If you’ve ever fantasized about wielding a red pencil that could correct grammatical mistakes in the text messages you receive, you’re in for a treat. There’s a new app on iTunes called Grammar Snob, and it gives you the ability to correct grammatical mistakes in texts. All you need to do is download it, wait until you receive a text message containing one of the mistakes covered by the app, place a corresponding sticker over the mistake, and hit send. The person you’re sending the message to will receive their original message with a correction written over it in red pencil.
So far, the app has several limitations. For one, it works with iOS 10 only, so anyone who doesn’t use that operating system won’t be in on all the grammar-checking fun. Android users have yet to experience the evolution of smartphone-facilitated grammar snobbery. There’s also the fact that the range of typos and grammatical mistakes you can correct with the app is limited, although we’ve already seen an expansion of the original base of errors covered by the app.
Plus, and this shouldn’t be overlooked, the app gives you the power to be super annoying. So we’re here to warn you, just as Uncle Ben warned Spiderman, that this app gives you great power, and with great power comes great responsibility: the responsibility of not being a jerk.
We’ve covered grammar snobbery on this blog before. Most of the people reading this probably know how annoying it can be when someone latches onto a grammatical mistake and completely disregards the point of the conversation in which it was made. Some of us have been trolled by grammar snobs whose only goal was to make us lose our cool. Yes, these things are going to happen with or without the Grammar Snob app. The difference is that with the app you can correct people’s mistakes as a teacher would correct a paper, which might make it even more annoying.
Not that grammar doesn’t matter. In some situations, your ability to use proper grammar can make the difference between getting a job or not. It can also affect your grades in school. It can even affect your success on dating websites. But in some situations, for instance when you’re texting with your friends or family, you need to weigh the benefits of correcting someone’s grammatical mistakes against the likelihood of seriously annoying that person. Usually, you’ll find that it’s more important to not be a jerk than it is to correct all the “their, there, they’re” mistakes you come across—no matter how irritating they are.
That being said, the app can be very useful, and it can be very fun. You might really need to correct the spelling and grammar in someone’s message. Heck, they might ask you to do it. And just imagine the receiving a text message from the person who’s in charge of correcting your writing mistakes, like a proofreader, teacher, or professor, and you notice a grammatical mistake in it. Some playful payback doesn’t necessarily have to cause harm, right? Right, as long as you remember that it’s not really fun if only one person is enjoying it. Remember: great power = great responsibility.
I.e. and e.g. are both Latin abbreviations. E.g. stands for exempli gratia and means “for example.” I.e. is the abbreviation for id est and means “in other words.” Remember that E is for example (e.g.) and that I and E are the first letters of in essence, an alternative English translation of i.e.
But why bother with all this Latin? Don’t we have enough abbreviations in English?
Think about it. How would you feel if you got a text message that ended in SWAK? Many of the parents who took a quiz on texting acronyms weren’t sure what it meant. While some teenagers may laugh a little at the older generation’s inability to master texting lingo, the truth is that many of them would be hard-pressed to explain the difference between i.e. and e.g. Now you know the basics, but let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what everyone from student to professional writer needs to know about these meaningful letters.
What Does E.g. Mean?
Once again, e.g. is short for exempli gratia, a Latin phrase that means “for the sake of example.” As you may guess, you use it to introduce one or more examples. Don’t worry about listing every possibility; e.g. is used to introduce a few examples, not a complete list.
And now for some examples of e.g.:
Should that happen to poor, as-yet unaffected places (e.g., most of South Asia and Africa) the suffering can be great. —“WHO rejects calls to move Olympics over Zika fears”
There’s a common view that Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘30-minute city’ is yet another slight variation on the many terms we already have for a more sustainable urban form e.g. compact city, walkable city, smart growth, new urbanism, urban consolidation. —“Is Turnbull’s ’30-minute city’ a serious election issue?”
What Does I.e. Mean?
What about i.e.? A lot of people confuse this expression with e.g., but this one does not have to do with listing examples. I.e.’s Latin origin is the phrase id est, which translates to English as “that is to say” or “in other words.” Here’s a trick to remember this: associate the I of i.e. with the I of “in other words.” Alternately, imagine that the I and E stand for “in essence.”
And now, let’s take a look at i.e. in action:
[What privilege] would allow them to refuse to answer investigators’ questions? Only one: the Fifth Amendment privilege—i.e., the refusal to answer on the grounds that truthful responses might be incriminating. — “How to Read the IG Report”
Besides math and crossword puzzles, I am passionate about self-supported bicycle touring, i.e., traveling hundreds and thousands of miles on a bike with all my camping gear and other supplies. —The New York Times
How to Use E.g. and I.e. in Writing
E.g. and i.e. are both lowercase when they show up in the middle of a sentence (i.e., like this). Most American style guides recommend a period after both letters in both abbreviations.
In general, you add a comma after e.g. and between each subsequent example if there is more than one item in your list. If you want your examples or your narrowing-down set apart from the rest of the sentence, you can enclose e.g. and i.e., along with the examples associated with them, in parentheses.
Even though exempli gratia and id est are both Latin (and therefore italicized), no need to put e.g. or i.e. in italics when they’re in abbreviated form. Abbrevs are all about keeping things quick and easy, after all.
Let’s recap.
E.g. is used to give one or more possible examples. It’s a signal that you’re seeing one or a few of multiple possibilities.
I.e, on the other hand, clarifies; you are providing more precise information. Where e.g. opens up more options, i.e. narrows them down.
Compare these two examples:
After work, I’ll walk over to that new sports arena, i.e., Thunderdome.
After work, I’ll walk over to a sports arena, e.g., Thunderdome or Victory Court.
In the first example, you are clarifying that Thunderdome is the exact arena that you will visit. In the second example, you will visit Thunderdome, Victory Court, or any other sports arena.
Now you have a response if a teen teases you about your lack of texting expertise. You can ask her to tell you the words behind some abbreviations that you understand (e.g., id est). FYI (i.e., for your information), SWAK means “sealed with a kiss.”
For every product conceivable, there are hundreds of reviews. You can find 5-star reviews as easily as 1-star reviews for the same product. The problem is, many reviews are unverified. Most websites allow anyone to post their opinions. As a consumer, wouldn’t you like to be sure that reviews are based on the experiences of real customers? How can you find trustworthy customer feedback for products like Grammarly?
