4 great tips for writing sentences
Joe Moran’s First You Write a Sentence has some great sentences about sentences. Here’s a sampling of them, sorted by the lesson they suggest. 1. Slow down Moran writes: Most of us, when we write, march too quickly on to the next sentence. To write intelligibly is hard enough, so be sure you have done that […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for June 29: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. If the writer used a proofreader, they should have caught this obvious error. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.
Solve the right problem
“A great solution to the wrong problem will always fail,” says Nielsen Norman Group’s Sarah Gibbons in her three-minute video on “User Need Statements in Design Thinking.” Nielsen Norman Group consults on website usability. However, much of what Gibbons discusses applies to other written materials, too. User need statement Gibbons defines a user need statement […]
Describing an interview-based assignment to writers
Recently a company contacted me to write an interview-based post for its blog. I’ve often done this for blog posts that show off the expertise of the company’s staff. However, what was unusual about this request was that I’d need to interview experts outside the company for the post. The need to find external experts […]
One idea to a sentence
“One idea to a sentence” is the title of a section in Theodore Bernstein’s The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. It’s also a darned good idea for financial writers. Bernstein advises this approach for “those kinds of writing in which instant clarity and swift reading, which are other ways of saying quick […]