What are Hyphens, En-Dashes, and Em-Dashes? No doubt you’ve all heard of hyphens. They’re the little – that you find between some words, in phone numbers, and sometimes at the end of lines in old books, when it was necessary … Continue reading →
My BFF I have a best friend. He is a lovely, intelligent person. However, he has just been demoted because he doesn’t do something important for me: He doesn’t help me defeat writer’s block. My life is busy. I’m a … Continue reading →
We hates proofreading, my precious. We hates it. Wait, what? Banger, you work as an editor! You … you proofread for a living. Well, yes. I do. However, before I had this job, long before, I was a writer. My words were … Continue reading →
These two words are not usually interchangeable. They do not mean the same thing. If people keep using them improperly, Banger will be forced to take drastic action to make a dramatic statement about the use of these two words. Drastic … Continue reading →
I love commas. Ask anyone who has read my writing; I love commas. I have a comma bracelet. I’m wearing a comma necklace at this very moment. I have long dreamt of the perfect comma tattoo. Me and commas–we’ve got a … Continue reading →
If you’re a student, you will be writing five paragraph essays. I guarantee it. What is a five paragraph essay? This is one of the times when the clue is in the question! A five paragraph essay is a format … Continue reading →
Why, When, and How to use Quotations? If you’re writing an essay in MLA format and you need to either incorporate dialogue or textual material from another source, you will need to know how to handle MLA formatted quotations. You … Continue reading →
I know some superb writers who have a funny little quirk in their writing; namely that they misuse that and who. It’s quite common, actually, and as far as word choice errors go, this is the one to have. It rarely impairs … Continue reading →
Your teacher or professor may have said not to write in the second person. They may have forgotten to mention it. Either way, I’m telling you that you should not write a formal essay in the second person. I feel very … Continue reading →
Everyone makes mistakes with these homonyms sometimes. Even an experienced writer will look at the page and wince, having spotted they fumbled one of these doozies. If you’re not sure of which one to use in which scenario, however, it’s good … Continue reading →