Dictionary 101
Beware the spelling checker! Here's what you need to know about using a dictionary . . . Read More
Posts related to writing tips
A Regrettable Shortcut: The Pseudo Conjunction With
The use of with as a pseudo conjunction weakens prose . . . Read More
Many or Multiple?
Multiple is often not a good synonym for many Read More
“Why Should We Sweat This Small Stuff?”
The notes posted here don’t concern small points . . . Read More
The Waste of Haste: Premature Introductions
A common type of jumble in prose results from premature introductions . . . Read More
A Regrettable Shortcut: Faculty Referring to Individuals
Faculty is one of a category of nouns that refer to groups of people as a body . . . Read More
Must quotations always be introduced with wording like “So-and-so writes”?
No. There are innumerable ways to weave a quotation gracefully into your prose. As long as the quotation’s purpose and source are clear, you need… Read More
Is it wrong to type spaces before and after a dash?
The appropriateness of spaces before and after a dash depends on various considerations: the typeface used, the medium (print, online), and so on. In the… Read More
Is it ever appropriate to use see or see also in a parenthetical citation?
The purpose of every parenthetical citation is to tell the reader to see a work, so the word see would almost always be redundant. See… Read More
The Italicization of Names like Facebook
At the MLA, we treat the web as a publication medium like others . . . Read More