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Category Archives: Flair & Finesse
Oldies but Goodies III
To round out the year, let’s review a few more issues presented in 2015. Historic or historical? 1. The visiting scholar’s insights into today’s media contained a surprising number of (historic/historical) references. 2. The town’s (historic/historical) vote 30 years ago to … Continue reading
Oldies but Goodies
As we round out 2015, my next posts will give you another crack at improving a few sentences selected from the past year. Good luck with your review test. 1. If your going to consume a record amount of hors … Continue reading
Errors That Make Readers Grumpy
What are some common errors in writing or speaking that irk you? Some folks can’t stand “irregardless.” Others grind their teeth when “I” or “myself” is incorrectly substituted for “me.” And “very unique” has its legion of groaners. Other language … Continue reading
To Be or Not to Be
So was Hamlet confronting an existential moment … or just contemplating grammar? He probably was composing an email and noticed how often he’d relied on the unexciting verb “to be” (“I am,” “you are,” “she will have been,” “they were,” … Continue reading
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Tree-mendous
A certain presidential candidate is fond of the word “tremendous.” (A few days ago I heard him use it five times in 20 seconds.) So does the failure to use fresh language disqualify a candidate for high office? Even a … Continue reading
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Making Subject Lines Pay Off
Last week (http://www.normfriedman.com/blog/scary-emails/), we talked about common failings in email correspondence. This week, as promised, we’ll home in on an area where many emailers can easily enhance their skills: the composition of subject lines. Do you allocate a few seconds … Continue reading
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Scary emails
Let’s do some ghostbusting today and identify common email failings that can spook our readers. Identify lack of courtesy or efficiency in the following exchange. Hazel Witch … Continue reading
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The Whisker Metaphor
No, I’m not above pandering, so this week – in addition to targeting folks who care about perfecting their writing – I’m going after the Internet’s cat-crazy crowd. The word that pertains to both groups? “Whiskers.” In my workshops I … Continue reading
Paper Cuts II
As noted last week, observing what newspaper and magazine writers are doing to inform and entertain us can be quite instructive … while catching their occasional errors can bolster our confidence. I know I felt pretty smug when I read … Continue reading
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Paper Cuts
The daily paper serves as a living textbook on writing, but we all know that even the pros slip up once in a while. Here are a few gotchas from the past week. The sports page These two sentences appeared … Continue reading
Posted in Brevity, Common Grammar Errors, Flair & Finesse
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