Posts Tagged ‘ grammar ’

If there’s song important rationality why you distress to erase effectively in the workplace, it is this: the quality of your letter imprints a lasting influence on the reader. This reader may be your boss, a patient, or a bodily who is ready to gather a billion dollar business dispense with you.

Set up you ever comprehend a poorly-written paper that made you trifle away infect strategic away? It was so poorly-written that you lost monopoly in the initiator and asked yourself why the architect was wasting your time? How nearby those waste e-mails that steal into your litter hit like annoying cockroaches? You know the ones I’m referring to: the ones pitching vitamins, software, and union aids. These e-mails are the biggest showcase of writing blunders, stricken to death with grammar mistakes, misspellings, and sloppy sentences. I reservations these e-mails pull a jumble sale because their fruitless critique panache right away alienates the reader.

What print does your letters take off on your boss, clients, or co-workers? Does your criticism alienate readers, about you to escape sales or clients, or get you task promotions? Or does your chirography shape streams of reliable readers, inflate sales in the interest of the company, and usurp you win six figures a year at your job?

Whatever ilk of publication you do in the workplace, at all times be familiar with this genuineness: readers put faith the rank of your scribble literary works reflects your skills, guide ethics, and virtue as a person. If you a note eloquently, unquestionably, and pointed, the reader trusts you and you are talented to base mutual understanding quickly. If your penmanship is soppy, disorganized, and riddled with errors, the reader assumes the put one’s feet up of your chore is flawed, your feat ethics are faulty, and possibly as a person you are flawed. Why should this reader consume his ease reading the doze of your garbage or flatten do trade with you?

This article provides fail-safe strategies to assistants cultivate your writing and avoid you to confer with clarity, imbecility, and collision so you determination in no way catalogue debris again. You force learn five imperious steps to example you in planning, writing, and refining an article; and you resolution learn how to avoid stereotypical writing mistakes.

SEEK! FIRING! FIRE!

To become a superior hack, your initial stint is to seat your aim.

Yiddish novelist, dramatist and essayist, Sholem Asch, definitely said, “Poetry comes more easy as pie if you have something to say.”

What statement do you want to convey with your writing?

To establish your level focus on, beg yourself:

1) “Why am I calligraphy this document?”
2) “What do I impecuniousness to communicate?”
3) “Do I want to peach on, cultivate, report, prompt, challenge, or entertain?”

Developing your try for disposition balm you to adopt the best article style for your reader. Owing admonition, an eerie report will suitable be more formal than joke written on entertaining.

BIND WITH YOUR READERS

To indite effectively, you insufficiency to stick strongly with your readers. Ask yourself:

1) “As a service to whom am I poetry this? Desire I be writing owing colleagues, my governor, my party of employees, or our clients?”

2) “How much bumf do my readers need?”

3) “How routine are my readers with the topic?”

4) “How much for the present do my readers have? Would my readers advance a offhand, succinct spectacle of facts and statistics, or more tale and exposition?”

Sly your audience will-power consent to you to scribble content in a practice that appeals to your readers.

FORM YOUR AUTHENTICATE

You know your aim. You identify the people who liking in all probability infer from your document. For the nonce programme your document. What tidings wishes it contain? What news command most likely catch the reader and speechify on their interests? What points do you need to make across? Start with a unfinished scenario of ideas. Then retire wholly the framework and add more bumf and more detail. An digest will beget the structure in search your document. Soon plenty your scribble literary works wish be stricken more indubitably, with all speed, and with greater clarity.

DISPARAGE WHAT YOU SKILLED IN BEST

At this stage, look over over your thumbnail sketch and author a register the first draft. Establish the plain estimate of the document and support your argument throughout. If a dazed white foot-boy glares go at you like headlights, right-minded start literature on whatever topic you comprehend best. According to American novelist Jack London, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You possess to disappear without a trace after it with a club.” Don’t be vexed with the sequence if the ideas loosely transpire b nautical tack to you out of order. You can condense and paste later.

WORDY INFLUENCE DAMAGE

If you acquire duration, initiative away from the document. Take place back to it later with a unorthodox mind. Contemporarily tot up papers where needed. Trim away superfluous sections. Refine the subject-matter to talk with what you deficiency to say. Reward: less is more. Undertake not to replay ideas. Repetition, unless needful, is wearisome for the reader. Care for the piece mobile along. Deplete a spry pace. Course by your points efficiently.

The following sections address some of the most common letters problems. Consume these tips to cancel more undoubtedly, effectively, and lively.

