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Author Archives: Norm Friedman
Summer Reading IV
Let’s continue our laid-back August tempo with another brief quiz you just might ace. Make your picks. 1. Now that I have pored/poured over the materials you sent me, I feel more confident about my interview next week. 2. The idea … Continue reading
Summer Reading III
Remaining in vacation mode, let’s look at a few more word pairs and a chance to ace another quick quiz. Make your choices. 1. If no one is adverse/averse to extending the meeting, let’s tackle one more item. 2. My … Continue reading
Summer Reading II
Continuing our relaxed pace for the last full month of summer, here is another brief quiz. Make your choices. 1. Jill’s poetic captions exquisitely complement/compliment Jerry’s gorgeous photographs from their Canadian Rockies vacation. 2. I love the pieces I bought … Continue reading
Summer Reading
Let’s mark the beginning of the last full summer month with some light subject matter. Grab a lemonade and tackle August quiz #1. Select the correct word. 1. I blame all the back-and-forth email as the (principal/principle) cause of the mix-up. … Continue reading
Posted in Commonly Confused Words
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Watch Your Step II
Last week we discussed a few handle-with-care issues pertaining to the word “impact” – including the irony that although the word seems inherently compelling, it can be vague. Now let’s look at examples of two other commonly used adjectives that … Continue reading
Writing with “Impact”
“Impact” is a highly useful, compelling word, but it requires some special handling. Let’s examine four issues. 1) “Impactful” is in the dictionary, but it made its appearance there relatively recently, and some folks consider it nonstandard. You may want to avoid … Continue reading
A Matter of Degrees
Each of these sentences expresses comparisons – and each can be improved. What edits would you make? 1. Ruth is one of the most passionate, creative, and wisest committee chairs we have had. 2. Of High Street or Lincoln Road, which … Continue reading
Priorities II
As promised, here is the continuation of last week’s post about the many writing goals that start with “P.” We have already noted that we want our writing to be precise in language choices and pointed in organization. We benefit from a patient … Continue reading
Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone
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Priorities
You may have noticed how many of our writing objectives start with “C,” such as clarity, correctness, conciseness, consistency, and creativity. We can even add credibility and confidence, the outgrowth of continual improvement in mastering those goals. But have you ever thought about … Continue reading
Posted in Flair & Finesse
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Bringing Your “A” Game
On occasion, I’ve referred to the “alarm system” each of us should continually expand to catch writing errors. Or if you prefer a different metaphor, you may want to make sure your “antennae” are properly tuned. Here are a few … Continue reading