by Marilynne Rudick | Jan 20, 2010 | Writing Matters Blog
Reading the newspaper each day, I catch frequent errors in grammar and usage. It’s easy for me to find errors in newspapers—and, in general, in the writing of others. What’s hard is finding errors in my own writing. By the time I get to the proofreading stage, I’ve...
by Marilynne Rudick | Dec 15, 2009 | Writing Matters Blog
When I asked for suggestions of what to include in our upcoming revision of Clear, Correct, Concise E-Mail: A Writing Workbook for Customer Service Agents, a number of people suggested adding content to help non-native English speakers who respond to customer e-mails...
by Marilynne Rudick | Nov 5, 2009 | Writing Matters Blog
We need your help! We’re revising Clear, Correct, Concise E-Mail: A Writing Workbook for Customer Service Agents. We need your real-world input. Give us your suggestions for what to include in our revision, and we’ll give you a complimentary copy of the new workbook....
by Marilynne Rudick | Nov 5, 2009 | Writing Matters Blog
My e-mail inbox was so cluttered with newsletters, white papers, and marketing fluff that e-mail management—separating the real e-mail from the chaff—was an onerous, time-consuming chore. Last night, in a flash of brilliance, I realized I could streamline my e-mail...
by Marilynne Rudick | Oct 23, 2009 | Plain Language Writing Courses, Social Media Writing Courses, Writing Matters Blog
While updating our web writing courses, I’ve been scouring usability research to find new studies that apply to web writing. The findings from two separate research studies from the Software Usability Research Laboratory (SURL) at Wichita State University remind...
by Marilynne Rudick | Oct 13, 2009 | Social Media Writing Courses, Writing Matters Blog
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...
by Marilynne Rudick | Oct 12, 2009 | Writing Matters Blog
Grammar rules die hard. I learned that after my post Five Grammar Rules That Beg To Be Broken. I heard from a number of readers who, invoking the ghosts of eighth grade English teachers past, refused to break the rules. Despite my advice, they will not split...
by Marilynne Rudick | Oct 10, 2009 | Content strategy, Social Media Writing Courses, Writing Matters Blog
When more than 50 people lost their lives in a train wreck in 1906, Ivy Lee—the father of public relations—issued the first-ever news release, a public statement about the crash from Pennsylvania Railroad officials. The New York Times was so impressed with this...
by Marilynne Rudick | Oct 2, 2009 | Writing Matters Blog
After a blog post on Five Grammar “Rules” That Beg To Be Broken, a reader took me to task for using an idiom. I had written: “First off, what’s an infinitive?” The reader asked: “Is first off appropriate in print? I am of the opinion that it...
by Marilynne Rudick | Aug 20, 2009 | Writing Matters Blog
Death panels. Government take over. Revenue neutral. The frenzy over health care reform is a potent reminder that the Internet provides a staggering amount of information—and misinformation. How do you separate the truth from what political satirist Stephen Colbert...
