July 2014

Good writers do a lot of things to make their writing interesting. They vary sentence length and vocabulary to keep the writing flowing, and they use sensory language to appeal to their readers’ five senses. This appeal to the senses is also often demonstrated through the use of figurative language, or saying something without being direct. Two of the things good writers include when using figurative language are similes and metaphors.

Similes and metaphors are related. They both compare two objects or ideas to enhance description. They help us understand the unknown by comparing it or contrasting it to ideas we are more familiar with.

Similes are less direct than metaphors. They say an object or idea is like another one, by using words such as “like” or “as” in the description. Similes are often used to say that one thing is like something else, looks like something else, or does the same thing as something else. We constantly use similes in our everyday dialogue. We say things like, “It’s hot as an oven in here,” or “Her smile was like sunshine.”

Metaphors are more direct. They compare two unlike objects or ideas without using the words “like” or “as” to make the comparison. They say one thing is another. Metaphors make the reader use more of their imagination to the make the full connection the writer is expressing. For example, a writer might choose to say, “The defiant mother was a wall between her enemies and her children.” The image created is very powerful and it forces the reader to make the connection between the mother standing strong to defend her children and a solid wall.

When you begin trying to create similes and metaphors, it can feel intimidating and overwhelming. But it is important to remember that you will be using nouns that you are already familiar with to create these comparisons. You will be using your and your readers’ prior knowledge to help them understand the ideas you are trying to communicate and to see the images you want to paint in your writing.

So how can you use similes and metaphors to make your writing more interesting? At the beginning, you might add similes and metaphors during the revision process. Find ideas and descriptions you would like to strengthen and highlight them. Then think about how you can use other, more familiar ideas or nouns to help your readers visualize what you really want them to see or understand. Play around with these ideas before committing to one. Write out similes and metaphors using these ideas until you find one that you feel fits the flow of your writing and strongly conveys what you want your readers to know. This will get easier with practice, and in time, you will find yourself incorporating similes and metaphors during your first draft. You can also read a lot of poetry and song lyrics to find examples of similes and metaphors and see how they are used flawlessly in literature.

Commas are one of the most frequently used and misused punctuation marks in the English language. The English language has 8 key rules that you need to know about using commas:

1. One of the most common uses of commas is to separate two independent clauses that are connected by one of a special set of conjunctions. The best way to understand or identify independent clauses is to know that they are sets of words that make up a complete sentence, including a subject and a verb. Sometimes, two independent clauses like this are joined together in the same sentence and may require a comma for clarification. There is a special set of conjunctions that can be used to connect independent clauses within a sentence; the easiest way to remember them is to learn the word “FANBOYS,” which stands for “for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so.” Thus, the following example sentence requires a comma.

• “The first act of the play was very long, so the couple had to leave before the second act.”

2. Another common use of commas is to separate a list of three or more items within a sentence as follows:

• “She went to the grocery store to purchase eggs, milk, bread, and soap.”

3. Commas are used to introduce a quotation and often follow words like “said,” “answered,” and “yelled.”

• “After finishing the marathon, Sarah breathlessly exclaimed, ‘I’ve won!’”

4. When full dates and locations are used in a sentence, commas are used. A comma should be placed between the city and state and after the state in a sentence.

“He recently moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to go to college.”

Also, when a full date is in a sentence, a comma is used after the day and the year.

• “On July 1, 1975, Sarah and Billy were married.”

5. Commas are used at the end of a sentence when there is a contrasting phrase or element. The following examples provide some clarification.

• “She was simply lazy, not stupid.”
• “She was one of the student who was caught, wasn’t she?”

6. Sometimes, commas are used between two adjectives that describe the same noun. This rule does not apply in all cases; it only applies when the order adjectives could be reversed and when the word the word “and” could be placed in between the adjectives.

• “The cat had long, soft fur.”
• “The short, bright vase was just what the interior designer wanted.”

7. Use commas to separate an optional phrase or clause from the rest of the sentence. You will know a phrase is optional if it could be removed from the sentence without changing the sentence’s meaning.

• “July 4th, which also happens to be Independence Day, is my birthday.”

8. Finally, use a comma after an introductory phrase that comes before the main part of the sentence.

• “When the weather gets warmer, we will start grilling outside.”
• “For the rest of the day, we are planning to paint the house.”

The most basic spelling rule you need to know is the distinction between consonants and vowels. Vowels include a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y and w. Consonants are all the remaining letters that are not vowels. If you hear a one-syllable word with a soft vowel, the vowel is usually in the middle. On the other hand, if a word is comprised of the vowel-consonant-e structure, the final e is usually mute; in other words, the -e will not be pronounced even though it exists in spelling.

