Jean Reynolds's Blog, page 3

Roy Peter Clark Writing Tools

Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

We need to buy an extension cord, candy canes, tinsel, etc. for our Christmas tree.

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Roy Peter Clark has made a list of 50 Writing Tools that’s worth reading. If you’re serious about writing, you can learn a lot by reading (and pondering) one or two of his tools every day. Here’s the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JaNiIY3FL4rjVGhbwn3K_jQpHRM6DYWe/view?usp=sharing

I have two reasons for liking Clark’s tools so much. First, he knows what he’s talking about. Second, his crisp, concise style challenges you to think about what he’s telling you. You have to figure it out yourself – and that’s one of the best ways to learn about writing.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Avoid etc. in formal writing: it’s too folksy. Here’s a suggested revision for today’s sentence:

We need to buy an extension cord, candy canes, tinsel, and several other items for our Christmas tree.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Make It about YOU

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.  

Our principle concern this month is staying within our holiday budget.

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I wish I could remember who gave me this wonderful advice about writing: “Aim to write something that no one else could write.”

What does that mean? My friend Karen White (a superb writer) explains it this way: “If it’s already on the internet, don’t write it.”

Everything you write needs a perspective or experience that’s unique to you. That doesn’t always require I or me. It does require adding something that another writer might not have thought about.

Suppose you’re telling your readers how to bake a cherry pie. There are recipes all over the internet! Why would anyone be interested in your recipe?

The answer is that you know a trick that makes your pie better. Maybe you can make foolproof pie crust, for example.

Perhaps you can tell a story about discovering the magic ingredient or extra step yourself – baking with your grandmother when you were growing up, for example. (Stories are solid gold for writers!)

Picture courtesy of Ann Larie Valentine (CC License)

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

The correct word in today’s sentence is principal. (A principle is a rule. Notice that both words end in le!)

Our principal concern this month is staying within our holiday budget.  CORRECT

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What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Strain on My Brain!

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

Before we moved to Florida, we use to shovel our driveway after every snowstorm.

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Many ambitious writers believe that if you can just get the @##$%! grammar right, you’re going to be an effective writer. Sadly, that’s not true. Here’s a perfectly grammatical sentence from the Business Daily Review that – nevertheless – has a problem:

Abortion clinics and a doctor have launched a challenge at the Florida Supreme Court after an appeals court Wednesday rejected a temporary injunction that would have blocked a new law preventing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

First, it’s too long. More seriously, readers (at least the ones with a brain like mine) have to struggle to figure out what the sentence means.

I’m going to be folksy here and call this sentence a triple negative. A preventive measure was blocked, rejected, and challenged. Each step reversed the previous step. It’s like a shell game.

Be kind to your readers! Tell the story one step at a time.

Abortion clinics and a doctor have launched a Florida Supreme Court challenge. Florida has a new law preventing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That law started a chain reaction: a temporary injunction blocked the law and reinstated the right to abortion. But then an appeals court reimposed the 15-week limit. On Wednesday the Supreme Court accepted a challenge from an abortion clinic and a doctor who want to make no-limits abortions legal again.

Whew. (Incidentally, the Florida Supreme Court did reinstate the 15-week limit.)

Writing isn’t a contest to see who can cram the most information into a sentence. The goal is to communicate with your readers. The best writers are the ones who work hard to make things easy for their readers.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Make sure you put that final “d” in used to:

Before we moved to Florida, we used to shovel our driveway after every snowstorm.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Is “It’s me” Bad English?

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

We’re suppose to bring a gift for a needy child to the Christmas party.

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Did your English teacher teacher tell you that “It’s me” is wrong? (Mine did!)

In my latest article, I present some strong arguments for “It’s me.” Click here.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Today’s sentence needs one tiny change: supposed to. (Used to works the same way: make sure you put that “d” at the end!)

We’re supposed to bring a gift for a needy child to the Christmas party.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

The Meanings of Words

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.  

Joe’s pep talk enervated me, and I couldn’t wait to start writing the report.

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If you’re looking for ways to improve your language skills, you might enjoy this article: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/505154/25-words-don%E2t-mean-what-you-think-they-do.