The good news is that there is a new website to help you in your quest for reliable criticism. We would like to introduce you to eKomi, the feedback company. eKomi uses special software to request Grammarly reviews from customers who purchase the product. Therefore, the contributors of the reviews on the eKomi website are all actual customers. What a relief! You can be confident that each review reflects genuine opinions based on real experiences using the product.
If you are considering a Grammarly purchase, why not read some of our reviews on eKomi? Here is an example of a constructive comment from an eKomi’s dedicated Grammarly page.
“I use Grammarly to write everything. I wish I could integrate it with the word processor on macs as well.”
This review is helpful for Mac users. It is also helpful to us at Grammarly because we can gauge what upcoming features are most important to our clients. While we appreciate feedback of all kinds, the ones that highlight specific aspects of our products are most informative. For example, this comment from an eKomi rater was particularly descriptive:
“I like Grammarly very much. I have been compiling a book based on 1921 letters written by my wife’s great aunt. [Grammarly] has been immensely helpful in cleaning up grammar in making the content clearer and… easier to read.
“I did have a problem using Grammarly with Safari; however, the excellent technical support worked diligently in finding the problem and developing a solution. Once that problem was solved we flew through the project. I use Grammarly almost daily.”
Have you recently purchased the Grammarly program? If so, we will be looking for your unique perspective on the eKomi website! In addition to our reviews on eKomi, we are also featuring Grammarly opinions on the Grammarly reviews page. Send your feedback, along with a photograph if you’d like, to feedback@grammarly.com. Be sure to mention what you like best about Grammarly and what improvements you would like to see.
How can you find and leave reliable, informative reviews for Grammarly? There are now two great options! The eKomi website and our reviews page both feature Grammarly feedback from verified users. Why not visit both websites today?
Being a freelance writer is easy, and nothing ever goes wrong, you tell yourself.
You’re there. The requisite coffee is there. The well-worn keyboard sits just below the screen, which pulses steadily with notifications of various tasks, deadlines, and expectations. You’re used to this. Some part of you might even feed on it.
But then, something abnormal happens. Not that it’s unheard of to procrastinate on writing a little bit—even veterans who’ve hammered out dozens of books do it. But you find yourself spending an awful, just embarrassing amount of the day perusing the listings of dogs that are up for adoption at your local shelter. You keep cleaning your desk and finding creative ways to list the stuff you have to do instead of, you know, doing it. Did I remember to eat lunch today? Sigh. Do I deserve to?
Ding! A new assignment just landed in your inbox. The pay is respectable—the kind of day rate you drooled over in college—but you’re just not jazzed. What’s welling up inside you is dread. Please stop making me do stuff, you plead to no one. Oh no. Am I burned out? Maybe.
As a freelancer, your rent and food all hinge on your ability to dispatch assignments in rapid succession, ship invoices, and keep moving. That kind of frenetic pace can wear you down, and yes, sometimes it leaves you feeling burned out. How you might deal with it depends on the severity, as well as how much time you have. We’ll talk first about tactics you can use immediately, and then zoom out for a broader consideration of how you can surmount more lasting burnout.
Short term: Breathe it out
Are you facing a deadline today and worried you’re not going to hit it? Don’t panic. Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose, hold onto it for just a moment, then exhale. You can get through this.
First, if you need to, log out of any social media that might suck away precious time. And while you’re at it, quash any extraneous conversations that have been blowing up your phone. That twenty-person text thread half-full of people you don’t know all negotiating the details of what kind of coleslaw they’ll bring to this weekend’s barbecue? Mute them.
Close any tabs related to ordering cute boots or obscure vinyl. Do not check the news. Take a couple of minutes to stand up, stretch, and get a glass of water. Find some aspirin if you need to.
How much time do you have until your deadline? If you can, divide what you need to do into smaller chunks, and budget time for each chunk. Try to leave a teensy bit of room for yourself at the end—that way you’ll have a moment to stand up again before you give your work a final once-over and hit “send.”
If the beginning doesn’t come easily to you, don’t waste time feeling stuck. Instead, start with what is easy—a middle section, perhaps. This may help you work backward and find your way in. Where possible, try not to overwhelm yourself with minutiae; don’t fiddle. Remember to break down pieces that feel unwieldy into simpler, more manageable components. You can work through them, so long as you remember to breathe.
If some part of you relishes this challenge—feels alive and appreciates the adrenaline and the suspense of pushing a tight deadline—then be conscious of it. But if that feeling is utterly absent, keep reading.
Longer term: Say no sometimes
Like a muscle, your writing ability can be built and developed over time. But also like a muscle, it can sometimes become overexerted and need time to rest and recover. Such periods needn’t feel like slow punishment; they can be chances to take care of and renew yourself.
As a freelancer, you might be used to pouncing on every possible gig that slides across your desk. You might also have several bosses. And your work may rarely stay confined to set hours, as the familiar cycles of feast and famine sometimes find you working long into the evening or on weekends.
But don’t overlook the advantages of freelancing. For instance, say you want to spend half your Tuesday morning at the gym and afterward hit up your favorite diner when it’s not crowded, possibly while reading something terrible you could’ve written better yourself: You can totally do that. And at least once in awhile, for sanity’s sake, you should.
In other words, you can occasionally indulge in the luxury of turning down work.
This is, admittedly, a balancing act. It takes a lot of effort up-front to cultivate a steady freelance hustle, and you might feel hesitant about giving up whatever hard-won momentum you’re enjoying. With this in mind, it’s good to communicate with the people you work for; freelancers don’t have to haggle over yearly vacation days, but the smart ones let their bosses and clients know what to expect and when they’ll be off the grid.
Consider diversifying
So why are you a freelancer? Maybe you detest fluorescent break rooms and office politics. Maybe some aspect of your life demands the kind of flexible scheduling that a salaried job can’t usually provide. Or maybe you’re in the midst of a transition—and enjoying the opportunity to branch out in different places and work on various projects without having to commit to any single role or employer.
If that’s where your heart is, then whatever ennui, malaise or general burnout you’re wrestling may soon pass. In the meantime, we know it’s a cliché, but don’t overlook the time-honored hallmarks of self-care, like routine exercise and eating well—two essentials that are often abandoned in times of high pressure and constant deadlines.
But if the work has truly come to wear on you in a way that “burnout” doesn’t fully encompass, know that no job is worth surrendering your happiness, and that this is something hard-working and exhausted people seek professional counseling for every day. There’s no shame in that.
If, after some reflection, you conclude you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing, it’s okay. There might be other bosses or clients for whom you’d be happier writing, and other subjects you’d find refreshing to focus on for a while—or at least less draining. Freelancing affords you the freedom to keep exploring.
