We Studied 750 Top LinkedIn Profiles. Here’s How to Write Yours Better.

Your LinkedIn profile is likely among the top—and thus most clicked—results if someone happens to Google you. And a well-curated LinkedIn summary can offer them a wealth of information about your professional background. So whether you’re just quietly cruising through options or firing off applications like it’s your other job, you want your profile to shine.

Maybe you’ve already done the obvious, making hundreds of connections and racking up tons of endorsements. But there are still all these boxes where your writing is supposed to go, and you’re never quite sure what to say. What words would a radiant master of LinkedIn put here, you wonder. We have an answer for you.

We’ve been studying this question by analyzing the language on hundreds of top-tier LinkedIn profiles. We looked for patterns and trends to better inform what works—what can enhance your reputation and advance your career. In the end, we culled data from 750 profiles of employees at Fortune 500 companies, including entry-level workers, managers, and directors. From this, we distilled four key findings.

1Employees—especially entry-level workers—could often say more about themselves up top.

Filling out your profile summary matters, but only 42 percent of the entry-level employees we analyzed seemed to bother. Managers and directors both did so a bit more often—closer to half in our study.

We suspect people overlook the profile summary because they’re often busy describing their work experience further down their profile—or waiting until they’re actually looking for a new job to make a proper introduction atop their page. In fact, regardless of their experience level, people proved more likely to fill out the work experience section. Especially among managers, 65 percent did so, cranking out a robust 192 words on average for each job they described. (More on word counts further down.)

The top of your LinkedIn profile is an opportunity to summarize what you’re about—to make an impression beyond the array of jobs you’ve held. You might try thinking of it as an opportunity to answer the question, What makes me an outstanding candidate for my next career move?

Communicating as much may sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be an epic undertaking; the folks who filled out their profile summary in our analysis averaged between 70 and 100 words.

Also, as LinkedIn itself notes, while this field allows up to 2,000 characters, it will only display the first two lines before readers have to click to see more. This isn’t the place to save the best for last, so be sure to showcase your strongest attributes and achievements in the first sentence or two.

(An intriguing side note: Directors had appreciably more misspelled words in their profile summaries than entry-level workers—a ratio of six to two, by our count. What accounts for this seemingly lackadaisical approach to orthography among directors is a mystery.)

2Speak the language: Directors used more business terms.

Every profession has its own unique shorthand that insiders use to communicate conveniently. (Are you a leader in innovative solutions that impact return on investment? Or more hot on high-level abstraction? …You get the idea.)

While we’ve noted before that this can cause trouble when you’re trying to reach a broader audience that’s not on the same wavelength, it’s a practical inevitability among a group of people all working in the same field. On LinkedIn, using these words might just signal to peers, Hey friends, I’m one of you.

Comparing against a list of 100 of the most common such terms, we found that directors used more than three times as much industry parlance as entry-level workers. Managers, perhaps fittingly, were in the middle.

The single most-used example, which led across all three levels of experience, was the word “leader.” If you’re curious, tab over to your profile now and see if you spot any from our overall top five: leader, strategic, solution, innovative, ROI.

Notably, entry-level employees also often sought to portray themselves as proactive in their profile summaries, while the word dynamic was a standout word among managers in our study. Directors, perhaps tasked with the most budgetary responsibility, particularly emphasized ROI.

“These kinds of terms help recruiters easily search and find qualified candidates on LinkedIn,” says Angela Ritter, a recruiter for Grammarly who reviews upwards of 200 resumes each week. “Having common business language on your profile is important, but you have to be prepared to talk about your expertise with those terms. ”

3Is your LinkedIn profile saying too much, or just enough?

Our analysis found that the higher up you go in a company, the longer your job title tends to become. Where the typical entry-level worker we studied has around three words in their job title, managers had four and directors had six.

This pattern held true across the hundreds of profile summaries we analyzed. While entry-level employees who filled in this field offered an average of 70 words in their profile summary, managers put down 80 and directors piled on 97.

But that trend was not the case further down the page, where managers led with a striking 192 words on each entry for work experience. Directors were in roughly the same ballpark with 169, but entry-level workers lagged markedly, totaling a mere 106 on average.

