Using 'I' or 'me' depends on whether the pronoun [I or me] is acting as the subject or the object of the sentence. [The subject is what does the action; the object is what the action is done to.] ‘I’ can only be used as the subject of a sentence; ‘me’ can only be used as …
Hyphens
Are you a short story writer? Or a short-story writer? Would you rather do business with a pickled herring monger or a pickled-herring monger? In the first example, the ‘short story writer’ is a writer who is short in stature, while the ‘short-story writer’ is some one who writes stories that are short. We don’t …
Effect and affect; Enquire and inquire
affect verb ( Influence ) - to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause them to change Both buildings were badly affected by the fire. The divorce affected every aspect of her life. It's a disease which affects mainly older people. I was deeply affected by the film (= It caused strong …
Email etiquette
[Adapted from: Netmanners and The Effective Emailer and Email Replies] Perception is the only reality online. In an appropriate context, a cryptic exchange of messages can be a mutually understood method of communication between two people. In most cases, however, it is courteous to follow the conventions of effective communication. Why do companies need to implement …
Dates
My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. - Winnie the Pooh The standard date format in Australian and UK English is Day Date Month, e.g. 30 October 2010 (not 30th); unless the document is a standard tender form that has ‘Signed this [30th] day …
Conjunctions: Use of ‘although’ and ‘however’
Although Avoid starting a sentence with although, unless it is followed by a clause (another short ‘sentence’ containing a verb), e.g. He received no awards. Although he did a good job. – Incorrect He received no awards. Although he did a good job, it was a waste of time. – Correct To improve your performance, you …
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Commas
Commas should aid understanding. Too many in one sentence can be confusing.
Colons and semi-colons
Semi-colons should be used to mark a pause longer than a comma and shorter than a full stop. Don't overdo them. Use them to distinguish phrases listed after a colon if commas will not do the job clearly.
Ascension Editing 