Helping him with his assignments and reading his handouts has taught me about the eight parts of speech, traits of good writing, and how to defeat writer’s block.

This week, his assignment is to write a three-paragraph biography about a family member. The handout lists the elements he should include. Though this list is very basic, I find it helpful and will keep it in mind next time I write a brief personality profile or bio. (These types of articles are my least favorite to write. I would never make it as a biographer.)

• full name
• year of birth
• place of birth
• information about the person’s family
• childhood and school life
• early achievements
• hobbies, interests, and activities
• anecdotes/events that affected the person later in life
• career
• physical appearance (including at least two similes)
• describe how the person looks in full detail
• could I pick the person out of a crowd by your description
• describe something they like to do
• describe a goal the person has

PR Daily readers, do you have any other elements to include in a personality profile or short biography?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

Examples of these rules include never ending a sentence with a preposition and never spliting an infinitive. Well let’s add another to the list . . .

Last week, my fourth-grader very adamantly told me that I could not start a sentence with and. He was reading over my shoulder and told me: “You need to change that mom. It’s wrong.”

Now I have no idea why they’re still teaching this “rule” in elementary school. But you can in fact start a sentence with and or but, or any other conjunction. And according to the Chicago Manual of Style … “a substantial percentage (often as many as 10 percent) of the sentences in first-rate writing begin with conjunctions.”

There is no grammar rule in any stylebook or usage manual that I have read that prevents writers from starting a sentence with any conjunction. I believe this prohibition came about for rhetorical or stylistic reasons. I remember being told it was “lazy” to start your sentences with and or but.

Well, lazy or not, these words are two of the most useful devices for connecting one sentence to the next. And in the age of distraction—where people want more information but read less—and and but can help your readers connect the dots. And as writers and editors, we do this every day.

And in case you’re not convinced, the following sentence from Daily Writing Tips is for you:

“Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.

“And why not? For an honorable tradition of doing just that exists. But some people persist in prohibiting this technique. Yet we defy them. Or we simply ignore them or laugh at them, neither of which they appreciate. Nor do they understand our attitude, though we try to convince them, and will continue to do so. So there.”

PR Daily readers—care to craft a clever sentence that starts with and or but (or any of your other favorite conjunctions)?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

In last week’s post I wrote about “dangerously ambiguous” adjectives and how the use of indirect and unclear descriptors can cause readers to ignore or misinterpret your message. The lesson here is to practice precision when you select your descriptors.

What follows is a list of some precise, meaningful adjectives. Consider using these for your next writing assignment.

• abrasive
• abrupt
• abundant
• adamant
• auburn
• bawdy
• bewildered
• bitter
• boorish
• cerulean
• coarse
• colossal
• combative
• crimson
• crooked
• dashing
• deafening
• determined
• diligent
• draconian
• elegant
• enchanting
• empty
• flaky
• flawless
• frantic
• frosty
• gabby
• guarded
• gutsy
• habitual
• hapless
• harmonious
• hollow
• hulking
• hypnotic
• ill-informed
• immense
• incandescent
• inflammatory
• inquisitive
• insolent
• judicious
• jumpy
• kindhearted
• languid
• lavish
• lilac
• ludicrous
• lyrical
• maddening
• makeshift
• mammoth
• measly
• melodic
• miscreant
• muddled
• murky
• narrow
• neighborly
• nimble
• noiseless
• noxious
• obedient
• onerous
• overconfident
• overwrought
• parched
• petite
• placid
• poised
• prickly
• puny
• purring
• quarrelsome
• quirky
• rabid
• raspy
• receptive
• repulsive
• resolute
• rigid
• rustic
• scarce
• scrawny
• shallow
• shaky
• somber • sordid
• sparse
• spiteful
• subdued
• succinct
• superficial
• swift
• tart
• tasteless
• tenacious
• thundering
• tiresome
• unbecoming
• unkempt
• unrefined
• unsightly
• unsuitable
• unwieldy
• vigorous
• volatile
• wasteful
• whimsical
• wide-eyed
• wiggly
• wry
• yielding
• youthful
• zealous
• zippy

Perhaps you don’t recognize some of these words; all the better. Grab a dictionary and make a new friend.