The future continuous tense, sometimes also referred to as the future progressive tense, is a verb tense that indicates that something will occur in the future and continue for an expected length of time. It is formed using the construction will + be + the present participle (the root verb + -ing).
The simple future tense is a verb tense that is used when an action is expected to occur in the future and be completed. For example, let’s suppose you have a meeting tomorrow at five o’clock.
I will arrive at five o’clock.
I will arrive is the simple future tense of the verb to arrive. You arrive once; beyond that, you can’t keep on arriving. However, once you get there, you may be doing something that goes on continuously, at least for a certain period of time.
At five o’clock, I will be meeting with the management about my raise.
Will be meeting is the future continuous tense of the verb to meet. The construction will + be + the present participle meeting indicates that the meeting isn’t going to happen in an instant, all at once. It will have a duration. The will + be + present participle construction always indicates the future continuous tense.
Michael will be running a marathon this Saturday.
Eric will be competing against Michael in the race.
I will be watching Michael and Eric race.
The Future Continuous Tense Is for Action Verbs Only
It is important to note that the future continuous tense is only used with action verbs, because it is possible to do them for a duration. (Action verbs describe activities like running, thinking, and seeing. Stative verbs describe states of existence, like being, seeming, and knowing.) To use the will + be + present participle construction with a stative verb would sound very odd indeed.
I will be being stressed tomorrow during my science test.
I will be stressed tomorrow during my science test.
When the sun comes out tomorrow, winter will be seeming like a distant memory.
When the sun comes out tomorrow, winter will seem like a distant memory.
After I study, I will be knowing all the answers for the test.
After I study, I will know all the answers for the test.
As you can see, only the simple future tense is suited to stative verbs like to be and to seem.
Cell phones hit the free market 30 years ago, but Americans still haven’t internalized a complete set of social rules for cell phone usage. If you’re not sure what’s acceptable in the world of cell phone etiquette, check out these five tips in honor of Cell Phone Courtesy Month in July.
Keep Private Conversations Private
When you’re engrossed in a phone conversation, it’s easy to fool yourself into believing that no one can hear you except the person on the other end of the line.
In truth, anyone within 10 feet can hear your half of the conversation, and whether they mean to or not, they’re bound to follow along. It doesn’t matter if you’re wandering the aisles of the grocery store or huddled inside your work cubicle; others’ ears perk up at the hint of a private exchange. If you don’t want the other patrons of Starbucks to hear about your recent dermatological exam, don’t call your mom with the details as you’re waiting for your morning latte.
Avoid Toilet Talk
Data suggests that up to 87 percent of all people have texted or chatted on the phone while sitting on the toilet. While it may be acceptable to do this in the privacy of home, it’s just plain rude to talk on the phone in a public bathroom. People visiting the lavatory expect privacy. Wielding your cell phone while others answer nature’s call is like filming an impromptu movie in a public locker room. You wouldn’t bring a live mic into a bathroom stall. Don’t bring your cell phone, either.
Exercise Caution With Text-Speak
Texting is still a seedling technology, and society hasn’t adopted a definitive consensus as to what’s acceptable yet. However, if you suspect a person might feel annoyed or inconvenienced by your texting language, you might want to mind your p’s and q’s.
If you need to text a boss, coworker, or professional acquaintance, don’t use the same language and abbreviations you would use when texting a friend. Though “text speak” (K, LOL, etc.) is quick and easy, you sacrifice professionalism and credibility when you use it for work purposes.
Though it is occasionally acceptable to throw an “OMW” or “SMH” into your daily texts, you should practice using correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar when texting. After all, you don’t want to confuse Grandma with your trendy text speak or offend anyone when you say “LMFAO.”
Don’t Dial and Drive
In certain areas of the country, driving with a cell phone in hand is illegal. Even if you live in a state where the cops can’t arrest you for it, dialing and driving is considered rude by plenty of people.
Why do some people frown upon dialing and driving? Perhaps it’s due to the fact that distracted driving claims the lives of at least nine people per day in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control. To these folks, talking on the phone while driving is akin to saying, “My phone call is more important than your life.”
Indeed, that’s rather rude.
Don’t Text and Drive
While driving and dialing might fall into a gray area of acceptability, driving and texting is never okay. It doesn’t matter how careful and coordinated you are; texting removes your hands from the wheel, your eyes from the road, and your mind from what you’re doing.
In fact, “driving while intexticated” has grown into a national epidemic. Some claim that it’s a cinch for them to text and drive. However, these people may not realize that texting causes over 1 million crashes per year – and the trend isn’t improving.
In the majority of social situations, norms guide behavior. However, with cell phone usage, norms are still evolving. Are you guilty of breaking any of these rules of cell phone etiquette?
Nowadays is the only correct spelling of this word.
Spelling the word as three words—now a days—is incorrect.
Nowadays means “at the present time.” It’s easy to use, but the spelling gives some people trouble.
How to Spell Nowadays
There’s only one way to spell nowadays—as one word. Even though this adverb evolved from the Middle English now adays, spelling it as more than one word today is a mistake. You shouldn’t write it as now a days, nowdays, nowaday, or any other spelling:
You can’t buy spirits if you’re a minor now a days.
We have a huge range of different clothing brands to choose from nowadays.
Nowdays, you can find a coffee shop on every corner.
Nowadays, people like to watch TV shows on their computers.
How to Use Nowadays in a Sentence
Nowadays should never be used as an adjective—you can’t say that your car is a nowadays car. When you start your sentence with nowadays, you should set it off with a comma, as it’s an introductory element.
You should also remember that nowadays isn’t usually used to describe something temporary that happens to be occurring at the present moment. It usually refers to something that has become common in the times we are referring to.
Examples
You should have even less shame about giving them to your loved ones this holiday season, because seriously, have you seen most pop culture swag nowadays?
Gizmodo
There are some very common sights at a Black Friday sale nowadays—giant TVs, blenders, coffee makers, hoovers and last-season’s gadgets.
AOL
Nowadays, it has changed, it is more demanding for a full-back.
How many emails do you send per day? With over 200 billion emails going out every single day, there’s a good chance at least a couple of them are coming from you. But if you’re not structuring your emails properly, you may be making both your and your recipient’s lives more difficult than they need to be.
Whether you’re asking for customer support, planning a party, or sending a work email, the following tips will help you craft efficient and effective emails that actually get things done.
