Category: Blog

“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”      —Henry James

The quote above may be from a British writer, but because I’m writing this blog post in American English, I’ve used double quotation marks to enclose it.

Some people think using single or double quotation marks is an aesthetic choice. But it’s not—the choice of whether to use single or double quotation marks comes down to the style of English you’re using.

American (and Canadian) English uses double quotation marks to enclose quoted material and uses single quotation marks for a quotation within a quotation. The sixteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style says, “Quoted words, phrases, and sentences run into the text are enclosed in double quotation marks. Single quotation marks enclose quotations within quotations . . .” (13.28).

Example:

“She said, ‘Wow! It’s a sunny day,’ and I was surprised.”

British English (and Australian English) does the reverse. It uses single quotation marks to enclose quoted material and double quotation marks for a quotation within a quotation. (And, in British English, quotation marks are called “inverted commas.”)

Example:

‘She said, “Wow! It’s a sunny day,” and I was surprised.’

Double quotation marks are standard in American English. The style of quotation marks you use should follow the style of English in which you are writing. Consistency is always important. So if you’re writing in American English, use double quotation marks.

Your readers’ time is valuable. And the time you spend writing is valuable. That’s why it’s best to use as few words as possible to make your point. There’s no need to make phrases more complex than they need to be.

I see many wordy phrases when I edit, but the one I see most often—almost daily—is in order to. It’s often used repeatedly throughout a paragraph.

In order to isn’t necessary in writing. You can shorten it to the word to, and the meaning of your sentence will be maintained.

That’s right! Just two little letters, and you’re done.

Example One

I went to the market in order to get some blueberries.

I went to the market to get some blueberries.

Example Two

In order to learn the material, the student had to read the book.

To learn the material, the student had to read the book.

Do you see how in order isn’t needed? The meaning is the same without it.

So the next time you’re tempted to use the rambling, empty phrase, in order to, remember you can eliminate wordiness by using only to.

When you express your thoughts using only the necessary words, you make your writing easy to follow and your readers happy.

One of the revisions I most frequently suggest to writers is to use active voice.

You can write in active or passive voice. Both are grammatically correct. But active voice is more engaging and clear than passive voice.

What’s active voice? It’s when you structure your sentences so that the subject performs the action.

The student picked up the book and walked out of the classroom.

What’s passive voice? It’s when you structure your sentences so that the subject receives the action.

The book was picked up by the student, and the classroom was walked out of by the student.  

Do you see how the sentence that uses active voice flows more easily than the sentence that uses passive voice? Passive voice makes a sentence more complicated than it needs to be. There’s no reason to add extra words when they’re not needed.

Active voice is easier for your readers to understand. It’s concise and animated—your readers will prefer active voice because they won’t have to figure anything out.

So remember that a good way to strengthen your writing is to choose active voice.

How do you know if you’ve used active voice? Take a careful look at your sentences.

1. Identify the subject.
2. Identify the action.
3. Ask yourself whether the subject is performing the action.
4. If the subject is performing the action, you have used active voice.

There are some instances in which passive voice is okay to use, such as in scientific writing (although science is moving away from the use of passive voice). Or when you have a specific reason for not wanting the subject to be identified. But the entire text should not be in passive voice.

Try not to give your readers extra work to do. Use mostly active voice in your writing.

Have you noticed that the word because has been transformed in speech? Once only a subordinating conjunction, in recent years, people have started to use because as a preposition. For example, “It’s hot outside because . . . summer.” Or “I can’t write clear English sentences because . . . lazy.” Add one word after because, and apparently you’re done communicating—let others do all the guesswork. As long as you understand, everyone will understand too, right?

Wrong. This slang usage of because is okay in speech, but it isn’t a good idea in writing. It’s one of those linguistic changes that likely evolved from text messaging, along with abbreviated words, lack of punctuation, and writing in pictures (although I’m not so sure hieroglyphic-like communication is evolutionary). Luckily I haven’t yet seen because used as a preposition in formal writing—but I fear it’s only a matter of time before I do.

Why use more than one word to give a complete explanation when you can assume people will understand what you mean? Because people won’t understand what you mean, and this is the purpose of written communication—to convey your ideas clearly.

