Information: Those Tricky Homophones A while back I started collecting examples of spelling errors resulting from words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings. Words that sound the same are called homophones, and there seems to be an unlimited supply. Here are some new ones. Bare vs. bear: A bear is a large scary […]
Grammar and Style
Homophones and Motivation to Write
Information: Homophones Cause Spelling Errors Homophones are words that sound alike. They cause spelling errors when we forget which spelling is appropriate for the context. Below are some examples I’ve encountered in my reading and editing. As with many spelling errors, these will not be caught by spell-check. And I suspect that some are caused […]
Dealing with Passive Voice and Discouragement
Information: Always Avoid Passive Voice When did you last hear a sermon on the evils of passive voice? I’ve heard plenty of instructors and workshop leaders preach it, but I never expected to hear it from a geeky SEO company. Yoast, the creator of Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress, is a company that specializes in […]
Misused Words and Sharing a Scripture
Information: Misused Words In a previous post, I listed some common usage errors—words that are regularly spelled wrong and words that sound alike but don’t mean the same thing. In my reading and editing, I’ve run across more. So I’ll share them with you today. And, be aware that the spell-check is not going to […]
Book Review: Teach Yourself Grammar and Style
Full title: Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours, by Pamela Rice Hahn and Dennis E. Hensley, Ph.D., published by Pearson Education Macmillan USA, 2000. Have you wanted to attend a writers’ conference but couldn’t afford it? Have you considered online courses but passed on them for the same reason? Consider getting a […]