Write a Descriptive Yet Concise Subject Line
Email marketers have known this for a long time.
The subject line of an email is just as important as the text inside. Why’s that? Because if you can’t even get the recipient to open your email, none of the words in your email body matter.
To write a great subject line, keep it as brief and descriptive as possible. Think of a newspaper headline: it’s short, attention grabbing, and tells you exactly what to expect in the article. That’s everything your subject needs to be. Avoid the vague “Quick Question” and similar. If your question is that quick, just ask it in the subject line!
You can even steal a little more knowledge from email marketers here. Thousands of sent emails show that 65 characters is the sweet spot for subject lines that get your emails read.
Keep Your Message as Short as Possible
Guy Kawasaki is a marketing guru who deserves some of the credit for the success of a little-known product called the Apple Macintosh. He’s a famous author and a globally respected marketer. As you can imagine, he’s a man who gets a lot of emails. And all those emails have pushed Guy to publicize this one rule about emails:
Emails should be around five sentences long. In his own words, “Less than five sentences is often abrupt and rude, more than five sentences wastes time.”
While not every email can be written in five sentences, it is a good rule to help keep your emails as brief as possible. Most emails need to include only five basic details:
Who you are
What you want
Why you’re asking the recipient
Why they should do what you’re asking
What the next step is
Break Up Your Text to Make It Scannable
If your recipient is staring at a backed-up inbox, the last thing they’ll want to see is a massive wall of text in your email. Even if you stick near the five-sentence rule, it’s still possible to create a text wall if you’re not careful.
Instead of one long paragraph, break up your email into easily scannable chunks. Try to use bulleted lists instead of sentence lists whenever possible, and keep your paragraphs to only a few sentences or lines.
Scannability has become even more important now that the majority of email is read on phones or tablets.
Include a Clear Call to Action
If you want to get a response to your email, it helps to actually tell your recipients what to do. If you need them to respond, tell them exactly what information you need and how many separate questions need to be answered. If you need them to click a link and fill out a form, be similarly clear about that.
Again, marketers have long known about the importance of clear instructions. You can write the best email in the world, but if you don’t clearly tell the recipients what you need them to do, it’s far too easy for them to push your email to the side.
Proofread Your Email for Spelling and Grammatical Errors
Not only do spelling and grammatical mistakes make your emails harder to understand, they also lower your credibility in the eyes of your recipients, as demonstrated in a Clemson University study. The study found that authors of content with spelling errors were perceived as less trustworthy and accurate than authors with proper spelling and grammar.
Don’t get happy fingers when it comes to clicking the Send button. You can avoid dinging your credibility by thoroughly proofreading every email. And for especially important emails, you might even want to read the email out loud to make sure your eyes don’t skip over any errors.
Check for Incorrect Links or Missing Attachments
If you’re including essential links or attachments, you should always double-check them. When copying and pasting multiple links, it’s easy to accidently duplicate a hyperlink or to misclick a button. And missing attachments are such a common problem that Gmail even created an automated warning for them.
No matter who you’re emailing, incorporate these tips into your next email. Not only will your email be more effective, your recipients will thank you for saving them time!
Colin Newcomer is a freelance writer with a background in SEO and affiliate marketing. He helps clients grow their web visibility by writing primarily about digital marketing, WordPress, and B2B topics.
On the heels of our breakdown of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s writing habits, we’re serving up more writing wisdom from none other than the fabulous Tina Fey! The award-winning comedian-screenwriter-actress-producer-author has spent the past twenty years blazing trails as one of the great comic geniuses of our time.
And just in case you’ve been hiking the Amazon or watching only C-SPAN for the past twenty years, here’s a quick recap of her career . . .
In the early ’90s Fey fell in love with comedy and joined the cult of improv as a player at Chicago’s Second City Theatre. Then in 1997 she made the big leap to Saturday Night Live. Originally hired as a writer, she was promoted to head writer just two years later and went on to join the cast and skyrocket to fame as co-anchor of Weekend Update. In 2005, Fey broke out on her own to produce, write, and star in the hilarious TV comedy 30 Rock.
During the 2008 election, she split our sides (and possibly influenced history) when she returned to SNL to impersonate vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Her caustic and insightful autobiography, Bossypants, spent five weeks on the New York Times Best-Seller List. She’s the mastermind behind Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Oh, and let’s not forget, she wrote and starred in one of the greatest teen comedies of all time—Mean Girls. (So fetch, amiright?)
Read on to learn how you, too, can achieve your goals and aspire to reach the highest levels of writing like Tina Fey!
Keep Writing: Don’t Get Hung Up On Your Failures
via GIPHY
What I learned about “bombing” as an improviser at Second City was that bombing is painful, but it doesn’t kill you. No matter how badly an improv set goes, you will still be physically alive when it’s over.
What I learned about bombing as a writer at “Saturday Night” is that you can’t be too worried about your “permanent record.” Yes, you’re going to write some sketches that you love and are proud of forever—your golden nuggets.
But you’re also going to write some real [bad ones]. And unfortunately, sometimes the [bad ones] will make it onto the air. You can’t worry about it. As long as you know the difference, you can go back to panning for gold on Monday.
Exposing your writing to the public—or even just to friends or coworkers—can be a vulnerable experience.
How will your work be received? Are you on your way to skyrocketing your company’s sales, becoming a thought leader, publishing the next big YA novel? Or will your work be forgotten in obscurity, buried in the digital depths of the Internet?
In reality, this isn’t an “either/or” situation. We all want to be churning out shining gems left and right, but sometimes you’re going to write a piece that doesn’t quite land.
And that’s okay. It’s all part of the process. Maybe you haven’t reached the level you want to be at yet, but you have to start somewhere.
So keep working, keep writing, and don’t let the fear of failure hold you back from going for your dreams.
Deadlines Are Essential: Know When to Put Your Writing Out There
via GIPHY
The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s eleven-thirty. This is something Lorne has said often about “Saturday Night Live,” but it’s a great lesson in not being too precious about your writing. You have to try your hardest to be at the top of your game and improve every joke until the last possible second, but then you have to let it go.
You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute. . . . You have to let people see what you wrote. It will never be perfect, but perfect is overrated.
Did you hear that? We all want our writing to be perfect and amazing, but at some point we’ve got to let it go!
This can be easier for those of us with deadlines at work or school, where another human is counting on us to deliver something. But letting go can can feel more difficult if you’re working on a novel or personal blog post or any project where the timing is completely up to you.
If you’re struggling to put your writing out there, consider:
Setting deadlines for your work (and sticking to them).