PR Daily readers, do you have any other favorite adjectives to share?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

In a chapter on real estate agents, the authors, Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, explain how commission structures create different incentives for agents and their clients. Your interest and your real estate agent’s interest are not always aligned. “When she sells her own house, an agent holds out for the best offer,” they write. “When she sells yours, she encourages you to take the first decent offer that comes along.”

How does a real estate agent encourage you to take the first decent offer without overtly appearing to do so? The agent uses “dangerously ambiguous” adjectives in for-sale ads, according to Levitt and Dubner.

“Certain words are powerfully correlated with the final sale price of a house. This doesn’t necessarily mean that labeling a house ‘well maintained’ causes it to sell for less than an equivalent house. It does, however, indicate that when a real-estate agent labels a house ‘well maintained,’ she may be subtly encouraging a buyer to bid low.”

What kind of words (and one punctuation mark) correlated with a lower sale price?

• Fantastic
• Spacious
• !
• Charming
• Great neighborhood

What kind of words correlated with a higher sale price?

• Granite
• State-of-the art
• Corian
• Maple
• Gourmet

As writers and editors, we can guess why certain words were associated with a higher sales price. “Granite,” “Corian,” and “gourmet” are specific and straightforward terms that describe physical attributes of a house.

“Fantastic” and “charming” are meaningless. “And an exclamation point in a real-estate ad is bad news for sure, a bid to paper over real shortcomings with false enthusiasm,” write Levitt and Dubner.

The lesson here is to use precise, direct adjectives or don’t use them at all. To do otherwise may send your readers an ambiguous message that is, at best, ignored, at worst, misinterpreted.

PR Daily readers, care to share your favorite specific, straightforward adjectives?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

A speller’s qualification for the semifinals and finals will be based on onstage spelling, computer-based spelling questions, and computer-based vocabulary questions. The vocabulary evaluation will count for 50 percent of the speller’s score.

Spelling bee Executive Director Paige Kimble told the Associated Press that “the changes were driven by the desire to reinforce the competition’s purpose—to encourage students to improve their spelling and broaden their knowledge of the language.”

In the spirit of broadening our knowledge of the language, I offer the following list of the winning words from 2000 to 2012 national spelling bees. See if you can come up with the correct definitions.

1. Demarche (winning word from 2000)

a) a petty, unimportant thing
b) a political step or initiative
c) a formal agreement, covenant
d) a boundary

2. Succedaneum (winning word from 2001)

a) in ancient Rome, a cloth for wiping sweat from the face
b) a shallow grove
c) a dark-red gum obtained from certain tropical plants
d) a substitute, especially for a medicine or drug

3. Prospicience (winning word from 2002)

a) seeing ahead; knowing in advance; foreseeing
b) to block or obstruct
c) threatening
d) a sign or warning of a future event

4. Pococurante (winning word from 2003)

a) any of various thick, sticky substances produced in certain plants
b) apathetic, indifferent, or nonchalant
c) of or provoking controversy
d) covered with pocks or pockmarks

5. Autochthonous (winning word from 2004)

a) to be self-educated
b) perishable
c) native, indigenous
d) derived from the same organism or one of its parts

6. Appoggiatura (winning word from 2005)

a) a grace note performed before a note of the melody and falling on the beat
b) a nocturnal, tree-dwelling carnivore of Central Asia
c) an abandoning of what was once believed in
d) an incidental right or privilege attached to some thing and passing with it, as by inheritance or sale

7. Ursprache (winning word from 2006)

a) a person who mars or spoils plans by officious interference
b) a region with many lakes in northeast Germany
c) of a town, urban
d) the common ancestor of the languages that form a language family

8. Serrefine (winning word from 2007)

a) a thin, mesh like fabric
b) a small forceps for clamping a blood vessel
c) a wish or desire
d) an ornamental garden area in which the flower beds and path form a pattern

9. Guerdon (winning word from 2008)

a) manure of sea birds; any natural fertilizer
b) any of various the European diving ducks
c) foolish talk, nonsense
d) a reward