What accounts for this discrepancy isn’t certain, but the takeaway for neophytes is evident: There’s likely room to talk a bit more about what you’ve done.

For her part, Ritter urges recent graduates to talk about their accomplishments: “If you’re a recent graduate, keep your relevant internship and college leadership roles on your LinkedIn page,” she says. Such credentials are worth hanging onto until you’re at least two jobs into your career.

“When you’re fresh out of school, detailing your collegiate accomplishments can play a factor in landing a position. It further demonstrates your work ethic and ability to multitask to a hiring manager who is getting to know you.”

One other thing to note as you tab over to your LinkedIn account and consider your profile title: does it look a little short, or perhaps overlong? We found the typical profile title is around six words—or seven, if you’re a director.

4Entry-level employees don’t use LinkedIn for recommendations as much as they could.

Here, the trend is stark: people with entry-level jobs received scant recommendations on LinkedIn, and they gave even fewer.

While entry-level employees in our study received some 61 recommendations in total, managers outpaced them fourfold, with 277. Directors nearly doubled that figure again, with 519 recommendations received.

The pattern was even more prominent when it came to giving recommendations. While the newcomers we looked at gave just 24, managers tallied more than ten times as many, with 267. Among directors, the disparity was more than twenty-fold; they gave a total of 532 recommendations.

It’s worth noting here that across experience levels, the more recommendations a LinkedIn user gives, the more they tend to receive. If you’re looking to up your count, there are worse strategies than to simply mash out a few recommendations of your own for deserving colleagues, then see who returns the favor.

Alternatively, you could also just reach out and ask a couple of people. If you go that route, try a polite email instead of a request sent through LinkedIn, so it’s harder to miss.

Put your best self forward.

Skimming job listings isn’t most people’s idea of a picnic. Between drafting a cover letter, waiting for a response, and the often nerve-racking process of interviewing, landing a dream job isn’t easy. Even updating your LinkedIn profile can be a disquieting chore if you’ve neglected it for a month or six. (It happens.)

What it takes to make a solid impression with a recruiter or potential future colleague shouldn’t be a mystery. Grammarly is here to help you look sharp as you make your way forward.

Uses of Verbs–Grammar

Verbs tell you what the subject of a sentence or clause is doing (or being). Verbs are conjugated according to person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, or voice.

Verbs are at the heart of sentences and clauses; they are indispensable to the formation of a complete thought. A verb can express a thought by itself (with the subject implied) and be understood.

Run!

Believe!

Action vs. Nonaction Verbs

Action verbs simply indicate an action or occurrence.

Gloria walked across the room.

The shark swam menacingly close to the shore.

Even when used figuratively rather than literally, some verbs can still be considered action verbs.

The singer broke with tradition by shaking hands with his fans.

In this example, the singer didn’t really break anything, but the verb is still an action verb.

Conversely, nonaction verbs can indicate a state of being, sense, emotion, desire, possession, or opinion. The most common nonaction verb is to be.

I am a good person.

The baby felt cold without her blanket.

My mother loves me.

I have four tickets to the show.

Verb Tenses

Verbs change in form, or tense, to indicate whether the actions or states are occurring in the present (or are happening continuously), occurred in the past, or will occur in the future.

I take the bus.

I am taking the bus.

I took the bus.

I will take the bus.

These examples indicate the simple present, present continuous, simple past, and simple future tenses respectively. Further possible tenses include present perfect (I have taken the bus), present perfect continuous (I have been taking the bus), past continuous (I was taking the bus), past perfect (I had taken the bus), past perfect continuous (I had been taking the bus), future continuous (I will be taking the bus), future perfect (I will have taken the bus), and future perfect continuous (I will have been taking the bus). All the latter uses would require additional grammatical elements to form complete thoughts. To ensure good writing, it is important for verbs to be used consistently and in a logical sequence so that the time period being written about is properly understood. Verbs can also have up to five different forms: root, third-person singular, present participle, past, and past participle.

Verb Moods

Among a verb’s many properties is mood. A verb’s mood, sometimes referred to as a mode, can be either indicative, imperative, or subjunctive. The most common of these is the indicative mood. Indicative mood is used for statements of fact or opinion and to pose questions.

