10 Quick Tips for Using Adverbs

Adverbs are modifiers used specifically to explain, describe, and define the way actions occur. They’re…

Italics: The Dos and Don’ts

I spend a lot of my editing hours at ProofreadingPal dealing with wayward italics, so…

Quick Guide to Colons and Semicolons

Let's talk about two marks that set off complementary information, phrases and clauses without which…

3 Steps to Good Description

Two schools of thought have helped define the English lit attitude toward writing description since…

Guidelines for Quoting and Paraphrasing Part II

In today’s post, I’ll look at three potentially problematic issues related to quoting and paraphrasing…

Guide to Commas, Dashes, and Parentheses

The problem with having so many choices in punctuation is that often even experienced writers…

Nesting in Lists and Outlines

Let’s focus on the pre-writing phase of your project and how list making can be…

Guide to Style Guides

Students learn that in addition to effectively applying the rules of English grammar and usage…

Head Hopping: New Fiction Writers’ Mistakes

All too often, new fiction writers get excited by the different perspectives their characters have…

Quick Guide to Pronouns and Antecedents

Problems with pronouns and antecedents can significantly interfere with your readers’ understanding, so make sure…

Microsoft Word Guide: Using the Ruler for Indents

Let’s look at how Word’s built-in ruler automates the indentation of text, along with why…

Common Apostrophe Errors

While researching apostrophe use and common associated errors, I learned several interesting facts...

Control Your Tone with Your Mood

When it comes to the real nuts and bolts of writing, you’ll find it easier…

When Are Contractions Too Informal?

Use contractions whenever you want to adopt a conversational tone, contractions are the way to…

Don’t Buy Content Online: Reasons 1-3

Buying online content is not only unethical, it’s a terrible idea. You’re likely to get…

Utilized: The Latest Misused Word

Using and utilizing something are not the same. To utilize something means to take something…

Avoid Absolutes: Distracting & Easy to Disprove

When we’re writing a paper, report, or anything else we want other people to take…

Tips on Making Comparisons

We make comparisons all the time, but we need specifics to make them meaningful.

Is Wikipedia a Good Research Tool?

Since January 15, 2001, Wikipedia has been an informative, chaotic maelstrom of information online. Since…

Emphasize with Sentence Structure

Using sentence structure for emphasis does not get distracting even if you do it all…