Questions tagged [writing]
This tag is for questions specifically related to written English. PROOFREADING essays, emails, abstracts, etc. is strictly OFF-TOPIC.
0
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0answers
9 views
Please fix the mistakes for me [on hold]
The chart illustrates the figures in terms of minutes that spent on telephone calls among three types of local in UK between 1995 and 2002.
Overall, it is clear that local calls were the highest used ...
0
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0answers
23 views
How to be fluent in English soon? [on hold]
My English level is intermediate. I works really hard but I can't be upper than that level. I don't know what should I do. I really like to speak fluently and understand natives. I'm wondering if you ...
0
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1answer
44 views
What is a regular font? [on hold]
Here is the context: "Write your essay in a regular font".
What does it mean by "regular font"? What classifies as a regular font?
Thanks!
0
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0answers
22 views
Story ending help [closed]
Hi I’m writing a short story about a guy walking to work and long story short he feel like someone is looking at him and he turned round and sees the person and after a few seconds realisation sets in ...
0
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0answers
32 views
What's wrong with it [closed]
What's wrong with the following?
I'm graduated from University.
I have graduated from ..... .
I graduated from university.
Please help!
0
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1answer
40 views
What is the definition of dig? If someone begins to cut into a surface is it considered that they have dug something? if not, why not?
According to the following extract:
Mrs. Baker wanted to go ice fishing. She read several books on the subject, and finally, after purchasing all the necessary equipment, she went onto the ice. ...
0
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0answers
43 views
Is “what is but a dream” a proper usage of grammar?
I'm writing an essay and am required to include an insightful last sentence. So I came up with this: "You’re going to be that kind of woman who will throw away her life for what is but a dream?"
Is ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Can we use “id est” in lieu of “i.e.” in academic writing?
In an academic, format context, can we write id est instead of its abbreviated form (i.e.)?
Compare:
‘a walking boot which is synthetic, id est not leather’
with:
‘a walking boot which is ...
1
vote
2answers
187 views
Is “commerical” a valid and different word from “commercial”? [closed]
Googling, I see many places using the spelling commerical, but I don't see that spelling in any dictionaries at all. Is it a mistake for commercial, or are these two different words?
0
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1answer
23 views
Italics in Formal Essays
I want to say this quote in my essay:
"Jefferson is in every view less dangerous than Burr". I want to emphasize the word "every", so can I italicize it?
4
votes
1answer
56 views
How certain we are that runes were shaped as we present them
Specifically I am wondering about the A, F, H, J, L, and T. There are others I'm interested in but I don't want to ask too much at once, and these ones are straightforward.
The image I am looking at ...
1
vote
2answers
43 views
When to use mid-sentence commas when adding a formal name
Where is it appropriate to insert a comma when putting a persons name in the middle of a sentence, such as when writing an email or letter. Is it really before AND after?
Examples:
Thank you for ...
0
votes
1answer
36 views
How to write this properly?
"If you ask someone why they rewarded someone else, they will tell you
that they deserve it."
I think that the intended meaning is pretty clear, but how do you say that properly without falling ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Is there an inversion in the clause？ [closed]
The noise was like an English fox-hunt only better because every now and then with the music of the hounds was mixed the roar of the other lion and sometimes the far deeper and more awful roar of ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
Is it possible to bleep out words which are NOT profane?
Is it possible to censor out non-profane words e.g. words about love, or something not to tell about?
e.g. you are in love with someone but not to tell about it
"I'm in **** with..."
But, the ...
0
votes
1answer
49 views
When should I use “Figure out the rest” vs “figure the rest out”? Does it matter?
I'm writing something where a character tells someone else vaguely something that that she did in the past and then tacks on "I'll let you figure out the rest" at the end.
Then some of the notes of ...
1
vote
2answers
37 views
Is there a word for writing and not looking at it (while writing)?
"Writing while looking at something else" -- your hand is still moving, your writing is still legible, but your eyes are elsewhere, such as reading from the source material being copied.
0
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2answers
122 views
AmE/Writing: AN _hors d'oeuvres_ tray, or A _hors d'oeuvres_ tray? [duplicate]
The general rule I was given as a youngster was that if the initial sound of the noun is that of a vowel, the correct indefinite article is “an”, while if it started with a consonantal ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
Enumerate reasons after because [closed]
Is it correct to enumerate reasons of something after "because" in a sentence? For example:
This product is popular because: (1) It is inexpensive. (2) It has
two-year warranty. (3) It is made of ...
3
votes
1answer
86 views
What is the history of the cursive p?
A friend of mine (relevant detail, he grew up and learned cursive in India) recently remarked to me that he missed the way that cursive "p"s used to be written. An example of this can be seen in the ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
A source for learning how to speak or write formaly? [closed]
and thanks for helping me. I would like to know if there is a source so I can learn how to speak and write formally, mostly for these topics:
-Sending a formal email to anyone or an organization or a ...
0
votes
2answers
70 views
When the title is in the form of a sentence - to capitalize the words or not?
I've heard for a "rule" that you should not capitalize the words in the title of an article, when the title is in the form of a sentence. For example:
Pneumonia is contagious. (As opposed to ...
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5answers
446 views
A word that combines the feeling of euphoria and intense, bone-deep fear
I'm trying to describe a god through the eyes of a devout follower. I've tried using awesome because I tend to use it for scenarios like this (ie. describing something beautiful and horrifying), but ...
