This is part of the difference between series. While editing something for a client recently, I noticed their use of humourous. Normally, at this point of the blog post, I would explain the difference between humorous and humourous, but in this case, humourous is a misspelling.
Author: Kim Siever
I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business.
Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.
One thing not to do when cold calling through LinkedIn
I want to talk about cold calling today. Particularly, I want to talk about cold calling on LinkedIn and one thing to avoid when doing it.
I say voilà. You say walla. But who cares?
About a decade ago, I wrote a small rant about people using walla instead of voilà. I even called such people lazy. I apologize.
Shouldn’t you capitalize “husband”?
The following is a reader submission. Wouldn’t you capitalize husband if in fact you were writing and referenced your Husband? Using the word husband in place of his name. Just like when you would reference your Mom or Dad. I thought personal reference should be added as the 4th reason to capitalize husband from your… Continue reading Shouldn’t you capitalize “husband”?
How to write a proper apology (2 things to remember)
I recently offended a friend of mine through a conversation I was having with another friend on Facebook. I saw how my other friend was being offensive, but I didn’t think I was. I thought I was on the side of my first friend. So, I took it personally. Luckily, I didn’t get defensive, and… Continue reading How to write a proper apology (2 things to remember)
Why your nouns should agree with your adjectives and verbs
Last week, a local media outlet reported on a crime story. In their story, they had the following sentence: A male and female suspect left the home before police arrived but were found at a residence on Stafford Drive North later in the morning. This sentence confuses the reader, making it unclear how many subjects… Continue reading Why your nouns should agree with your adjectives and verbs
The rise of social media customer care
Customer care is an integral part of every business’s success. Customer service is a way of building a better relationship with your customers, thus increasing the opportunities for a positive impact on sales and customer loyalty. Social media has not only emerged as a platform for marketing and advertising, but it is also a great… Continue reading The rise of social media customer care
What is the plural of scissors?
In short, the plural of scissors is, well, scissors. It’s already in the plural form. The word is descended from the Latin cīsōria, which actually did have a singular form: cīsōrium. This evolved into cisoires in Old French, then sisoures in Middle English. And then about a century after it became sisoures, it further evolved to become scissors, influenced by the Medieval… Continue reading What is the plural of scissors?
5 examples of racist language to avoid in your writing
Racist stereotyping, despite efforts spanning decades to change it, still exists, and it’s pervasive in how we communicate. Racist stereotyping — well, stereotyping in general — is a poor way to communicate because it relies on assumptions and generalizations that often don’t apply to the situation at hand. Here are 5 ways to avoid racism in your own writing, but this is… Continue reading 5 examples of racist language to avoid in your writing
What is faulty parallelism?
One of the most common grammatical errors I see on the web is faulty parallelism. I assume most writers are not even aware of the error. Faulty parallelism exists when two potentially related actions differ in structure. Let me illustrate.