Contemporary as a Kind of Janus Word
Reasons to be mindful of the ambiguity of the word contemporary . . . Read More
Posts related to word choice
The Danger of Deploy
Deploy is not a good synonym for use, utilize, or employ Read More
It is . . . that; or, How Not to Edit Jane Austen
The formula it is . . . that is common in academic writing Read More
When Not to Include
On the use of include to mean are . . . Read More
Overhedging
Some writers are timid—or pretend to be—about making a statement, so they hedge Read More
Former and Latter
There are many stylistic sins worse than using former and latter Read More
Critique versus Criticize
Claire Kehrwald Cook noted that critique as a verb “has not yet won full acceptance” Read More
Liberate Those Verbs!
Some phrases in English lengthen a sentence while adding nothing to its meaning . . . Read More
Does the MLA abbreviate United States as U.S. or US?
In its publications, the MLA uses the abbreviation US. (Practices among publishers vary, however, and it is not incorrect to use U.S. Whichever abbreviation you… Read More
Dictionary 101
Beware the spelling checker! Here's what you need to know about using a dictionary . . . Read More