Home & leisure topics – by their very nature – tend to be easy to relate to, understand and write about. So not surprisingly, this is probably my favourite sector to work with. Even if it isn’t an area that I already have personal experience of, I’m generally willing to find out more… especially if it involves food/drink, […]
Donkey-drawn carts promote literacy in Ethiopia by bringing books to children in rural areas Like the majority of people, I take reading and writing for granted – whether that’s jotting down a shopping list, filling out a form, sending a text, browsing the newspaper or surfing online. Yet 1 in 5 adults don’t enjoy the […]
Let me start by saying that I’m rather fond of semicolons. But I’m not so enamoured when they’re used incorrectly or ineffectively… Out of all the punctuation marks in English, the one that seems to catch most people out is the…
This week marked the centenary of the start of the First World War on 4th August 1914. Although none of the brave soldiers who took part are with us any more, their legacy lives on in countless ways, including social… Posted in Language Tagged with: lingo, phrases, words, WW1
Introducing the first in a new series of mini blog posts about common writing mistakes. The difference between compliment vs. complement is one that catches a lot of people out. I often see them used incorrectly, as in “complimentary therapies”, “complementary tickets” or even “with complements”. So here’s a quick reminder in case it sometimes […]
Professional services content has a clear purpose to serve. The subject matter can sometimes be a bit on the dry side, but that doesn’t mean the content itself has to be boring, lengthy or full of jargon. Let me help by adding some personality and warmth to your business’ website copy or other marketing collateral. I can ensure it sounds interesting and […]
Geraldine – it is official, you are amazing! Those tweets look fantastic and are exactly what I was hoping for – so a huge thank you for doing that for me! Kimberley HornbyWhitefoot-Forward PR Related Posted in Uncategorised
I recently overheard a radio news presenter refer to “less people” at a particular event. The issue of whether to use less or fewer in a sentence is one that catches many people out. This is confirmed by Oxford Dictionaries, which states: “It is regarded as incorrect in standard English to use less with count […]
At this time of year, many people automatically recycle their Christmas tree, greetings cards and wrapping paper. Some even repurpose cards into gift tags to use next year (I did it once, but keep forgetting to use them!). But have you thought…
I’ve recently noticed a growing trend of people misusing – or, to be precise, failing to use – apostrophes in expressions of time. It seems to be fairly widespread, ranging from emails and newsletter content to blog posts and social… What are your pet grammar peeves? Which grammar mistakes set your teeth on edge? Is […]
The inaugural Copy Cabana copywriting conference held yesterday at Silicon Beach in Bournemouth exceeded all my expectations. While it’s still fresh in my mind, I thought I’d share my favourite talks from the day – along with my key takeaways (which may well not be the same as other people’s). All of the speakers at Copy Cabana 2016 […]
This week marked the centenary of the start of the First World War on 4th August 1914. Although none of the brave soldiers who took part are with us any more, their legacy lives on in countless ways, including social changes, our literature and our language. You might not realise it, but numerous English words […]
Like many others, I was recently glued to my TV wondering who was going to be crowned MasterChef 2015. As well as making me feel hungry, watching the contestants create culinary masterpieces got me thinking about common idioms and other…
The English language is positively brimming with acronyms, such as ASAP, B2B, FAQ and TLC. And OMG, don’t even get me started on text speak, like BRB, LOL, ROFL et al! But did you know that what many people refer…