Which to use? Due to or Because of? Here are a few tips to keep you aligned with the latest style guides.
Due to modifies nouns and is generally used after some form of the verb to be (is, are, was, were, etc.). Jan’s success is due to talent and spunk (due to modifies success and [...]
In a quandary about how to abbreviate days of the week and months? Welcome to the twenty-first century! Let’s take three excellent style guides and see what they offer.
THE GREGG REFERENCE MANUAL, NINTH EDITION says, “Do not abbreviate days of the week and months of the year except in tables or lists where space [...]
Richard Nordquist, a guide at About.com, says, “When invited to submit expressions that ticked them off, readers responded enthusiastically–with clichés, usage errors, redundancies, misspellings, mispronunciations, and specimens of slang, jargon, and textspeak. Here (with readers’ comments in parentheses) are 200 pet peeves submitted by some very ticked-off defenders of the English language.”
We need to keep [...]
Thanks to Professor Harold V. Cordry for this entertaining and timely activity. And did I say hilarious?
Word “czars” at Lake Superior State University “unfriended” 15 words and phrases and declared them “shovel-ready” for inclusion on the university’s 35th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.
“The list this [...]
Have you ever wanted to become an expert on alliteration? If nothing else, it’s such a beautiful word! Seriously, when one uses alliteration properly–especially in publications–it is subtly effective.
If you work on Web sites, e-zines, or print newsletters, this may be a good time for you to brush up on the amazing world of alliteration.
DEFINITION*:
Main [...]
By Judy Vorfeld
Have you ever visited a visually attractive site and then spotted phrases such as, “If your interested in learning more about our Websight, e-mail us,” or “This product comes with an unconditional guarantee. It’s high quality will make you’re life better!”? How about, “Body fat problems? We can help. Of coarse you [...]
By Judy Vorfeld
Will you break some of the sacred top ten Web Design Rules for Success if you create clumpy clusters of yellow text parked on an orange background, surrounded by bouncing hippos or cattle wearing shoes? It depends.
Some frivolity might be appropriate for Vegetarian Shoes, but inappropriate for Z-Coil Footwear®. Totally different market. However, [...]
An ABBREVIATION is a shortened form of a written word or phrase
used in place of the whole word. Some authorities consider acronyms and initialisms to be abbreviations.
An ACRONYM is a word (such as radar or snafu or NASDAQ) formed
from the initial letter or first few letters of a word or a series
of words (example: radar [...]
It’s easy to mix up usage of “due to” and “because of.” Here are some tips to help you remember which is which.
“DUE TO” modifies nouns, but introduces adjective phrases: “Her failure was due to poor study habits.”
Explanation: “due to poor study habits” modifies the noun “failure.” “Due to” is almost always used with a [...]
Have you seen the little forms e.g. and i.e. and wondered what they meant? Okay, I’ll tell you. But first, be aware that you use abbreviated forms like these only in informal or technical documents, or documents where space is at a premium (catalogs, forms, etc.).
You use i.e. when you mean “that is.” The origin [...]