Having a writing accountability partner (or group) who will hold your feet to the fire and force you to meet deadlines and share your work.
Reminding yourself that this is a journey, and you probably won’t reach “perfection” the first or third or twentieth time, which is okay because perfection is overrated anyway!
Be Open to Where Creativity Can Lead You
via GIPHY
The thing that always fascinated me about improv is that it’s basically a happy accident that you think you’re initiating. You enter a scene and decide that your character is in a bar, but your partner thinks you’re performing dental surgery.
The combination of those two disparate ideas melds into something that could never have been created on its own. It’s more difficult to do that as a writer, but I’ve found the general philosophy of it to be quite helpful. It reminds me that if I stumble onto something unexpected in my writing, something that I didn’t anticipate or intend, I should be willing to follow it.
The takeaway? Don’t be afraid to try new things with your writing. Keep your inner critic away from your early process.
Give your zany, inner creative writer the chance to frolic, explore, and take risks. Scribble away with abandon, then go back later wearing your editor hat and tidy things up. You can’t polish your golden nuggets if you don’t write them in the first place because you’re too afraid to branch out.
In school we’re taught to stay in line, follow the rules, and memorize the right answer. But creativity isn’t about looking for one right answer, it’s about exploring possibilities. So grab your hang glider and your crampons—you’ve got some new horizons to explore!
Choose Your Battles Wisely: Don’t Get Hung Up on the Morons
via GIPHY
When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the people who were jerky to you.
Life is full of drama, y’all. There will always be haters on the sidelines telling you that you can’t do what you’re doing.
Maybe you’re like Tina, breaking into a field where you’re underrepresented. Maybe you’re trying to climb the company ladder, or establish yourself as a freelancer. Whatever your reality, remember to choose your battles wisely.
You may feel threatened or hurt by the naysayers, but Tina’s right, if that person is not a real obstacle then it’s up to you to move onwards and upwards. Focus on your goals, and work to become an agent for change. You have a message and a mission that people need to hear, so don’t let the morons and fuddy-duddies trip you up.
Over winter, you fell into the habit of drafting dense paragraphs that feel stuffy and humid, like a cramped apartment with a wheezing, determined radiator. Or your structure fell into madness, like a closet seething with mysterious solvents, loathsome sporting gear, and drawers of mismatched screws.
Now’s the time to dust off your style, haul out the verbiage, and ready your next project for sunshine and daffodils. Crack a window and let in the fresh breeze, because here’s how to tidy up your writing.
In writing, as in spring cleaning, no luxury is greater than empty space. Just as you want your home to feel less crammed, so too with each sentence. We’ll start by taking inventory of what you can throw out.
Less is more
Strong sentences are often short and direct. To streamline, edit out unnecessary words. Frequent offenders include adverbs like “actually,” “basically,” “currently,” and “seriously.” Here’s an example.
Before:Your writing could seriously improve if you remove adverbs that are actually basically extraneous.
After:Your writing could improve if you remove extraneous adverbs.
Weasel words like “maybe” and “kind of” are another source of wordy clutter. These add squishiness and uncertainty, and are best left to cagey public officials in election years.
Before:Your writing might be said to benefit from the removal of what are perhaps seen as weasel words.
After:Your writing will benefit from the removal of weasel words.
Sometimes rearranging a sentence can make it more muscular, so make a game of spotting opportunities to condense. Let it become automatic. We can further tighten the last example this way:
After 2.0:Removing weasel words will benefit your writing.
Breaking complex ideas up into shorter sentences also helps. So does making sparing use of rarefied words. Consider this example.
Before:Although opaque diction frequently reflects a zenith of recreational sesquipedalia, a premium is placed upon language that mitigates the cognitive load for the presumed audience.
After:Highfalutin words are fun. But your best choice will often be straightforward and conversational.
More readers will understand and enjoy your writing when it’s crisp and tidy. In fact, we believe better writing can improve your life.
Know what you’ll put where
As with the vernal ritual of clearing out a musty attic or garage, planning helps. Start with a structure in mind and you’ll work more efficiently, whether you’re drafting a report or a novel.
Skilled storytellers often work from outlines and know how many words or pages they’ll expend on each plot point or scene before they start writing it. This also helps you tackle pieces of the story out of order. Foreshadowing your big ending is easier when you’ve already written it.
Nonfiction structures often follow a principle called “progressive disclosure,” where you start with the most important facts before advancing to details and background information. This holds whether you’re a journalist crafting a breaking story’s lede or an analyst piecing together the executive summary of a policy report.
The key with outlining is to avoid surprises. Just as you don’t want to discover a doxy infestation in your curtains, you don’t want to find yourself in a late panic over a vital transition that doesn’t work, or a conclusion that feels vexingly unsatisfying.
Decide what to keep
Improving your writing also means honing your editing skills. Because you’d prefer not to burn half your day tinkering with phrasing, it’s often better to edit after you’ve drafted a piece, rather than while you’re in the midst of it. You’ll want to revisit your draft with fresh eyes.
One technique is to finish a section, then set it aside. Take a walk around the block, sip some water, then come back. You’ll be surprised at what you missed before—what cuts become obvious, and what substitutions turn a passable sentence into one that glows.
Another way to test your draft is to read it out loud. If a sentence is too long to finish without stopping for a deep breath, chances are you’re better off dividing it into smaller chunks. Stumbling repeatedly over the same awkward phrase can warn you it needs revising. If a sentence you read aloud feels ridiculous, it usually is—looking at you, recreational sesquipedalia.
Still, it’s tough to edit yourself. That’s why reporters, technical writers, and fiction authors all take feedback from editors. If you enjoy the privilege of counting on a great editor, make sure to say thanks. If one isn’t handy, it’s okay to call a friend or even read to your cat. Just having the extra set of ears in the room will help.
Learn from the greats, and the not-so-greats
Anything you read can help you polish your writing.
Sometimes it’s a brilliant author demonstrating exactly how to break a rule that’s been irking you. For instance, while it’s a good policy to avoid complex punctuation, sometimes it just works, as in this example from the New Yorker:
Tents and tepees sprawled along the banks of the Cannonball River; Yellowbird-Chase’s uncle, who joined us, joked that they reminded him of “powwows in the old days, when we came by travois”—horse-drawn sleds once used by the Plains Indians.
If you can’t see a logical way to avoid breaking such a rule, go with it. Seeing this done elegantly is a lesson in literary craftsmanship.