Think about writing a cover letter for a job: “I believe I would be an asset to your company because . . . skills.” Or think about explaining facts, “The results of the study support our hypothesis because . . . research.” Your readers can’t guess what you mean.

Although it has become common, the use of because as a preposition is still incorrect in standard English. If you want to, go ahead and use because as a preposition when you speak. Because evolution. Because Internet. Because time. But in writing, stick to the formal usage of because, and give your readers an explanation. Because confusion. Because clarity. Because literacy.

When I taught kindergarten, I used to tell my students that I have eyes in the back of my head. So when my back was turned, they thought I could still see what they were doing—and who was behaving. They would tell me that they were looking carefully at the back of my head to see if they could find my extra eyes.

It might be nice to sometimes have another pair of eyes and to be able to see things in a different way than you usually do, but all you have is your own perspective.

And your perspective is fantastic. But when it comes to writing, having only your perspective is limiting.

After you’ve been looking at your writing for a long time, your eyes are tired. Your brain is tired. Even if you take a break and come back to it, you’re likely still looking at it in the same way. You’re closely connected to your writing. And this makes it easy to miss problems.

What if there’s a more effective way to say what you want to say? What if the words you’ve used are going to make it difficult for your readers to connect with your ideas? What if you’ve overlooked grammatical errors?

You need someone who’s not as closely connected to your writing as you are. You need someone with a new perspective—a new pair of eyes.

You need an editor.

Here’s what another pair of eyes can do for you:

Help you see your mistakes—You may not see your mistakes, but your editor will. Your readers will judge the credibility of your ideas by your grammar and spelling and by the clarity of your writing. Your editor will correct these mistakes.

Help you polish your writing—Maybe your grammar and spelling is okay. But there may be redundancy, wordiness, or lack of cohesion. Your editor will eliminate these problems so that your writing shines.

Help you meet the goals you have for your writing—Is your tone or choice of words appropriate for your target audience? Can important information be easily located and understood? Your editor will give you ideas about how to engage your readers and help you make your writing as strong as possible.

Before you publish, bring in an editor to view your writing with fresh eyes and offer you another perspective.

1. Needless to say . . .

People use this phrase when they think what they’re going to say is already understood. But it’s never a good idea to assume your readers already understand something.

This phrase serves no purpose in writing. If something doesn’t need to be said, then why are you saying it?

If you want to express an idea in writing—express it. Directly say what you want to say.

Your readers want information. So there’s no need to use wordy, idiomatic phrases to make your point. (See this post about filling space with meaningless words.)

You’ll irritate your editor by using this phrase—especially if you use it repeatedly. But most important, you’ll irritate your readers.

2. It goes without saying . . .

People use this phrase when they think what they’re going to say is obvious. But it’s not a good idea to assume what is obvious to your readers.

Look at this example:

It was a beautiful day, and I had free time. So, needless to say, I went for a walk. It goes without saying that I enjoyed my walk.

If you take out the two wordy phrases, you’re left with the same meaning. And you do need to say that you went for a walk, or your readers will not be able to guess that that’s what you did. You also need to say that you enjoyed your walk, or your readers will not know.

You may be thinking, “But I’m certain my readers are familiar with my topic, and they’ll understand.”

• Don’t assume what your readers already know.
• Don’t give your readers extra words to read when you can be concise.
• Don’t risk confusing a reader whose native language isn’t English.

When you’re writing, remember this: If something doesn’t need to be said, don’t say it.

Keep your writing strong—use these phrases only when speaking.

Everything is blooming after a cold, wet winter. For some people, this means pollen allergies.

But this spring, in my editing work, I’m noticing another kind of allergy:

A punctuation allergy.

Those who suffer from this condition have this primary symptom: They refuse to punctuate—not even a period. Every sentence runs into another. I have to put a puzzle of words together, and I’m left with questions about their intended meaning.

The root of this condition might be fear of writing taking too much time or the idea that people have become so used to texting that they think writing a complete, punctuated sentence is unnecessary. Maybe the blossoming of technology is contributing to this allergy by making people think it’s okay to stop using punctuation.

