Quiz: Do You Practice Good Email Etiquette?

Email has transformed the way we communicate. However, just because it’s easy and quick like many other kinds of digital communication doesn’t mean you should skip all forethought about how your message is received—literally and figuratively.

Email etiquette matters, especially as email increasingly becomes our more formal mode of communication. Take this quiz to find out whether you’re a master of email manners or you have some schooling left!

Do you need to brush up on your email manners? Here are our top email tips.

10 Amazing Books That Will Improve Your Writing Skills

Here are two simple truths—writing skills can be taught, and all good writers are also readers. What better way to accomplish two things at once than to read books about writing?

Back in the late ’90s, I owned and managed one of the first websites to offer online workshops especially for writers. Nearly every week, some publishing house would send me one of their latest books for writers hoping for a glowing review. The bottom line? I’ve read a lot of books about how to write and how to live the writing life.

This collection of recommendations includes some of my favorite classics as well as impressive new additions that will help wordslingers of all types—from bloggers to content producers to budding novelists to poets—hone their skills.

The Best Writing How-To Books

1Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

Best for: Bloggers, content creators

Millions of new blog posts and other pieces of content hit the internet every single day. Ann Handley’s book is a must-have guide that shows content producers what it takes to stand out in a space where competition is fierce. With an accessible style, she takes on everything from how to write to grammar and usage to best practices. Perhaps my favorite part is Handley’s formula for creating content with a focus on empathizing with the reader and telling a great story. This isn’t just a how-to-write guide, it’ll also help you uncover what to write.

2Write Tight: Say Exactly What You Mean with Precision and Power by William Brohaugh

Best for: All writers

Writers are encouraged to make their writing lean and precise. Which is great advice, but how do you do it? Brohaugh, a former Writer’s Digest editor, offers all the necessary how-tos in this book. He teaches writers to eliminate redundancy, recognize and squash empty modifiers, and remove other dead weight that slows writing down. Although it’s sometimes criticized for being a bit pedantic, Brohaugh’s guide gave me some striking Aha! moments when I first read it about a decade ago, which is why I heartily recommend it.

3The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

Best for: All writers

Although Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is a time-honored classic, its prescriptive approach to language isn’t for everyone. Enter Harvard professor Steven Pinker with a more contemporary take. His witty approach recognizes that language is fluid and that, while it’s good to know and follow the rules when it makes sense to, expressive writing often relies on bending them. Writing newbs may find this book challenging, but it’s full of insight for those who already have a grasp on grammar and style and want to improve.

4You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins

Best for: Bloggers, content creators, indie authors

Jeff Goins parlayed a love of writing into a successful career as an author, blogger, and speaker. If you have the drive to succeed as a writer, Goins provides the roadmap. You Are a Writer isn’t so much a book about the art of writing as it is about the business of getting your hard work noticed. If you aspire to build your platform and become a professional writer, it’s a great place to start.

5Stein On Writing by Sol Stein

Best for: Creative writers

There are plenty of books that share advice for dealing with writer angst, getting unstuck creatively, and living life as a wordsmith. Stein On Writing is not one of those books. If you’re ready to dig into the nuts and bolts of great writing and you want to truly improve at your craft, this book is a master class by a veteran editor, author, and teacher.

6 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig

Best for: Fiction writers

Chuck Wendig’s writing isn’t for the sensitive or easily offended—his no-holds-barred style is full of biting humor, social commentary, and profanity. But what his book delivers is a contemporary guide to becoming a better fiction writer that’s rendered in quick, easy-to-digest truth bombs. This from a successful blogger, screenwriter, and author of numerous novels, including the New York Times bestselling Star Wars: Aftermath.

The Best Books about Living the Writing Life

7On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Best for: Fiction writers

Any writer who dreams of publishing a novel should add On Writing to their to-read (or to-reread) list. Part writing how-to and part memoir, King’s book is a modern classic. (I’ve read it three times so far.) I love King’s stories about how his experiences forged him as a writer from early on. I’m moved by the tale of how King, his young family living hand-to-mouth, collapsed to the floor when his editor called to tell him that the paperback rights to Carrie, his breakout novel, sold for $400,000.

Not only does On Writing share one enormously successful writer’s origin story, it teaches the craft of writing in a way that feels conversational and real, as though he’s a mentor sitting across the table from you, sipping coffee and giving you his best advice.

8Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Best for: Creative writers

Sometimes writers take themselves too seriously. By allowing us a glimpse of her own human foibles, Anne Lamott takes some of the sting out of the things that cause writers grief, from perfectionism to insomnia. And she does it all with her celebrated wit and self-deprecating humor. It’s like having a crazy writer aunt to commiserate with. And you’ll learn a thing or two in the process.

9Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within Natalie Goldberg

Best for: Creative writers

Natalie Goldberg’s approach to writing is simple—if you want to write truthfully and powerfully, you have to connect with yourself. Using Zen teachings, she encourages writers to follow their first thoughts and to trust their minds and bodies to lead them. Her voice is accessible, and sometimes vulnerable, and her inspirational and wildly creative methods have been helping writers find their voices for over thirty years.

10Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Best for: Creative writers

In the form of some Fahrenheit 451 bookends, I own a chunk of Ray Bradbury’s former California bungalow, so I could hardly leave his classic off the list. Zen in the Art of Writing, a collection of essays on the writing life, rings with sage wisdom from a famous sci-fi master. Keep your highlighter (physical or digital) handy for marking all the memorable phrases, like “Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me . . . .I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces back together. Now it’s your turn. Jump!”

5 Tips for Editing Your Own Work

No matter what type of writing you do, it can be easy to miss your own mistakes in the editing process. Since you wrote the words, you often read what you intended to write (and not what is actually written). You can’t see any flaws in your writing because you’re just too close to it.

Use these five tips to edit your own work more effectively — and to improve your writing.

1. Let Your Writing Rest for a Few Hours or Days

The more distance you put between yourself and your writing, the easier it is to make improvements and find mistakes. When possible, let important writing sit for a few days. When you pick up the material again, it’s almost like proofing someone else’s work.

If you don’t have the luxury of letting your work sit for days, then a few hours will have to do. Find another activity that will help you distance yourself from the writing. You might want to take a jog, wash the dishes, or take your dog to the park. Do something that clears your mind. Ideally, you can approach the work from a fresh perspective.

2. Read Your Writing in a New Format

 

Seeing your writing in a different format can help you correct everything from misspellings to poor word choice. If you have access to a printer, make a paper copy that you can use to note changes.

If you don’t have a printer, you can get a fresh look at your text by changing it to a different font, color, or size. You can even convert your text to HTML for a new perspective. It’s almost like reading someone else’s work on the web.

3. Read Your Writing Out Loud

This is a helpful tip for writers of all skill levels. Brains are tricky machines that often see what they want to see. Reading silently makes it easier for your brain to correct mistakes and fill in gaps. If your brain expects to see the word “off,” then it will quietly transform similar words, such as “oft” or “of,” to match those expectations.

Reading out loud disrupts your brain’s attempt to make everything look perfect. You will likely find yourself stammering through poorly worded sentences and pausing at misspelled words. If you have difficulty reading a section, then you know you’ve found a piece of writing you could improve.

4. Read Backwards

Disrupting narrative flow can help you find mistakes you would otherwise miss. Try reading your work backwards, starting with the last paragraph and ending with the first. This approach forces you to pay careful attention to details and makes it harder for your brain to correct mistakes. When you’re fully engaged in reading, you’re more likely to see opportunities for improvement.

5. Use Grammarly to Find and Avoid Mistakes

Grammarly is a writing app that acts as a fresh set of eyes to look over your work carefully and spot spelling and grammar mistakes. Grammarly checks more than 250 advanced rules to find mistakes such as:

• double negatives
• run-on sentences
• comma splices
• sentence fragments
• double pronouns
• dangling modifiers

Writers who use Grammarly can also avoid future mistakes. The proofreader acts as a grammar coach that points out common writing problems and explains how to correct them. After Grammarly proofreads your work a few times, you’ll start to see common weaknesses, so you know what skills you need to improve.

Editing your own work takes a lot of practice. When you have the right tools, though, it gets easier. What are your favorite tips for editing your own writing? Do you find that some techniques work better than others?

Conditional Sentences—Rules You Need to Know

• There are four types of conditional sentences.
• It’s important to use the correct structure for each of these different conditional sentences because they express varying meanings.
• Pay attention to verb tense when using different conditional modes.
• Use a comma after the if-clause when the if-clause precedes the main clause.

Conditional sentences are statements discussing known factors or hypothetical situations and their consequences. Complete conditional sentences contain a conditional clause (often referred to as the if-clause) and the consequence. Consider the following sentences:

If a certain condition is true, then a particular result happens.

I would travel around the world if I won the lottery.

When water reaches 100 degrees, it boils.

What Are the Different Types of Conditional Sentences? There are four different types of conditional sentences in English. Each expresses a different degree of probability that a situation will occur or would have occurred under certain circumstances.

• Zero Conditional Sentences
• First Conditional Sentences
• Second Conditional Sentences
• Third Conditional Sentences

Let’s look at each of these different types of conditional sentences in more detail.