Every rose has its thorn.

A cat has nine lives.

Is the moon made of cheese?

The imperative mood is used to express commands. Subjects are often implied rather than expressed in sentences with imperative verbs. In the following examples, the subject you is implied:

Put that down!

Please exit the building in single file.

The subjunctive mood is used to express a verb with an action or state that is doubtful, imagined, conditional, desired, or hypothetical.

I wish you were here.

It is implied by this sentence that you are not actually here, but I wish that were not so. Were is in the subjunctive mood. Conditional verbs (which often appear with if/when statements) also receive a subjunctive treatment.

If I were a younger man, I would run three miles a day.

Were and would run indicate the subjunctive mood.

Of course, it is also important to follow the grammatical rules for conjugating verbs, including all those pesky English irregular verbs.

Pronouns

What Is a Pronoun?

Pronouns make up a small subcategory of nouns. The distinguishing characteristic of pronouns is that they can be substituted for other nouns. For instance, if you’re telling a story about your sister Sarah, the story will begin to sound repetitive if you keep repeating “Sarah” over and over again.

Sarah has always loved fashion. Sarah announced that Sarah wants to go to fashion school.

You could try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sarah as “my sister,” but then it sounds like you’re referring to two different people.

Sarah has always loved fashion. My sister announced that Sarah wants to go to fashion school.

Instead, you can use the pronouns she and her to refer to Sarah.

Sarah has always loved fashion. She announced that she wants to go to fashion school.

Personal Pronouns

There are a few different types of pronouns, and some pronouns belong to more than one category. She and her are known as personal pronouns. The other personal pronouns are I and me, you, he and him, it, we and us, and they and them. If you learned about pronouns in school, these are probably the words your teacher focused on. We’ll get to the other types of pronouns in a moment.

Antecedents

Pronouns are versatile. The pronoun it can refer to just about anything: a bike, a tree, a movie, a feeling. That’s why you need an antecedent. An antecedent is a noun or noun phrase that you mention at the beginning of a sentence or story and later replace with a pronoun. In the examples below, the antecedent is highlighted and the pronoun that replaces it is bolded.

My family drives me nuts, but I love them. The sign was too far away for Henry to read it. Sarah said she is almost finished with the application.

In some cases, the antecedent doesn’t need to be mentioned explicitly, as long as the context is totally clear. It’s usually clear who the pronouns I, me, and you refer to based on who is speaking.

It’s also possible to use a pronoun before you mention the antecedent, but try to avoid doing it in long or complex sentences because it can make the sentence hard to follow.

I love them, but my family drives me nuts.

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns make up another class of pronouns. They are used to connect relative clauses to independent clauses. Often, they introduce additional information about something mentioned in the sentence. Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, and whom. Traditionally, who refers to people, and which and that refer to animals or things.

The woman who called earlier didn’t leave a message. All the dogs that got adopted today will be loved. My car, which is nearly twenty years old, still runs well.

Whether you need commas with who, which, and that depends on whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive.

Who vs. Whom—Subject and Object Pronouns

Now that we’ve talked about relative pronouns, let’s tackle the one that causes the most confusion: who vs. whom. Who is a subject pronoun, like I, he, she, we, and they. Whom is an object pronoun, like me, him, her, us and them. When the pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition, the object form is the one you want. Most people don’t have much trouble with the objective case of personal pronouns because they usually come immediately after the verb or preposition that modifies it.

Please mail it to I.

Please mail it to me.

Ms. Higgins caught they passing notes.

Ms. Higgins caught them passing notes.

Is this cake for we?

Is this cake for us?

Whom is trickier, though, because it usually comes before the verb or preposition that modifies it.

Whom did you speak to earlier?

A man, whom I have never seen before, was asking about you.

Whom should I say is calling?

One way to test whether you need who or whom is to try substituting a personal pronoun. Find the place where the personal pronoun would normally go and see whether the subject or object form makes more sense.

Who/whom did you speak to earlier? Did you speak to he/him earlier?

A man, whom I have never seen before, was asking about you. Have I seen he/him before?

Whom should I say is calling? Should I say she/her is calling?

If the object pronoun (him or her) sounds right, use whom. If the subject pronoun (he or she) sounds right, use who.