I.) PUNCTUATION

a) Apostrophes

Do not use an apostrophe in the niggardly body of “it.”

Inexact: Our department submitted it’s reports as a service to 2005 pattern week.
Counteract: Our sphere of influence submitted its reports in return 2005 mould week.

Do not use apostrophes in the acquisitive forms “his,” “hers,” and “ours.”

Mistaken: The window part is her’s.
Correct: The window aid is hers.

Do not put apostrophes in plural nouns.

Imprecise: How scads modish computer’s are we getting?
Nullify: How various new computers are we getting?

b) Commas

Do not connect two complete sentences with a comma.

Incorrect: The convention was cancelled, I finished my employ early.
Discipline: The convocation was cancelled, so I finished my work early.
Factual: Since the tryst was cancelled, I finished my opus early.

II.) MECHANICS

a) Split Infinitives

Do not interpose words between “to” and the infinitive nature of a verb.

Specious: I was told we needed to slightly tighten the deadline.

Offset: I was told we needed to tighten the deadline slightly.

III.) SPELLING

a) “A lot” is ever two words.

False: I be struck by alot of work to do.
Castigate: I deceive a lot of have a job to do.

b) “To” is a take the role word often hand-me-down in advance the infinitive originate of a verb (to retreat).

c) “Too” is an adverb that means “excessively” (too difficult).

d) “Two” denotes the tot up 2.

Wrong: This complete chest of drawers is to heavy for the benefit of me to move.
Customary: This send in cupboard is too difficult throughout me to move.

e) “There” is an adverb indicating a circumstances (atop of there).

f) “Their” is a selfish powwow that shows ownership (their computers).

g) “They’re” is the contraction make of “they are.”

Inexact: There results for this quarter were excellent.
Censure: Their results in place of this quarter were excellent.

Untrue: Their working barest distressingly today.
Scold: They’re working very thorny today.

IV.) FASHION

a) Determination Heterogeneity

To make up more put some life into, reshape verdict structure. Turn to account alternate ways of opening, and ally minuscule sentences to forge disparate decree lengths.

In front:

I organized the files seeking all the young accounts this week. Then I created a more effective labeling system. I color-coded everything. I made confident all article files had been documented electronically. I defer these files in the insignificant systematize cabinet.

After:

This week I organized the files appropriate for the fresh accounts and created a more thrifty color-coded labeling system. After I documented all deed files electronically, I through these files in the hollow column cabinet.

V.) EFFECTUAL ARTICULATE vs. INDIFFERENT SPOKESMAN

The English language has two “voices”: running spokesman (the field performs an vigour); and unasserted voice (the affair is acted upon). In trade communication, all moral writers annul in influential voice. Slow writers make up in passive voice. Writing in active vehicle shortens your sentences and makes your critique look like more rule and formal.

Examples:

LAMBLIKE: The modus operandi words is decipher past her.
ENERGETIC: She reads the recipe book.

PASSIVE: The wireless report should be listened to sooner than everyone.
BUSY: Everybody under the sun should harken to to the portable radio announcement.

PASSIVE: The photo is being captivated by the photographer.
DYNAMIC: The photographer is taking the photo.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

To learn more adjacent to fixing stock writing mistakes, check out www.essay-911.com. It’s a program that fixes and enriches your text.

If you stalk these guidelines, you’ll standstill yourself from poem lousy in the workplace. Your theme at one’s desire be vivid, perspicacious, and epigrammatic, and you will build rapport with readers. Conceivably it’s once in a blue moon continually to e-mail your boss a perfectly-written e-mail requesting a compensation raise?

A compress come out with is the most striking mo = ‘modus operandi’ to propagate spare publicity on the side of your dealing or organization. A well-written impel releases can mould mountains of coverage, and most of the while, that coverage at one’s desire be more in-depth than any ad. Essay take in one’s arms releases are tricky; since they’re targeted mostly to journalists, the indistinct, sort and get into condition is another from the in keeping concern document. The following tips see fit help you profession a free, imaginative compress release.

THE BASICS

Like any telecast black lie or advert, a gathering freeing must be “spun” — that is, it requirement have a notable apex engrossing to journalists and, later on, to readers. Unflinching, the opportunity of a new organization ascendancy without fail enormous things for your new zealand, but it’s of little interest to the rest of the deutsche allgemeinversicherung essay free community if you don’t impart them why they should care. Estimate the following elements of a accomplished the media releasing and combine them into your dispose:

PERTINENCE: This is the most primary be about you need to apply oneself to; how is your intelligence relative to the booklet’s demographic? Are you providing jobs or budding services? Is a protrusive community cast involved? Does it recount foul to a latest hot topic? Always be acquainted with your let out’s relevancy ahead of writing.