It’s a clear and engaging discussion of some words that have tricky meanings: luxurious/luxuriant and loath/loathe, for example. 

But be warned! There are some traps here. Right off the bat, the author notes that literally is often used to mean figuratively: “I literally laughed my head off.” Umm…no, you didn’t. Your head is still nicely attached to your neck and shoulders.

That literally/figuratively confusion is often used as a sad example of the deterioration of English nowadays. I’ve also heard people from the UK complain that it’s yet another example of American disrespect for English.

To settle the issue, I headed for the Oxford English Dictionary, which traces the history of English words over the centuries. And what I discovered is that literally was first used to mean figuratively back in 1769 – in an English novel, not an American one.

Words change over time. I’ve stopped yapping about the widespread misuse of disinterested, for example. It’s supposed to mean “impartial”: you don’t have an interest, or an investment, in a proposal or program.

But today it’s often used to mean “bored,” and I’ve stopped worrying about it. We haven’t really lost anything: you can always use impartial, as I just did.

I recommend a healthy dose of common sense as you go through this Mental Floss word list. Some words have always been so confusing that they should never be used.

Nonplussed is a prime example: “I was surprised” (or “taken aback”) will do nicely. (That confusion is nothing new, by the way – I remember struggling with nonplussed back in the 1970s.)

The reverse principle is also true. If you know the difference between – say – luxuriant and luxurious, you’ll impress people like me who still care about those words.

I’m one of those dinosaurs who still reserve enormous for negative sentences (“enormous damage”). Enormity continues to have a negative meaning, but the expiration date on that definition is looming.

Have fun with these words!

                                       Photo courtesy of Emdot

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Enervated is the wrong word: it means drained or tired. The word you need is energized:

Joe’s pep talk energized me, and I couldn’t wait to start writing the report.

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

The Oxford Comma

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.   

Here’s a misnomer I hear all the time: shaving makes hair grow back thicker.

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What’s an Oxford comma? It’s the comma before and in a list. In the sentence below, there’s an Oxford comma after tea:

We served coffee, tea, and cake to our guests.

Students are sometimes told that God (or Moses, or someone) made a rule that the Oxford comma is wrong. (That happens to journalism students all the time.

No, it isn’t. The Oxford comma is a choice.

That comma is wrong if you’re writing for a newspaper or magazine. (If omitting that comma messes up the sentence, you put it back in.)

Here are some rules:

If you’re a journalist, you omit it.If you’re an academic, you use it.If someone’s paying you to write, you ask them their policy about that comma, and you follow it.If that comma (or the lack of it) causes a problem with a sentence, you fix it.If you’re writing on your own, you make your own decision.What you never (ever!) do is argue about it.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

A misnomer is an incorrect name. The word you need for today’s Quiz sentence is misconception or mistake.

Here’s a common misconception: shaving makes hair grow back thicker.

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

The Man with the Broken Jaw

Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

The mayor is a personal friend of mine.

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Here – courtesy of my friend Jenna – is an example of an indefinite pronoun reference.

The good news is that you don’t have to bother with the grammar gobbledygook. All you need to know is that he, she, and it are some of the trickiest words in the English language. (Strange but true!)

In today’s example, there are two men. Which one is having the surgery?

Here’s how I would fix the problem: The man is accused of breaking a State Trooper’s jaw, which will require surgery.

Take extra care with he, she, and it. Make sure your sentence is clear about who’s who. (And if you want to show off by talking about an “indefinite pronoun reference,” I’m not going to stop you!)

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

All friends are personal! It’s an unnecessary word.

The mayor is a friend of mine.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

What’s an “Indefinite Pronoun Reference”?

Here’s a excerpt from the New York Times that caught my eye recently. It’s from an article about what to wear to a wedding:

No matter what, “avoid predictability,” said Donnell Baldwin, a stylist in New York City. This may mean gowns with funky patterns, art-printed dinner jackets and eye-catching accessories like velvet purses or patterned pocket squares. 

It’s a confusing sentence because “predictability” could have two meanings. Baldwin could be saying that funky patterns and the rest are the answer to predictability – or that they’re examples of predictability.

