by E-WRITE's Leslie O'Flahavan

Posts within the category: Writing resources

September 6, 2011

Online Grammar and Spelling Quizzes: Are You Smarter Than an 11th Grader?

It's back-to-school season, even for those of us who did not get a new lunchbox, science teacher, or dorm room this year. In honor of students everywhere, and in support of your ongoing efforts to refresh those writing skills, here are links to 20 online grammar and spelling quizzes. Try them all to see if you'll make the grade.

Are you smarter than an 11th grader?

We make our kids take them, but can you pass the grammar and usage sections of these tests for teens?

Could you cut it as an editor, teacher, diplomat, or technical writer?

Have an online grammar quiz to share? Post a comment or e-mail me.

 

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March 29, 2010

Treasure Trove of Writing Resources

My Proofreading Tips for Finding Errors in Your Own Writing post keeps generating feedback. Most recently, Cate Newton sent me a link to the writing resource page  she compiled for the Guide to Online Schools website. 

Cate wrote: “We are trying to build up useful resources for students of all ages…. We’ve compiled a list of the most useful grammar, proofreading and writing style guides on the Internet into one, easy-to-navigate article.”

Her writing resources are indeed a treasure trove. Among the gems on her list:

BBC Proofreading
Proofreading tips, practice exercises, and quizzes to test your skills. I aced the Level C (Superstar) proofreading test. But I admit that the question prompts and the multiple-choice format helped me catch errors I might have missed. 

The Online Grammar Guide 
The comprehensive guide to English grammar created by Jack Lynch, associate professor at Rutgers University, provides an alphabetic listing of grammar and word choice issues. Lynch offers this consoling take on the difference between that and which.

“Many of the best writers in the language couldn't tell you the difference between them, while many of the worst think they know. If the subtle difference between the two confuses you, use whatever sounds right. Other matters are more worthy of your attention.” He then offers a clear and pithy explanation of the difference. 

The University of Ottawa 
An online grammar course that covers the parts of speech, punctuation, pronouns, verbs, modifiers, clauses, sentences and spelling. This course lets you brush up on English grammar in the privacy of your office or cubicle. 

The Ultimate Style Guide Resources for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE
A list of good Internet style guide links. If The Chicago Manual of Style is your style bible, you’ll love the CMS Crib Sheet that summarizes the manual’s most important topics and rules.

School House Rock 
And finally, if you need a break from the rigors of correct usage, head over to Grammar Rock for animated music videos that teach the rules and make you smile. Busy Prepositions makes sense of the confusing rules for prepositions. You’ll spend the day humming the tune (guaranteed!). 

-- Marilynne Rudick (guest blogger)

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February 11, 2010

Tips to Help You Write When You'd Rather Not

Chances are, if you are facing a writing deadline, you’ve got a clean refrigerator. That’s because given the choice between writing and cleaning the refrigerator, or writing and root canal, or writing and most anything else, you’ll opt for the non-writing alternative. And there are dozens of ways to avoid writing that don’t even require leaving your desk.  Hmm. I wonder what’s in my spam folder?

That’s why, in the face of several writing project deadlines, I was surfing the web looking for advice on how to improve my writing productivity. Turns out,  writers have a lot of seat-of-the-pants productivity advice:

  •  Reward yourself.  Set word or time goals and reward yourself for meeting them. For example, set the alarm clock for an hour and do nothing but write. Matthew Stibbe, author of the Bad Language blog uses this ruse: “Write another 500 words [and] you can have a cup of tea and a biscuit.” Other rewards suggested by writers: Jaffa Cakes, cigarettes (creates other problems!), and my reward of choice—Trader Joe’s chocolate covered espresso beans.
  • Find the magical hour. Write first thing in the morning or late at night when there are few distractions. “The dark, the silence, no one to distract you, [are] all good arguments for working close to midnight,” says JCN (commenting on Stibbe’s post).
  • Use low-tech tools. A surprising number of writers said that using a basic text editor, instead of a full-featured word processor, forces them to focus on words and not be distracted by formatting or graphic enhancements.  Those recommended text editors include:

o     Notepad, the no-frills text editor that is bundled with Microsoft Windows.

o   WriteRoom (for Mac), a back-to-basics lightweight text editor recommended by productivity guru Merlin Mann as the right tool “if you need to get your head out of your butt and put some words on the page."

o       Q10, a slimmed-down text editor that lets you set a timer to schedule writing and break time. Q10 consists of one small, portable file. Load it on your thumb drive and write anywhere:
Starbucks, the library the beach.

Note: I haven’t personally used WriteRoom or Q10. But I’ll take them out for a test drive (a great way to avoid writing!) and report on them in future posts.

  • Use no-tech tools. Freelance writer Dustin Wax offers a reminder of the merits of the tried-and-true pen and paper. “A lot of people find that the feel of pen and paper keeps their creative juices flowing and their mind focused.” While hand-written text needs to eventually be typed, “that’s a good time to do editing and revision.” 


And finally, if all else fails:

  • Punish Yourself. Write or Die lets you set a time and word limit. (For
    example, 200 words in 20 minutes). Don’t meet your goal? Choose your
    punishment—a mildly unpleasant sound or the kamikaze: your writing disappears! 