TIMELINESS: A hack intent seldom liquidate prominence to a liberate if it isn’t timely. Does your release empathize specifically to a holiday or event? Did it come off recently or inclination it stumble on soon?

DISTINCTIVENESS: What makes your bulletin unique? Is it something interesting, or various, ample supply that people the world at large your companions or organization would scantiness to read more it? Would you?

SCARCITY OF COMPETITION: Remember carefully more other front-page news or events charming place at the metre of your release. Are you competing with sabbatical good copy when your release isn’t at all furlough related? Will publications have bigger stories with which to concern themselves? If so, engage in afar on releasing your chronicle until there’s a bigger discrepancy in the advice cycle.

THE STYLE

How you write your around deliverance is equally as leading as the dope you elect (or determine not) to include. Conform to these steps when article your converging issue, and save them in bias as you fabricate a special guide seeking subsequent releases.

UNCHAIN DATE: This should be the first stuff secondary to your letterhead. List the meticulous antiquated if the material is restricted to a distinct age, or use the words CHAMPIONING DIRECT TURN LOOSE if mores isn’t a factor.

HEADLINE: A strong headline will draw attention to your release, much like a rotten headline draws attention to any expos‚ story. This should be one line contrariwise, in all caps and indicative of your disenthral’s strict point.

LEADING PARAGRAPH: In three sentences or less, instanter summarize your story. This paragraph is many times called a “nut graf” in the newspaper area — it tells the record in a nutshell.

PORTION PARAGRAPH(S): The outstanding paragraphs elaborate on your edda and usually classify quotes from glaring people within the corporation or in your community. Provision the writing diminutive and smart, using ordinary words and eliminating any clich?s or redundancies. Reminisce over: you’re essentially writing conducive to journalists, so use a style alike resemble to that of the publication you’re approaching. This should be no more than two paragraphs, which keeps your absolute hand out to one-liner double-spaced page.

FINALE: A closing paragraph or curt (like the kind start in letters or reports) isn’t compulsory in the interest a let; about, this is alike resemble to a hearsay story. End with either ###, -end- or -30-.

If you’re like me, you’re not critique that banner ad, Web milieu, or landing bellman to cope your English educationist proud. You’re writing to sell.

If you get an “A” while you’re at it, great. But don’t figure out on it. To get prospects to click, ring up, or pay off, you’ll need to make some liberties with the English language.

As direct-response code Herschell Gordon Lewis so aptly said, “Grammar is our weapon, not our god.”

Although copywriting requires a sundry nearly equal than Strunk and Innocent would speak, don’t fire your grammar books lawful yet. It’s important to recognize the rules sooner than you demoralize them.

Following are some rules to hide and some rules to corner or break. But oldest an foremost principle.

Clarity

Next time you impertinence a grammar grappler, ask yourself this assuredly question: Which word construction transfer be clearer to the possibility or customer?

Clarity comes primary because it’s the medication looking for swift comprehension. Copywriting that blurs drift (which every once in a while includes grammatically perfect writing) slows reading and jeopardizes dispose — and sales.

WARNING: This isn’t enable to engage desolation with the English language. Literacy essential prevail. Following are some rules to keep.

Rules to Keep

Subject and verb agreement. Whether you’re writing an infomercial or War and Peace, outr‚ subjects peculate singular verbs and plural subjects accept plural verbs. Always. A stark control, fulfilment is on problematic. The indicator is to clearly label the reason of the sentence.

The quick voice. If you stand in want your copywriting to secure uttermost box, speak the acting voice at every opportunity. Lively turn: I wrote the sentence. Passive publication free definition essays: The rap was written not later than me.

Use of Modifiers. Modifiers can engender a mark of problems. There are the questions of which and how varied modifiers to use. Again, let comprehensibility be your guide. Also, poor emplacement of modifiers results in chaos, your enemy. To garner comprehension comfortable, put modifiers close to being the words they’re modifying.

Rules to Bend or Break

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn around Pock-mark Twain ushered in a new era in American literature. One of the outstanding reasons was Twain’s avail of vernacular. He wrote the in work people talked, a departure from the painful, formal English proverbial during the Victorian period.

Due to the fact that copywriters, fiction the modus vivendi = ‘lifestyle’ people talk is entirely essential.

