A Very Overused Word

“Never” rules are, in my opinion, always wrong. (Or, if you will, never right.) When I was in my first year of journalism school, a senior student told me to “never lead with a quote.” I just couldn’t agree with him then, and I still disagree. Leading with a quote usually isn’t advisable, but there …

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What Shall We Call Them?

You know Nigeria’s citizens are Nigerians, but what are the folks in neighboring Niger called? Are they also Nigerians, or Nigerans, or maybe Nigerites? What you’re looking for is Niger’s proper demonym. A demonym is a word that identifies people from a particular place. There are demonyms attached to countries, regions, cities, and entire continents …

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Change, Grow, Live

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” U.S. journalist Gail Sheehy (1936-2020) authored 17 books. This quotation is from Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life.

Red pen on paper for proofreading

5 Proofreading Tricks

Spelling matters. Your Grade 5 teacher was right about that, and it’s still true in this digital age. There are times when spelling is, in fact, crucial. I’m thinking of resumes and cover letters in particular right now, but it’s also true of reports, proposals and memos to superiors. A couple of misspellings can torpedo …

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