Comma Commentary: To Splice or Not to Splice

Comma Commentary: To Splice or Not to Splice

by | May 23, 2012 | Copywriting Tips

If you want to set off a heated argument among a bunch of writers, buy them a round of drinks and say, “So, comma placement. What’s the big deal, anyway?” As Ben Yagoda, a professor of English at the University of Delaware, wrote in The New York Times earlier this...
Comma Commentary: To Splice or Not to Splice

Quotation Dos and Don’ts

by | Nov 10, 2011 | Copywriting Tips

Your Highness: I hold a job that requires I write articles, press releases, and similar pieces in which I quote others. You’d think I’d have such matters down by now, but I’ll come clean: I never really learned the rules for using quotation marks. To complicate...
Comma Commentary: To Splice or Not to Splice

Typos of Death

by | Sep 20, 2011 | Copywriting Tips

It happens to everyone eventually, amateurs and pros alike. I’m not just talking garden-variety typos—although those happen too, albeit rarely for those of us whose job it is to eradicate them. I’m talking about the editor-defying, snorf-eliciting Typos of Death, the...
Comma Commentary: To Splice or Not to Splice

Never Fear the Semicolon

by | Jun 17, 2011 | Copywriting Tips

Your Highness: I have a confession to make: I live in fear of the semicolon. As phobias go, I know it could be worse. I could have an aversion to, say, spiders, or maybe conference calls or my BlackBerry. Which would really be unfortunate, since I work in marketing....