Before we move on, there’s one more case where the choice between subject and object pronouns can be confusing. Can you spot the problem in the sentences below?

Henry is meeting Sarah and I this afternoon. There are no secrets between you and I. It doesn’t matter to him or I.

In each of the sentences above, the pronoun I should be me. If you remove the other name or pronoun from the sentence, it becomes obvious.

Henry is meeting I this afternoon. No one keeps secrets from I. It doesn’t matter to I.

Demonstrative Pronouns

That, this, these and those are demonstrative pronouns. They take the place of a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned.

This is used for singular items that are nearby. These is used for multiple items that are nearby. The distance can be physical or metaphorical.

Here is a letter with no return address. Who could have sent this? What a fantastic idea! This is the best thing I’ve heard all day. If you think gardenias smell nice, try smelling these.

That is used for singular items that are far away. Those is used for multiple items that are far away. Again, the distance can be physical or metaphorical.

A house like that would be a nice place to live. Some new flavors of soda came in last week. Why don’t you try some of those? Those aren’t swans, they’re geese.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are used when you need to refer to a person or thing that doesn’t need to be specifically identified. Some common indefinite pronouns are one, other, none, some, anybody, everybody, and no one.

Everybody was late to work because of the traffic jam. It matters more to some than others. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

When indefinite pronouns function as subjects of a sentence or clause, they usually take singular verbs.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

Use a reflexive pronoun when both the subject and object of a verb refer to the same person or thing.

Henry cursed himself for his poor eyesight. They booked themselves a room at the resort. I told myself it was nothing.

Intensive pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but their purpose is different. Intensive pronouns add emphasis.

I built this house myself. Did you yourself see Loretta spill the coffee?

“I built this house” and “I built this house myself” mean almost the same thing. But “myself” emphasizes that I personally built the house—I didn’t hire someone else to do it for me. Likewise, “Did you see Loretta spill the coffee?” and “Did you yourself see Loretta spill the coffee?” have similar meanings. But “yourself” makes it clear that the person asking wants to know whether you actually witnessed the incident or whether you only heard it described by someone else.

Occasionally, people are tempted to use myself where they should use me because it sounds a little fancier. Don’t fall into that trap! If you use a -self form of a pronoun, make sure it matches one of the uses above.

Please call Sarah or myself if you are going to be late. Loretta, Henry, and myself are pleased to welcome you to the neighborhood.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns come in two flavors: limiting and absolute. My, your, its, his, her, our, their and whose are used to show that something belongs to an antecedent.

Sarah is working on her application. Just put me back on my bike. The students practiced their presentation after school.

The absolute possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs. The absolute forms can be substituted for the thing that belongs to the antecedent.

Are you finished with your application? Sarah already finished hers. The blue bike is mine. I practiced my speech and the students practiced theirs.

Some possessive pronouns are easy to mix up with similar-looking contractions. Remember, possessive personal pronouns don’t include apostrophes.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used in questions. The interrogative pronouns are who, what, which, and whose.

Who wants a bag of jelly beans? What is your name? Which movie do you want to watch? Whose jacket is this?

How to Network: 5 Simple Ways to Stand Out

Want to advance your career? Expanding your network can play a huge role in your success, but for many of us networking events can feel intimidating, panic-inducing, or just plain awkward.

So how do you set yourself apart from the job-seeking hordes, and still retain your dignity?

Whether you have no idea how to network or just want some pointers for upping your game, here are five simple ways you can stand out from the competition.

1Create a Personal Connection

When you head into a networking situation, you may have some important career-goals you want to accomplish, like landing a new job, finding a mentor, or raising funds for your current venture. If you’re feeling tempted (or pressured) to go into full-on sales mode with everyone in your path, it’s time to slow your roll.

Effective networking is all about kindling new relationships—not frantically exchanging business cards with twenty people who won’t remember you.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, take the time to connect with two or three key people on a personal level. Head in with the mindset that you’re there to make friends—not to get a job interview or hawk your wares. If you treat other human beings like stepping stones or cash dispensers, they’re going to pick up on that vibe.

