9 Workflow Strategies That Will Make You a Faster Writer

Whether writing is your livelihood or your side hustle, being able to produce content quickly is a skill you’ll never regret developing. And not only will a solid process help you write faster, it will ease editing frustrations by making your draft more organized from the start.

I write all day, every day, and although I’ll never be the fastest writer in the world, I’ve had to make some serious adjustments to my own process in order to get things done and meet my deadlines. Using the process of drafting this article as an example, I’ve laid out my strategies. May they have you writing with speed and clarity in no time flat!

Before You Begin

1Do some reconnaissance.

No matter how well you know your topic, odds are good you’d benefit from a little inspiration. When I set out to write this article, I knew that I’d talk about my own workflow. But I also wanted to have a look at how other writers have approached the topic.

I did a Google search on my topic, and then scanned some of the top resulting articles. As I scanned, I took notes. My recon reading often helps me remember things I want to talk about. It also gives me a good idea of how other writers have covered this angle. Can I bring something new to the conversation that will help my post stand out?

2Decide what you want to say.

As I read for inspiration, I begin to formulate a plan for my article in my head. I want what I offer to be unique somehow, and I want to add my own personal touch to whatever I write. That means I have to decide how I want to cover this topic.

With this article, I decided to present a few tips for solidifying an idea, writing about that idea, and editing a draft. I thought about my process and decided which of my writing habits were most conducive to writing quickly and easily. (Hint: Taking a break to look at cute animals on Instagram is not, as it turns out, very helpful. But still, aaawww!)

Keep your topic focus narrow. In this article, I focused on strategies for writing faster, honing in on a specific skill (fast writing) rather than a broad angle (writing in general.)

3Create a quick outline.

Say it with me: Outlines are our friends!

When I was a managing editor, one of the biggest problems my writers had was organization. They tended to write as the ideas flowed into their heads, and often that made for a disjointed, rambling article.

If you’ve ever grown impatient while listening to someone tell a story, wanting them to just get to the point, then you know what it’s like to read an article that lacks organization. My dear content creators, no one wants to try to fish a few salient points out of your stream of consciousness. Let the stream flow as you outline so you can organize your article and create SEO-friendly headings.

And the bonus? Your article will be easier to write because you’ve gathered and organized your thoughts in advance.

When You’re Writing

4Write when you’re groggy.

When I stumble out of bed, pre-coffee, writing is the last thing on my mind. And yet, once I’ve got my good friend joe (as in cuppa) by my side, I dig in. And my writing always flows a lot better than I think it will. I’m regularly surprised by this fact, but science tells me I shouldn’t be.

According to Research Digest:

Insight-based problem-solving requires a broad, unfocused approach. You’re more likely to achieve that Aha! revelatory moment when your inhibitory brain processes are at their weakest and your thoughts are meandering.

5Get it down first.

Once you’ve got your outline created, you’re ready to put meat on the bones. Now is the time to get out of your own way and just write. Don’t retrace your steps, don’t edit as you go, and don’t stop for research.

If you’ve done some reconnaissance reading, you likely have enough information to start writing. I like to fill in my research blanks after my article is finished. Simply write everything off the cuff, and leave a placeholder where you want to add some research later. Journalists use the letters TK, which is journo lingo for “to come.” But I tend to just type “RESEARCH” and keep rolling.

6Write in chunks.

I find that certain parts of my story spring to mind earlier than others. I may have something I want to say immediately about a certain topic, so I’ll get that down first, lest I lose the momentum. It’s perfectly okay to skip to different segments of your article as you’re inspired to write about them. In fact, as I’m writing this paragraph, my intro paragraph is still unwritten. I’ll get back to it.

When You’re Editing

7Fill in your research holes and link to relevant posts.

Now that you’ve finished writing your draft, it’s time to connect the dots with research and add links. You may still have a little writing left to do to flesh out the research you’ve done, but it shouldn’t take much time since you’ll be working from reference material. Don’t forget to add links to relevant posts from your own site whenever you can.

I added the research from Research Digest and the Editorial Freelancers Association (below) to this article after I finished the draft. All I had to do was add the links and flesh out some text explaining the research. (Oh, and I also added this paragraph to explain the process.)

Here’s a tip: Organization tools like Evernote are great for jotting down quick research references. See our list of apps for writers for more suggestions.

8Do a developmental edit.

According to the Editorial Freelancers Association, “a developmental editor helps an author develop ideas—or develop a manuscript if it already exists—into a coherent, readable work.”

Congratulations! You’ve just become your own developmental editor. Now’s when you’re going to ensure that your article is indeed well organized (your outline should’ve helped with that.) Make sure you edit for clarity, and don’t forget to clean up any wordiness.

Here’s a tip: I recommend reading your article aloud. Run-on sentences and other syntax problems become glaringly obvious when you read them out loud, helping you identify what needs fixing.

9Proofread, proofread, proofread.

And finally, proofread. You’ve put all this effort into your article, so make sure you give it a thorough going-over to check for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you need a little help, there’s an app for that.

Do you have some handy tips for speed writing? Share them in the comments below.

Verb Conjugation–Grammar Rules

Verb conjugation refers to how a verb changes to show a different person, tense, number or mood.

Person:

In English, we have six different persons: first person singular (I), second person singular (you), third person singular (he/she/it/one), first person plural (we), second person plural (you), and third person plural (they). We must conjugate a verb for each person. The verb to be is a particularly notable verb for conjugation because it’s irregular.

