As any non-native speakers learning English as a second language soon discover, English is a funny language! Not only has its vocabulary derived from several European language families, but there are also numerous paradoxes and inconsistencies that are a real test of… If you stumble across a word with the prefix lex, there’s a pretty good chance […]

I’ve a confession: I loved the ’80s. The music, the fashion, the hair… Well, OK, maybe not the hair! But even though that decade is now a dim and distant memory, I’m still an ’80s girl at heart. Nostalgia FM The… Most people are familiar with common literary devices such as similes, metaphors and alliteration. Yet there […]

You might not realise it, but the work of copywriters infiltrates every facet of our daily lives – from TV adverts and promotional flyers through the door to website content and instruction booklets. Yet many people still don’t really know what…

Home › Archive for Language › Page 4 I’ve been a bit remiss with my blogging lately, but I felt compelled to publish one today as Britain takes to the polls in the historic EU referendum. Don’t worry; this post is going to stay well away from politics. Instead,… Since writing my previous blog post containing […]

Home › Archive for Idioms › Page 4 My recent adventure on the high seas (well, the North Sea to be precise) got me thinking about the numerous nautical idioms that permeate the English language. As an island nation, Britain has a rich maritime heritage. Our reliance on… After visiting two delightful gardens last weekend […]

A recent query from a client reminded me of a topic I’ve been meaning to blog about for a while: when to use a or an. Most of us will remember learning a simple rule at school. If the word… As writers we’re often encouraged to keep things short and to the point. After all, […]

Home › Posts tagged SEO I’ve a confession: this is my first blog post in six weeks. And only my fifth this year. I know that doesn’t exactly sound like a heinous crime, even for a freelance copywriter. And I very much doubt if anyone… If you’re confused by terms like “PPC” and “CTR” – […]

This time last week I joined some 200 of my peers at Copy Cabana 2017 – the 2nd copywriters’ conference to be held in (not quite so sunny) Bournemouth. The event’s tagline is “Prepare to celebrate the life linguistic”. It certainly delivered on its… The inaugural Copy Cabana copywriting conference held yesterday at Silicon Beach in Bournemouth exceeded all my expectations. […]

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… Turning down work as a freelancer is never easy, but I recently did just that. […]

Home › Posts tagged copywriter One of the questions I’m often asked when I tell people at networking events that I’m a copywriter is whether I ghostwrite blog posts or articles for clients. The answer I give is ‘yes’ – because I do offer a… This time last week I joined some 200 of my peers at Copy Cabana […]

The hyphen may be small, but its presence – or absence – in a word can make an enormous difference to the meaning. The English language includes several instances of words where the decision to add or leave out a…

Home › Posts tagged spelling 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”,… You know that idiom that refers to comparing yourself to […]

Home › Posts tagged quotations As a copywriter with a linguistic background I am – unsurprisingly – more than a little bit interested in language. Not just the finer points of grammar, spelling and punctuation, but also its etymology, usage and evolution. Following on from previous… Like many freelance copywriters, a large portion of my business […]

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… Inspired by the OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2018 cycle race, which whizzed through leafy […]