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Legal Writing

Daily Writing Tips

Are you trying to improve your writing skills? If so Daily Writing Tips is the right place for you. Featuring daily tips about grammar, spelling, punctuation, copywriting and more!

Post Frequency: 3.6/day

Last Entry: November 02, 2020 at 06:34:48

Here?s How to Treat Attribution, He Said

Posted on February 04, 2011
Attribution is the convention in composition of identifying a speaker or writer when you include direct quotes (which should be enclosed in quotation marks) or paraphrases. Original Post: Here?s How to Treat Attribution, He Said Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

5 Rules for Run-In Lists

Posted on February 02, 2011
When brief lists appear within a sentence -- technically, these are called in-line lists -- they?re often complicated by excessive punctuation. Original Post: 5 Rules for Run-In Lists Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

7 Examples of Passive Voice (And How To Fix Them)

Posted on February 02, 2011
The sentence construction ?(noun) (verb phrase) by (noun)? is known as passive voice or passive construction, because the true subject is relegated to the end of the sentence and is thus acted on, rather than acting, which often weakens the statement...

7 Tips for Overcoming Writer?s Block

Posted on February 01, 2011
A would-be teacher was assigned to tutor a boy who was not just reluctant, not just resistant, but actually hostile to reading. The first day, the tutor took the boy aside and asked him to read the first sentence of a book. Original Post: 7 Tips for Overcoming Writer?s Block Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

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5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors

Posted on January 31, 2011
I strongly advise against employing billboards to teach you proper English grammar and spelling, but you can certainly use them to learn what not to do. Original Post: 5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Emphasis for Epithets and Personification

Posted on January 29, 2011
Among the more colorful specimens of the human race you will find many who earned a sobriquet, or nickname -- what we word geeks call an epithet. Original Post: Emphasis for Epithets and Personification Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Let Your Wishes Be a Writing Prompt

Posted on January 28, 2011
In 1970, poet Kenneth Koch went into classrooms at a Manhattan elementary school and benevolently tricked children into realizing that every one of them was a writer. Original Post: Let Your Wishes Be a Writing Prompt Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

5 Ways to Set Smothered Verbs Free

Posted on January 27, 2011
Nominalizations are nouns formed from verbs. Not that there?s anything wrong with that; various parts of speech are transmogrified into others as part of the process of language. Original Post: 5 Ways to Set Smothered Verbs Free Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

100 Mostly Small But Expressive Interjections

Posted on January 26, 2011
They often seem disreputable, like sullen idlers loitering in a public thoroughfare, but they actually do a lot of hard work and are usually persnickety about the tasks to which they are put. Original Post: 100 Mostly Small But Expressive Interjections Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

How to Avoid Bias in Your Writing

Posted on January 25, 2011
Gender and ability bias in language doesn?t register for many people, but that?s often because many of them do not belong to the classes who have been subjected to the bias. Original Post: How to Avoid Bias in Your Writing Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

7 Sentences Energized by Elegant Variation

Posted on January 23, 2011
In one of the most recent tugs-of-war between qualitative practice and quantitative practicality, search engine optimization has been eroding the exalted status of time-honored elegant variation, the convention of avoiding wearying repetition of words throughout a sentence or a passage...

How to Refer to Time

Posted on January 20, 2011
It?s time to talk about time: specifically, how to write references to units of temporal measurement. This post will note style for increments from seconds to centuries. Original Post: How to Refer to Time Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Literally the Worst Mistake You Could Ever Make

Posted on January 20, 2011
If most peoples' employment of the word ?literally? doesn't drive you mad, you're probably guilty of a few misuses yourself. Original Post: Literally the Worst Mistake You Could Ever Make Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

The DWT Freelance Writing Course Is Live

Posted on January 19, 2011
As you probably know the Internet is growing faster than ever, and content is what fosters that growth. As a result there is a strong demand for writers online right now. Original Post: The DWT Freelance Writing Course Is Live Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Where to Place the Possessive Apostrophe in a Surname

Posted on January 19, 2011
You see them all the time during rural drives and suburban errands alike, those olde-fashioned wooden shingles mounted on mailboxes or dangling from porches or fastened to walls: ?The Smith?s? and the like?stark reminders that possessives still throw many people for a loop...

