagination. I discussed individuality last time. Here I will discuss imagination.

Whatever the topic, your admissions essay is a story. As such, it must possess many of the same characteristics as fiction.

1. Your essay should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Posted: Nov. 5th 2014

In my last post on Admissions Essay Writing, I explained that winning essays require not only perfect grammar but also honesty, individuality, and imagination. I discussed honesty last time. Here I will discuss individuality.

Posted: Oct. 28th 2014

If you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for the continuation of my discussion of subordinate ideas and the dreaded comma, today’s your lucky day!

Posted: Oct. 20th 2014

Physicists emphasize starting conditions. Take a run-of-the-mill mechanics problem. You throw a ball. You want the ball to fly high and remain airborne. You need to counteract gravity pulling the ball down and drag holding it back. These external obstacles are mostly outside your control. What you CAN control is initial velocity (part of which is throw angle). How fast and how high you shoot determines the distance it travels and time it remains aloft.

Posted: Oct. 13th 2014

Some argue that every story has already been told. Indeed, finding truly novel facets of experience to explore is challenging. What can you do? Tell ‘old’ stories differently. Shakespeare did. For Romeo and Juliet, he revamped an Italian precursor. 

Let’s look at options.

POV

Posted: Sep. 29th 2014

The comma, if used improperly, can kill you. Or at least your job prospects.

Posted: Sep. 22nd 2014

Imagine you have a piece of writing you need help with. You start surfing the Web, and you find a company that offers Professional Proofreading Services, Professional Editing Services, and Copy Editing Services. You think, “Aren’t proofreading, copy editing, and editing the same?” No. There is some overlap, but the focus differs.

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