Meta is a word which, like so many other things, we have the ancient Greeks to thank for. When they used it, meta meant “beyond,” “after,” or “behind.” The “beyond” sense of meta still lingers in words like metaphysics or meta-economy. But that’s still not the meta most of us come across today.
One of the more popular uses of meta today is for the meaning best described by the formula “meta-X equals X about X.” So, if we take the word “data” for our X, and add the prefix meta- to it, we get metadata, or “data about data.” A meta-text is a text about texts, metacognition is thinking about thinking, and a meta-joke is a joke about jokes. The self-reflection sense of meta has also given rise to the use of the word as a standalone adjective, where meta is used to describe something that’s self-reflective or self-referencing.
The self-referencing sense of meta seems especially popular in art. In its simplest form, a book in which a character is writing a book or a movie in which a character is making a movie can be described as meta. Some works are more meta than others—the movie Birdman, for example, is a movie about an actor who played a superhero in a movie and who now tries to rekindle his career in theater, and that actor is played by an actor who really did play a superhero in a movie and is now trying to rekindle his career in a movie that looks more like a play than a movie.
When characters in a work of fiction act as if they are aware that they are in a work of fiction, this technique is called meta-referencing. It is often employed in metafiction, a work of fiction in which the author breaks with conventions in order to show that the work is, in fact, fiction.
In the world of gaming, meta is used in two ways. Meta can be used as an acronym for “most effective tactics available,” and calling something “meta” means that it’s an effective way to achieve the goal of the game, whether it’s to beat other players or beat the game itself. Meta can also be short for metagame, which is using information about the game, derived from the world beyond the game or its rules, to influence the outcome of the game or gain a competitive edge.
We lost beloved novelists like Harper Lee and Gloria Naylor; lyricists like David Bowie, Prince, and Leonard Cohen; and book-character-embodying actors like Alan Rickman and Gene Wilder.
We expressed a dip in mood in our writing online. One study by social media analytics company Crimson Hexagon showed that popular retail holidays like Black Friday experienced a rise in negative sentiment in 2016, despite rosy predictions. Similarly, sentiment analysis of the 2016 American election showed more negative emotions than ever before. One study published by the National Academy of Sciences in November even suggests that a well-known linguistic phenomenon, the tendency to use positive descriptors instead of negative ones, could be affected by this year’s political and cultural conditions. This means that, as negative as 2016 was, we could be feeling the linguistic effects for years to come.
We even chose decidedly negative words to represent this year. The first two dictionaries to announce their “Words of the Year,” Dictionary.com and the Oxford English Dictionary, both explained that this year’s picks were far more somber than last year. The OED has named “post-truth” as 2016’s Word of the Year, while Dictionary.com chose “xenophobia.” Not to be confused for a positive choice, Dictionary.com’s announcement blog opines, “Despite being chosen as the 2016 Word of the Year, xenophobia is not to be celebrated.” Ouch.
But instead of focusing on the doom and gloom that was expressed in 2016 online, it’s time we looked to the positive. Some great things happened in English this year, from the recognition of the singular they as an standard English to Christopher Marlowe finally gaining credit as Shakespeare’s coauthor. We wrote more than ever before, and we even added “squee” to the OED!
So, in the vein of these positive achievements in writing, here is an intentionally constructive list of trends we think writers will see in English-language writing next year. As it has done for centuries, English will only get better with age, and we’re very excited for these three trends to continue in 2017.
1Fake News . . . and Real Fact-Checking One of the most surprising discussions about writing in 2016 revolved around so-called “fake news” and the idea of a “post-truth” society. Major American publications’ sourcing and writing tactics were called into question, and many op-eds were penned on the importance of well-researched writing. We predict that this discussion will continue in 2017, but hopefully with more actionable discussions of citation, sources, and plagiarism than ever before. Google has already added a fact-check tag to its news services, and we expect that others will soon follow suit.
2Informality Meets Function By now, some of our followers are probably tired of hearing about text speak, slang, and emojis, and for good reason. The English language is constantly evolving, and in 2016, we observed a startling amount of informal language being accepted by our users. And we weren’t the only ones! The scientific community made a massive shift toward less complicated language, while discussion of informal means of communication at work soared.
Of course, some can take this opportunity to decry the “destruction” of the English language, but we don’t have to see it that way. As we saw in our trendy language study, slang does not necessarily mean shortening language, but it clearly is helping some of our users communicate in ways that make them feel more comfortable. We’re excited to see which grammar rules become myths in 2017, and which rules (like the Oxford comma) are here to stay.