10. Laodicean (winning word from 2009)

a) lukewarm or indifferent to religion or politics
b) not likely to fail
c) a condition of uncertainty; doubt
d) father of Priam and founder of Troy

11. Stromuhr (winning word from 2010)

a) to ward off or deflect
b) a device designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery
c) to divide into parts; section
d) to anticipate with anxiety or dread

12. Cymotrichous (winning word from 2011)

a) phosphorescent
b) pressed close or flat against a surface
c) division into three parts, elements, or groups
d) having wavy hair

13. Guetapens (winning word from 2012)

a) a small shrub grown in New Mexico and Texas
b) the part of a shaft that revolves in a bearing
c) ambush, snare, trap
d) the system of patronage in communist countries

When I was putting this post together, I knew the definitions of only two of these words (cymotrichous and Laodicean.) How did you do? The answers are at the bottom of the page.

Answers:

1. b; 2. d; 3. a; 4. b; 5. c; 6. a; 7. d; 8. b; 9. d; 10. a; 11. b; 12. d; 13. c

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

Recently, he came home with a handout called “Six traits of great writing.” The advice outlined in the handout is basic, but it remains important for writers of all stripes.

Here are the traits along with a few takeaways.

Ideas and content

• Observe first; tell next.
• Develop supporting details before you start writing.
• Use a balance of showing and telling.
• Make your message clear to the reader.

Organization

• Link ideas together so there is a beginning, middle, and end.
• Use a variety of transitional words.
• Your introduction should grab the reader.
• Your conclusion should link back to the introduction.

Word choice

• Use clear, colorful, vivid verbs.
• Use “thoughtful” adjectives.
• Use color and texture words to describe.
• Don’t overuse pronouns.
• Don’t be afraid to use new words.

Sentence fluency

• Sentences should mostly begin with different words.
• Use smooth transitions and sentence variation.
• Use a mixture of simple and complex sentences.
• Sentences should flow when read aloud.

Voice

• Your words should come alive and show personality, heart, and emotion.
• Capture tone and mood with your words.
• Use humor if appropriate for the topic.

Conventions

• If you can’t spell a word, look it up. Don’t guess.
• Check your “end punctuation.”
• Check your commas and apostrophes.
• Make sure you used capital words correctly.
• Do your sentences say what you want them to say? Check your grammar.

PR Daily readers, care to share any other traits of great writing?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

As professional writers and editors, our “writer’s instinct” will often tell us which form to use in a sentence. In some cases, the differences are subtle. I’ve caught myself questioning a few one-word phrases recently.

A recent article in the Columbia Journalism Review offered the following guidelines:

• The one-word form is usually an adjective or adverb;
• The two-word form is usually a two-word phrase not modifying anything;
• When in doubt, say the expression out loud. For instance, “Are the desserts made everyday or every day? If you enunciate each word separately, it’s probably written as two words.”

The following are some less clear-cut word pairs.

Already/all ready

We don’t want to confuse them any more than we already have.
(In this case, already is used as an adverb.)

Are you all ready for the writing test?
(All ready is a phrase meaning thoroughly prepared.)

Altogether/all together

She is altogether the worse writer I have ever seen.
(Altogether is an adjective meaning entirely.)

We were all together for the CEO’s announcement.
(All together is a phrase meaning all there.)

Anyone/any one

Anyone can make that mistake.
(Anyone is a pronoun, meaning anybody.)

Any one of you might be next.
(Any one is a phrase. Any serves as an adjective and one serves as a noun.)

Anytime/any time

You are welcome to consult the style guide anytime.
(Anytime is an adjective and can be replaced with whenever.)

Do you have any time to edit this article?
(Any time is another two-word adjective-noun form.)

Backup/back up

There was a backup on the toll road this morning.
(The one word form means a stoppage or overflow.)

The police officer told the driver to back up.
(The two-word phrase means to go in reverse.)

Cutback/cut back

The salary cutbacks were disastrous for employee morale.
(Cutback is a noun meaning a decrease or reduction.)

I need to cut back on my consumption of chocolate.
(Cut back is the verb form.)

Handout/hand out

How many spelling errors did you find on that handout?
(Similar to cutback, handout is a noun.)

