Pat Iyer’s Blog
Writing Skills
A “She” is not a “They”
Maybe. Are you confusing singular and plural forms in the same sentence? And is this really wrong? Grammar rarely enters the world of culture and politics. Pronouns are a notable exception to this generality. Prior to the 1970s, the default pronoun was “he.” “If a...
Sentence Fragments – Are They Always Wrong?
Also known as incomplete sentences, fragments are generally frowned on in the English language. Exceptions exist, and I’ll get to them later. Defining sentence fragments First, let’s define a sentence fragment. It’s a sentence...
Common Writing Errors: Don’t Make These Mistakes
In an age of texting and emoticons, it is easy to make writing mistakes. When communication can be as brief as “?,” grammar may seem like something that only old and uptight people find necessary. (Like me.) At some point this may become true, but we’re not there yet....
Top 3 Grammatical Mistakes
Avoid these top 3 grammatical mistakes if you want to present yourself as a skilled writer. Use of the apostrophe Last week I was setting up books on a table for a book sale. One of the books I came across was called “Cave of the Bat’s”. I was horrified, not by the...
Filler Phrases Freedom: How to Make Your Writing Lean
You've heard people use filler phrases when they talk: "Um", "Well", "Really", or "Like". Are you guilty of using filler phrases in your writing? I heard about a writer who set the goal of removing one unnecessary word from each paragraph of her book. At last count,...
Can You Make Me Eager to Read Your Article?
You can write the best story ever told, but without a good headline, I won't read your article. Experts estimate that 80 to 90 percent of people who read a headline won’t go on to read an article because the headline didn’t grab their attention. That doesn’t mean that...
Make Your Writing Lean
Bloated writing, like a bloated stomach after a big meal, can put you to sleep. Is your writing lean? Have you ever read a piece of writing that bored you without your knowing why? You started reading it because you had an interest in the subject, but you found...
How to Use Lists in Your Writing
Why should you use a list? Lists improve the readability of your material. They make it easy to cluster information in a format that can be quickly scanned. Also, lists are useful for breaking up a long sentence into a more reader friendly format. Readers appreciate a...
Tips for Natural Sounding Writing
How can you achieve natural sounding writing? Imagine you are in a restaurant with a friend. You’ve just seen a technical report you want to share with your friend. As you explain the results, your friend asks questions which takes you deep into the conversation and...
Recent Posts
Make the Most of Your Writing Time
One of the most frequent complaints of my writing students and clients is “I don’t have enough time. How do …Read More »
Inner Critic or Inner Guide: Who is Talking
At any stage of my writing, I may hear an inner critic, a voice that says things like, “No, that …Read More »
What’s Your Type?
When I write about errors in manuscripts, I usually focus on punctuation, spelling, and grammar because those are my favorite …Read More »
Readers Make Better Writers
I always loved reading more than almost any other activity. It’s no coincidence that my siblings are also avid readers. …Read More »
Why Do You Need a Good Vocabulary?
Writers, especially those who are just beginning to write regularly, think that having a good vocabulary means knowing a lot …Read More »