The Write Connection - Writing Tips Archive

Writing Tips of the Month There is no secret formula to writing well. Practice helps, as well as remembering some helpful tips:
	•	Write directly to your audience.
	•	Use language that connects with your readers.
	•	Develop a logical order of information.
	•	Be concise.
	•	Revise. Revise some more.
	•	Check your message for errors and consistency.
To learn more about communicating effectively, click on the writing tips below.

	•	Capitalizing Short Words in Headlines, December 2011
	•	Proved vs. Proven, November 2011
	•	Apostrophes as Stand-Ins, October 2011
	•	Avoid Redundancies: Each and Every, September 2011
	•	Oriented vs. Orientated, August 2011
	•	Confused Words: Reticent vs. Reluctant, July 2011
	•	Use Positive Words. No Problem., June 2011
	•	Be Possessive with Your Gerunds, May 2011
	•	Confused Words: 'Jibe' vs. 'Jive', April 2011
	•	Confused Words: 'Regardless' vs. 'Irregardless', February 2011
	•	Confused Words: 'Fired' vs. 'Laid Off', January 2011
	•	Confused Words: 'Amount' vs. 'Number', December 2010
	•	Commas with Direct Address, November 2010
	•	Confused words: 'flounder' vs. 'founder', October 2010
	•	Use 'me' with compound objects, September 2010
	•	Avoid 'me' as a subject, August 2010
	•	Confused Words: 'Principal' vs. 'Principle', July 2010
	•	'Used to' vs. 'Use to', June 2010
	•	Confused Words: Who's vs. Whose, May 2010
	•	Dealing with Dates and Apostrophes, April 2010
	•	The State of States, March 2010
	•	Capital letters get 'put down', February 2010
	•	Writing Tip Resolutions, January 2010
	•	Confused Words: "perspective" vs. "prospective", December 2009
	•	Using 'try and' vs. 'try to', November 2009
	•	Write from your reader's perspective, October 2009
	•	Retire tired business phrases, September 2009
	•	Pack your headers with power, August 2009
	•	Choosing Between 'A' and 'An', July 2009
	•	Using Articles and Acronyms and Initialisms, June 2009
	•	Confused Words: Council vs. Counsel, May 2009
	•	How to Handle Trademarks, April 2009
	•	Responding to Customer E-mails, March 2009
	•	What's up with that?, February 2009
	•	May vs. Might, January 2009
	•	Writing Tips for Holiday Newsletters, December 2008
	•	Be Wary of Negative Questions, November 2008
	•	Effects of Emotionally Charged Words, October 2008
	•	Got Paragraphs?, September 2008
	•	To Bravely Split Infinitives, August 2008
	•	Where Is Your Preposition At?, July 2008
	•	Commonly Misused Words: Is It All Right?, June 2008
	•	Recognizing Academic Degrees, May 2008
	•	Oral vs. Verbal Communication, April 2008
	•	Create correct em dashes, March 2008
	•	Parallel Structure Boosts Comprehension, February 2008
	•	Avoid Incorrect Colon Interruptions, January 2008
	•	'Tis the Season to Avoid Comma Splices, December 2007
	•	Choosing between 'we' and 'us,' November 2007
	•	Never Use 'Him and I,' October 2007
	•	Throw out 'younger than him,' September 2007
	•	Helpful Writing Questions, August 2007
	•	How to Increase Text Readability, July 2007
	•	Using Hyphens and Dashes, June 2007
	•	Punctuation: Degrees of Interruption, May 2007
	•	How to Handle Long Quotations, April 2007
	•	Writing 'down' style, March 2007
	•	How to Handle 'Staff,' February 2007
	•	E-mail or Email?, January 2007
	•	Correct Placement of "Only," December 2006
	•	Comparatives vs. Superlatives, November 2006
	•	Correctly Place Modifying Phrases, October 2006
	•	When to use ampersands, September 2006
	•	Confused Words: Imply vs. Infer, August 2006
	•	Increasing Text Readability, July 2006
	•	Confused Usage: Work Out vs. Workout, June 2006
	•	Using Hyphens with Modifiers, May 2006
	•	Write Lean Sentences, April 2006
	•	Confused Words: Appraise vs. Apprise, March 2006
	•	Could you care less?, February 2006
	•	The Holidays and Apostrophes, January 2006
	•	Confused Words: Compliment vs. Complement, December 2005
	•	The Power of P.S., November 2005
	•	I Feel Good..., October 2005
	•	Good vs.Well, September 2005
	•	Misplaced Modifiers Cause Confusion, August 2005
	•	Go west or West?, July 2005
	•	Write Tight About Time, June 2005
	•	Write Tight: Cut "in order to," May 2005
	•	How to Use Semicolons, April 2005
	•	March Madness of a 'Different' Sort, March 2005
	•	Capitalization of Headlines, February 2005
	•	Confused Words: Less vs. Fewer, January 2005
	•	Capitalization of Professional Titles, December 2004
	•	Tips for Using Acronyms, November 2004
	•	Affect v. Effect and the November Elections, October 2004
	•	Capital vs. Capitol: What a Capital Idea!, September 2004
	•	Colons on the Loose, August 2004
	•	More Confusing Words: Disburse vs. Disperse, July 2004
	•	Feeling Bad or Badly?, June 2004
	•	Confusing Words: Moot vs. Mute, May 2004
	•	Rules for Writing Dates, April 2004
	•	Correct State Abbreviations, March 2004
	•	Which is Correct? Assure, ensure or insure?, February 2004
	•	New Year's Resolution: Cut Expletives, January 2004
	•	Confused Words: Anxious and Eager, December 2003
	•	Choosing Between Which and That, November 2003
	•	Fall Cleaning of Unnecessary Words, October 2003
	•	Write Tight: Decide or Make a Decision?, September 2003
	•	Life's a Beach: Using Lie and Lay, August 2003
	•	Pay Attention to me, myself, and I, July 2003
	•	Which Goes First? Quotation Marks and Punctuation, June 2003
	•	Effective Letter Openings: WIIFM, May 2003
	•	Watch Your It's, April 2003

CLICK HERE to sign up for our Writing Tip of the Month e-mail.

The Write Connection

What the experts say...

"You learn to write by writing."

Samuel Johnson

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."

Thomas Jefferson

"The secret of all good writing is sound judgment."

Horace

back to the top...

The Write Connection, Inc.
75 Kearney Street, Manchester, NH 03104
phone: 603-624-7115 • fax: 603-641-9235
info@writeconnection.com