3More Writing in More Places Grammarly checked over 31 billion words in 2016. To give you a sense of what this number means: if every person on earth wrote four words in Grammarly, we’d still be 3 billion words short! Clearly, error-free digital writing was a force to be reckoned with in 2016, and we believe that our users will continue to pound on the keys at record-high numbers next year. Why do we think the amount of writing will increase? Check out these stats for more context on how digital writing grew this year:
The number of indexed web pages grew by almost five billion from 2015 to 2016. Since the average web page contains 1,600 words, this represents a vast amount of written material.
Over 2.3 million blogs are published every day, according to WordPress.com. The average blog post in 2016 was 1,054 words, meaning that over 2.4 billion words were written on blogs alone this year!
At the time of writing, over 321 million tweets were being tweeted per day. Even if the average tweet is only 28 characters and only half are in English, this still represents almost 5 billion characters tweeted every day.
Even if 2016 was a tough year for online writing, we think 2017 will bring an exciting new chapter for the English language. To quote the authors of the previously mentioned LPB study, “previous research has neglected an essential dimension of language: time.” Language has never existed in a vacuum, and we are excited to see the ways in which English will grow and change in the coming year.
What do you think will happen in digital writing next year? Has your writing changed significantly in 2016? We’d love to hear your thoughts about effective writing in the comments below.
When you picture someone meditating, what do you see? A yoga class? A person of South Asian descent in a religious context? A random businessperson in a stock photo?
Messages about mindfulness have been muddled, messy, and largely unhelpful since its rise to popularity. In the last few years, mindfulness has moved from hippie-and-yogi buzzword to bonified productivity skill lauded by the likes of The Harvard Business Review and Tim Ferriss. Since its appropriation by leadership seminars and tech giant conferences, mindfulness seems to have lost some of its meaning. So what does it mean, anyway? Here’s a simple definition:
Now, if that makes sense, let’s talk about how mindfulness can help you hack Monday mornings. We mentioned mindfulness as a practice when we talked about morning routines, but this productivity-producing mental habit deserves more attention.
Why practice mindfulness in the morning? As Dr. Laura Maciuika puts it in Psychology Today, “Your routine first thing in the morning sets the tone for the entire day. Before breakfast is generally a good time to meditate.” Even if you’re hungry and little groggy, taking a moment for yourself before tackling the day can help you to remember to remain calm and grounded, no matter what happens later.
The Twenty-Minute Version: Full Meditation
If you want the deep dive version, consider taking up a full meditation practice in the morning. If you have the time, this practice can help your days, weeks, and months run smoother than they have before.
To start, you should probably work with one of the guided meditation options below, starting with a ten-minute-long session. After a week (or whenever you feel comfortable), you can try focusing on your breath and your thoughts for ten minutes independently.
When you branch out on your own, choose a comfortable seat on the floor—or in a chair! There’s a misconception that you have to sit in a bendy yoga-esque position to meditate, and this is simply not true. Also, make sure you’re alone in a quiet space, where distractions are minimal. On the emotional side, be sure to enter a fully judgment-free zone when you attempt your first meditation. There’s no “right” way to meditate (no matter what the Internet says), and this is your first time flying solo, so be gentle with yourself. Also, a practical note: to keep your session on track without staring at a clock, be sure to set a timer with a gentle, non-intrusive beep. Close your eyes, start to notice your breath, and follow the instructions you’ve learned through guided meditation. Next thing you know, you’ll hear the beep and find yourself starting the day as a calmer, more centered human.
As you become more acclimated to this type of grounding in this space, you’ll be able to increase your meditation sessions from ten to fifteen to twenty minutes. If you have a full half hour, go for it! If possible, try to keep your meditation in the same physical space, so your mind associates that chair, room, or pillow in the closet with centering and focus. And have fun with it!
The Ten-Minute Variation: Guided Visualization
When we talk about mindfulness, we often equate it with quiet, sit-on-the-floor-by-yourself meditation. But that doesn’t have to be the case! You can just as easily sit in a chair, throw on your headphones, and have someone else guide you to a state of mindfulness.
There are few options to make this happen, from paid services to apps to podcasts to the old, reliable YouTube video. Try these three, and see which one suits you. Then you can check out this larger list of options. And remember, this is about your feels, so there is no “right” way to move through guided meditation!
1 The Classic YouTube Video
Male Voice, With Nature Imagery and Music
Female Voice, With Cats (and Cat Sounds)
2 The Podcast
3 The App
The Two-Minute Option: Mindfulness on the Move
You know what the great thing about mindfulness is? You don’t have to be meditating to practice it! You can apply the principles of mindfulness to anything you do.
Let that sink in. Anything.