So instead of droning on with a laundry list of why you’re awesome, try having a genuine conversation. Keep the elevator pitch of what you do to about thirty seconds, and make sure you’re asking questions and listening to the other person.

Connect with them on any interests and experiences you have in common. Maybe you both love to travel, grew up in the same area, or have kids. If you know you’ll be meeting specific people, do some homework ahead of time so you’ll have an idea of the key topics that interest them.

2Invest in the Relationship

Once you’ve established a personal connection with someone, it’s important to continue fostering the relationship. Follow up with them by email within twenty-four hours.

Show them you’re a valuable contact with a lot to offer. This can be as simple as:

• Sharing a helpful article that’s relevant to your conversation.
• Giving a referral for a service they need (like a great graphic designer or financial planner).
• Offering to help out with their passion project.

Be a generous giver and don’t expect or imply that you want anything in return. Positioning yourself as an asset will set you apart from the chorus of voices constantly asking them for things.

Make a point of keeping in touch and suggest meeting up for coffee or lunch if it feels appropriate.

When the time comes that you do have an ask, they’ll be happy to help you out since they know you personally and appreciate the ways you’ve helped them.

When that coveted job opening comes up, you’ll be the first person they think of.

3Promote Their Work

What if your networking prospects are mainly online instead of in-person? Reaching out to create a personal connection “virtually” can feel overwhelming. Sure, you could take your chances with cold-emailing, but it’s always smart to start establishing a relationship before putting an ask out there.

A great way to build connections with people is to engage with the work they’re doing.

Have a favorite thought leader you’d love to interview for your podcast? Read their blog posts, leave intelligent comments, share your favorite posts, and remember to tag them.

Want to get published on a particular site? Start following the journalist writing about your niche topic. Engage with and share their work. Tweet a quote from their latest article and mention the author—they’ll likely retweet it.

People are much happier to engage with you when they see that you’re genuinely interested and you care about the work they’re doing.

4Connect Through Body Language

If you do get to meet folks in person at a networking event, be sure you’re building connection and trust through your body language.

Put away your phone and quit skulking in that dark corner. Be friendly and smile (this increases your perceived trustworthiness). Make great eye contact, show them they’re the center of your attention and you’re not just looking around for someone better to talk to.

Stand confidently with your feet pointing toward the person you’re conversing with. Keep your arms open (crossed arms communicate that you’re blocking people out).

If food and drinks are served, get them one at a time so you’ll always have a free hand to give a firm handshake. A handshake is a great way to both start and end a conversation.

5Play to Your Strengths

Not all networking situations will be a great fit for you. You’ll get the most out of your networking efforts by attending events where you know you’ll be able to shine.

Feel sharpest in the mornings? Sign up for the 7:00 a.m. breakfast. Confirmed night owl? Hit up the after-hours soiree. Love to mingle with the crowd? Head on over to that 500-person dinner.

Practice your conversation skills and body language in situations where you feel comfortable so you’ll have greater confidence when you attend events that push your boundaries.

And when you follow up with your new contacts, you can suggest activities that play to your strengths— whether that’s a one-on-one coffee date or drinks with a group of friends in your industry.

50 Awesome Holiday Words to Know This December

The holidays are upon us, and these winter celebrations with their many traditions each have a rich and varied vocabulary.

From Krampus to kinara, latke to plum pudding, frankincense to yule—there’s a whole host of fantastic holiday words to explore.

So broaden your lexicon and enter the holiday spirit with these fifty awesome holiday words!

1. Advent:

A Latin word meaning “coming;” the Christian season of expectant waiting and preparation beginning four Sundays before Christmas.

2. Bauble:

A small, decorative sphere hung from a Christmas tree.

3. Boxing Day:

A British holiday celebrated the day after Christmas; traditionally when servants and tradespeople were given a “Christmas Box” by employers.

4. Carol:

A festive song or hymn sung at Christmas.

5. Christmas:

A religious and cultural festival celebrating Jesus Christ’s birth that is typically observed on December 25th.

6. Chimney:

A hollow structure allowing smoke from an indoor fireplace to vent outside; also Santa Claus’s magical entryway into homes.

7. Dreidel:

A four-sided top used by children to play a gambling game during Hanukkah.

