You ask a kid about how many in the English alphabet, and they will tell you that it consists of 26 letters in a snap. But there is more to the English alphabet than we know. It has been adapted in many places and has taken a form of its own. For example, the Hawaiian … Read more
Got time for a riddle? Here’s one: “What English word has three consecutive double letters?” It’s tricky! So tricky that you would need the old English alphabet to find some of the answers. There aren’t many natural English words with three consecutive double letters. Most words with this combination are just two words connected by … Read more
From A to Z, the 26 letters in the English alphabet contribute to over 240,000 words. But, out of this huge number, there’s a letter that is at the beginning of less than 500 of these words. Can you guess what this letter is? Probably not. Let me take some suspects off the list for … Read more
One of the most neglected aspects of writing is the capitalization of letters and its rules are ignored by a lot of people, especially on social media. While you may easily go away with capitalization atrocities on Twitter and Facebook, breaking the laws that govern capitalization in professional or academic writing is frowned upon. Some … Read more
Writing a thesis statement is a crucial part of writing an essay or research paper. If you don’t have a good thesis statement, then you won’t be able to organize your ideas into a coherent argument. One of the first things your reader—it might be a professor, researchers, or students—will see is your dissertation, one … Read more
‘Who’ and ‘whose’ are often confused and it gets even knottier when ‘who’s’ and ‘whom’ are thrown into the mix. When you put ‘who’s’ and who together, they sound the same, but the difference in spelling is also indicative of a difference in meaning. Even native English speakers may have difficulty using these words, especially … Read more
There is mind mapping and then there is concept mapping. Confused? I was too, some centuries ago. You might know concept mapping and—at the same time—not thoroughly acquainted with mind mapping. Concept maps and mind maps seem similar, they both are used for organizing information. So, it is easy to get them mixed up, but … Read more
Brainstorming is an effective way to help you create and develop ideas. It has become a stock phrase and it is easily confused with other words. For example (and relevant to this article), mind mapping. Brainstorming and mind mapping are easy to use when used together (and when mastered), and they improve the planning phase … Read more
Now and then you find a good novel that nails character accents and regional dialects. Although accents can help make your character’s voice memorable and help the writer add a bit of originality, they can also distract the reader if you do a rushed and stereotyped job. Writing accents is easier said than done, even … Read more
One of the things that I learned earlier on is that writing styles are dependent on the author’s goals and the audience. Having a clear understanding of the different types of writing is important for students, especially those who aspire to be a writer. It is equally important for professionals—every professional has to be acquainted … Read more