How to Use Zero Conditional Sentences

Zero conditional sentences express general truths—situations in which one thing always causes another. When you use a zero conditional, you’re talking about a general truth rather than a specific instance of something. Consider the following examples:

If you don’t brush your teeth, you get cavities.

When people smoke cigarettes, their health suffers.

There are a couple of things to take note of in the above sentences in which the zero conditional is used. First, when using the zero conditional, the correct tense to use in both clauses is the simple present tense. A common mistake is to use the simple future tense.

When people smoke cigarettes, their health will suffer.

Secondly, notice that the words if and when can be used interchangeably in these zero conditional sentences. This is because the outcome will always be the same, so it doesn’t matter “if” or “when” it happens.

How to Use First Conditional Sentences

First conditional sentences are used to express situations in which the outcome is likely (but not guaranteed) to happen in the future. Look at the examples below:

If you rest, you will feel better.

If you set your mind to a goal, you’ll eventually achieve it.

Note that we use the simple present tense in the if-clause and simple future tense in the main clause—that is, the clause that expresses the likely outcome. This is how we indicate that under a certain condition (as expressed in the if-clause), a specific result will likely happen in the future. Examine some of the common mistakes people make using the first conditional structure:

If you will rest, you will feel better.

If you rest, you will feel better.

Explanation: Use the simple present tense in the if-clause.

If you set your mind to a goal, you eventually achieve it.

If you set your mind to a goal, you’ll eventually achieve it.

Explanation: Use the zero conditional (i.e., simple present + simple present) only when a certain result is guaranteed. If the result is likely, use the first conditional (i.e., simple present + simple future).

How to Use Second Conditional Sentences

Second conditional sentences are useful for expressing outcomes that are completely unrealistic or will not likely happen in the future. Consider the examples below:

If I inherited a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.

If I owned a zoo, I might let people interact with the animals more.

Notice the correct way to structure second conditional sentences is to use the simple past tense in the if-clause and an auxiliary modal verb (e.g., could, should, would, might) in the main clause (the one that expresses the unrealistic or unlikely outcome). The following sentences illustrate a couple of the common mistakes people make when using the second conditional:

If I inherit a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.

If I inherited a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.

Explanation: When applying the second conditional, use the simple past tense in the if-clause.

If I owned a zoo, I will let people interact with the animals more.

If I owned a zoo, I might let people interact with the animals more.

Explanation: Use a modal auxiliary verb in the main clause when using the second conditional mood to express the unlikelihood that the result will actually happen.

How to Use Third Conditional Sentences

Third conditional sentences are used to explain that present circumstances would be different if something different had happened in the past. Look at the following examples:

If you had told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.

If I had cleaned the house, I could have gone to the movies.

These sentences express a condition that was likely enough, but did not actually happen in the past. The speaker in the first sentence was capable of leaving early, but did not. Along these same lines, the speaker in the second sentence was capable of cleaning the house, but did not. These are all conditions that were likely, but regrettably did not happen.

Note that when using the third conditional, we use the past perfect (i.e., had + past participle) in the if-clause. The modal auxiliary (would, could, shoud, etc.) + have + past participle in the main clause expresses the theoretical situation that could have happened.

Consider these common mistakes when applying the third conditional:

If you would have told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.

If you had told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.

Explanation: With third conditional sentences, do not use a modal auxiliary verb in the if-clause.

If I had cleaned the house, I could go to the movies.

If I had cleaned the house, I could have gone to the movies.

Explanation: The third conditional mood expresses a situation that could have only happened in the past if a certain condition had been met. That’s why we use the modal auxiliary verb + have + the past participle.

Exceptions and Special Cases When Using Conditional Sentences

As with most topics in the English language, conditional sentences often present special cases in which unique rules must be applied.

Use of the Simple Future in the If-Clause

Generally speaking, the simple future should be used only in the main clause. One exception is when the action in the if-clause will take place after the action in the main clause. For example, consider the following sentence:

If aspirin will ease my headache, I will take a couple tonight.

The action in the if-clause is the aspirin easing the headache, which will take place only after the speaker takes them later that night.

“Were to” in the If-Clause

The verb phrase were to is sometimes used in conditional sentences when the likely or unlikely result is particularly awful or unthinkable. In this case, were to is used to place emphasis on this potential outcome. Consider these sentences:

If I were to be sick, I would miss another day of work.

If she were to be late again, she would have to have a conference with the manager.

If the rent were to have been a penny more, they would not have been able to pay it.

Note that the emphatic “were to” can be used to describe hypothetical scenarios in the present, future, and past.

