Birmingham City Council has decided, in their wisdom (ignorance), to drop apostrophes from all their road signs and place names. Councillor Len Gregory said, "I don't see the point of them. If it was to give more clarity to the people of Birmingham it might be something we would look at, but I see no benefits at all." Ok, the point of...
Website or Web site? Tricky one this as technically they are both right. However, the Oxford English Dictionary is going for website, all one word, and so am I. But the Web on its own is capitalised. As is World Wide Web and the Internet. Online should be one word not on-line. And email and enewsletter are now grown up enough...
Exclamation marks have only one use: at the end of a sentence to show a strong emotion: That's great! What a stunning view! Help! However, in copywriting and business writing the exclamation mark should be used sparingly, if at all, as it can make your writing sound, well, a bit giddy and breathless. Woo-hoo! Gasp! Of course the multi exclamation mark should never be used....
What's your point? Ask yourself 'why am I doing this?' And no, 'because the boss told me to' is not a good enough reason. Seriously. What do you want from this? What are you hoping to achieve? In marketing lingo, what are you objectives? Have an awesome subject line. Or at least a rather good one. Your subject line needs to be...
Ok, this one gets me running for the dictionary every time: when to use licence and license or practice and practise. Practice with a C is a noun. And practise with an S is a verb. (S and V are close together in the alphabet which is a good way of remembering, I guess.) So, There's a new doctor's practice opened up...
So what were your new year's resolutions? Already broken them? Yep, me too. But, if you only commit to one thing this year, make 2009 the year you change your writing style. Stuffy, formal, waffly writing is out, out, out. And informal, friendly, conversational writing is the new black baby. Here are five top tips to help you on your way. 1. Read...
