Stinging quotes from “Do I Make Myself Clear?”
Harold Evans wrote some great lines against bad writing in Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters. Here are some of them, organized by topic. If you can avoid making the mistakes he highlights, you can live up to his statement that “Good writers breathe a kiss of life into old dead facts.” I love […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for March 19: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? There’s more than one problem this week. Please post your answer as a comment. Here’s a clue to one of the mistakes. Some words are commonly confused with other words that sound similar, but have different meanings. If you can’t find the […]
White papers: Can a non-scientist write them?
White papers are great marketing tools, but writing them can be intimidating. White paper question Here’s what one reader asked: I’m curious if other readers of your newsletter have similar thoughts / questions about white papers that I do….I’m a little intimidated by the idea of writing a white paper because in a past job […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for March 12: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. Once again, here’s an error in a major newspaper. I suspect that text, such as headlines and captions, that isn’t written by the reporter may be particularly prone to […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for March 5: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the Mistake Monday image below? Please post your answer as a comment. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading. There’s more than one way to rewrite this week’s example. What’s your suggestion?