Use of Trademark Names in Fiction

Posted on January 18, 2011
A couple of years ago, a site visitor asked about the necessity of obtaining permission to refer to trademarked products by name in fiction. Original Post: Use of Trademark Names in Fiction Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

5 Examples of Extraneous Hyphens

Posted on January 17, 2011
Hyphens are helpful little things that aid in reader comprehension. Although confusion is not at great risk in phrases like ?sharp-dressed man? (though the omission of the hyphen suggests that the passage literally refers to a dressed man who is sharp) others, such as ?small-business owner,? can at the very least conjure distracting imagery if they omit the hyphen...

How to Style Titles of Compositions

Posted on January 15, 2011
Navigating the formatting rules about titles of compositions -- books and chapters, movies and TV shows, albums and songs, and the like -- can seem like negotiating a minefield. Original Post: How to Style Titles of Compositions Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Put Parenthetical Phrases in Their Place

Posted on January 14, 2011
?Astronomers say? is what?s called an attribution -- identifying the source of a comment -- and it?s often conveniently thrown into the middle of a sentence to provide this clarity. Original Post: Put Parenthetical Phrases in Their Place Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

10 Words for Categories of Words

Posted on January 13, 2011
Antonym, homonym, pseudonym. Do nyms make you numb? Here?s a handy guide to words, familiar or unfamiliar, for classes of words. Original Post: 10 Words for Categories of Words Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online

Posted on January 12, 2011
You want to earn a bit of extra money. Or you'd love to be a published writer. Or you're looking for an exciting and rewarding career. Whatever your reason, you've started to think about freelance writing online. Original Post: 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

7 Common Homonymic Spelling Errors

Posted on January 12, 2011
Homonyms are words that sound like, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Some of the most commonly confused pairs of words are illustrated in the following examples. Original Post: 7 Common Homonymic Spelling Errors Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Find the Right Word for the Job

Posted on January 11, 2011
One of the most effective ways to achieve a rich, expressive writing style is to strive to find the ideal words to express yourself. Original Post: Find the Right Word for the Job Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

5 Common Errors in Punctuating Appositives

Posted on January 10, 2011
For many writers, how to punctuate appositives is problematic. In this post I'll cover some common mistakes. Original Post: 5 Common Errors in Punctuating Appositives Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

Avoid Capital Offenses When Using Job Titles

Posted on January 08, 2011
When it comes to mechanical aspects of writing, few details seem to trip writers up as much as capitalization: when to use uppercase letters, and when to use lowercase letters. Original Post: Avoid Capital Offenses When Using Job Titles Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

The Problem with Grammar Check

Posted on January 07, 2011
A couple of years ago, a visitor to this site posted a comment asking for help with Word's grammar check. Original Post: The Problem with Grammar Check Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

How to Punctuate Quotations

Posted on January 06, 2011
Quotation marks are signposts indicating that spoken or written words are being expressed. They have other purposes, too, but this post confines itself to this role. Original Post: How to Punctuate Quotations Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Initialisms and Acronyms

Posted on January 05, 2011
Most people know what an acronym is. But few are as familiar with term initialism, or of an important distinction between the two. Original Post: Initialisms and Acronyms Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

7 Rules For Formatting Lists

Posted on January 04, 2011
Conventions for formatting lists are simple and straightforward, but many writers (and their editors) seem not to have gotten the memo. Here?s an outline about how to outline: Original Post: 7 Rules For Formatting Lists Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

Use Common Sense for Commas

Posted on January 03, 2011
Commas are such cute little things with curly tails that their strength is often overlooked. Original Post: Use Common Sense for Commas Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

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