Other times you’ll run across the opposite—writing that was done in a hurry by someone with a fever. The sight of it will be etched in your mind as exactly the type of work you don’t want to turn in. In his book On Writing, Stephen King recalls running across a sci-fi novel that abused the word “zestful” to the point of distraction.
Characters watched the approach of ore-bearing asteroids with zestful smiles. Characters sat down to supper aboard their mining ship with zestful anticipation. Near the end of the book, the hero swept the large-breasted, blonde heroine into a zestful embrace. For me, it was the literary equivalent of a smallpox vaccination: I have never, so far as I know, used the word zestful in a novel or a story. God willing, I never will.
Whatever you read, consider it critically. Pull out a pen and mark up your magazines. Ask yourself: What stands out, and why? Where does it fail? When you find a clunky sentence, how would you recast it? Or when you run across a gem, which word or phrase makes it sparkle? Exercise this muscle as a reader and you’ll find it’s stronger when you write.
Other Grammarly tips to straighten up your writing can be found right here.
Getting interrupted is no fun. Whether it’s at work or with a friend or family member, being the interruptee can make you feel disrespected and unheard. The good news: there are strategies for dealing with interrupters.
First, approach the situation differently based on the context and kind of interrupting. Here are some examples:
You’re giving a presentation and your boss interrupts with a question
You’re in a brainstorm session and a colleague interrupts your idea with a different idea
In a chat with a friend, he or she keeps interrupting to give advice, or change the subject
In an argument with a significant other, you both interrupt each other to make your point
In a panel on gender and diversity and business, a male executive repeatedly interrupts a female executive (and doesn’t seem to notice until someone calls him out)
In an award ceremony, Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to say Beyoncé made a better video than Tay Tay. Ouch.
Some of these interruptions are worse than others, and there’s a reason. In fact, there are deeply ingrained sociological and linguistic factors explaining why some people are more likely to get interrupted than others.
The science of interruption
According to studies by linguists, sociologists, psychologists, and others (in other words, there have been a lot of studies), people most likely to be interrupted are women, minorities, and people considered lower on the totem pole. White, heterosexual men are the most frequent interrupters, and there’s a biological reason and a social reason for that.
Here’s the biology: according to linguistics research, men tend to think of a conversation as a competition: the more you say, the better you played the game. But women treat conversations as collaboration: if everybody talks, everybody wins.
It’s not universally true that white men go around interrupting everybody else. But those linguistics studies were getting at something, which brings us to the social reason: people who belong to a social group that’s used to having power might act with an unconscious bias. That’s where the word “mansplaining” comes from. Not all men do it, but then, not all men who do it realize they’re doing it.
Let’s get something straight: an interrupter isn’t necessarily showing disrespect or dismissal. But if someone thinks, even subconsciously, that it’s okay to interrupt someone else, that can underline a difference in status that can make the interruptee seem less assertive, less in control, and therefore less likely to get a promotion or other signs of recognition.
Strategies for facing interrupters
Which tactic you use depends on the person you’re talking to and the context of the conversation, so use your best judgment. Whether it’s a one-time thing or merits a bigger confrontation, here are some ways to get started.
Time-of-interruption response
There are a few ways to let the interrupter know that they interrupted and get the floor back. Just be careful how you say some of these, because they can come across as passive aggressive or actually aggressive if you don’t watch your tone.
Just keep talking.
Go for positive: “That’s a great question, Adam, and I was just about to get to it.”
Polite re-interruption: “I’m sorry, I wasn’t quite done” (nicer than “Would you let me finish?”).
Stall: “Excuse me, Jen, I’m almost finished.”
Self-deprecating call-out: “I guess I’m blabbering, so I’ll wrap it up.”
Wait for them to finish, and then give a nudge: “Good point, and I was actually about to get there.”
Conversations with chronic interrupters
If the interruptions keep coming, it might be time to sit down with the interrupter and talk about it. You’ll do this differently depending on who the person is.
With a boss or someone higher in status:
Know their style. Some bosses interrupt to keep employees on their toes; others do it subconsciously. Only bring it up if you think your boss would want to know. If you have a boss you can talk to openly, it’s still a good idea to tread lightly.
Make the focus on the job: “I’ve noticed that we get more done in meetings where everyone contributes. I’d love to brainstorm about how to have more collaborative meetings with fewer interruptions.”
Make the conversation about your own qualities, or frame it as a request for advice: “I want to improve my presentation style. Do you have advice for being more succinct?”
Don’t point fingers: “I notice people sometimes interrupt.”
In situations where you’re not potentially risking your job if you say things wrong, it’s still important to be polite, and most importantly, not sound like you’re blaming or attacking the interrupter.
Acknowledge that the interrupters might not be aware they’re doing it. If they don’t feel attacked by you, they’re more likely to pay attention to what you want them to do differently.
Keep it casual: “I’ve noticed that sometimes you interrupt me when I’m not done making a point. I wanted to flag it to make sure you’re aware.”
In some cases, say how you really feel: “When you interrupt me, it makes me feel like you’re not really listening. Can you try to pay more attention to whether I seem like I’m done with what I’m saying?”
After the chat
If you have the conversation but the interrupter keeps interrupting, don’t despair. Habits die hard. If it’s someone in the workplace, wait a few weeks, then bring it up again. If it’s a co-worker you’re friendly with, maybe raise an eyebrow when they interrupt, or use the “I was just getting to that” line.
If you have a friend or family member who’s a repeat offender, try making it playful. Keep a tally of interruptions. Ring a bell whenever they interrupt—that’ll get their attention. Have a money jar: a quarter for every interruption. Why not make some cash from their irritating habit?
When Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s award acceptance speech, the audience booed him for taking away the limelight. You may not have a portable audience of thousands to follow you around and boo whenever someone interrupts, but now you have some strategies to help you out in the meantime.
“An adventure awaits,” “an escape from the ordinary”— travel ads often promise journeyers a chance to leave the ennui of their normal lives. But did you know that you don’t have to board a plane reach an exotic, remote location? In escapist literature, writers create a rich, absorbing environment for their characters. Readers live vicariously in a captivating alternative reality. While the characters in the novel run for their lives or fall head over heels in love, the readers unwind and enjoy the experience from the safety of the real world. These books will enhance your relaxing getaway.