I hand out chocolate to my workshop attendees.
(Hand out is a verb.)

Maybe/may be

Maybe you should quit while you’re ahead.
(Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.)

It may be that the style guide was wrong.
(May be functions as a verb.)

Overtime/over time

Certain employees don’t get paid overtime.
(Overtime is a noun, meaning time beyond an established limit.)

Over time, we all learned to accept her use of the serial comma.
(The two-word phrase refers to the passage of time.)

Overall/over all

What was your overall impression?
(Overall is an adjective meaning general.)

The paper airplane flew over all our cubicles.
(Over all is a prepositional phrase. Over indicates a direction, and all is the object of that preposition.)

PR Daily readers, can you think any other confusing one- or two-word phrases?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

Well, this column is about words with definitions that are continually misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misconstrued. They are the middle schoolers of our lexicon.

Arbitration, mediation 

Arbitration means a third party listens to evidence from all parties and hands down a decision. Example: “The contract called for arbitration by a federal judge.”

Mediation means a third party listens to the evidence from all parties and brings them to an agreement. Example: “The plaintiff agreed to try mediation one last time.”

Carat, caret, karat

Carat is a unit of weight for precious stones, equal to 200 milligrams. Example: “Can you measure rhinestones in carats?”

A caret is a V-shape proofreader’s symbol indicating something is to be inserted. Example: “Carets should be placed within the text, not in the margin.”

Karat is the proportion of gold used with an alloy. Example: “Pure gold is 24 karat.”

Capital, Capitol

Capital is the city where the seat of government is located; also money, equipment, or property. Examples: “Austin is the capital of Texas,” or, “To start our own communications firm, we need to raise capital.”

Capitol refers to the building in which a legislative body meets. Example: “The Texas Capitol is in Austin.”

Disc, disk

Use disc for terms related to recordings, such as Blu-ray Disc or disc jockey. Also, disc brakes. Example: “The disc had a scratch on it.”

Use disk for computer-related and medical references, such as hard disk and slipped disk. Example: “My laptop needs a new hard disk.”

Emigrate, immigrate

To leave the country is to emigrate, also to be an emigrant. Example: “My mother’s family emigrated from Germany after the war.”

To enter a country is to immigrate, also to be an immigrant. Example: “Laurel immigrated to the United Kingdom.”

Faze, phase

To faze means to embarrass or disturb. Example: “The typo in the headline did not seem to faze her.”

Phase means a stage of development or an aspect or part. Example: “There are three editing phases: macro-editing, micro-editing, and proofreading.”

Flier, flyer

According to the AP Stylebook, flier is the preferred term for a handbill or leaflet. Example: “We need to create a flier explaining our new bundled pricing.”

Flyer is the proper name of some trains or buses. Example: “We rode the San Antonio Flyer.”

Forbear, forebear

To forbear means to resist, avoid, or shun. Example: “I will forbear and stop editing your document.”

Forebear is an ancestor. Example: “I am not sure where my forebears came from.”

Lectern, podium

A lectern is a stand that serves as a support for the notes or books of a speaker. Example: “I feel more comfortable standing at the lectern when I speak.”

A podium is an elevated platform to stand on when speaking. Example: “A speaker stands behind a lectern but on a podium.”

Mantel, mantle

A mantel is a shelf. Example: “Amy kept her writing award on the mantelpiece.”

A mantle is a cloak or something that conceals. Example: “A mantle of dust hung over the furniture.”

Premier, premiere

Premier means first in importance; principal or chief. Example: “Our company offers premier writing and editing services.”

Premiere means a first performance. Example: “We attended the premiere of ‘Spamalot.’”

Rack, wrack

The verb form of rack means to arrange on a rack, to torture, or torment. Example: “I racked my brain, but still could not think of a headline.”

The noun form of wrack means ruins or destruction. Example: “Under his leadership, the company will come to wrack and ruin.”

Reluctant, reticent

Reluctant means unwilling to act. Example: “I was reluctant to correct the CEO’s grammar.”

Reticent means unwilling to speak; reserved, restrained. Example: “I am often reticent around people I don’t know very well.”