Add your productivity tip to this list. Post a comment or send me an e-mail.

-- Marilynne Rudick (guest blogger)

 

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October 13, 2009

Social Media Press Release: Tips and Examples

Does the traditional press release format work in the world of 24-hour news, blogs, Facebook and Twitter? Many media professionals think the 100-year-old press release format is ineffective and obsolete. They're calling for a new approach. Read my companion post: The Social Media Press Release: A New Approach to the Old Problem of Getting Noticed.


Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Social Media Press Release (SMPR)

1. Think modular.
Whether you are using the template approach or a traditionally written press release enhanced with multimedia and social media elements, make sure each component or section of the release can stand alone.

2. Link, link, link.
Optimize links for search engine visibility. If your SMPR is being distributed by a news service, make sure to link back to a landing page or newsroom at your website. Include links to related information at other pages on your website. Link out to social bookmarking and social media sites, such as delicious, Digg, and Technorati.

3. Post content in multiple channels.
In addition to including multimedia elements in your SMPR, post components of your release to appropriate sites for increased search engine visibility. For example, post your videos on YouTube and your photos on Flickr.

4. Write your SMPR content for online readers. They scan rather than read word for word. Write short, use bulleted lists, and write message headings.

5. Use keywords to maximize search engine ranking.
Repeat the keywords in headlines, subheads, and in the text of the social media release.

6. Use visuals.
Include your logo, a headshot of your organization's CEO, maps and charts, and photos of products or services. Also include video. Videos don’t have to be professionally produced. YouTube-quality videos help reporters understand your product, and that helps them explain it to their readers.

7. Incorporate interactivity. Engage in a conversation with the media and customers by providing a way for them to comment or ask questions.

Social Media Press Release: Resources and Examples

  • “Anatomy of the Social Media Press Release,”
    a presentation delivered at the 2008 Public Relations Society of America conference, explains the concepts behind the SMPR and includes a good annotated sample.
  • The National Restaurant Association lists its social media release going back to December 2008,including “Winners of 2009 Restaurant Neighbor Award for Outstanding Community Service“ and “Healthy Kids’ Meals, Local Produce, Mini Desserts Among Hottest Menu Trends for 2009.”
  • The 2008 GovGab SMPR announced the first birthday of GovGab, the U.S. government blog. The multimedia elements in this SMPR include audio, commenting, photos of the GovGab bloggers, and links to their bios.
  • “Second Life Reforestation Project Qualifies as a Finalist in American Express Members Project,” distributed by RealWire, is a good example of an SMPR that uses the full gamut of social media elements, including video, tags, and commenting.
  • Dupont’s release on Nomex® On Demand™ , fiber technology that protects firefighters, is a good example of a wire service traditional release enhanced with multimedia elements, including a YouTube video that shows how  Nomex® On Demand™ actually works.

-- Marilynne Rudick (guest blogger)

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July 30, 2009

Download our Web Editorial Style Guide: Get Answers to Burning Questions About Correctness

Early this summer we wrapped up a great project and we'd like to share the fruits of our labor with you. After about 18 months of discussion, development, and drafts, the Web Editorial Style Guide we wrote for the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has finally been published as a wiki on EIA's intranet. While we can't offer you access to their intranet, we can offer you the Style Guide as a PDF download.  Just complete the Style Guide download form and you'll get the 66-page Style Guide. Though the Style Guide is illustrated with EIA-related examples, its common sense advice is useful for anyone who wants to publish correct, consistent content.

We realize it's the height of the summer vacation season and the Web Editorial Style Guide will never make your list of books to take to the beach, but we think it's a great resource for:

  • Documenting editorial style decisions and settling editorial conflicts. The Style Guide puts the rules about writing in writing. For example, for EIA website is one word. End of discussion.
  • Establishing a climate of collaboration in online publishing. This is especially true for EIA's Style Guide, published as a wiki. Though the EIA web management team has placed limits on users' abilities to change the Style Guide wiki, their choice to publish the Style Guide as a wiki enables them to update the Guide easily and frequently.  For example, a recent request from an EIA employee in Dallas on how to handle the phrase "Lower 48 States" led to a decision, published in the Style Guide wiki: capitalize the word State, omit the hyphen. 
  • Providing guidance on editorial issues large and small. In addition to recording rules for writing correctly, the Style Guide includes advice on writing well. For example, the first chapter of the Guide contains this advice:
Consider your audience. The best writers anticipate, and answer, their readers’ questions.  Identify your intended readers before you begin writing.  Think about what they already know and what they will want to know about your topic. While planning and drafting your content, keep your readers in mind.  Consider their level of technical expertise, their depth of interest, and the uses they will have for the information you provide.  


We hope this Web Editorial Style Guide may serve as a model as you update or develop a style guide for your online writing. We're also interested in how you "govern" online writing in your organization. Leave us a comment to let us know whether you use a style guide. If so, did you develop it yourself? We'd love to take a look at your guide, so provide a link, if you're willing.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

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