Reddit Politics Writing Breakdown: The Right and Left Are Closer Than You Think

When it comes to language, it turns out that conservatives and liberals are more alike than you might think. The intrepid Grammarly team delved into the unfiltered political maelstrom on Reddit to get a look at how the Trump and Clinton subreddit communities write when they discuss the 2016 U.S. presidential election online. We used the Grammarly app’s powerful algorithms and new political correctness checks to find out not only how many spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors each camp made but also how often the software flagged their language as politically incorrect.

Colour or Color—Which Is Correct?

• When choosing between color and colour, keep in mind that both spellings are correct.
• The shorter one, color, is the preferred spelling in the United States.
• The rest of the English-speaking world uses the longer form, colour.

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How do you spell color? You’ll see other writers do it two ways—the one we’ve already used in this sentence, and another one—colour. Neither of the spellings is wrong, and they both mean exactly the same thing.

How to Write a Good Pitch

So you have an idea for a story that’s burning a hole in your brain, and you need to find it a home—ideally somewhere that will embrace and enhance your style, share your work with a broad readership, and pay you decently.

In other words, you hope to surmount one of the greatest hurdles that separates the writing world’s dreamers from its doers. No pressure, though.

10 Interesting Facts About the English Language that You Didn’t Know

Guest Post by Rochelle Ceira

Did you know that enneacontakaienneagon is actually a word in the English language? (And you thought pronouncing supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was difficult?). In fact, the meaning of the word is just as bizarre as the word itself: it’s a shape with ninety-nine sides.

 

Compared to other languages, English may seem simple, but that is probably because most people don’t realize it is full of crazy inventions, misinterpretations, mistakes, strange words, and needless words!

This Is How to Put Positive Spin on Weaknesses in a Job Interview

No job candidate is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. Fortunately, employers aren’t looking for perfect people, just the right people.

Honesty is always the best policy during a job interview, but that doesn’t mean you have to put your weaknesses on display. Whether it’s your resume or your personal challenges that might raise red flags with a hiring manager, addressing your weaknesses and framing them in a positive way can help you avoid making excuses or sounding defensive.

E.g. vs. I.e.–What’s the Difference?

I.e. and e.g. are both Latin abbreviations. E.g. stands for exempli gratia and means “for example.” I.e. is the abbreviation for id est and means “in other words.” Remember that E is for example (e.g.) and that I and E are the first letters of in essence, an alternative English translation of i.e.

But why bother with all this Latin? Don’t we have enough abbreviations in English?

Why You Should Learn Roots

Have you ever noticed how, in the English language, some small words sometimes appear in a lot of bigger words? Take the word “friend,” for example. If you notice someone who is acting friendly toward you, you might want to start a friendship, so you befriend her. You don’t want to be friendless, after all, but you also probably don’t want to befriend unfriendly people, so you save your friendliness for those who really deserve it.

What’s your opinion about academic writing standards?

Academic writing is the epitome of formality and requires generally strict adherence to various style guides—usually a different standard for each subject. Should academic writing and English remain strict and formal, or is it time to relax the rules a bit?

“Beck and Call” or “Beckon Call”—Which Is Right?

• Beck and call is the correct way to spell this phrase.
• To be at someone’s beck and call means you are ready to obey their orders or commands.
• Beckon call is not the correct way to spell the phrase.

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Even though it’s not a phrase you’ll hear every day, it’s good to know whether beck and call is the correct way to say it, or if it should be beckon call.

Beck and Call vs.

Present Continuous

The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.

The Present Continuous Formula: to be [am, is, are] + verb [present participle]

Aunt Christine is warming up the car while Scott looks for his new leather coat. They are eating at Scott’s favorite restaurant today, Polly’s Pancake Diner.

Comma Before Too: When Do You Use It?

You’ve likely read sentences in which there was a comma before too, but is this correct usage? Well, it depends on the intention of the writer. When using the word too, you only need to use a comma before it for emphasis. According to The Chicago Manual of Style, a comma before too should be used only to note an abrupt shift in thought. When the too comes in the middle of a sentence, emphasis is almost always intended since it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence.

Introducing the Diaeresis

The New Yorker is a quirky magazine. Sure, it’s a go-to when you’re looking to read high-quality writing, but the magazine’s style is full of peculiarities. There are the double consonants where you don’t expect them, as in the word “travelled.” There’s the spelling out of numbers, even the really long ones. And there are the words like “coöperate” and “reëlect,” which are written with two tiny dots over the second o and the second e.

5 Famous Cats in Literature

Cats make frequent literary appearances as fascinating, thought-provoking, and sometimes sneaky characters. From early nursery rhymes to contemporary tales, cats are omnipresent stars and sidekicks. To celebrate Adopt-a-Cat month in June, here are five famous cats that feature prominently in some much-loved books.

The Cat in the Hat

One of the best-known title characters in children’s literature, readers can easily identify the Cat in the Hat by his elongated body, striped hat, and red bow tie.

Which Grammar Rules Are Dying?

We all make mistakes. Sometimes, we even embrace them.

Such is the case with language. The words you’re reading right now are the product of centuries of slang, corruption, amalgamation, and lazy habits. The writers of today gently nudge future evolutions of English by choosing which mistakes will be acceptable tomorrow. (For instance, where you use verbs like “stung” and “stunk,” experts believe future writers may instead opt for “stinged” and “stinked.”)

Presume vs. Assume

• Presume is a verb that means to suppose, to take for granted, or to dare.
• Assume is a verb that means to suppose, to take for granted, to take upon, to don, or to undertake.
• In the shared meaning of “to suppose,” presume is usually used when you suppose based on probability, while assume is used when you suppose without any evidence.

What’s the difference between “assume” and “presume”?

Fascinating New Languages

Despite all our smarts and scientific advancements, there is still a lot we don’t know about the phenomenon of human language. We don’t know what the first human language sounded like. We don’t know exactly where, how, or when it came to be. We may never be able to find out—there’s an overwhelming lack of data to work with. What we can say, however, is that once we figured out how to create language, we went ahead and created a bunch of them.

Where Do Ninjas, Zombies, and Robots Come From?

English is a language made up almost entirely of other languages. Between the fifth and seventh centuries, tribes from lands that would become Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands showed up in Britain. The languages they spoke developed into Middle English, butted heads with Old Norman (pre-French), and, in Shakespeare’s time, got a dose of Latin and Ancient Greek. Along the way, individual words from a host of other languages were added to the mix.

5 Tips On How to Choose Your Blog Name

Guest post by Yohana Petrovic

So, you’ve decided to start your own blog! But before you can start writing and engaging with your readers, there is one hurdle that you have to jump: giving your blog a name. Choosing the best title for your blog is a very tricky thing.

Your blog’s name is its first claim to fame. As a starting blogger, your blog’s name is the make-or-break, the read or no-read, the click or no-click.

Here’s How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer

Sick of the 9-to-5 life? Yearning for work that’s creatively fulfilling? If you’re someone who loves to write, the idea of becoming a freelance writer has probably crossed your mind.

And if you’ve ever wondered how to turn that fantasy into a reality, this post is for you.

I’ve been a freelance writer since 2013, and over the years I’ve fielded many questions from folks interested in freelancing.