Writeability

There are at least five uses of the word principles(pals) but two different ways to spell it.

Principle: Guideline or rule

Exmaple: The basic principle of investing is to buy low and sell high. 

Principle: Moral guideline or conduct

Exmaple: It's against my principles to lie.

Principal: Main or major

Example: The principal reason I called this meeting today.

Principal: The head of a school

Principal: Capital sum of money, as distinguished from interest.

Avoid the passive voice. It tends to sap energy and power from your writing.

Example: "Darwin's theory of evolution" instead of "the theory of evolution that was formulated by Darwin."

If you are uncertain about whether to use who or  whom  ask yourself "Who is doing what to whom?"  

The subject -the one that does the action- is who. The object -the one that gets something done to it - is whom.

A hyperbole is a figure of speech that is an exaggeration which denotes extremes. It is common in both everyday speech and in written English. Despite its prevalence using a hyperbole in a professional setting is frowned upon. A hyperbole is ideal for a story, poem or informal e-mail.

Examples: "I cried so much I nearly died."  "I laughed so hard I thought my cheeks would fall off."

Among and amongst have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

Among is more commonly used in American English. Amongst is seen to be a little old-fashioned but is still grammatically correct.

Most of us know (or should know) that the first word of a sentence and the pronoun I are always capitalized. 

There are other ways capital letters are used (and often misused). What follows is a short capitalization guideline.

The first word of a sentence 

The pronoun "I"

Example: The first time I went to New York I was overwhelmed.

Proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things)

Example: The United Nations, Golden Gate Bridge, Vancouver, Winston Churchill

Family relationships (when used as proper names)

Example: I sent a get well soon card to Aunt Tina. 

The names of God, specific deities, religious figures and holy books

Example: the Qur'an, Zeus, Buddha  

                    There is an exception to this. Do not capitalize the non-specific use of the word "god."

                    Example: The word "polytheistic" means the worship of more than one god.

Title preceding names, 

Example: He is the assistant to Mayor Blumenthal

but not titles that follow names

Example: I interview Candice Bee, mayor of Lakeville

Directions that are names (North, South, East and West as sections of a country but not as compass directions)

Example: The Lees live in the Northeast. 

The days of the week, months of the year and holidays 

Example: Thanksgiving, March, Saturday

The seasons when used in a title

Example: The Summer 2009 semester

The names of countries, nationalities and specific languages

The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote

Example: Shakespeare once wrote, "To be or not to be..."

Members of national, political, racial, social, civic and athletic groups

Periods and events

Exmaple: Elizabethan Era

Trademarks

The abbreviations of specific names

Example: RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), UN (United Nations)

On this blog we have tended to focus on formal or business writing practices.
This is because using proper grammar and spelling is essential for communication and this is especially true in a professional setting.
The way that we write an e-mail to our friends is very different from an e-mail we would write to a client or co-worker.
Creative writing practices require little attention to grammar and spelling. In fact subverting accepted rules and common practices is often the aim of such writing.
When writing a personal or informal situation spelling and grammar are important because you are still trying to convey a message in a clear and concise way but convention is relaxed because a mistake will probably not effect the way that person views you.

In any setting it is good practice to set your ideas out as clearly as possible.

When writing:

Be selective in the ideas that you include. Pick your best ideas but make sure they relate to each other and your topic.

Don't stop once you start writing. Get into the groove. Revising and editing come later. Just let the ideas flow.

You call a two-bladed cutting tool "scissors" or "a pair of scissors". The word scissors is a plural that has no singular.  Scissors comes from the latin word for cutting tool "ciscoria" and became intermingled with the latin word for tailor (scissor) sometime during the 16th century. 

Other words that are also pluralized in their singular forms are:

measles

pants

Participles are adjectives that end in -ing (and sometimes -ed). Participles modify nouns. The antecedent, the noun to which the participle refers, must be clear to readers in order for them to understand what is being stated. If it is unclear then the action might be mistakenly attributed to the wrong player.

Example: The child ran from the teacher, still holding the marbles in his hands.

In the sentence above holding is the participle and it is unclear who is holding the marbles in his hands, the child or the teacher. This is a dangling participle because there is no clear antecendent. 

Dangling participles are considered unacceptable in writing and should be avoided. Modify the sentence so that the subject is clearer. 

Example: The child, still holding the marbles in his hands, ran from the teacher. 

Starting sentences with"this" or "it" is very vague. When you find yourself writing this way, ask yourself what it is that you are really trying to say. Be clear and specific to the point you are making, if there is another way to convey your message without starting the sentence with "it" or "this"try it out.
Example: This leads one to believe that vacations are most popular in February.

This what? Even if the preceding sentence contains the info needed to understand what "this" refers to, it is best to clarify, ie. This study, This information, etc.

Example: It requires a lot of thought and consideration and should not be entered into lightly.

In this sentence the reader does not know what "it" refers to.

Instead of a 'Daily Tip' I'm offering something a little different to start this week off. For better of worse most people learn to write at school. This article explores tips and tricks to increase interest in writing through science.