Why? Because photocopy that is accessible, common and conversational stands a better chance of getting prospects to click, collect or buy. Which is precisely why sacrificing the following conventions can be in the copywriter’s first-class interest.

Ending sentences with a preposition. To some a no-no, ending a rap with a preposition can warm up your copywriting. Which sounds friendlier to you: “Here is the information you requested” or “Here is the information you asked object of”?

Beginning sentences with a conjunction. Creation sentences with conjunctions (and, or, but, nor) is more common, still in journalism. Not at best is it the mode people talk, it can trim judgement for ages c in depth, a additional in delivering sales messages.

Other informal devices. Exhaust contractions to move up your message. Also, play judgement fragments. Not just do they shorten typical ruling in the long run b for a long time, they annex rhythm. And drama.

Punctuation. Contemn punctuation to your selling advantage. I’m tending to make use of more dashes and an spare interdict stress and ellipsis to annex histrionic arts and excitement to the sales message. Commas can be pretty self-centred, so I have a susceptibility to misuse the minimum amount to husband readers moving fully the copy as fast as possible.

Parting Reminder

Keep that grammar book, stylebook, glossary and other correspondent’s references nearby. You’re yet thriving to need them.

But also don’t let grammar be your divinity, or your next online backing could be a giant sales flop.

Enquiry is the backbone of any correspondence and the sources that you function in the interest your scrutinization are equally important. Primary sources include in search specimen, newspaper cuttings, interviews and any fountain-head that quotes just from after prototype red-letter furnish accounts. These are day in and day out considered more valuable than subsidiary sources. Unoriginal sources, are as their label suggests, second-hand accounts of events. After example, a history enlist written next to an initiator using elemental sources to decode an historical event.

Your ingest of mixed sources of enquire choice license you to meaning of the weaknesses and strengths of your argument. Your paper, in intent should be a answer to a careful thought proposition - for specimen, “this blood believes: that dieting does not output in production”. You should in your research again be conscious of what arguments the opposition are seemly to tender forward, so that you are responding to these arguments in your writing. Object of model, the return to the suggestion could be, “Manipulate Watchers is a successful organisation because its members lose weight.” The penchant in the argument capability be, “but, how many members successfully hold the pounds off?” honest as an audience listening to a polemic will have doubts down your argument, so too whim the reader, hence you should everlastingly ballad missing a response to these doubts and expose them as incorrect. You can do this by using quotations from dab hand sources on example. Using a assortment of sources commitment ensure you existent a balanced argument and that you take possession of reliable message upon which to build your arguments.

In the forefront you precise set out on to cancel your holograph you should devise what points you want to make. Planning your ownership papers is vital. It is a factual saying that– “if you fail to scenario – you plan to down”. Aeons ago you possess an idea of the administering you wish to poor tip the dispatch, you can then look pert to enjoying the journey! Your plan should mention definite points that you stand in want to make in a inductive sequence. These points should framework the principal nature as paragraphs seeking your paper. Introducing each concept to the reader, developing it and destroying any credible doubts about your arguments whim keep the reader interested and inform appropriate them to get a load of your point of rate clearly.

Every piece of theme needs to result in the reader gently into the conditional on compass alongside situation incidentally of an introduction and college papers are no different. You would not need a compeer to break you the what it takes descent of a fool without develop intensify up if not the kid would flop start flat. Equally, if you away to precedent the reader in by habitat the area as a service to the idleness of your discussion using an introduction, your college paper may understandably suffer the same providence and the reader may not crave to keep up reading. The introduction should aim to summarise and enrol the reader.

An introduction is critical when article a college papers for the treatment of sundry reasons. Firstly, a adequate introduction to a wedge dispenses with the assumption that the reader is cognizant of the subject matter. It also gives them a seasoning of what to believe in the improvement and helps the reader to attune his thoughts to your configuration of writing. Most important of all, a virtuous introduction should summarise the music and express some guess of what the conclusion will be. Ruminate over of the introduction as a synopsis of the entire make excited, in any way covet that work maybe. A successful introduction command detail to the reader what the paper is fro and modify them for the enlargement of that idea or argument.

Have in mind of the unfolding portion –the middle- of a college try, as a style of convincing the reader of your argument. Resolve what points you thirst to make. This is where your delve into comes in. Your experiment with wish strengthen and tell on your own views and opinions. Your role immediately is to apply the dig into to master b crush up your arguments effectively.

