Writing Category

Ms, Miss, Mrs, or ? How do I address a biz letter to a woman?

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

When writing a letter, what form do I use to address a woman? When writing to a married woman, follow her preference for first and last names if you know it. She may prefer to be addressed by her original name (Ms. Joan L. Conroy). If you do know that she is using her husband’s [...]

When do you use an extra apostrophe “s” following a last name ending with the letter “s”?

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

When do you use an extra apostrophe “s” following a last name ending with the letter “s”?
Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition, 6.24-30 says:
The general rule for the possessive of nouns covers most proper nouns, including most names ending in sibilants (but see exceptions in 6.26-27 and alternatives in 6.30). Kansas’s; Burns’s poems; Marx’s theories; [...]

Columbus Day at the Zoo

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Monday morning, my brother, David Crook, friend Martha Retallick, and I, went to the Phoenix Zoo. We had a wonderful time.
Retallick recently published a book, Bike-tography. “When I was in my early twenties,” she says, “I set the goal of bicycling through all 50 of the United States. I accomplished this over a twelve-year period, [...]

How to use a colon in writing

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Have you ever been confused about when to use a colon as opposed to, say, a dash?
When using a colon, think of “as follows.”
A colon can introduce a series of elements or amplify what came before the colon.
Note regarding “as follows”: this applies to run-in lists. If you’re creating a vertical list (maybe [...]

Business protocol for folding letters

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

Did you know there’s a business protocol for folding letters? Someone contacted me recently and wanted to know the right way for a letter-size piece of paper to be folded. Here’s what I found out:
For 8 1/2 x 11 paper that is going in a #10 envelope, or other stationery with a No. 9 or [...]

ACDL offers staff/boards Plain Language Seminar

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

This week I took a course in Plain Language at the Disability Empowerment Center in Phoenix, and learned about the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Plain English/Language/Writing isn’t about “dumbing down,” but rather about clear communication. Among others, those of us who write website content and direct mail copy understand writing to a specific [...]

The power of words

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

How to punctuate et al

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Is it: et al? et. al? et al.? or et. al.?

Why do people use the phrase et al.? And incidentally, what I just wrote is the right way to punctuate it. A period after the letter “l.”
Merriam Webster’s says the phrase is an abbreviation for “and others.” Same for The Chicago Manual of Style and [...]

Ordinance vs. Ordnance

Sunday, February 13th, 2011

Both “ordinance” and “ordnance” are tied in to authority, but very differently. What a difference an “i” makes!
Ordinance is an authoritative degree, a municipal regulation (a law created by a governmental authority), or something decreed by fate or a deity. Think “ceremony,” “practice,” “law,” or “prescribed usage.”
Ordnance is a military term. It means military supplies, [...]

The Biggest Part of Me - Poem by Jonathan Burton

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Following is a poem written by my nephew, Jonathan Burton, of Mossyrock, Washington. In the picture above, left to right: Sisters Emily and Keisha, Mother, Cheryl, Jonathan, and Brother Donovan. Jonathan’s other siblings are Jeremiah Williams, Jenna Simek, Michelle Burton, and Andie Burton.
A number of relatives in Jonathan’s generation are very creative, some writing [...]