Posts Tagged writing style
January 17
Academic English Cafe
There’s a new-ish English website to play on. Most of the readers of this blog will get something out of the Grammar and Writing Quizzes and the Vocabulary Builders page. (The advanced vocabulary page actually gave me a bit of a challenge; never heard the word “chary” before.) I highly recommend the Academic Writing page, [...]
October 11
Sweet Conclusions
The ending of an essay is just as important as the beginning. Why? you say. It’s the end. We’re all done. There are no more points to make. Yeah, it’s all been said, but an essay without a conclusion is like a telephone conversation where people hang up without saying goodbye. Or – worse – [...]
October 04
Introductory Paragraph Formula
My students often assume there’s some sort of magical formula for writing introductory paragraphs, or some other ethereal concept which will protect them from their teachers’ criticism. There are many, many formulae, but – quite honestly – I don’t recommend them. When students attempt to use a traditional formula, the writing is rather weak. Introducing [...]
July 19
The Esteemed Semi-Colon
As most of my teaching time is spent tutoring, I am generally not concerned with unnecessary details: if the writing is clear and well-formatted, I’m happy. I’ve changed my mind about what is “unnecessary”. Formerly, I didn’t require the use of semi-colons. Periods and commas were acceptable, and I figured there was no sense in [...]
January 25
Making Lists
Lists are informal things. They’re scrawled on bits of torn paper, inscribed on the palm of a hand with a ballpoint pen, scratched inside a paperback novel. They involve the nitty-gritties of life: food, must-dos, dates which – if forgotten – will cause chaos. When lists are used in formal writing, they must be… formalised. [...]
January 11
Academic Writing: How to Read and Write Scholarly Prose
Before we start, I should warn you: this book is out of print. The prices for a second-hand copy are probably not within the budget of the average student. Hightail it to the library and grovel at the feet of your librarian. Janet Giltrow has written several book on academic writing, including Academic Writing: An [...]
December 28
Royal Fireworks Press on YouTube
After watching for almost an hour, I have decided this YouTube channel presents several worthy points for consideration. These videos are taken from lectures for teachers; I think it’s equally important that students understand why formal writing is necessary for their education. Royal Fireworks Press is a publishing company which focuses on books for teaching [...]
October 05
Insect Repellant
Q. Should people who cannot grasp the difference between it’s and its be allowed to vote? A. No. Q. What about people who say, “Between you and I”? A. We favor execution without trial. (Dave Barry, “Mr. Language Person’s Tips,” 28 Jan 1996) (Note: If you wish both to exercise your right to vote and [...]
About Author
I'm Sheila van den Heuvel-Collins. Currently, I am the primary blog
writer. Please feel free to contribute writing tips and ideas by
commenting on the blog entries.
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