What Is the Serial (Oxford) Comma, and Why Do People Care About It?
Perhaps you’ve heard about the serial (or Oxford) comma, and if you have, it might have come with intense opinion. I can’t think of a grammar topic accompanied by so much insistence that the other side is wrong. People like what they like, and when it comes to a serial comma, they’re not going to read more…
What’s the Difference Between Elicit, Illicit, and Solicit?
This month’s tip is about three words that are often confused, thanks to a pair of homophones and each word ending in the same five letters. The words being dissected today are elicit, illicit, and solicit. All three words can be found in medical writing, so keeping them straight is important! Let’s dig into them. read more…
Subject-Verb Agreement with Compound Subjects
This month’s topic is an offshoot of subject-verb agreement: how to make your subject and verbs agree when your subject involves more than one thing (a “compound subject”). That’s easy, right? Shouldn’t more than one thing mean it’s a plural subject and the verb should be plural? Sometimes, but not always. Let’s look at some read more…
When to Use A or An Before Acronyms
Today’s lesson is a quick tip about how to choose the correct article (a/an, called “indefinite articles”) before an acronym. These articles are occasionally swapped, and it’s easy to see why! Choosing the article may seem simple based on whether the acronym stars with a consonant or vowel, but usage depends on how the subsequent read more…
How To Use Commas with Adjectives
It’s been a while since I wrote about commas—those confusing little punctuation marks that seemingly everyone has an opinion about. Because there are many ways commas can be used (and overused), I touch on the topic from time to time. This month’s topic is when—and when not—to use commas between adjectives. Adjectives modify or describe read more…
Inclusive Writing: How to Use Person-First Language
Inclusive writing and inclusive language are topics that have become more popular among editors and writers, and for good reason—people want their readers to feel seen and respected. So how do you write inclusively when there are so many opinions out there? There’s no one answer, so this lesson is the start of a series read more…
What’s the Difference Between If and Whether?
I’m back to the subject of conjunctions (you know…those things that link parts of sentences together). This time, rather than focusing on conjunctions and punctuation, this post is about the difference between two similar conjunctions: if and whether. As a disclaimer, these tips are for formal, technical writing—not everyday speech or fiction. So don’t beat read more…
Less Is More: How to Keep Your Writing Clear and Concise
Whether we actively think about it or not, an important part of writing is making sure readers understand what we’re saying. So this month’s lesson is a little different than usual. Rather than focusing on a specific punctuation mark, grammar topic, or set of easily swapped words, this lesson tackles ways you can simplify your read more…
What’s the Difference Between Incident, Incidence, and Instance?
This month, I have yet another rousing game of Which word should I choose? Today’s potentially confusing words are incident, incidence, and instance. As I’ve gathered examples for this piece, I’ll admit that repeatedly looking at these three words makes my head spin. They’ve all morphed into the same word, and I’m doubting everything I read more…
What Is Subject-Verb Agreement and How Do You Do It?
This month’s topic is how to make your subjects and verbs agree. Think of yourself as a grammatical mediator—your job is to make everyone get along and play nice. This means singular subjects should have singular verbs, and plural subjects should have plural verbs. Sounds simple, but this can be surprisingly difficult once you add read more…