Some of the most simple English spelling rules involve a basic understanding of tenses. First, you should add the suffix -ed to all verbs in past tense. For example, “walk” becomes “walked” when you are describing the act which occurred in the past. For verbs used in present-continuous tense, add -ing. Here is an example: I am reading right now. Notice that “read” becomes “reading” under this circumstance.

Other English spelling rules have to do the plural form of nouns. For most nouns, you can simply add -s after the word. For example, you spell “cats” if there are more than one of them. However, nouns that end with -ch, -s, -es, -x, and -z require more attention. For these words, you will need to add -es to signify a plural form. Here are some examples: “watch” becomes “watches”; “tax” becomes “taxes”; “pass” becomes “passes.” This rule in fact applies not only to plural noun forms, but also to singular verbs used under present tense. Another special case is words that end with -y. For these words, you should replace the -y with -ies if you want to make them into a plural form. For example, there are more than one “babies,” not more than one “babys.”

There are other simple spelling rules that will allow you to spell correctly without knowing much about tenses and usage. First, if you want to add a suffix to words that end with -e, you will need to drop the -e. Here are some examples: the noun form of “guide” is spelled “guidance,” while the present-continuous tense of “hope” is “hoping.”

Another easy spelling rule is changing the final -y in a word into -i before you add a suffix to the word. For example, the noun form of “defy” is “defiance.” However, remember that there are certain exceptions to this rule, such as “journeying” and “memorize.”

The key ingredient to a formal essay is the thesis. A thesis is a statement that expresses the main idea of your paper. It explains the goal or purpose of your formal essay so that your readers know what to expect. A strong thesis should state the main idea of your essay and some points for discussion. For instance, if you were going to write a paper about why you like coffee, the main idea would be that you like coffee, while your discussion points would be your reasons for liking coffee. So your thesis might look like this: “I love coffee for many reasons, but most of all for its endless variety of flavors, comforting texture, and relaxing qualities.” This statement is effective as a thesis because it explains the main idea and lists a few sub-topics that will be discussed in the essay. If you begin writing by developing a clear thesis with these two components, you’ll have a great start to your formal essay.

Once you’ve written your thesis, you can use it to help you develop the body of your paper. The “body” of a formal essay is the discussion that comes in between the introduction and the conclusion. It consists of several paragraphs that work to support or explain the main idea by elaborating on the discussion points mentioned in the thesis. Each body paragraph should focus on a sub-topic. If we use the same example presented above, the sub-topics would be the various flavors, texture, and relaxing qualities of coffee. So you would need to write one body paragraph devoted to discussing each of these three topics. Always remember to keep your thesis in mind as you write the body of your essay.

A formal essay should begin with an introductory paragraph. This paragraph should provide readers with some background information about the thesis of your paper. An introduction is a little bit like a funnel; it starts out with some broad observations about your topic and gradually gets more specific, until it reaches your thesis. So if you’re writing a paper about why you love coffee, you might start with some basic information about coffee or some other things that you enjoy. Either way, the goal of the introduction is to gain your readers’ interest by giving them a context for your essay.

Much like the introduction, the conclusion of your formal essay should include a restatement of your thesis. However, the goal of the conclusion is to invite your readers to continue exploring the topic of your paper. So you might begin your conclusion by restating your thesis. Then, you can develop it by considering some future implications of your essay and how it might impact the reader. For instance, the conclusion of the coffee paper might be focused on encouraging readers to try different coffees for themselves or continue studying the subject of coffee. The point is to show readers how your paper affects them and how they can take action.

For many, writing a short story is difficult because it’s short and needs to have a theme. The space doesn’t leave a lot of room for rabbit trails. If you’re trying to write better short stories and want to improve your writing, you can. Continue reading for some suggestions about ways to improve your writing by making it stronger, more realistic and more interesting.

Tips on Character Development

When you begin writing a short story, one of the first things you need to do is identify your main characters, namely the protagonist and the antagonist. Identify what the protagonist wants and how the antagonist is trying to stop the antagonist from achieving his or her goals.

When you develop the characters, get to know everything about them. What’s his most embarrassing moment? What’s her relationship like with her parents? How did he meet his significant other? What do your characters look like? Saying that she’s “beautiful” or he’s “ugly” isn’t enough. Instead, find specific ways to describe them. Write down the things that make the person attractive or unattractive, including personality traits. For instance:

• Hair color
• Eye color
• The green sheen on his teeth
• The dirt under her nails
• The way she bites her lip when she’s nervous
• The way he bosses people around

Tips on Plot

A good short story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Before you begin writing, think about what your protagonist wants and how you can turn it into a story. How can you introduce the problem? Will he or she achieve this goal or not? And, whether it ends well for your character or not, how do you get from the problem to the end?

