Plagiarism versus paraphrasing: Ensure y...

Next o’er his books his eyes began to roll, In pleasing memory of all he stole; How here he sipp’d, how there he plunder’d snug All suck’d o’er like an industrious bug. — Alexander Pope Over the past few weeks, several articles have appeared in PR Daily about plagiarism. One involved a medical school dean who had lifted passages from a speech originally given by Dr. Atul Gawande. Another involved the principal at a New York school for writers. If these allegations prove true, it’s unlikely that these individuals can credibly claim they didn’t know they...

12 unusual words that describe words

Like many other word groupies, I love to collect words. I keep a running list of my favorite ones in the notes application on my smartphone. And though I may never be in a situation to legitimately say or write any of these words, I keep them all the same. Lately, I’ve been interested in words about words. We all know about acronyms and euphemisms, but what about an ananyms and dysphemisms? Below are some of my favorite words about words and examples of their use. Ananym – A type of anagram, formed by reversing letters of another word. For example, an “emirp”...

If you love the OED . . .

Calling all Oxford English Dictionary groupies, Oxford University Press has produced a series of YouTube videos called “Writing the OED.” These videos give you an insider’s look at world’s most definitive dictionary and the people who work there. My favorite is New Words. Please sir, may I come in and work on the dictionary with you?

Why use a complex word when a simpler on...

Years spent editing articles written by attorneys (whose writing is purposefully vague) and physicians (whose writing is full of specialized language) have taught me the value of using simple words in place of complex ones. The use of unfamiliar or complex terms interferes with comprehension and slows readers down. Readers may even skip terms they don’t understand, hoping to find their meaning in the rest of the sentence. Readers are not impressed by the use of complex words; they’re frustrated by them. Take “use” and “utilize.” According to the Oxford...

7 confusing word pairs

The English language is full of confusing word pairs. How many times have you changed accept to except or stationary to stationery when editing another’s work? The word pair that I correct most frequently  — comprise and compose. Considering that there are an estimated 250,000 distinct English words, it’s easy to understand the confusion. Those of us who ply our trade with words are in a unique position to understand their shades of meaning. Others who are less experienced may not understand the distinctions. Take note of the following word pairs . . . Adverse and...

A brief reprieve

Taking the week off from blogging while I attend the Ragan Corportate Communicators Conference in Chicago. Looking forward to networking with my fellow editors and writers. Maybe I’ll meet someone else who shares my appreciation for the em dash.

Write it anyway

Writing has never been easy. Good writers make it look easy, but struggle until the last word is printed or posted. For me, I have the most trouble following my own advice and separating the writing and editing process. My “left brain critic” seems to subdue my “right brain muse” with alarming frequency. The result — writing paralysis. Recently, however, I was encouraged by the words of one of my favorite writers — Philip Pullman. “Writer’s block . . . a lot of howling nonsense would be avoided if, in every sentence containing the word WRITER,...

Linchpins of the world, unite!

To my professional detriment, I have not really paid that much attention to “business” books. I never really cared who moved my cheese or wanted to break all the rules for that matter. But recently, a friend told me about Seth Godin. I am ashamed to admit that I was only vaguely familiar with the name. But for the past 12 years, I’ve been sailing the high seas with Patrick O’Brian and exploring dust with Philip Pullman. There has been little time for non-fiction. Recognizing that I had completely ignored this genre, I decided to start with Seth Godin’s Linchpin....