There are some instances where lack of punctuation can be helpful. I once had a college professor who sometimes requested that we write without punctuation. We used a stream-of-consciousness style of writing to capture our thought process on paper. We didn’t stop to organize our words. This was intended to help us learn how to read analytically and become better thinkers and writers. But we weren’t publishing what we wrote. It was a tool to take us to the next step in our learning process.

Most of the time, lack of punctuation is unhelpful. It’s important to organize your thoughts and divide your words into sentences so your readers can understand what you’re saying.

You already know what happens to people who have spring allergies: They feel lousy. But do you know what happens to people who have punctuation allergies?

• Their ideas are difficult to follow.
• Their meaning is misinterpreted.
• They are judged by their lack of ability to communicate clearly in writing.
• They lose their readers.

If you have a pollen allergy, your stuffy nose and cough might make it hard for you to speak clearly. If you have a punctuation allergy, your avoidance of using punctuation will make it hard for you to write clearly.

Remember that punctuation helps with clarity, and clarity in communication is key.

Here’s my antidote to your punctuation allergy:

• Take your time with each sentence; even if it’s your first draft.
• Read your words aloud.
• Ask yourself whether your readers will know when each sentence ends and where to pause.
• Find an editor. He or she will show you how to punctuate and why it matters.

Despite the title, this post isn’t about the song by the band Chicago; instead, it’s about a rule by The Chicago Manual of Style, one of the most respected style guides used in US English: There should be one space between sentences—not two.

There’s still an ongoing debate about the topic of spaces between sentences.

I’ve noticed some people aren’t merely confused about this rule, they just don’t like it—and they don’t want to follow it. (I first discussed this issue in this post.)

One space is correct: “Like most publishers, Chicago advises leaving a single character space, not two spaces, between sentences and after colons used within a sentence.”

What’s interesting (but not surprising) is that I’ve recently noticed that millennials are getting blamed for instigating this “new” one-space rule. They grew up with computers, so they’re puzzled and irritated by the two-space habit some writers have, and they expect everyone to use one space—but it’s not their fault.

The one-space rule isn’t new. It has been in practice since computers replaced typewriters—in the late 1980s, which was a long time ago. Although I’m not a millennial, I agree with them on encouraging the two-space users to start doing what is not only correct, but also expected: use one space.

It’s never easy to change a habit. It’s easier to find a reason to keep things the way they are. Maybe you think switching to one space will distract you from your writing. Maybe you think two spaces are aesthetically pleasing. But the fact is most of the Western world now uses computers instead of typewriters, so we need to change some of the habits we’re used to and evolve with the times.

I prefer one space between sentences. I find I can’t read as quickly when there are two spaces. It looks incomplete and disorganized—and old fashioned. Most important, I wonder why the writer is doing something incorrect, and this distracts me from his or her message.

If you prefer two spaces, remember the following:

• You don’t get to choose the number of spaces you want to use after a period.
• One space is correct.
• If you have to train yourself to use one space, that’s okay. It’s a hard habit to break.
  

If you insist that the old, typewriter-based two-space rule should be the industry standard, you can take your argument to the University of Chicago Press. But if you’re publishing (or sending any kind of written communication) in 2017, I suggest breaking the two-space habit, no matter how hard it is.

Can you choose which punctuation mark to use after the salutation in a formal letter? No.

In US English, the only punctuation mark you should use after the salutation in a formal letter is a colon—if you want to be taken seriously and seen as professional and respectful.

A colon serves as an announcement. You’re announcing the information you’re presenting. You want your reader to focus on the content of your letter, and the colon serves as a formal call to attention.

With a formal letter, you don’t necessarily know the person to whom you are writing, so the letter isn’t personal. Therefore, it’s better to be too formal rather than too casual. Stick with the punctuation mark that US English considers formal: the colon.

Also, try not to confuse the colon [:] with the semicolon [;]. A semicolon should never be used after the salutation in a formal letter or in any kind of letter.

You already know you need to punctuate the body of your letter according to the rules of English; the salutation is no different.

Here are some rules to remember:

• Use a colon following the salutation in a formal letter.
• Use a comma following the salutation in a personal letter.
• Use either a colon or a comma following the salutation in an e-mail.
• A semicolon is always incorrect after the salutation in any kind of letter.