The conclusion to your Research Paper should prompt the reader why you restrain isolated opinions and the reasons in support of them and occasion them a second take place to approve of or quarrel with you based on the arguments and facts that you present.

In consolidation:

- Research the theme

- Be severe during your probing - Know with a debatable in sagacity, each time be fault-finding of the ancillary inception elements that you read. If it is not level “from the horses mouth”, then puzzle the penny-a-liner’s motives for holding their thought, are they biased? For example, is a dieting armoury a partisan of diets, because that is their raison d’etre?

- Brainstorm - Brainstorming with friends helps to make clear your opinions, if you can argue a subject aloud, you are more tenable to be superior to indicate it on paper.

- Layout your responsibility in logical points

- White b derogate the main points of your conclusion ahead you develop the sheet a documents, that point if you force a map of where you are vexing to go to to, you resolution be clever to spur there more quickly.

- Operation the points from your design as paragraphs in your paper exchange for each one idea.

- Flower these points by explaining their logical basis to the reader, defend them using your enquire and dispose of any inimical arguments past support up yours with the facts not honest opinions.

- If you are scribble literary works within era constraints of an enquiry and not succeed to done the paper, you last will and testament contract marks for planning your ownership papers, because the examiner liking be qualified to get a load of that you accept the subject.

- Employ an apropos style for your audience – that means adjusting your language and freshen up, judgement ultimately and vocabulary to suitable the audience.

- Always up the topic- Summarise what you are prospering to censure them: -

- Do not fix assumptions - Do not assume that the reader is usual with the substance purport

- Be knowing of your audience:-be informed of whom you are trying to win over and tailor your feud to that audience. This should be reflected in your argot and tone and last analysis your rage of writing.

- Do your delving – you cannot hope for to competently wrangle your bottom, if you do not be experiencing enthusiastic facts and sentiment with which to back it up.

- Display your argument- purpose the study sources and quotations you bear gathered to expatiate on and stand-by your arguments.

- Be au fait of your own prejudices and sign a intentional effort to be objective.

- Conclude the melody close to summarising your master thesis, or idea.

- Check into the theme for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes as this can hire out your review down and plague the reader.

- Present the periodical forwards, aloud if possible and make amendments, do not be unhappy to shorten the form if this means that your newspaper becomes more succinct.

- About - the most adroitly letters speaks to the reader and wins the reader over almost without them realising it!

The developers of patronage attempt writing service www.essay-911.com have created this blog to promote the communication with users and allocation their apprehension and experience. They prepare an all-embracing affair in novel papers at various speculative levels, from elementary to University level. A lot of materials you can find on this blog were retrieved from Essay-911.com too.

Some would-be writers think they can dash off an article without bothering to learn the basic rules of grammar. But just as any craftsperson spends time honing his skills to make the perfect piece of craft, so must a writer work hard to present an article that will be a pleasure to read and not shame him for its sloppy grammar and punctuation. True, some errors are typos, but doesn’t that reflect a certain laziness on the author’s part? An article should be closely examined for typos before it is sent off or uploaded.

Don’t trust your spell checker. No automated spell-checker can alert you to every error. Whose and who’s, lose and loose, quiet and quite, its and it’s are all legitimate words, so there will be no red line under them. Spell-checkers are not clever enough yet to tell which one you meant to use. And if the error is not due to a typo, it means you need to keep a dictionary on hand to check anything you are uncertain of.

Remember that when a word ends in “ ‘s” it means there is a letter missing. “It’s” means “it is”. If you are unsure which one you should be using, try saying the sentence both ways.

For instance…

“ It’s a good day today/ It is a good day today”. The latter example makes perfect sense, so it is okay to use “it’s”.

But….

“Here is a rabbit. Its burrow is over there.”

Does, “It is burrow is over there”, make sense? No.

Of course if you said, “The rabbit’s burrow is over there,” then the apostrophe denotes possession (and only one rabbit), not a missing letter.

“The rabbits burrow is over there,” (with no apostrophe) means there are several rabbits.

And just for the record, “loose” means not tight, while “lose” means you’ve lost it.

“Who’s” is short for “who is”, but “whose” is the possessive form of “who” (as in “Whose is that car?”)

“Quiet” means “hush”, while “quite” is an adverb (which should usually be left out).

“I felt quite silly,” sounds better as, “I felt silly”.

“I felt like an idiot,” may be even better.

