Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers
I received an interesting question from an English teacher in Iran who wanted to know the differences, if any, between “must” and “have to/has to.” This is an interesting question because the expressions are nearly identical. To answer, I had to think not only about their strict definitions but also about how they are used.
The terms “must” and “have to/has to” are modal auxiliaries that communicate (1) an obligation to perform some action or (2) that some state of being or action is…
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Added by David Bowman on September 17, 2014 at 6:39pm —
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Teaching elementary and secondary students how to write well is challenging. Many students don’t understand the core principles behind writing, including the basics of sentence and paragraph structure, a logical progression of ideas, and reader awareness. Others don’t have the technical skills of writing, including grammar and punctuation. However, with consistent, year-by-year, engaging instruction by committed teachers who understand not only the value but also the principles and skills of…
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Added by David Bowman on March 25, 2014 at 11:22pm —
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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Where you add or leave out a comma can change the meaning of a sentence.
Let’s look at a news story I read this morning to learn how a comma before “including” changes the meaning of the sentence. In this example, I think the writer left out a comma, thus communicating something that probably isn’t true.
Continue“The Chicago Teachers Union has [sic] announced that it will send a bus to the 50th Anniversary March on Washington, a…
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Added by David Bowman on August 23, 2013 at 11:55pm —
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The Confusion of And vs. To
English can be a difficult language to learn, not because English grammar is tricky (though it can be) but because the language can be vague. Word choice, in particular, can be very confusing, particularly when more than one word is possible.
Here’s a question I received recently about the nuances of the English language.
Question: Which of the following is correct:
a. I would like to send Peter an email AND give him my regards.
b. I…
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Added by David Bowman on April 3, 2013 at 11:47pm —
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I love dogs, and I love a good mystery. So when I came across the Chet and Bernie mystery series, I was ecstatic. The books are narrated from the perspective of Chet, the dog. I really enjoyed this as too many times in books and movies, animals are overly anthropomorphized.
I cuddled up at night with books one and two, Dog on It and Thereby Hangs a…
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Added by David Bowman on April 11, 2012 at 12:57am —
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Concise writing is clear writing. By definition, concise writing communicates in as few words as necessary. Everything in a sentence other than the subject, verb, and object is description. Descriptions cause most of the “fluff” in sentences, but, fortunately, some simple strategies will help you write concise descriptions.
Simplifying…
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Added by David Bowman on February 1, 2012 at 9:02pm —
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Writing style comprises four characteristics:
1. Formality
2. Language complexity
3. Objectivity, and
4. Information depth.
The purpose you are trying to accomplish, the readers’ needs, your relationship with the reader, and the type of document affect the style in which you…
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Added by David Bowman on December 10, 2011 at 12:36am —
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Before I write anything else, let me state that I like Lynn Truss’s book Eats, Shoots and Leaves. It is funny, and it has a few good pointers on…
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Added by David Bowman on September 14, 2011 at 11:43pm —
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Therefore and Too are conjunctive adverbs, and they cause a lot of problems with commas. Before we look at using commas with therefore and too, we need to understand conjunctive adverbs and what they do.
A conjunctive adverb shows how the idea in one sentence or independent clause…
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Added by David Bowman on August 17, 2011 at 8:17pm —
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You have a document, and it has special formatting. Perhaps it has heading styles, block quotes, references, and the like. Maybe you need to use APA style or MLA style. Perhaps your document has special chapter titles. Keeping track of these styles—and using them consistently—can…
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Added by David Bowman on August 9, 2011 at 10:30pm —
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Language, and writing, can do one of two things, depending on how it is used: enhance a relationship or damage it. In simple terms, it can help bring people together or push them apart; it can help you accomplish your purposes, or it can hinder you. Language is never neutral.
What does this mean for you as you write? This means you have to think carefully…
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Added by David Bowman on July 21, 2011 at 1:00am —
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You have two connected ideas, two ideas that together make a complete message. In fact, the connection is so close that you want to join them into one long sentence. For example, let’s say you want to communicate these two ideas:
1. The man entered with a gun.
2. Bank personnel were not amused.
You want to write them in one longer…
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Added by David Bowman on June 21, 2011 at 10:00pm —
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Added by David Bowman on June 15, 2011 at 11:43pm —
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Although paragraph structure challenges writers, it is essential not only to help organize the content logically but also to keep the reader interested to the end of the document. On the other hand, if paragraphs are not structured well, the reader will have difficulty understanding the ideas being presented and will be unlikely to respond as you wish.
You…
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Added by David Bowman on May 21, 2011 at 1:38am —
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The final stage of the writing and editing process is proofreading: correcting any errors in spelling, punctuation, word usage, and format. Roughly 75% of what I do while proofreading clients’ documents is correct commas.
When I teach university writing courses, I ask the students, “What’s the number one thing that confuses you…
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Added by David Bowman on May 17, 2011 at 11:26pm —
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1. The toy was red [comma] round [comma] and heavy.
2. I purchased pickles at the store [comma] gas at the convenience store [comma] and flowers at the florist for my beautiful wife.
Series: A series is a string of three or more…
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Added by David Bowman on April 14, 2011 at 7:00pm —
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Added by David Bowman on April 8, 2011 at 9:17pm —
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For nearly 20 years, I have helped graduate students edit essays, research papers, dissertations, and other graduate-level papers. Some papers only need basic proofreading to correct spelling errors, grammar errors, punctuation errors, and problems with word choice. Other papers need help with APA format, reference lists, and citations. However, most papers need substantial revising.
The most common problem I have found when editing graduate papers is the lack of…
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Added by David Bowman on February 17, 2011 at 12:43am —
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Added by David Bowman on February 17, 2011 at 12:30am —
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Added by David Bowman on October 6, 2010 at 12:00am —
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