Conjugation of the Irregular Verb to Be:

First Person Singular	Second Person Singular	Third Person Singular
I am	you are	he/she/it is
First Person Plural	Second Person Plural	Third Person Plural
we are	you are	they are

Tense:

Verbs are also conjugated according to their tenses. Verb tense indicates when the action in a sentence is happening (e.g., in the present, future, or past). Regular verbs follow a standard pattern when conjugated according to tense. Look at the examples below: Conjugation of the Regular Verb to Live (based on tense):

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
live	lived	will live
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
am living	was living	will be living
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
have lived	had lived	will have lived
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
have been living	had been living	will have been living

Conjugation of the Regular Verb to Work (based on tense):

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
work	worked	will work
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
am working	was working	will be working
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
have worked	had worked	will have worked
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
have been working	had been working	will have been working

Irregular verbs do not follow a standard pattern when conjugated according to verb tense. The following examples illustrate this point: Conjugation of the Irregular Verb to Eat (based on tense):

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
eat	ate	will eat
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
am eating	was eating	will be eating
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
have eaten	had eaten	will have eaten
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
have been eating	had been eating	will have been eating

Conjugation of the Irregular Verb to Drink (based on tense):

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
drink	drank	will drink
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
am drinking	was drinking	will be drinking
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
have drunk	had drunk	will have drunk
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
have been drinking	had been drinking	will have been drinking

26 Words and Phrases to Never Use in a Resume

Resumes are tricky things. The tried-and-true resume tropes of old no longer make the cut in today’s competitive market.

Odds are good that your resume will go through an applicant tracking system scan to determine whether it contains the right keywords before it even hits a hiring manager’s desk. But let’s assume you’ve passed that test and your resume is awaiting review. The difference between getting an interview and getting a thanks-but-no-thanks email (or no acknowledgement at all) could come down to the words or phrases you used in your resume. Here are twenty-six of them to eradicate.

Avoid cliches like the plague.

Google’s dictionary defines a cliche as “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.” The last thing you want to display on a document meant to dazzle an employer is a lack of original thought. Here are a few offenders to watch for.

1Best-of-breed

If you’re a prize standard poodle and you’ve recently scored a prestigious win at Crufts, then by all means use this term. Otherwise, thirty-eight percent of employers who responded to a CareerBuilder survey think you should slash it from your resume immediately.

2Think outside the box

There’s a certain irony in using a played-out expression to say that you’re a creative, original thinker. This one’s almost certain to make a hiring manager groan, or at least roll her eyes.

3Go-to person

You want to show that your colleagues rely on you for answers. Unfortunately, this trite phrase is more likely to make it seem like they rely on you as a source of antiquated tropes.

4Track record

Yeah, we get it, Seabiscuit—you’re always charging over that finish line, proving that you’re the fastest and the brightest. But the fastest and the brightest could find a better way to express that than “track record,” don’t you think?

5Win-win

No-no. This term has had its day. Let it fade from existence gracefully.

Buzzwords are beastly.

Office jargon—we love to hate it, don’t we? You probably wouldn’t have to think very long to come up with five stock words or phrases from office culture that make you cringe (at least inwardly) every time you hear them. Unfortunately, these words and phrases are pervasive. It’s all too easy to find yourself throwing them into your resume without a second thought. Time to send these beastly buzzwords out to pasture.

6Synergy

We bet you can’t find even one person who’ll defend the use of the term “synergy” in business culture, but you’re welcome to try. Go ahead. We’ll wait. Twenty-two percent of CareerBuilder survey respondents rated this one a deal breaker.

7Action (used as a verb)

You didn’t “action” that major project. Although verbs describe action, the word action itself is a noun. Please use it that way.

8Dynamic

Don’t get us wrong, dynamic is a solid word. It refers to a force that stimulates change or progress, or a system or process characterized by constant change and progress. All good things! But this word is so good that it’s become played out. These days, it’s a red flag signifying that you can’t think of a better way to express yourself.

9Going forward

You may want to show that you single-handedly led a project in a more positive direction, but if you say that the changes your team implemented “going forward” were successful, you may find hiring managers twitching rather than applauding.

10Thought leadership

Of course hiring managers are looking for people whose ideas are authoritative and influential. But if you use a tired phrase like “thought leader” to describe yourself, you’re likely to come across as lacking vision rather than having it.

Filler is useless.

Every word counts when you’re trying to keep your resume lean. Many people include stock filler words and phrases simply because they seem like part of a time-honored tradition. But your resume is a place to stand out from the pack, not merge with it.

11Responsible for

Boooo-ring. Use active verbs to describe your responsibilities. “Responsible for leading a committee” should become “Led a committee.”

12Salary negotiable

Yes, yes, the recruiter knows that you’ll negotiate your salary. But you have to be offered a position first. With this phrase on your resume, your odds of that are decidedly slimmer.

13References upon request

It’s assumed that if you’re asked to provide references you’ll give them. This phrase just takes up space.

14Phone and/or Email

Of course you should put your phone number and email address on your resume. But no, you don’t have to identify them as such with the words Phone and Email.

And twelve more words to eliminate . . .

The words and phrases above are some of the biggest resume offenders. Here are twelve more words and phrases you can also obliterate with impunity.

• Go-getter
• Value add
• Results-driven
• Team player
• Ambitious
• Proactive
• Hard worker
• Seasoned
• Strategic thinker
• Self-motivated
• Problem-solver
• Detail-oriented

“Show, don’t tell” is the golden rule.

When you’re creating or updating your resume, remember that showing is more powerful than telling. Instead of saying that you “think outside the box” say that you “envisioned and designed an innovative social media strategy that increased engagement by eighty-nine percent in three months.”

Remember to give concrete examples of your skills and successes—while avoiding cliches, buzzwords and filler—and your resume will shine like a beacon to recruiters and hiring managers everywhere.

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.