The problem is the word this. This is one of the trickiest words in the English language. (Who knew?)

When you were reading “This may mean,” your eyes automatically started backtracking to find out what “this” meant. Aha! Predictability. So Donnell Baldwin was telling you that funky patterns are too predictable.

But wait a minute! Funky patterns aren’t predictable. So your brain had to make an adjustment. Oh – Baldwin was saying that funky patterns are a remedy for predictability.

I am not making this up. Your brain (and eyes) automatically start backtracking every time you see the words this or that by themselves. Grammarians call this usage an indefinite pronoun reference.

Happily, they also have a cure for it: never use this or that by itself. Always put a noun after those words: this advice, that idea, and so on. (Did you notice what I wrote in the previous paragraph? “Grammarians call this usage….” I was careful to put a noun after this.)

Here’s my fix for that sentence about “predictability”: 

This problem can be solved by gowns with funky patterns, art-printed dinner jackets and eye-catching accessories like velvet purses or patterned pocket squares.

Professional writers care about our readers. We want you to enjoy reading! So we avoid  sentences that require backtracking.

Quotation Marks Part II

 

Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.   

Here’s an interesting factoid about the late Queen of England: she was trained as a mechanic in World War II.

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Last week I talked about a common problem with quotation marks – the bad habit of using them to apologize for a word choice.

Today I have another lesson about quotation marks. I’m going to give you a simple rule about using quotation marks correctly.

Here it is: In the US, periods and commas always go inside. (Did you notice the word always?)

Here are a few examples:

When Janie came through the door, we all started singing “Happy Birthday.”  CORRECT

Although Mark liked the movie, he said he would have “drastically cut it.”  CORRECT

“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things.”  CORRECT

During my long teaching career, I discovered that many people routinely ignore the word always. After I explained that commas and periods always go inside quotation marks in the US, I would ask my class for the exceptions.

Hands would immediately go up, and I’d get answers like “Put the period outside if it’s an incomplete sentence.” “Periods go inside, and commas go outside.”

And I would say, “Does anyone know what always means?” The hands would go down, and there would be some sheepish looks.

Other countries have different rules. In 2015 I published an article about Shaw in a book published in England. I followed British rules for quotation marks and put some of the punctuation outside. But in the US, there are NO exceptions.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Ordinary words are always better than fancy ones. Fact is a better choice than factoid for today’s quiz sentence.

Here’s an interesting fact about the late Queen of England: she was trained as a mechanic in World War II.  CORRECT

Here’s a bonus: you don’t have to capitalize the word after a colon (unless the organization you’re writing for wants you to). She and she are equally correct. (When someone hires you for a writing task, always ask about house style.)

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Quotation Marks Part I

         Instant Quiz
Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer. 

The continuous delivery problems ended last week when the driver was fired.

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Today’s topic is scare quotes – quotation marks used to call attention to an unusual way to use a word. Here’s an example:

While I was reading about Charles Dickens yesterday, I “stumbled” onto something interesting.

People do it, but it’s like wearing a t-shirt that says, “I’m an amateur!” The pros don’t use scare quotes, and you shouldn’t either. The sentence about Charles Dickens is stronger if you omit the quotation marks:

While I was reading about Charles Dickens yesterday, I stumbled onto something interesting.  BETTER

I’ve always told my students not to apologize if they use an unusual word – or use a word in an unusual way. The pros do it all the time – and so can you.

Stand by your word choices! If it’s the word you want, go ahead and use it. If it’s not the word you want, find a better word.

Take a look at this sentence: “Jenny and Tom were wrapped up in each other.”

I doubt that Jenny and Tom were Scotch-taped together in shiny Christmas paper! Anyone can figure out what the sentence means: Jenny and Tom were deeply involved with each other. No quotation marks are needed.

I just read (and highly recommend) Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools,  which reinforces the point I just made:

Writing Tool #6: Play with Words
Play with words, even in serious stories. Choose words the average writer avoids but the average reader understands.

Excellent advice! Next week I’ll have more advice about quotation marks.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Continuous is the wrong word. It means “a steady stream.” When something happens often or regularly, the correct word is continual.

The continual delivery problems ended last week when the driver was fired.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go