Not all students are blessed with a command of perfect or exceptional English. Many international students, for whom English is a second (or perhaps even third) language find it difficult to express themselves in writing when compiling essays or other written documents. A proofreader like myself can help by correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and … Continue reading Students: How a proofreader can help you with your essay
Category: US English
During proofreading I frequently come across the same words that have been confused time and again. I have already discussed words beginning A to M, now I will continue with words beginning with the letters N to Q. naught / nought Nought is used in British English for the digit zero and is also used … Continue reading Confused words: N to Q
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In part 1 I considered why a house style is necessary for a business – for reasons of consistency, brand identity, and economy. Here I will cover a few areas that should be considered based on UK English usage Writing a house style • Abbreviations, acronyms, and contractions: A common style for abbreviations is capital … Continue reading House style – Part 2
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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
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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?
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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
