Essay Advantage

Conveying meaning in writing

Published on 5/10/2009

from The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs & Pictograms by Andrew Robinson, Thames and Hudson publishers.

from No Uncertain Terms: More Writing from the Popular "On Language" column in the New York Times Magazine by Willaim Safire

Published on 11/20/2008

I love these columns even when I disagree or am disgusted by Safire. If you've never read this column, check out one of these book length collections. It is just such a joy to hang out with someone who loves language this much.

Prepositions

Published on 11/9/2006

Pronouns

Published on 11/9/2006

Tips on Avoiding Plagiarism

Published on 11/7/2006

Plagiarism is to writing what steroids are to baseball. Plagiarism can sink your academic career. Find out how to avoid this trap.

Writing versus everyday speech

Published on 7/28/2006

What sounds fine in everyday speech is not always acceptable in formal writing. This holds true for vocabulary ("he committed suicide," not, "he blew his brains out"), phrases (no cliches like "cream of the crop," or, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"), but also syntax (word order).