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Typos give us the tee-hees, but don’t laugh TOO hard

There is hardly ANYTHING I love more than giggling over typos published by respectable sources. That’s why I felt almost giddy when I read TheAtlanticWire.com’s December compilation of their favorite typos of 2012. No question. There were some DOOZIES. We all know how easy it is, when typing fast, to transpose or omit letters, which more »

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Spellcheck For Weenies …

I have a love-hate relationship with published typos. Love catching them; hate it that they made it to press. The “rewards” of my habitual game of Spot-The-Typo seem more frequent these day, and I find myself wondering whether all the proofreaders are underpaid, overworked or have simply been escorted from the building, pink slips in more »

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Grammar Rules: The Good, The Bad & The Arbitrary

Grammar rules can be the bane of a creative jag. There you are, words flowing and your message coming together clearly, until you stumble upon an awkward turn of phrase that your fifth grade teacher would have frowned upon – or, to be more precise — upon which your fifth grade  teacher would have frowned. more »

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Trite Terms That Make Your Text TIRED

You’ve never been guilty of calling a new product launch “revolutionary,” “unprecedented,” “innovative” or “exclusive,” have you? Well, certainly not. You’re far too creative and thoughtful about your company communications to ever pepper your promos with words like “groundbreaking” or “exciting.” That’s crazy talk! EVEN SO, you might find it fun to have a look-see more »

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Terrorized by Typos? Here’s the reason:

Terrorized by typos? Turns out they’re so confoundingly common that researchers at the Cambridge-connected MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit have been investigating the issue. Here’s a hint about what they found: “The huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.” Ponder this and you’ll earn the bonus more »

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Why Those Namby-Pamby Modifiers Suck The Life From Your Prose …

With the observation that the internet has made writers and publishers of us all, our dramatic friends at Copyblogger.com recently made a catchy-yet-creepy claim that modifiers and adverbs weaken writing so much that they’re the equivalent of “dangerous bloodsuckers” that deserve the same brutal treatment as vampires in the path of Abe Lincoln’s ax. If more »

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