Punctuating Conditional Sentences

Despite the complex nature of conditional sentences, punctuating them properly is really simple!

Here’s the skinny:

Use a comma after the if-clause when the if-clause precedes the main clause.

If I’d had time, I would have cleaned the house.

If the main clause precedes the if-clause, no punctuation is necessary.

I would have cleaned the house if I’d had time.

How to Clean Up Your Resume After a Work Break

Honesty is the best policy. This old adage proves true in many situations. According to Monster.com, truthful job seekers project confidence and a sense of integrity, qualities that employers highly value. However, have you ever met someone who is too candid? TMI is an acronym for too much information. For certain, you do not want potential employers to be reminded of these three letters when they read your resume. So, how do you present work breaks in a positive way without oversharing unnecessary details? Examine the following three possible TMI reasons for work gaps. After identifying why the reasons are TMI, consider less blunt delivery methods for each one.

The TMI reason: My children were turning into brats so I had to do an intervention.

Parenthood is one of the most common reasons for employees to voluntarily leave the workforce. Some parents return to work after a short period of time, but others do not work again until their children are adults. List the dates you cared for your children on your resume. Use a dignified title, such as full-time parent, to communicate how you spent your time. If you take care of an elderly parent or another family member, you may choose to describe your role as caregiver or estate manager.

It is common for job seekers to describe the duties of each job that they list on a resume. Describe your responsibilities as a homemaker in the same way. Did you raise funds or organize committees at your child’s school? Did you attend classes or manage household finances? Recruiters will get a sense of your complete skill set if you share your talents and accomplishments.

The TMI reason: My boss was a super jerk. No one likes him. I am not the only one who quit!

Loyalty is important to employers. Recruiting, training, and managing employees requires time and money. If they suspect that you leave at the first sight of a problem, they may conclude that you do not merit the investment. How can you demonstrate that you are worthy of trust? Do you have a history of holding job positions for several years? In that case, there is little reason to worry that you will seem flighty. Let your work history speak for itself. There is no need to volunteer any negative opinions about your former employer. If you are asked directly on a job application or in an interview, briefly explain that you wanted to explore other career options or are seeking new challenges.

You can also minimize the perceived work gap by eliminating specific dates from your resume. For example, imagine that you worked at Company X from December 1, 2013, to January 1, 2014. Then, you quit because of your annoying manager. You did not find another job until December 2014. On your resume, use only the years 2013-2014 to indicate the time you worked at Company X. When you list your next job as 2014-present, there is no obvious work gap. You can also fill gaps with volunteer work, education, or personal travel. If asked, refer to these noble pursuits rather than the toxic personality of your superior as the reason you took time off work.

The TMI reason: I was caught stealing paper clips. I can’t resist those shiny little beauties.

You got fired. Don’t worry. It is not the end of the world. How you should handle this issue depends on why you got fired.

For the sake argument, let’s say you were fired because a health issue affected your performance at work. In this example, you stole the paper clips because you suffer from kleptomania. After your dismissal, you sought treatment. You are now managing your health issue well. You might include a note on your resume that there was a health issue which is now resolved or which will not affect the job for which you are applying.

If the theft of the paperclips was only a huge lapse in judgment, it might be more difficult to explain it on a resume. Remember, you do not need to include every single place you worked on your resume. You might limit the work history to relevant experience or your most recent occupations. If you do decide to mention the terminated position on the resume, prepare before the interview how to explain it. You will want to talk about how you have corrected the problems that resulted in your dismissal. Under the references section, provide contact information of colleagues who will speak positively about you. Written recommendations from clients or co-workers are especially useful.

Honesty is certainly a virtue, but you can have too much of a good thing. If you have gaps in your work experience, do not despair. By crafting your resume thoughtfully, you can present your work breaks in the best possible light. Share what skills you gained, what responsibilities you fulfilled, and what experiences broadened your horizons during the time that you were not employed. Be selective about what information you volunteer, and what references you choose to include on your resume. Whatever you do, avoid sabotaging your resume with TMI!

Stop saying St. Patty’s Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! While you’re drinking green beer and counting shamrock leaves, you might end up debating a popular St. Patrick’s Day question: is it St. Patty’s Day or St. Paddy’s Day?

It’s easy to think that Patrick ought to be shortened to “Patty.” The name contains a T rather than a D, after all. However, “Paddy” comes from the Irish name Padraig, which is the reason St. Paddy’s Day is spelled with a D instead of a T.

The “Patty” vs. “Paddy” debate is so hot that there’s even a website and Twitter account dedicated to promoting the correct spelling.

Cheers to knowing the correct spelling of St. Paddy’s Day! We’ll tackle the meaning of Erin go bragh another time.