Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebotโs newsletter.
Racking up grammar points
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Here at Stylebot, we've been racking our brains to figure out how to help more people with their writing and editing needs. And a few weeks ago, we asked you what topic you'd like to learn more about. Most people who responded said they'd like advice on how to avoid common writing mistakes. So today, we're excited to share our first e-book on that very topic. It walks you through four common writing mistakes and the grammar rules you need to know to fix them. Think of it as a condensed version of this newsletter, with printable tip sheets you can use for easy reference. And it's free! Check it out and let us know what you think.
We've also shared with you our commonly confused words quiz, and if you've taken it, chances are you missed the question about racked vs. wracked. Fewer than half the people who have taken quiz have gotten that question right, so as a bonus, today we're reminding you to drop the "w" in phrases such as nerve-racking and rack my brain. You can learn more about rack and wrack in our earlier deep dive here. Thank you to everyone who voted in our previous poll about the writing topics you're most interested in. If you missed it, now is your chance to share your opinion with us.
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๐ A tip a weekIf someone forwarded you this email, subscribe here to get one writing tip a week in your inbox. ๐ฌ Get reliable, ethical writing advice at your fingertipsImproving your writing means making better choices every day. Stylebot makes it easy with our Slack, Teams and Google Chrome extensions. Try Stylebot for free today. ๐ About StylebotStylebot helps media professionals save time without sacrificing quality by answering editing questions on Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chrome. We're on a mission to make editing faster, easier and more fun โจ Learn more about Stylebot or follow us Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
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Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebotโs newsletter.
If you've been watching hockey this season or you're gearing up for this year's World Cup, you're likely familiar with the term hat trick. And if you're not, here you go: It's when one player scores three goals in one game. It's commonly associated with hockey and soccer, but it can apply to other sports, as well as to a series of three victories. But there are no hats in soccer, and hockey players wear helmets. So why the "hat"? "Hat trick" made its sports debut in cricket. When a bowler...
Today we're going to talk about dashes โ but not that kind. The em dash has gotten a lot of attention in recent years because of its tendency to show up in AI-generated writing. Some of us who are longtime lovers of the em dash (including the humans behind this newsletter ๐โ๏ธ) might pause before using it now, for fear of giving the wrong impression about how our writing was generated. (For the record, we still lean into the em dash, but you do you.) The en dash is a close relative of the em...
What a week! People celebrated Presidents' Day, Mardi Gras and Lunar New Year this week, all while the Olympics were happening and Ramadan began. To top it off, there was a solar eclipse on Tuesday. To mark this week, we have some event- and holiday-themed writing tips that you can use through the rest of the week and month: The Olympics closing ceremony is on Sunday. Just like "opening ceremony," "closing ceremony" is not capitalized. Remember, Team USA is an exception to the rule about...