So, if your morning routine is already hectic because of limited time or extra people to get ready for the day, you don’t have to carve out dedicated time to meditate. Instead, you can choose a mundane, repetitive activity you do every morning, and apply meditation principles to it. Some great candidates include:
Walking to work (if you’re one of the lucky ones who can)
Eating breakfast (if you won’t be interrupted)
Showering (if you won’t be interrupted)
Commuting (if you’re not driving)
If you choose one of these activities to do mindfully, you will need to ensure you can do it for five to ten minutes without interruption. It doesn’t necessarily need to be quiet where you are, but you’ll need headphones and a dedicated app if it’s loud. Just use the same principles as above, and do the activity as you normally would. But remember, pay attention to yourself without getting caught in your own feelings web.
Use between when referring to one-to-one relationships.
Use among when referring to indistinct or nonspecific relationships.
We already touched on the difference between between and among when we talked about the difference between among and amongst. But let’s take a closer look at these two commonly confused words. We might even dispel a grammar myth in the process.
When to Use Between
There’s a common and oddly persistent belief that between should be used only when there are two elements, and among should be used when there are more than two elements. But this rule is a myth—or, to be more charitable, it’s a great oversimplification. You can use between when there are more than two elements involved:
He had to choose between a bicycle, a train set, a pair of sneakers, and a new backpack for his birthday present.
In fact, you can use between for any number of elements, as long as all the elements are separate and distinct. According to The Chicago Manual of Style, you can even use between when “multiple one-to-one relationships are understood from the context”:
Negotiations between the member states collapsed last night.
When describing spatial relationships, between usually means in the middle of something, or in the space restricted by something:
He drove too quickly between the cars.
When to Use Among
Among is used when talking about people or things that are not distinct and are viewed as a group:
There wasn’t much unity among the council members.
Among could indicate that something belongs to a group:
She only ever felt comfortable when she was among her friends.
When referring to spatial relationships, among tells us that something is surrounded by something else:
Paula always wanted to go swimming among dolphins.
Examples
Palumbo Group is planning on creating an offshore hub between Malta and Tenerife and strengthening collaboration between the two islands following talks it had with Tenerife’s port authority president this week.
Times of Malta
In my last article I wrote about the difference between AI and Machine Learning (ML).
Forbes
The 59th Annual Grammy nominees were announced Tuesday morning, and while familiar names appeared among the five Latin music categories, there were also some nice surprises.
NPR
Among the big-ticket items, one that is set to put a spell on buyers is that of Walt Disney’s last will and testament.
40 (forty) is the number that follows 39 and precedes 41. Though it’s related to the number “four” (4), the modern spelling of 40 is “forty.” The older form, “fourty,” is treated as a misspelling today. The modern spelling could reflect a historical pronunciation change.
If you catch yourself misspelling the name of this number as fourty, you’re not alone. It’s a common mistake, both in print and online:
Female grey whales are fighting for their life. Fourty-three female whales are breeding in the group in 2015, a big increase from the 27 female whales in 2004.
—Nature World News
Fourty years ago when the mayor of Elkhorn was Bill Bartley, he and his council members saw the need for a village seniors complex and residence that would keep area seniors in the community as active members.
—Empire Advance
Nevertheless, the correct spelling, forty, prevails.
Forty state legislators oppose a plan to legalize casinos in three Arkansas counties, a group hoping to block votes on the measure announced Monday.
—Hot Springs Sentinel Record
The staff got the surprise of their lives when the note in question came out without ‘forty’ being censored to ‘fourty’. . . This time the collector stood up and said, “I’m sorry, Mr Pati. I checked the spelling of ‘forty’ in the dictionary. You are correct.”
—New Indian Express
The second quote from the New Indian Express helps demonstrate how to get to the bottom of the issue. Check a dictionary! You will find that the correct spelling is definitely forty. Dictionaries usually provide any accepted alternative spellings of words, but there is no acceptable variant spelling of forty.
Why are there so many instances of fourty on the Internet? Well, it’s kind of a tricky spelling, especially in compound numbers such as forty-four. Forty actually deviates from a pattern if you think about it. There’s four, fourteen, and then forty. Afterward there’s four hundred, four thousand, and so on.
What about related terms? Fortieth relates to forty, so there’s no U. On the other hand, fourth refers to four, so it is spelled with a U. In fact, that’s a good memory aid to help you differentiate the two.
Here’s a tip: The U is associated with four and related words, but forty and its derivatives don’t have a U.
Why Is Forty So Different?
