Category: US English

Tips for writers: The difference between abbreviations, contractions, and acronyms

Abbreviations, contractions, and acronyms are ways of shortening a word or phrase but sometimes can be confusing for a novice writer. I will take each one briefly in turn. Abbreviations Abbreviations are defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as “a shortened form of a word or phrase”. These are often formed by omitting the … Continue reading Tips for writers: The difference between abbreviations, contractions, and acronyms →

Tips for writers: Which spellings to use: -ise or -ize? -yse or -yze?

Have you ever wondered why some books use -ise spellings , such as organisation, while others use the spelling organization? Usually, this is not merely an author's whim but follows a recognized spelling style. In British-style books many verbs that end in -ise can also be spelt with an -ize ending: for instance, organise and … Continue reading Tips for writers: Which spellings to use: -ise or -ize? -yse or -yze? →

UK versus US English spellings

There are huge differences between US and UK English that many people are unaware of. Perhaps through the experience of using computer spellcheckers that favour US spellings – the default setting of machines using a Windows operating system and Office software – many writers and readers think that this mainly concerns spelling patterns. For instance … Continue reading UK versus US English spellings →