It is . . . that; or, How Not to Edit Jane Austen
The formula it is . . . that is common in academic writing Read More
Posts related to writing tips
MLK Day the MLA Way
Martin Luther King Day? Martin Luther King, Jr., Day? MLK Day? . . . 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
Our school’s band is called the Marching Knights—is it a singular or plural noun?
Many collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on how they are used. As Claire Kehrwald Cook writes, “[I]f the collective noun denotes… Read More
Should sun, moon, and earth be capitalized?
When Merriam-Webster indicates that a term is “capitalized” or “usually capitalized,” the MLA capitalizes the term in its publications. When Merriam-Webster indicates that a term… 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