Category Archives: Writing Notes

Toward(s) or not towards.

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Ellen Akins

“Toward” is the preferred form in the U.S. “Towards” is favored in the U.K. “Upward” as an adverb is preferred in the U.S., “upwards” in the U.K.  As an adjective preceding a noun, only “upward” is acceptable. “Forwards,” mercifully, does … Continue reading →

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Ic! Nouns ending in ic or s, etc.

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Ellen Akins

“There’s two things to watch for in writing:  subjects and verbs” Yes, you read that right (or wrong, depending on how efficiently your brain corrects what it sees as it sees it):  “There’s two”–one of the mistakes Stephen Wilbers (“Effective … Continue reading →

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In the picky picky dept., more grammar, and another comma

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Ellen Akins

1.  (dis)agreement From an article in the NYT: “About one in 10 doctors trained in India have left that country” “have” left?  “has” left?  “One in ten” might mean one, or it might mean thousands, so which is right? 2. … Continue reading →

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And finally, commas

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Ellen Akins

Commas and compound sentences I would not even go into this, but one of my thesis students told me that he didn’t know it (after I’d spent 2 years assuming he was making a stylistic choice).  Compound sentences are linked … Continue reading →

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Punctuating. “Dialogue.” Also, Adverbs

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Ellen Akins

Further guidance for my students, who are struggling with the technical aspects of dialogue, though they might not know it. Where to put those tags Dialogue is often better broken up with dialogue tags than ended with them.  That is, … Continue reading →

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