Care to share any other misunderstood words?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.

Transitions can make or break your writing. Good transition words connect sentences and paragraphs and turn disconnected writing into a unified whole. Transition words help the reader (and writer) move from idea to idea.

Transitions can also be tricky. Sometimes you need to use words other than “but,” “however,” and “in addition.” That’s why my list of transitional words was so useful. It helped jog my brain so I could find the perfect connecting word.

Consider the following words when you need some new transition ideas.

• accordingly
• admittedly
• afterward
• alternatively
• altogether
• as a result
• at the same time
• at this point
• balanced against
• by comparison
• certainly
• clearly
• concurrently
• consequently
• considering this
• conversely
• evidently
• for the same reason
• further
• furthermore
• given these points
• in any case
• incidentally
• indeed
• in short
• in this situation
• meanwhile
• moreover
• nevertheless
• notably
• on the whole
• on this occasion
• obviously
• on the contrary
• otherwise
• overall
• perennially
• previously
• surprisingly
• therefore
• to conclude
• to demonstrate
• to illustrate
• to resume
• to return to the subject
• to summarize
• undeniably
• unquestionably
• whereas
• without exception
• without reservation
• yet

PR Daily readers, any other transitional words or phrases you’d like to share?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily. 

I have documents to edit that are filled with words that shouldn’t be capitalized—such as “federal,” “state,” “statutes,” “deadlines,” “laws”—but are uppercase. I have documents to edit that are filled with words that should be capitalized—such as “West Texas” and “Supreme Court”—but are not.

So to keep the head banging to a minimum, let’s go through the rules of capitalization.

1. Capitalize the first word in a sentence.

This is the most basic rule of capitalization.

2. Capitalize the pronoun “I.”

Another basic one, but in today’s text-message driven world, it bears mentioning.

3. Capitalize proper nouns: the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things.

For instance, “Austin, Texas,” “Patrick O’Brian,” “Ragan Communications,” “Supreme Court.”

This seems to be the rule that trips up many people because they don’t know whether a word is a proper noun. But as the AP Stylebook points out:

“Capitalize nouns that constitute the unique identification for a specific person, place, or thing: John, Mary, America, Boston, England. Some words, such as the examples given, are always proper nouns. Some common nouns receive proper noun status when they are used as the name of a particular entity: General Electric, Gulf Oil.”

There are also derivatives of proper nouns. Capitalize words that are derived from a proper noun and still depend on it for their meaning, such as “American,” “French,” and “Shakespearean.”

But lower case words that are derived from proper nouns that no longer depend on it for their meaning: “french fries,” “pasteurize,” “darwinian.”

4. Capitalize family relationships when used as proper nouns.

Capitalize “Uncle John,” and “Grandma Jesse,” but leave it lower case when it’s not referring to a person’s name. For instance, “We visit my cousin every Christmas.”

5. Capitalize titles that appear before names, but not after names.

This is perhaps the greatest capitalization crime in corporate America. Remember, it’s “President of Writing Advice Laura Brockway” or “Laura Brockway, president of writing advice,” not the other way around.

6. Capitalize directions that are names; North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions.

So capitalize “The Pacific Northwest” and “Central Texas,” but not “We drove west for two hours.”

7. Capitalize the days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays, but not the seasons used generally.

However, seasons are capitalized when used as a proper title. Some examples:

• “I will attend that conference in the fall.”
• “I have registered for three classes for Spring Semester 2013.”
• “We celebrate Valentine’s Day in July.”

 

8. Capitalize members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups.

For instance, “Texas Longhorns,” “Libertarians,” “Chinese.”

9. Capitalize periods and events, but not century numbers.

So that would be “Victorian Era” and “Great Depression,” and “first century.”

10. Capitalize trademarks.

Examples would be “Subaru,” “Coca-Cola,” “Apple.”

Remember to follow the sage advice of “The AP Stylebook”: “In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. Use a capital letter only if you can justify it by one of the principles listed here.” And when in doubt about a word that doesn’t fit under any of these rules, check the dictionary.

Readers, any other capitalization rules you would like to share?

This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.