Consider creating a story arc, marking important events along your character’s timeline. Include conflict, tension into the story line. How do the events of your story change your character? How does getting a new job influence change? What about moving? Getting married? Having a baby? To create a good story, your character needs to change by facing his or her fears, whether or not she succeeds. How does your character change?. Maybe your character:

• Realizes she’s better off without her boyfriend
• Decides to join the military, after all
• Moves in with her parents to save money
• Chooses to do something for himself

Other Tips

Decide who’s telling the story. Is it your main character? First person or third? Is a narrator? Can the narrorator see into everyone’s perspective?

Decide how to end the story. You know what happens, but how much are you going to tell to the reader? Consider an open-ended ending that allows your readers to decide what happened. For instance, “Ali nodded at the police officer, but ignored him, staring out the window at the crashing waves”

You can also have a clear-cut outcome that explicitly states what happened. “Karen loaded up the car, ignoring her husband’s pleas.” Dialogue is another common way to end a story.

A business letter is meant to convey any number of non-personal business transactions, including negotiations, contract agreements, and questions regarding services or to arrange meetings. You may also need to write a business letter to promote your business, share updated information or communicate with vendors. Creating a business letter is a rather simple process, provided you follow a few simple tips. Remember that business letters are more formal than a personal letter and that certain rules should be followed.

Most importantly, learn the basic format of a business letter. Once you learn the basic format, preparing the letter is easier. Generally, business letters are printed on letterhead, a pre printed paper with the senders address and name or company name.

The letter begins at the top center of the page with the sender’s name and address, followed by a formal greeting for the recipient. This will set a business-like professional tone for the letter. Always place the date the letter was written a few lines under the senders name and address on the letterhead. Dates of communication can become quite important in business transactions, so don’t leave out the date.

Skip two lines and add your salutation. It’s important to use the recipient’s formal name, and refer to them as Ms., Mrs., or Mr., not just by their first name alone. Using a first name in a personal letter is fine, but in business, it’s best to be formal. Follow the greeting with a comma, although many people use a colon, which is fine as well.

The main body of your letter is next. Skip two lines after the salutation and begin your letter. Use an indent at the beginning of each paragraph. The body of your letter is meant to communicate clearly the matter at hand. Keep the discussion short and to the point. Try to be as clear as possible when asking questions or sharing information. Throughout the body of the letter, remember to keep a formal, business-like tone.

The letter is ended by using a complimentary close, a friendly and sincere closing greeting. Skip two lines after writing the body of the letter and write your close. In a business letter, the more common closings include ‘sincerely yours’, or “regards’. Format your signature by skipping 4-6 lines and signing by hand. Many people today sign letters in blue ink to differentiate between a copy of a letter and an original. Be sure to address the envelope properly as well, using either the recipients name or company name.

Adjectives:

Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. Generally an adjective that comes before a noun will be written right next to the noun. In the sentence “The black cat ran,” cat is the noun and the adjective black comes directly before it. An adjective that comes after the noun will also usually follow a verb, as it does in the sentence “The cat is black.”

There are two types of adjectives. These are “fact” adjectives and “opinion” adjectives. A fact adjective states something that can not be changed. In the sentence “The sky is blue,” the adjective “blue” is factual because the sky is always blue. Colors, sizes, shapes, and other similar types of description tend to be fact adjectives. An opinion adjective shows the personal preference of the speaker. In the sentence “That car is hideous,” the adjective “hideous” is an opinion — to a different speaker the car may be “perfect”, “beautiful”, or simply “okay”.

More than one adjective can be used to describe a noun. You can do this by simply placing the adjectives next to each other if they come before a noun. “The small black cat ran,” is an example of this. If the two adjectives come after the noun you should insert the word “and” between the adjectives: “The cat is small and black.”

Finally, the words “this, that, these, and those,” can work as either adjectives or as pronouns. These words are adjectives when they come directly in front of the noun. Going back to the sentence, “That car is hideous,” the word “That” is an adjective that tells which particular car the speaker is talking about.

Adverbs:

Adverbs are words that can modify or describe adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. They may come before or after the modifier. Adverbs will answer the questions How? Where? and When? Remember also that adverbs will often end with an “ly.”

In the sentence, “The cat walks slowly,” the word “slowly” is an adverb describing how the cat walks. It is also an example of how an adverb modifies a verb.

