Viewing time: 5 mins. 4 secs. The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #102, which addresses when using jargon does and doesn’t make sense. The post first ran on Aug. 2/19. […]
Does using jargon ever make sense? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about readability statistics… I’m usually amused when people first learn about readability statistics. Their common reactions are: Shock:
How seriously should you take readability statistics? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a Slate article on fingerprint words… Have you ever heard the term “fingerprint word?” It refers to a slightly unusual word that
Do you use fingerprint words? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes You’ve probably heard the charge that many academics write badly. You may even have said it yourself! Here’s why… A group of doctors paid me to edit a report a few years back. Their work — not a medical study, but a document aimed at making a political point —
Why do so many academics write badly? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute Here’s why your company needs to stop worrying about “pretty” and start concerning itself with readability… Look at the graphic I’ve attached to this post. Can you READ it? I mean, beyond the attention-getting headline saying The Three Rules Your Competitors Don’t Know Yet.” Even though the email version
Readability is more important than “looks” Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you have enough sentence length variation in what you write? The biggest problem? Most people don’t use nearly enough very short sentences. Perhaps it’s time to consider the age-old question: does length really matter? I’m talking about writing, and sentence length of course. Let’s begin by taking a look
Are your sentences the right length? Read More »
Word count: 710 words Reading time: less than 3 minutes If you’re unfamiliar with readability statistics, here’s an introduction. And if you haven’t gone beyond the Flesch-Kincaid index, here’s a new idea for you… Did you know that in pre-Elizabethan times an average written sentence was 50 words long? Fifty words! Why? I’m guessing that
How to improve your readability… Read More »
Word count: 241 words Reading time: About 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I provide a link to a blog post by prolific writer Vivek Wadhwa. I want to thank my reader Edith Kurie
Speak fearlessly, from the heart… Read More »
Word count: 217 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence I read recently that I’d happily imitate. It shows how writers can have fun with numbers…. I’m pretty much allergic to math. I passed Math 12
Playing with numbers Read More »
Word count: 743 words Reading time: 3 minutes Have you ever struggled with the passive voice? Here is a tip for avoiding that problem. Readers ask me about grammar, a lot. I don’t quite know why. I’m not the Grammar Girl or anything. I make more than my share of grammatical mistakes. And my wonderful
Why you should look for a spell of bad weather Read More »
