Articles
Christmas down under style
For those of us in the land down under, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Yet what we call Christmas in Australia may, to our friends in the Northern Hemisphere, seem just a little weird. As the days get shorter, darker and colder on the other side of the...
Quirky’s rise to fame
Has anyone ever described your personality as quirky? Or perhaps when you turned up at corporate head office casual Friday wearing a pink tutu with tartan tights your outfit was described as ‘quirky’. You may even have been asked to design or create something that’s ‘a bit quirky’. The word ‘quirky’ seems to pop up everywhere. But is it always in a good way?
Four traps to avoid when writing foreign words in English
When we speak or write English, we frequently use words borrowed from other languages. Some common examples are ‘arm’ (from German) and ‘pyjama’ (from Persian and Hindustani). These words have been in the language for so long we no longer think about where they came...
Pick a noun, any noun
You may have heard the grammatical term ‘noun’ and know that a noun names a person, place or thing. But did you know there are several different types of nouns? A thorough understanding of nouns is important for several reasons, such as knowing when to use an initial...
Longing for good old Blighty
If you’re one of the unfortunate people still far from home – wherever that may be – due to COVID-19 border closures, you could be grappling with the scourge of homesickness. Homesickness can do strange things to us. It can make us idealise the country, society or...
What to expect from a professional business editor
You may be lucky enough to work for an organisation with in-house editors who can hone and polish your written communications. More likely, your team will have the task of writing, editing, and proofreading all your written communications themselves without the help...
When and how to use brackets in business writing
Parentheses (also known as round brackets) are a useful device to keep in your writing toolbox. Round brackets can help break up the content and make reading easier by separating information within the text. The type of text you would include in brackets could be...
Copyediting and proofreading: do you need to do both?
Tight or conflicting deadlines often result in team members running out of time to refine and check their document. Attention to detail with your written communications may seem like a waste of time and energy when there are other pressing demands. Yet close attention...
Quirky words that help us through crises
Major events in history, like wars and pandemics, bring new words into the language and repurpose old ones. A common slang brings people together and helps us cope with events that threaten to overwhelm us. Coining quirky new words and phrases may even give us some...