Writers Blog

Correct grammar is the basis for a well-written paper or article. “There,” “their,” and “they’re” are regularly misused homophones.  A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but is different in meaning. In this case, speaking any of these three words in conversation is all right....

For writing to flow smoothly, effective transitions are a must. It does no good for you to have the most well-documented and perfectly researched paper if the reader can’t follow your logic because of ineffective transitions. Likewise, writing the next great American novel is impossible without the use...

There are many different rules for comma usage, and unlike some other sorts of punctuation (e.g., the question mark, the period), the rules can be rather fluid. Here is a short-ish breakdown of how to use commas, and when to use commas:Use commas to separate items written in a series.Example: The...

The difference between the articles “a” or “an” in a sentence is one of style and sound. When the next word begins with a consonant, use an “a” (a jackhammer, a tiger, a pack of wolves). When the following word starts with a vowel, use an “an” (an egg, an olive grove, an open wound). Should I use “a”...

Most of us wish we had a better vocabulary and more sophisticated word choice. We usually wish we could find better words for emotions, along with better action words. How many times have we written something like: “He was mad, so he ran seven miles to burn it off.” Only to realize, that “mad” is inadequate...