8. Druid:

A highly-educated priest or professional in the ancient Celtic cultures of Britain and Gaul.

9. Eggnog:

An alcoholic drink made with cream, sugar, eggs, and distilled spirits.

10. Elves:

Magical, pointy-eared creatures who build toys for well-behaved children.

11. Epiphany:

A Christian feast day celebrated on January 6th, commemorating the Magi’s visit to the baby Jesus.

12. Father Christmas:

The English personification of Christmas, now synonymous with Santa Claus.

13. Feliz Navidad:

A Spanish phrase meaning “Happy Christmas.”

14. Frankincense:

An incense symbolizing holiness.

15. Gingerbread:

A cookie made with molasses and ginger.

16. Grinch:

A grouchy spoilsport who doesn’t enjoy Christmas.

17. Hanukkah:

The eight-day “festival of lights” commemorating the rededication of the Jewish temple around 200 B.C. The holiday is celebrated by lighting candles, eating fried foods, playing games, and giving gifts.

18. Holly:

An evergreen bush with red berries and prickly leaves used as winter holiday decoration in pagan and Christian traditions.

19. Immanuel:

A Hebrew name meaning “God with us.”

20. Jolly:

Cheerful and good-humored.

21. Kinara:

A candle holder for the seven candles lit during Kwanzaa.

22. Krampus:

A half-goat half-demon character of European folklore who punishes misbehaving children during Christmas.

23. Kwanzaa:

A seven-day festival celebrating African American cultural heritage, created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. Festivities include candle lighting, singing, storytelling, poetry reading, and feasting.

24. Lapland:

A region in Finland rumored to be where Santa Claus lives.

25. Latkes:

Pancakes made of grated potato, fried in oil, and served during Hanukkah.

26. Magi:

The Zoroastrian priests of ancient Persia. According to tradition, three of these “wise men” visited the infant Jesus.

27. Manger:

An open box or trough holding food for livestock.

28. Mele Kalikimaka:

A phonetic translation of “Merry Christmas” into the Hawaiian language.

29. Menorah:

A nine-branched candelabrum used during Hanukkah.

30. Miracle:

An extraordinary and welcome event, unexplainable by scientific laws.

31. Mistletoe:

A parasitic plant with white berries, hung from doorways as a Christmas decoration. People are expected to kiss when standing beneath it.

32. Mittens:

Gloves with one opening for the thumb and another for the four fingers.

33. Myrrh:

A fragrant oil symbolizing suffering and mortality.

34. Nativity:

The place and conditions of a birth; commonly used to refer to the birth of Jesus.

35. Naughty:

Badly-behaved. “Naughty” children traditionally received coal from Santa Claus instead of presents.

36. Noel:

“The Christmas season”; derived from Old French.

37. North Pole:

Believed by many Westerners to be Santa Claus’s home.

38. Nutcracker:

A device used to crack open the shells of nuts.

39. Plum Pudding:

A steamed Christmas cake resembling a cannonball, filled with dried fruit.

40. Poinsettia:

A Mexican shrub first used as a Christmas decoration by Franciscan friars in the 17th century.

41. Santa Claus:

A mythical, white-bearded man clad in red who delivers presents to well-behaved children on Christmas Eve; based on legends of the historic Saint Nicholas’s generosity.

42. Sleigh:

A sled typically pulled by horses or reindeer.

43. Stocking:

A long sock, traditionally filled with small Christmas gifts.

44. Tidings:

Breaking news.

45. Tinsel:

Slender strips of shiny metallic foil used as Christmas decorations.

46. Toboggan:

A long, wooden sled used to coast down snow-covered hills.

47. Wassail:

A hot, spiced cider drink, traditionally served to poor carolers by their wealthy neighbors.

48. Winter Solstice:

The first day of winter and shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere).

49. Wreath:

A circular arrangement of greenery or flowers.

50. Yule:

A pagan festival celebrating rebirth and renewal, held on the winter solstice.

Are Emojis Language?

Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit, emojis have taken over. Following the latest update by the Unicode Consortium, the body that dictates language on digital devices, there are now 1,085 officially-recognized emojis in circulation. Five years after their introduction in the United States, emojis have started to dominate messaging and social media apps. Swyft estimates that 6 billion of the emotion pictures are sent in messaging apps every day, and Instagram reports that over half of all Instagram posts include at least one emoji.

