If you’ve heard of Glassdoor, odds are that you know you can find company ratings on our site. But while this is an important part of your job hunt research, the truth is that Glassdoor offers so much more than that (including job listings — more on that later!). So if you’re only looking at a company’s rating in order to assess what it’s like to work there, you’re missing out.
Thursday, 1 June 2017
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
Compound Words
When two words are used together to yield a new meaning, a compound is formed. Compound words can be written in three ways: as open compounds (spelled as two words, e.g., ice cream), closed compounds (joined to form a single word, e.g., doorknob), or hyphenated compounds (two words joined by a hyphen, e.g., long-term). Sometimes, more than two words can form a compound (e.g., mother-in-law).
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Contractions
What is a contraction?
A contraction is a shortened form of a word (or group of words) that omits certain letters or sounds. In most contractions, an apostrophe represents the missing letters. The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words: He would=He’d. I have=I’ve. They are=They’re. You cannot=You can’t.
Contractions are common in speech—so common that we don’t always take the time to pronounce them precisely, which leads to a particular contraction mistake writers might make if they’re not paying attention.
Friday, 19 May 2017
5 Biggest Business Writing Mistakes
We use the expression “there’s no room for mistakes” when we want to underline the importance of doing something correctly. But still, as you probably know from experience, mistakes appear whether there’s room for them or not. When they turn up in your business reports, memos, business emails and letters, and job applications, it can be downright embarrassing. We’ve gathered the biggest and most embarrassing, potentially devastating, and sometimes sneaky mistakes people make in business writing.
Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Grammarly Is Now Available for Microsoft Edge 15+
As previously hinted during the recent Microsoft Edge Summit, Grammarly has, in fact, made its way to Microsoft Edge 15+.
Grammarly’s browser extension for Edge will make sure your messages, documents, and social media posts are clear, mistake-free, and impactful. Adding Grammarly to Microsoft Edge means that your spelling and grammar will be vetted on Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, and nearly everywhere else you write on the web.
Friday, 5 May 2017
9 Things You Should Never Say in a Salary Negotiation
You’re 96 percent sure that you are ready to schedule a meeting with your boss to ask for a raise. Or perhaps you’re nearing the end of the job interview process and an offer is in sight. However, if you’re like me, you have definitely put your foot in your mouth a time or two saying the wrong thing at the absolute worst moment. Doh!
Don’t mess up.
Don’t mess up.
No matter how many times you rehearse what to say, there’s always that risk of fumbling right at the five-yard line.
Wednesday, 26 April 2017
How to Write Holiday Greetings and Avoid Common Mistakes
Maybe you don’t love holly or snowmen. Or winter jingles. Or trying to manage the list of gifts you’ll need to buy, wrap, and present to your loved ones. Heck, maybe every year you get stuck holding down the office for weeks on end while half the staff is away. Still, you want to power through this—to scream “come at me December, I can take you on!”
Nothing says “I am undaunted by the demands of the winter holidays and am not merely soldiering through—I am here to dominate” like a greeting card.
Sunday, 23 April 2017
Capitalization
At first glance, the rules of English capitalization seem simple. You probably know you should capitalize proper nouns and the first word of every sentence. But you also (sometimes) capitalize the first word of a quote. Usually you don’t capitalize after a colon, but there are exceptions. And what do you do when you’re not sure whether something is a proper noun?
English Capitalization Rules:
1 Capitalize the First Word of a Sentence
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
7 Productivity Apps That Will Make Your Life More Efficient
Ever reach the end of the day and wonder where all your time went?
I keep reading articles where the author points out that all of us—from millionaires to humble knowledge workers—have the same twenty-four hours in the day.
Sure, this is meant to be inspiring (you too can achieve your dreams!), but when it’s already noon and I’ve barely started my to-do list . . . it just feels depressing.
Thursday, 13 April 2017
7 Useful Tips on How to Write a Perfect Professional Email in English
It’s an exciting day—your first at a new job. And it’s the kind of gig you could get used to: Sitting in a comfortable chair and handling emails isn’t exactly backbreaking labor, right? But parts of it may not come naturally to you, at least not right away.
Maybe you want the emails you draft to project confidence and control, but are nervous about arranging each part in the right order.
Friday, 7 April 2017
How did you learn grammar?
This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.
Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!
If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.
Thursday, 30 March 2017
Colon
A colon introduces an element or series of elements that illustrates or amplifies the information that preceded the colon. While a semicolon normally joins two independent clauses to signal a close connection between them, a colon does the job of directing you to the information following it.
Many people are confused about using colons, but their function is actually quite straightforward.
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
5 Things That Will Make You Better at Content Writing
Writers around the world publish millions of articles to the Internet every day. Does yours stand out? If you’re a content creator, making a few simple changes will help you become the kind of writer whose posts are readable, relatable, and shareable. Here are five things that will make you better at content writing and help your posts shine like a beacon in a sea of words.
Monday, 20 March 2017
Sorry for the Late Reply: How to Apologize for a Delayed Response
You don’t always respond to emails right away. In fact, sometimes you put them off until the next day, the next week, or—downcast gaze—the next month. At some point the calculus shifts from “Can I somehow compose an email that justifies my glacially slow response-time?” to “Would it be easier to just fake my death instead?”
While it doesn’t look or feel great, sometimes you have to own up to sleeping on someone’s message.
Monday, 13 March 2017
Do You Want a Promotion? Read These 5 Books.
You work hard. You’re excited about your career. Isn’t it about time you had a job promotion?
You’re eager to move up the ladder, but navigating the maze of company politics feels stressful and confusing. If you’re not sure how to ask, when to ask, or what to ask, it may be time to call in the professionals.
Here are five of the best career books that will help you advance faster, have greater success, and make more money.
Friday, 3 March 2017
Reader’s Choice: 10 Books That Will Make Great Holiday Gifts
Grammarly blog readers love many things. Chief among them, grammar advice, writing tips, and of course, reading.
Book recommendations are always clutch, especially at this time of the year. So for those looking for last-minute stocking-stuffers or timely selections for your book clubs, we asked our Facebook audience, “What has been your favorite book of 2017?” Here are their picks for the books they’re loving right now along with reviews from Goodreads.
Tuesday, 28 February 2017
Mixed Constructions
A mixed construction is a sentence with incompatible elements that begins with one type of structure and shifts to another type of structure. In these sentences, the speaker sets out to say one thing and abruptly switches to something else, resulting in confusion.
A sentence that is logical has a subject and a predicate. When a subject is introduced in a sentence, an expectation is set up about the grammatical direction the sentence is going in, and when that expectation is not met, the sentence does not sound right.
Sunday, 26 February 2017
7 Places Grammarly’s Mobile Keyboard Helps You the Most
Smartphone users, rejoice! Grammarly has finally made the long-awaited jump to mobile (both iOS and Android!), helping us improve our communication even when using our smartphones and tablets.
But how can the Grammarly keyboard really help your writing experience?
We’re glad you asked! Here are just a few of the important places Grammarly’s new keyboard can help you show up as your best self when you’re writing on mobile.
Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Which common writing error is the worst?
This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.
Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!
If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.
50 Awesome Holiday Words to Know This December
The holidays are upon us, and these winter celebrations with their many traditions each have a rich and varied vocabulary. ...
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The holidays are upon us, and these winter celebrations with their many traditions each have a rich and varied vocabulary. ...
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Any writer who’s spent time in the trenches publishing articles online knows it’s hard to keep a reader’s attention. In fac...
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Are you feeling frustrated and unproductive? Like you’re constantly busy but the things that really matter aren’t getting d...