April Newsletter: This is where you’ll find my newsletter from now on!
Starting in May, this newsletter will be published on the first Tuesday of the month here instead of arriving in your email inbox via Constant Contact. I’ll also share it via social media. Set a calendar reminder for the first Tuesday of every month, and follow me on LinkedIn to increase the likelihood that you’ll […]
How do you spell it? “Out-performance” vs. “outperformance”
The browser’s spellchecker keeps tagging “outperformance” as a typo. I feel very annoyed when this happens because I believe it’s wrong. This spurred me to do research on the correctness of my assumption. The case for “outperformance” Here’s the evidence in favor of marrying “out” and “performance” so they’re one word: “Generally do not hyphenate […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for March 25: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This mistake is far too common in communications that I read. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.
March Newsletter: Comma or colon before a quotation?
I instinctively choose between a comma and a colon before a quotation. But I wondered if there was a rule that I should know about. I was happy to discover Grammar Monster’s “Comma or Colon before a Quotation?” The blog post features an easy-to-follow flow chart for picking a comma or a colon. The key […]
7 factors that affect reading ease
On this blog—and in my writing workshops—I’ve written about things that affect reading ease. I’ve focused on the average number of syllables per word, words per sentence, and sentences per paragraph. However, Harold Evans’ Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters, introduced me to a seven-factor list from Robert Gunning, creator of the fog […]