We can all agree they’re popular, but here’s a different question: do emojis count as language, modern hieroglyphics, or some other form of pictorial communication?

What Makes a Language?

It can be difficult to decide when a new mode of communication is a “language” rather than a dialect within a larger linguistic landscape. Often, things considered by some as discreet languages are in fact creoles or dialects that do not differ enough to branch completely from parent languages. However, as with many aspects of culture, new innovations emerge, and occasionally these are distinguished as entirely new languages.

According to Johanna Nichols, former professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley, the gold standard for distinguishing languages is “mutual intelligibility.” In other words, if a speaker of one language and a speaker of another try to converse, will they understand one another? If the answer is “yes,” the second speaker is using some sort of dialect. If the answer is “no”, that person has created or adopted a new language.

However, the mutual intelligibility concept doesn’t always provide a clear picture of how languages relate to each other, since some dialects seem more different from each other than certain groups of languages do. For example, Americans might have trouble understanding Southeast Asian pidgin English speakers, but Spanish speakers might catch the gist of something said in Portuguese. Also, this does not help us to determine whether an entirely new communicative system is, in fact a language. Are emojis merely images that might be interpreted differently by different groups of people? Or are they universal?

If you’re interested in learning more about how languages become officially recognized, check out this list of books on the evolution of English.

Communicative System vs. Hieroglyphics vs. Language

Before we get to emojis as language proper, let’s debunk one misconception—emojis are not hieroglyphics. Although they may represent a shift back toward more representative characters, they function very differently from hieroglyphics. As prominent Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch pointed out in a recent SXSW presentation on the subject, language has moved from more concrete characters to less concrete versions, allowing humans to communicate abstract concepts.

Unfortunately, most signs point to emojis lacking the characteristics of a true language. For example, when given a string of emojis, two people will not always interpret them the same way. Additionally, emojis cannot be conjugated or combined in ways that function like a true linguistic system, meaning that, although they are a helpful bunch of symbols, they aren’t “a particular, conventionalized system for representing abstract meaning, like English or Japanese or ASL.”

One thing is for certain: emojis are a communicative system. They allow people to communicate emotions, actions, or impressions that they don’t feel they can express in text. The Oxford English Dictionary supports this analysis of emojis, and cites it as the reason they made the “tears of joy” emoji their Word of the Year in 2015.

The Verdict? It’s Complicated

If you adhere to the strictest definition of language, emojis definitely do not make the cut. However, if you define a language as “a system of words or signs that people use to express thoughts and feelings to each other,” emojis have a chance. Whether or not they can replace English or any other formal language, emojis have evolved into a meaningful communicative system, allowing users worldwide to express feelings, thoughts, and ideas in new visual ways.

It may be some time before a major linguistic authority like Merriam-Webster or the OED comes to a definitive verdict about emojis as a distinct language. In the meantime, it’s interesting to track patterns in our usage of emojis. Are we using them instead of words? To replace phrases? As simple visual aids to our written texts?

Whether or not emojis are a language in their own right, they represent an interesting and deeply entertaining evolution of language worldwide. And that’s not a bad thing. ?

How to Write an Outline: 4 Ways to Organize Your Thoughts

When I was a novice writer, I chafed at the idea of using an outline. I was certain organizing my thoughts in advance would stifle my creativity and make my writing stiff and uninspired. After all, how can serendipity happen if you’ve got everything planned?

But then I started creating content for a living, and I needed to turn out several polished articles every week. I write at least 240,000 words per year to earn my keep. That’s only about half of War and Peace, but it still feels like a lot. I try to write quickly so I’m not still awake toiling away at the keyboard at 1 a.m. with a cup of tea and a couple of graham crackers. (1 a.m. graham cracker calories do seem to count, by the way.)

I discovered that it was taking me a long time to finish my articles because, when my creative mind was unfettered, I had a tendency to ramble in a chaotic stream of consciousness that I would then have to go back and structure in order for it to make sense. Not only that, but I would over-research. I’d wind up with a thousand words before I realized I was only one third of the way through my article. I’d have to go back, refocus, trim down, and sometimes even start over.

