Writing basics

Acronyms and initialisms

Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations – convenient ways of avoiding having to write out (sometimes long) strings of words. Some are so...

Best practice content writing

By using this best practice content writing guide anyone can profit from a faster rate of output, better quality and higher readership....

Winning writing strategies

Writing can be difficult, and sometimes you’ll have a hard time coming up with ideas, getting your ideas down on paper or...

Writing tips, exercises and techniques

Learning how to write well-composed English documents can be difficult. If you want to improve your English-language writing, follow the tips below....

Writing composition techniques

You can use a variety of writing composition techniques when composing a document to engage your audience and keep them reading until...

Writing a paragraph

Essays, reports, letters, manuscripts—they’re all different types of documents, but they all have one thing in common: they’re all formed using paragraphs....

Basic English communication skills

Communicating clearly is important whether you are communicating with your boss, a colleague, a teacher, or a personal friend. Unclear, vague communication...

Basics of English Grammar

Although English grammar can be complicated and tricky, there are a few simple rules that form the basis of everything you need...

Basic English punctuation

Punctuation is a very important part of English grammar. Even though you may know all the parts of speech or how to...

Basic English parts of speech

When learning English grammar, it’s important to know about the different parts of speech that make up the language so you can...

English writing techniques

You can use several different writing techniques to make your writing more engaging and exciting– and keep your audience reading until the...

Online editing: How does it work?

Many of us began writing and editing documents before the introduction of computer-based tools and programs to help with such tasks. Thus,...

Clichés

At the end of the day, you can’t please everyone, but it goes without saying: clichés are boring. Although you can’t teach...

Commonly confused words

Many words in the English language sound alike but have different meanings and different spellings. Below we’ve listed some of the most...

What happens during editing?

Once you’re finished writing a paper, you may need to have someone edit it for you. However, if you’ve never had someone...

English writing exercises

The best way to improve your English writing skills is to write every day, or at least as regularly as possible. But...

Basic English sentence structure

All the parts of speech in English are used to make sentences. All sentences include two parts: the subject and the verb (this...

Proofreading marks and symbols

Although a significant amount of editing and proofreading is now done using tools such as Microsoft’s track changes feature and Adobe’s commenting...

English (UK) grammar exercises

Learning English grammar and punctuation can be difficult. The exercises below complement our articles on English grammar that cover parts of speech...

When do I use semicolons instead of commas?

Many people wonder when to use a semicolon instead of a comma. Some specific rules will help you determine which of these...

Reducing wordiness in your writing

When you’re writing, it can be tempting to write the same way you’d speak, in an informal manner. However, for most forms...

How to edit PDFs

The easiest way to edit a PDF file is to use the free Adobe Reader DC program. If you don’t already have...

Proofreading, editing and rewriting

It can be hard to know whether you need proofreading, editing, or rewriting. Each type of service involves a different level of...

Who or whom?

Many people wonder about the correct use of the word ‘who’ as opposed to ‘whom’. This can be tricky even for native...

What dash to use?

It may be confusing to know what dash to use – whether a hyphen (-), an en dash (–) or an em...

What is a dangling modifier?

You may have heard about dangling modifiers, or someone may have told you that you use them in your writing. But just...

What is a preposition?

Some of the most common words in the English language are prepositions. But just what is a preposition? Prepositions connect nouns and...

What is an adjective?

One of the many parts of speech in the English language is the adjective. Why do we use adjectives, and how can...

What is an adverb?

The English language has many parts of speech, some of which can be slightly confusing. One of these parts of speech is...

What is an Oxford comma?

You may have heard arguments about whether the Oxford comma should be used in writing. Many people have strong feelings about this...