At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen
At the Water’s Edge, according to The Globe and Mail, is “a compelling comfort read with an odd plot.” The Hyde family emigrates from the United States to Scotland. Moving to a different country doesn’t sound too strange until you realize they do it to prove that the Loch Ness monster is real. Ellis, the young heir of the family, is not alone in this endeavor; cryptozoology is the study of creatures whose existence has not been proven (or disproven) by scientific evidence. However, for Ellis, uncovering the mystery of the Loch Ness monster equates to saving his family name from dishonor. The farther you follow the exploits of this dysfunctional family, the farther you will leave your cares behind.
The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
Have you heard of newbie writer Robert Galbraith? As you read this mystery, you may notice that the so-called unknown author has some serious writing chops. The story follows Cormoran Strike, a veteran who lost a leg while on duty, who now makes his living as a private investigator. His newest case deals with the apparent suicide of a supermodel. Her brother John doesn’t think his sister killed herself, and it’s up to Cormoran to find out the truth. The Guardian reports that readers have “never met [a detective] quite like Strike.” In particular, he has an uncanny knowledge of women’s fashion and a keen nose. These two facts give a clue to the true identity of the author. Galbraith seems to know a lot about the ins and outs of film sets. Could it be that seven previous novels about a boy wizard published under his real name yielded eight major motion pictures? If you are still stumped, here’s a final clue: The author shares first and middle initials with an author-economist whose last name is also Galbraith.
How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell
It’s not easy to completely destroy your life when you begin with all the advantages. Fifteen-year-old Cat Marnell went to a fancy boarding school. She had access to the best things in life. She was miserable. Unable to provide for her emotional needs, her psychiatrist father did what he knew how to do—prescribe medicine. She quickly graduated from ADHD medicine to Xanax, Ecstasy, and beyond. Was her life completely in the gutter already? No, don’t forgot her connections. She landed a cushy high-profile job at Condè Nast as a magazine article editor. While most successful twenty-somethings were shopping for clothes and hi-tech gadgets, Cat was shopping for drugs. Of course, she couldn’t do it on the street—Condè Nast would have certainly frowned on that. She acquired them straight from the doctor’s office by pretending to have whatever mental illness necessary. Eventually her lifestyle did catch up with her, and her honest report of the aftermath will leave you counting your blessings. How to Murder Your Life is one of Glamour magazine’s Best Books of 2017. Will it make your list too?
I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki
Goodreads describes I Am a Cat as “one of the most original and unforgettable works in Japanese literature.” Translated from its original Japanese into English, the novel retains its rich allegories and captivating prose. The story begins with a strangely observant stray kitty with no name. If you like to people watch, you will love to see how the world is interpreted through the eyes of a sneakily silent feline. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s all a cute story; the author addresses deep issues about the social issues of the Meiji period, history, art, and Chinese philosophy in this unique satire.
Your travel adventures don’t have to end on the beach. Books can also provide “an escape from the ordinary.” Are you going on a vacation soon? If so, you have two things to do. First, decide where you want to go. Second, choose the books that will transport you to exotic locals as you relax. Enjoy your trip!
Miniscule is a newer spelling, probably derived from the prefix mini-.
Many feel that miniscule is a misspelling, but it occurs so frequently that it appears as a variant spelling in some dictionaries.
When talking about things that are small, people use the word mini. For example, a small, short skirt is a miniskirt. A minirecession is a recession with a lesser impact than a full recession. But minus also means less. How confusing! Which is correct—minuscule or miniscule?
First, let’s look for a definition. One dictionary defines minuscule as very small. Therefore, you can rest assured that minuscule is a legitimate spelling. Here are a few examples in print:
We all tell little lies about ourselves, our past, our presents. We think some of them are minuscule, unimportant, and others, large and incriminating. ━Sarah McCoy, The Baker’s Daughter
Those levels, however, are minuscule compared to uranium concentrations found in uranium ore, according to scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey. ━Arizona Daily Sun
What about miniscule? If you search for miniscule on Dictionary.com, you will find it defined as minuscule. According to this source, it’s an alternative spelling. However, the usage note cautions: “Although this newer spelling is criticized by many, it occurs with such frequency in edited writing that some consider it a variant spelling rather than a misspelling.” According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, the first instance of miniscule appeared at the end of the nineteenth century. However, it didn’t become popular “in edited prose” until the 1940s. Let’s look and see how writers use miniscule:
The facts show that miniscule insect fragments were discovered in the butter. . . ━Neal D. Fortin, Food Regulation: Law, Science, Policy, and Practice
“Madonna is one of a miniscule number of super-artists whose influence and career transcend music,” said Janice Min, president and chief creative officer of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group. ━NewsTalk.com
Primary English: Extending Knowledge in Practice reports that dictionaries began accepting miniscule during the later years of the twentieth century. It isn’t nearly as popular as minuscule, and some people just don’t like it. How about you? Will you use minuscule or miniscule?
Scrabble enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to as April 13 – Scrabble Day – approaches. Scrabble, which involves forming words with a set number of lettered tiles on a grid-like game board, is one of the most popular word games in the world. It is available in 29 languages, and has become a household name for families and word enthusiasts everywhere.
For grammarians, playing Scrabble can be a fun way to enhance creativity and polish your spelling. It can also, interestingly enough, help to improve your writing. Here’s how:
Spelling
The goal in Scrabble is to use as many lettered tiles as you can to form words, and to gain points by using less common letters (which are worth more points). Not only does this stretch a writer’s vocabulary, but it helps you to think outside the box in creating words that are uncommon and/or more advanced than you may typically think to write. This aspect of Scrabble makes it a great learning tool for both professional writers and student writers. There are also a variety of ways you can bend the rules of the game to encourage spelling prowess. Wikihow.com explains some of the ways you can change the game to help teach spelling in this article.
Flow
When we write English, we construct sentences from left to right and stack our sentences downward. Similarly, Scrabble words are formed from left to right, and flow downward in columns. If even subconsciously, the act of forming words in this manner helps even novice writers to improve their writing skills. By practicing the motion of moving from left to right and then downwards with words, our brain learns not to waste energy on such structural functions because it is already familiar with them.
Creativity
Scrabble rewards the rarity of words and letters. By ranking tiles based on frequency in the English language, the player with the greatest ability to think up uncommon words is often the victor. By thinking of rare words, the Scrabble player is unconsciously developing his or her ability to come up with synonyms (words with the same or similar meanings) on the fly. One important skill among writers is the ability to state things in the most creative terms possible; our work can be enriched using infrequent phrasing and unique synonyms.