And so, I started outlining. And it saved me. Not only from sleep deprivation, but from graham-cracker weight gain. Here’s my step-by-step process. And it works!

1 Do some reconnaissance reading.

Unless I know my topic inside and out, I start with a little reconnaissance reading. I head to Google and look at what others have written on my topic. I try to think of new and interesting ways to address it. I look for an angle.

The easiest way to find an angle is to look for knowledge gaps in the articles you scan. Let’s use this article as an example. I searched to see what others had written on the topic of how to write an outline. I found a lot on the basics of structure, but not much about how to actually use outlines to improve the organization of your writing. Voila! An angle!

As you’re reading, take notes when you see interesting research or quotes you might want to share. Note the URLs, too, so you can reference them with links in your article. I keep my notes in a Google Doc on the same page where I’m eventually going to create my outline and write my article. Having all the information in one place will allow you to write faster when the time comes.

Here’s a tip: Don’t go too far down the research rabbit hole! Remember, you’re just doing a little reconnaissance reading. It’s easy to over-research, which wastes valuable writing time. Plan to write first, and then add research later.

2 Write down your objective.

Now that you’ve figured out an angle, it’s helpful to write down an objective. What do you want the reader to understand by the end of this article? Put some thought into your objective and see if you can write it in one sentence. My objective for this article was:

At the end of this article, readers will understand why outlines are useful and how to use them to organize their writing.

Everything you write should support your objective. An objective will help you stay focused and prevent you from drifting off on tangents.

Here’s a tip: Academic papers often include a thesis statement. A thesis states a premise or theory that your paper will go on to prove. It’s different from an objective. If you need more specific help with writing a thesis statement, try checking with any university writing center.

3 Create a list of all the main points you want to make.

I often begin this step while I’m doing my recon reading and ideas are popping into my head. This can be a quick brainstorming process. Don’t invest a lot of energy in organizing just yet. You’ll get to that in the next step.

4 Organize, revise, and eliminate.

Now it’s time to organize the list of points. Figure out the structure of your article. Will it work well as numbered how-to steps? A listicle? In standard essay format?

Take a look at the points you’ve jotted down and begin putting them into a logical order. Cross-check each point to make certain that it’s relevant to your objective. If you’ve strayed off the path and included extra information that doesn’t really fit the scope of your article, eliminate it.

Here’s a tip: Save things that don’t make it into your article—information that was extraneous to the article you’re working on now but may be interesting enough to pursue in a separate article some other time. I keep an idea file that I store as a Google Doc. Reference your file when you need a little article inspiration.

You may come across a few things that don’t quite fit into your article as their own sections, but seem important to mention nonetheless. Those elements make great sidebars. In this article, you’ll see them used as tips. Pretty nifty, huh?

As you revise, start putting your outline into a standard format. You don’t have to be too formal about this process, just organize everything into a bulleted or numbered list. (If you want to be traditional, use Roman numerals. I think they make my outlines look fancy.) Include topic segments. Under each topic segment, indent and include the points you’ll discuss in each paragraph. You don’t have to get too granular here—all you’re looking for is enough information to help you remember where you’re going and keep you organized and on track. My outline for this article looked like this:

I. Intro

A. I didn’t used to outline

B. Becoming a professional writer made me change my tune

C. Outlining brings structure to chaos

II. Do some recon reading

A. Look for angle, ways the topic has not been covered

1. Look for knowledge gaps

B. Take notes while you’re reading/record URLs

C. Don’t go too far down the research rabbit hole

III. Make a quick list of the points you want to make

IV. Organize the list into a formal outline

A. Get rid of anything that doesn’t support objective

1. Save extra stuff in a clip file for future use

B. Some extra stuff is worth keeping as tips/sidebars

C. Demonstrate standard outline format

An outline isn’t a prison—it’s there to guide you, not control you. You can take conscious detours, or change things around as you write. Outlines are just guidelines, so they shouldn’t feel restrictive. And yet, you’ll be surprised how the simple act of creating one will give your articles more structure and keep them focused and on-point. You’ll write with more clarity, and you’ll do it all faster and more efficiently. Outlines for the win!