In the sentence, “The food is grown locally,” the word “locally” is an adverb describing where food is grown.

“When” can be answered by an adverb either as a specific time period, a frequency of times something is done, or the duration of time it takes to do something. In, “She bought it today,” the word “today” describes the specific time period an item was bought. In, “She always laughs,” the word “always” is an adverb that shows how frequently she laughs. In, “The cat is perpetually moody,” the adverb “perpetually” shows the duration of the cats moodiness. Because “moody” is an adjective describing cat, this is also an example of how an adverb modifies an adjective.

The word “very” is an adverb often used to modify another adverb. In this case, the adverb will come directly before the other, as in “The cat walks very slowly.”

If you’re learning to speak English in the British form, you may have noticed that there are differences in the way that Americans speak the language. You’d notice the same thing if you were learning American English and listened to a conversation between two British people. Although it’s the same language, there are differences in terms of vocabulary, use of nouns and verbs, and spelling. In this article, you’ll learn how to spot some of these differences.

Vocabulary

Some of the differences in vocabulary between the two forms of English can be confusing. Even native English speakers may not understand words used in the opposite form of the language that they speak. For example, what Americans would refer to as an “elevator”, the British would call a “lift”. Both groups of people are referring to the same object, but a different word is being used by each group to describe that object.

You may want to become familiar with some of the more common words that are used in everyday language. In American English, the place for storing your bread is called a bread box. The British call this object a bread bin. What’s called a bus in American English is called a coach in British English. Another American English term is pants, while the British version is trousers.

Nouns and Verbs

Collective nouns are used differently in each form of the language. An example of a collective noun would be “team” or “committee”. In British English, collective nouns can be used with singular or plural verb forms. An example of the singular form might be, “The team was in agreement.” The plural form could be, “The team were always arguing with each other.”

In American English, collective nouns usually use a singular verb form. An example could be, “The band was terrific last night.” Plural pronouns can be used also – “The band played their best show last night.”

Spelling

If you’ve ever read something written by an American author, you may have noticed that certain words are spelled differently by British authors. Words that end in the letters “or” in American English are spelled with “our” in British English. An example would be the word “color”, used by Americans. The same word spelled by a British person would be “colour”. Another difference is in American words that end with the letters “ze”. The same words in British English use the letters “se”. An example would be “analyze” (American) and “analyse” (British).

These are just some of the differences between American and British English. If you’re having trouble understanding these differences, there are tools available online to help translate one form of English to the other. Hopefully this article gives you a start in understanding some of the basic differences between American and British English.

The press release is often the most direct and cost-effective way to present your service, product, event, or business in general to any relevant audience. Though many variations exist, the basic pattern is both elegant and easy to compose. And for our purposes, the simplest way to organize your statement will involve answering a set of questions.

How can you name the service quickly? This will be your headline, and it will flow forward into the body of your brief presentation. If you are describing an art exhibit, for instance, name the artist, venue, and time, and follow it up with a relevant comment regarding what your audience will find. Is there a special value, or sale? Does the product represent a new technology or forum?

Remember to keep it short, generally less than a page. Imagine that your audience has only seconds to spare for your flyer, and never forget what you want the reader to do with the information you will have provided. Do you want a large crowd at the demonstration for your new microchip, or do you need for people to switch from cable to satellite TV? This is precisely where the foundations of good journalism will serve you best. Give the what, where, when, how, and why.

And make it funny, if you dare. Humor can be very disarming, for example, and since you’ve certainly spent a great deal of effort or time to create your service, you can use details from that process to enhance its appeal. Did you work for years on the software, and what precisely required the lion’s share of that time? The answer to this one might lead you to write that your technology came after a so-called “Aha” moment, complete with comic strip bubble and accompanying light bulb.

Short, sweet, and to the point, and with the delicate addition of attractive framing, this is the royal road to making your work’s result stand out. Inform, but also tease. If the Fall Line is your best yet, then a reference to being “blinded” by beauty is not at all out of the question. You want your target customer to feel that urge to attend/purchase/switch, and as most of us know from reading advertising copy, there are certain emotional benefits we get when we actually do what the sentences suggest. Take what a new smartphone might offer, for example, such as the sense of having distant family members right there in your home for a visit. Imagine these boons, write them down as goals, and find a concise way to make the connection with your reader quickly.

Last but not least for your consideration is the contact information. You are creating a brief but urgent thought in someone’s mind, after all? There should be additional questions. Where can tickets be purchased? Who is the contact person for bids?

Bringing it all together, as you can see, is as easy as answering a list of short questions!