Forty is unique, but how did it get that way? The Online Etymology Dictionary traces forty to Old English from a Northumbrian word that compounded terms meaning “four” and “group of ten.” As early as 1821, its modern spelling appeared in expressions such as forty winks and forty-niners. Just in case you’re wondering, forty winks refers to a short nap and a forty-niner is a person who migrated to California in 1849 to prospect gold. A San Francisco football team, the 49ers, currently bears the name (although they tend to use numerals and thereby avoid the forty/fourty problem altogether). You can easily find references to these iconic “forty” terms in literature. Here’s one:
If she’ll just stay around the house for a few days and take forty winks of sleep she’ll be as fit as ever.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gretchen’s Forty Winks
Don’t be too hard on yourself or others who add that extraneous U to forty. It’s really not intuitive, and there are so many instances of fourty online that you might think it’s right. Avoid being fooled by remembering that forty does not have a U.
Writing job applications is a necessary evil that awaits most of us. On the plus side, applications allow us to reach for the stars—or at least for employers we would never be able to reach through recommendations or word of mouth. On the flip side, they offer the same opportunity to hundreds of other people who are also looking for a job. To make matters even worse, in this day and age you can’t use the same résumé and cover letter for every job post you see. You will see a lot of them, and you’ll send out plenty of applications, before landing a job. Employers expect personalized job applications. For you, that means either you’ll have to start each application from scratch, or you’ll need to create a template and learn how to customize it. You could also download templates, or even whole cover letters and résumés from the Internet, but that wouldn’t be smart, given how anti-plagiarism tools (like Grammarly’s) are good at noticing those kinds of things. No, customization is your best bet. If we agree that a standard job application consists of a résumé and a cover letter, let’s suppose you’ve done your research and written templates for them. Now, what?
Start With the Résumé
For the résumé, the whole idea behind the following set of tips is that you shouldn’t spend hours rewriting a résumé for each job application you send out. It’s better to focus on tailoring a few points that are proven to be important for getting your résumé into the right hands. Or any hands, as you’ll see in a moment.
Customize Your Objective
After your name and contact information, the next thing you need to include on your résumé is the objective, or the target job title. You should make sure it exactly matches the position you’re applying for. For instance, if you’re applying for a position as an assistant manager in retail, you shouldn’t write “assistant manager” as your objective—you should add the “retail” part and make it match the title of the position you’re applying for.
Do Not Forget the Summary
This is the part of the résumé that comes after the objective, and you use it to highlight your most important skills and achievements. In the summary, you should bring out only the things that have something to do with the job requirements. Those are your strongest selling points. There’s a method to this madness—recruiters don’t spend a lot of time reading most résumés. So you should give them everything they need to know about you—everything that makes you a good candidate for the job—right from the start.
Mind the Keywords
For all this work to mean anything, your résumé needs to get to a recruiter, and for that, it needs to have specific keywords. Why? Because applications are scanned by software for the most important words from the job post, and applications that don’t contain them rarely if ever get read by human beings. So you should check the original job post for specific keywords, and then make sure you include the same keywords, when appropriate, in your résumé. If the job post states that you need to be proficient in a specific program, let’s say Adobe Dreamweaver, and your résumé says you’re familiar with the whole roster of Adobe’s products, write down each individual product, Dreamweaver included. With that, you have finished customizing your résumé.
Do Wonders with Your Cover Letter
Your cover letter is the part of the job application in which you should expand on the information you gave in the résumé and do your very best to sell yourself as the perfect person for the job.
Start with the First Paragraph
The first paragraph is where you introduce yourself as a candidate for the job. You could make it about yourself, and about the job you’re applying for. Mentioning how you found out about the job is also something you should do because that’s one of the things that signals to the reader that they don’t have a generic cover letter in their hands.
Customize the Middle
Because you already customized the résumé to make it a better fit for the keywords and the job post in general, your cover letter should follow suit. Include the most important skills, traits, and experiences—probably the same ones you included in your résumé’s summary. If you can, show how your other skills support your claim of being the best candidate for the job.
Let Them Know You Listened (or Read)
Include the important terms from the job post in your cover letter. Sure, you should write about how your skills make you a great candidate and how they synergize to make you a being of pure awesomeness, but if that’s all you do, your cover letter will look far from personalized. It needs to reflect the things your prospective employer mentions in the job post because that’s how you show you’ve actually read the job post and took the time to write a cover letter specifically for this job. Just look at the job requirements as a series of problems and your skills as a series of solutions, and customize your cover letter so that it includes both. Don’t just say that you have five years of experience. Explain how their requirement of having at least three years of experience won’t be a problem for you because you have five. Make yourself an answer to their needs.
In honor of International Women’s Day, we rounded up nine of our favorite quotes from women writers about reading. Share your favorite quotes about reading and writing in the comments section!
