A while ago I wrote a post about not starting emails with I hope you are well.
In everyday business writing, I counseled, there’s generally no reason to open with a reference to your reader’s well-being, particularly if you don’t know the person to whom you’re writing.
But coronavirus has... (Read More)
I got an email from the restaurant down the street offering me elevated comfort food in this time of crisis. I know, they were trying to make me feel better: If I order from them, I’ll feel as though I’m dining out and not standing at the kitchen counter in... (Read More)
The velocity at which data is created means that traditional methods of analyzing it are not sufficient.
Eighty one percent of youth who use tobacco products initiate with a flavored product.
These two sentences crossed my desk recently and gave me pause. Both include multi-syllable words that could be... (Read More)
The holidays are upon us and with them lots of opportunities to wish people well. Putting those wishes to paper correctly, however, can be tricky. Is it, for example, Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year or Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year?
Read these guidelines... (Read More)
All three statements use myself incorrectly. Here’s what the speakers should have said—and why:
Only one of the following sentences is correct. Which one is it?
Because you say to whom, you might think the second sentence—the one with whomever—is the correct... (Read More)
Here is a line of copy from a piece I was recently asked to edit: Make a list of the people who you will ask for help.
The who in the sentence should be whom: Make a list of the people whom you will ask for help.
The grammatical explanation... (Read More)
Jerry Seinfeld was interviewed about what makes a good joke, and a lot of what he said makes sense for all writing. So, kidding aside, here are three elements of a successful joke that make for successful copy, too.
Brevity “You’re always trying to trim everything down to absolute rock,... (Read More)
A social worker walks into a patient’s hospital room and says to the patient’s wife, “You have to move him tomorrow to an L.T.A.C.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the wife responds. “What’s an L.T.A.C?”
This exchange appeared in a recent New York Times article about health literacy—the... (Read More)
“In the past, chief executives might have waxed about paradigm shifts and bleeding-edge technology, but ‘journey’ has lately been the go-to word in corporatespeak.”
That line appeared in a recent Wall Street Journal article poking fun at the overuse of journey, which, according to the report, has appeared in the... (Read More)