Convention
Scrabble teaches us to use specific language. As languages change over time, we tend to incorporate slang into our everyday life – just take a look at urbandictionary.com to get a taste of the immense amount of slang that we use every day. But Scrabble only allows players to form words that can be found in the standard dictionary. While slang is not off limits in writing, practicing official words and definitions can help writers make their work more universally understandable.
Keep in mind that definitions are always being added to the dictionary. Take a look at this list of new dictionary words that Grammarly published in 2012.
Collaboration
In playing Scrabble together, we have the opportunity to take a step away from the television and familiarize ourselves with the simple act of communication. This invariably helps us grow as writers. Much like a writers’ group, Scrabble engenders an atmosphere of competition and creative dispute.
“That’s not a real word!”
“You don’t spell that with a ‘w’.”
So the next time you find yourself sitting down with friends or family to play the popular game of Scrabble, remember to take the time to fully absorb the lessons it has to teach. If you’re a teacher, lighten the mood in your classroom by bringing out the Scrabble board. If you’re an author, give your eyes a break and bust out Scrabble to help give your brain a stretch.
If you’re just looking for something interesting to do, train yourself to be a Scrabble expert – and know that you’re both entertaining and teaching yourself at the same time!
What was your highest Scrabble score? Let us know in the comments!
What does it mean to be a father? Dads approach fatherhood in a variety of ways, from overbearing to “wrapped around your little finger,” and everything in between. There’s no formula for the perfect father, but there are some commonalities among father figures in literature that make the concept of fatherhood a powerful one.
In honor of Father’s Day, here are six father figures in literature. Which reminds you of your own father?
King Lear, The “Prideful” Father
The life of the title character in Shakespeare’s King Lear is shaped by his three daughters. When it comes time for him to step down from the throne in his old age, King Lear makes a drastic mistake. Instead of dividing his empire evenly among his three daughters, a final deceit causes him to disown Cordelia. Unfortunately, King Lear doesn’t realize that Cordelia loved him most until it’s too late. Despite this tragic choice, King Lear’s powerful love for his daughters defines his life.
Mr. Bennet, The “Protective” Father
Mr. Bennet may not be the richest character in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but what makes him a memorable father is the constant care and empathy that he shows for his daughters. Given the Bennet family’s financial situation, he feels pressure to marry his daughters off, but instead of focusing on money he keeps his children’s best interests in mind. Throughout the novel, it’s clear how much Mr. Bennet admires his daughter Lizzy, in particular, in the way he uses both his wisdom and humor to guide her through difficult life decisions.
Bob Cratchit, The “Optimistic” Father
The majority of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol focuses on the eternally grumpy Ebeneezer Scrooge and the unfortunate Tiny Tim. The unsung hero here, however, is Tiny Tim’s father, Bob Cratchit. As Scrooge’s employee, Cratchit can’t see much light at the end of the tunnel, and he is perpetually kept cold and underpaid. Instead of giving up, Cratchit makes the best of the situation and dutifully reports to work in order to take care of his beloved son. After a spiritual intervention, Scrooge makes a turn for the better and Cratchit’s persistence and steadfastness pays off.
Atticus Finch, The “Role Model” Father
Despite tough times, Atticus Finch serves as a father figure to admire in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. A widower and lawyer in the Jim Crow South, Finch does his best to be his children’s moral compass. Perhaps the best example of this is the way Finch encourages his children to be who they want to be instead of what their troubled society says is right. Instead of forcing his daughter to be a girly girl, Finch encourages Scout to develop her tomboy personality. He has a challenging road in front of him, but he remains a pillar of strength throughout the novel.
Calvin’s Dad, The “Patient” Father
For years, fans enjoyed Bill Watterson’s funny and sweet comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. A calm and collected counterpoint to the mischievous Calvin, his dad proves time and time again that patience is a virtue. Throughout many story lines, Calvin’s dad answers his son’s often-obnoxious questions and deals with his many well-intentioned mishaps. Best of all, he loves Calvin through all of his trying moments and troublesome times.
The Man, The “Sacrificing” Father
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a post-apocalyptic novel that remains grim from cover to cover, but one of the shining lights throughout is The Man. This father figure doesn’t have a lot to offer his son, due to their extraordinary circumstances. Instead, he does everything he can to keep his son alive and motivated along their incredibly difficult journey through what seems like the end of the world.
These father figures demonstrate a full range of parenting styles throughout centuries of literature. What unifies them is their dedication to their children and their insistence on placing their kids and their families first and foremost. Which father figure do you find most inspiring?
The informality of email, texting, and tweeting has crept into company communication–embarrassing management and leaving bad impressions with clients. Kyle Wiens, of iFixit and Dozuki, said in a July 2012 post on the Harvard Business Review blog, “I have a ‘zero tolerance approach’ to grammar mistakes that make people look stupid.” He requires job applicants to pass a grammar test before hiring them because writing is his business.
Shouldn’t good grammar be everyone’s business?
According to a follow-up post from Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover, the answer is yes. In the workplace, good grammar is synonymous with attention to detail, critical thinking skills, and intellectual curiosity. Good grammar is the currency of the modern workplace, and employers are going for broke. More than two thirds of salaried jobs require a significant amount of written communication, and top organizations spend upwards of $3 billion per year on training to bring employee writing ability up to a baseline standard.
“Remember the fictional TV lawyer Ed?” asked Grammar Girl. “He lost his job in a Manhattan law firm because of a misplaced comma in a contract. Just in case you think this sort of thing only happens on TV, think again. A utility company in Canada had to pay an extra $2.13 million in 2006 to lease power poles because someone stuck a comma in the wrong spot.”
But what is the actual impact that poor grammar can have on a person’s overall career track?
At Grammarly, we looked at one hundred LinkedIn profiles of native English speakers in the consumer packaged goods industry to determine whether their writing skills could be correlated to their career success.
Here’s what we found:
Professionals with fewer grammar errors achieve higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position over the first ten years of their career made 2.5 times more grammar mistakes than their director-level colleagues.
Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45 percent more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same timeframe.
Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20 percent more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period.
So what can we take away from all of this?
Like Mr. Wiens, Grammarly won’t hire people who use poor grammar. But, we haven’t chosen to do this based on an anecdote.
We don’t hire people who use poor grammar because our data definitively suggests that a lack of grammatical errors in a person’s resume can say a lot about that person, professionally. It can tell us whether they are skillful, credible, and pay attention to detail – and whether these characteristics will reasonably translate into their day-to-day work.
Think you have what it takes to join the grammarians at Grammarly? Take a look at our open positions here, and contact us today.
