Write and Polish
  • Home
  • Services
  • News & Blog
  • Improving Your Writing
    • Preliminaries
    • Start Writing
    • Revision
    • And, Finally...
  • Links
  • Contact Us

Word of the Day: Simultaneity

10/31/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture

Simultaneity

We encountered this new form of a known word, today.

Generally, one sees the noun form of the oft-used adjective, simultaneous, expressed as "simultaneousness," though this is not universally accepted as a correct construction.

Simultaneity is a synonym for it, expressing the quality of things occurring at the same time.

Anyone else have any favorite examples of the curious situation created when one form of a word is common, but another version/form of it is rare?

0 Comments

Recognition of a Fine Turn of Phrase

10/31/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture

Today's recognition for a nice turn of phrase goes to Chris Rickert of Lee Newspapers in his commentary that ran in Racine's Journal Times today (originally appearing, it would seem, in the Wisconsin State Journal):

"I knew immediately when I read about the group last week that I wanted to be a part of it. But I also know I've been well served by a strict adherence to the old Groucho Marx maxim never never to join any club that would have me as a member. (I suspect the clubs have benefited from this as well.)"

(You can read the entire column here.)


Well expressed, Chris!

0 Comments

Writing Tips, Article: 5 Signs of a Sloppy Writer

10/29/2011

0 Comments

 
This article from Ragan.com is well worth your time, but we think that the winning paragraph is this one right here:
Picture
"There is a distinction between a conversational tone and sloppy writing. It's comparable to 'business casual' versus 'for heaven's sake, put some pants on!'"

This point is particularly well taken when any organization is developing it's "house style," and the cues that it wishes to use regarding tone and voice in communications.

Casual is great, when done well.

When done well.

Professional firms, especially, may tend to shy away from having such a tone, fearing the potential of sloppiness or simply an absence of "gravitas." The result can be formal and staid, and utterly non-differentiating.

When executed with care and attention to detail, however, a casual or conversational tone can be a powerful tool in forging a connection with the audience. If the whole point is to get your message across, developing and implementing strategies that make the recipient open to receiving that message is one of the ways a company can set itself apart from its competitors.

March, 2012: article content has since been put behind the paid "membership" wall. The primary point, however, is made above, even if the five details that illustrate it are now privileged information!

0 Comments

Fun with Puncutation: 14 Punctuation Marks That You Never Knew Existed

10/28/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
While we are familiar with most of the 14 punctuation marks, some of their names came as new information, and a few were entirely Terra Incognita prior to this article!

¶ Enjoy!

0 Comments

Upload to "More Proofreaders" Album ~ Educational Edition

10/27/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture

New addition to the Why the World Needs More Proofreaders album.

Discovered here, this is a classic case where the use of spell check can't help you (the error being a real word).

The money wasted as a result of this mistake would have been significant...but the worst part is the impression that it leaves of the advertiser who is, in this case, (oh, the irony), supposed to be heralding the success of their educational outcomes.

Sign company personnel must have been the product of a *different* school system?

0 Comments

Writing Tip: Common Error -- "Expresso"

10/26/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture

We had cause to wonder recently if people who pronounce that strong coffee drink as "expresso," also spell it that way.... They might not -- sometimes we do say things differently than we spell them (people and language both being complex!!)

Either way, our advice is to try to be conscious of differences in what you hear from one person to another, and then investigate why those differences exist.

You may just discover that something you thought was right isn't, and improve your own communication skills as a result!

0 Comments

Best Twitter Meme EVER!

10/24/2011

0 Comments

 
Literary humor from Twitter -- At W&P, we love some literary humor...and this had us crying with laughter!

Background: Write and Polish recently established a Twitter account (@WriteandPolish), and so found some interesting people to follow, including Salman Rushdie. Who, it turns out, tweets like a fiend. Plus, if you didn't know, he's a genius.

Rushdie offered this challenge, for titles that are almost-but-not-quite great, seeded with ideas like "To Kill a Hummingbird" and "Snag-22". His followers have responded in kind! And many of them are quite clever...check them out.
0 Comments

A Variation on 'Measure Twice, Cut Once'

10/23/2011

0 Comments

 
Newest addition to Why The World Needs More Proofreaders:
Picture
Don't let this happen to you!

Original article/picture here.

0 Comments

Are You Using QR Codes? Are you Doing it Well?

10/21/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture

This article addresses the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the QR code. Everyone who attempts to be "hip" with their marketing needs to read this. And then consider not just how/if you use this specific new marketing avenue, but apply these questions to your other social media activities.

Cliff Notes to the theme: always ask yourself "How likely is this to make me or my company/product/brand look lame?"

0 Comments

A Write and Polish Valentine

10/20/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
The kinds of things that make Writers and Polishers smile (and go just a little bit weak in the knees)!

Enjoy!!
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Write and Polish Bloggers

    Christie Manussier, principal Writer and Polisher, is the usual news reporter. 

    Guest bloggers may comment as well, from time to time.

    Categories

    All
    Abbreviation
    Academic
    Acronym
    Adjective
    Adverb
    Anachronism
    Anagram
    Apostrophe
    Application
    Article
    Banished
    Biography
    Blend
    B.N.I.
    Boldface
    Brochure
    Bunnies
    Business
    Business Plan
    Capitalization
    Children's Literature
    Christmas
    Church
    Comma
    Common Mistakes
    Construction
    Contact Management
    Content
    Contest
    Cross-sell
    Databse
    Differentiators
    Donation
    Double Negative
    E-mail
    Entertainment
    Etymology
    Event Coordination
    File Format
    First Reference
    Flyer
    Fundraiser
    Giggles
    Gold Star
    Grammar Day
    Grant Proposal
    Haiku
    Health Care
    Homophones
    Hyphen
    Idiom
    Images
    Italics
    Law Firm
    Magazine
    Manual
    Marketing
    Maternity Leave
    Metaphor
    Myth
    News & Announcements
    Newsletter
    Non Profit
    Non-profit
    Noun
    Numbers
    Of Snakes And Presidents
    Parts Of Speech
    P.D.F.
    Plural
    Poetry
    Portmanteau
    Poster
    Powerpoint
    P.R.
    Preposition
    Press Release
    Projects
    Pronoun
    Proofreading & Editing
    Punctuation
    Quotation Marks
    Quotes
    Real Estate
    Recommended Reading
    Reflexive
    Research
    Resources
    Restaurant
    Retail
    R.F.P.
    R.I.P.
    Shakespeare
    Slideshow
    Social Media
    Spelling
    Style Manual
    Synonyms
    Syntax
    Template
    Tenses
    Testimonial
    Thesaurus
    Training Manual
    Translation
    Travel
    Twitter
    Underlining
    Verb
    Video
    Vocabulary
    Website
    Why The World Needs More Proofreaders
    Winter
    Word Of The Day
    Writers
    Writing Tip

    Archives

    March 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    May 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    August 2010
    July 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    February 2008
    January 1990

    RSS Feed

Write and Polish
Located in Racine, Wisconsin 
® Serving clients everywhere
 
We face the blank page, so you don't have to!
  • © 2009-2015 Write and Polish, all rights reserved
  • Design by DivTag Templates
  • Proudly powered by Weebly
    Follow Us