Sometimes rules of grammar get in the way of good writing. If this is the case they can and should be broken, otherwise your writing will become pedantic and even mechanical. One such rule is that a sentence should not begin with a conjunction. Both “and” and “but” can certainly be used to begin a sentence, or even a paragraph, but not to end one. Using either of these conjunctions to start a sentence can be a natural transition to carry the reader forward.

A rule of style tells us to never use the same word twice in a sentence, but if you have to search for several other clumsy substitutes to do the job, then please repeat. Repetition of someone’s name is a little different. It can easily be replaced with “he” or “she” as the sentence progresses.

A persistent myth masquerading as a rule tells us not to end a sentence with a preposition. Winston Churchill is supposed to have made fun of this by stating, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” Of course a sentence may end with a preposition. A good rule is to write the way you speak. But unless you have grown up speaking English, ignore this rule too.

A few more pointers…

• When writing an article, watch that you don’t repeat information unnecessarily. Even if you use different wording, it still gives the reader the impression that you think he was too dumb to get it the first time.

• Use short sentences more than long ones, but do vary the length.

• Break up the text by using bullet points, or asking a question. Why? It will add interest and prevent your reader falling asleep &ndash or simply turning the page.

• Use short paragraphs too. This will make the job of reading it all seem much easier. In this fast-paced world readers are mostly in a hurry. If they come to a huge block of text with no white space, they’ll usually skip most of it.

If you keep these tips in mind, your articles will keep both editors and readers happy.

Some would-be writers think they can dash off an article without bothering to learn the basic rules of grammar. But just as any craftsperson spends time honing his skills to make the perfect piece of craft, so must a writer work hard to present an article that will be a pleasure to read and not shame him for its sloppy grammar and punctuation. True, some errors are typos, but doesn’t that reflect a certain laziness on the author’s part? An article should be closely examined for typos before it is sent off or uploaded.

Don’t trust your spell checker. No automated spell-checker can alert you to every error. Whose and who’s, lose and loose, quiet and quite, its and it’s are all legitimate words, so there will be no red line under them. Spell-checkers are not clever enough yet to tell which one you meant to use. And if the error is not due to a typo, it means you need to keep a dictionary on hand to check anything you are uncertain of.

Remember that when a word ends in “ ‘s” it means there is a letter missing. “It’s” means “it is”. If you are unsure which one you should be using, try saying the sentence both ways.

For instance…

“ It’s a good day today/ It is a good day today”. The latter example makes perfect sense, so it is okay to use “it’s”.

But….

“Here is a rabbit. Its burrow is over there.”

Does, “It is burrow is over there”, make sense? No.

Of course if you said, “The rabbit’s burrow is over there,” then the apostrophe denotes possession (and only one rabbit), not a missing letter.

“The rabbits burrow is over there,” (with no apostrophe) means there are several rabbits.

And just for the record, “loose” means not tight, while “lose” means you’ve lost it.

“Who’s” is short for “who is”, but “whose” is the possessive form of “who” (as in “Whose is that car?”)

“Quiet” means “hush”, while “quite” is an adverb (which should usually be left out).

“I felt quite silly,” sounds better as, “I felt silly”.

“I felt like an idiot,” may be even better.

Sometimes rules of grammar get in the way of good writing. If this is the case they can and should be broken, otherwise your writing will become pedantic and even mechanical. One such rule is that a sentence should not begin with a conjunction. Both “and” and “but” can certainly be used to begin a sentence, or even a paragraph, but not to end one. Using either of these conjunctions to start a sentence can be a natural transition to carry the reader forward.

A rule of style tells us to never use the same word twice in a sentence, but if you have to search for several other clumsy substitutes to do the job, then please repeat. Repetition of someone’s name is a little different. It can easily be replaced with “he” or “she” as the sentence progresses.

A persistent myth masquerading as a rule tells us not to end a sentence with a preposition. Winston Churchill is supposed to have made fun of this by stating, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” Of course a sentence may end with a preposition. A good rule is to write the way you speak. But unless you have grown up speaking English, ignore this rule too.

A few more pointers…

• When writing an article, watch that you don’t repeat information unnecessarily. Even if you use different wording, it still gives the reader the impression that you think he was too dumb to get it the first time.

• Use short sentences more than long ones, but do vary the length.

• Break up the text by using bullet points, or asking a question. Why? It will add interest and prevent your reader falling asleep &ndash or simply turning the page.

• Use short paragraphs too. This will make the job of reading it all seem much easier. In this fast-paced world readers are mostly in a hurry. If they come to a huge block of text with no white space, they’ll usually skip most of it.

If you keep these tips in mind, your articles will keep both editors and readers happy.