-2
votes
1answer
40 views
Quoting articles of laws(ex. usage of “stipulate”, “specify”)
Article 15 of the Korean Constitution states that “all citizens shall
enjoy the freedom of choice of occupation.” Compared to Article 12 of
the Basic Law, which comprises of three clauses, Article ...
0
votes
1answer
130 views
When can I omit the subject?
Can I omit the subject if it has been mentioned in a preceding sentence?
For example, is the phrase inside the parentheses necessary in the below?:
The sculpture A exhibits degradation at a ...
0
votes
2answers
169 views
Does “His eyes fell shut” make sense? [closed]
This is something I've been writing for a while, but I know that I tend to keep writing things from my tween years that may not make sense.
Have you ever read a sentence like "his eyes fell shut" or ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Appropriate word order in a long sentence
I composed the below sentences to mean
The company should contribute to the sustainability by:
Proactive development of environmentally friendly products
Reducing environmental load
Which sentence ...
2
votes
0answers
90 views
What is the character set of the (written) English language? [closed]
More specifically:
What dictionaries or lexicons (considering all ever published) of the English language contain exhaustive lists of the characters or symbols used in the formation of the words ...
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Comma Separator - ACT
As I was preparing for the ACT, I came across this question:
Phrase: "Key and Peele is at its best when it deals with questions of
what is expected of mixed-race people, in a society reluctant
to let ...
0
votes
1answer
22 views
How to indicate that verification/correction is requested in the document
I’ve been tasked to write a document (like a wiki) about an application for work. I don't know much about the app, other than what I'm understanding by reading the source code and minimal business ...
2
votes
0answers
53 views
How to indicate your source of information is Amazon's “Alexa”? [closed]
Is there a proper or technical way, in writing, to indicate your source of information is Alexa or some other AI (artificial intelligence)?
By this I don't mean that I have asked Alexa a factual ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
In written English, do you write fractional inequality with a percent-plus or a plus-percent? [closed]
In written English, which of the following is the correct way to convey I have a greater than or equal to ninety percent success rate according to all measures?
I have 90%+ success rate across ...
2
votes
2answers
68 views
Word for common knowledge in a scientific setting?
I remember there being a single word to represent currently accepted facts in a scientific discipline. Common knowledge, but in a scientific setting. It is a jargon-y sounding word.
You'd use it when ...
0
votes
0answers
53 views
Cohesion in English writing using antonyms
Can someone help me to understand how antonyms can be used effectively to achieve cohesion in English writing along with some simple examples? I have tried to search the relevant information a lot on ...
1
vote
1answer
397 views
Tenses to use when writing minutes
I understand that you must use past tense when writing minutes. However, there are some instances when I am not sure if past tense should be used as it would either change the meaning of the sentence ...
0
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0answers
12 views
Hale and Peter's or Hale's and Peter's [duplicate]
Quick questch.
What is grammatically correct:
I heard Hale and Peter's screeches.
or:
I heard Hale's and Peter's screeches.
2
votes
3answers
178 views
Is it correct to use a tilde (~) in a paper as punctuation meaning ''sort of identical to"?
In a paper I am writing (APA style), I have a sentence like this:
Another category of common sounds found across many languages are the palato-alveolar consonants (~siblants). These include...
The ...
90
votes
4answers
13k views
Is that an “r” in “worship” in a text from 1591?
I was trying to see how the Spanish word merced was translated into English in the 16th century, when I found this entry in a dictionary from 1591 by Richard Percyvall:
I understand that the second ...
1
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0answers
24 views
Is "the” necessary in this sentence [closed]
Heat, u represents the dependent variable, x is the spatial coordinate, Pe is the Peclet number, Re is the Reynolds number
0
votes
3answers
87 views
How does one cite a source that one knows only indirectly?
I used a quote in my essay that I got from the rubric for the assignment. How do I cite it? I know it's like citing a handout but who’s the author, the teacher or the person who said the quote (...
3
votes
2answers
916 views
How should the name of a series of books be formatted?
I know that you underline – or if you're typing, you put the words in italics – the titles of books, and that you put chapters or quotations from a book in "quotes," but do you do anything to the font ...
0
votes
1answer
228 views
How to avoid using “on” twice in the same sentence [closed]
How to avoid using "on" twice in the same sentence?
For example "my part concentrate on the impact on the industrial and transportation sectors."
0
votes
2answers
562 views
Better way to say “responsible for official public written communication”
I'd like to mention in my resume that I was responsible for official public written communication in my project, to show skills in communication, language and responsibility. What would be a good way ...
0
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0answers
39 views
How to write words with prefix “promo-”?
Promo code, promocode or promo-code? Also promo action...
"en": "Promo codes",
"it": "Codici promozionali",
"de": "Promo-codes",
"es": "Los códigos de promoción",
"pt": "Os códigos promocionais",
"fr"...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
Is the em dash used in formal writing?
Is it valid to use em dashes in formal writing? My teacher said it's informal to use em dashes under any circumstances, so I just wanted to make sure. I've gone through several related questions in ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Nouns as adjectives question
I have a question regarding this sentence
Yesterday, I went to the mall to buy child clothing/clothes for my baby.
Is it wrong to write it this way? Or should it be children? Because I always see ...
3
votes
1answer
284 views
How do I know what a participial phrase is within a sentence?
Recently, I have realized that there are huge gaps in my knowledge in terms of grammar, so I have begun learning some of the basics. One thing I am trying to learn is the participial phrase. I ...
2
votes
2answers
353 views
Is it proper to use iff to denote if and only if in academic writing (papers)?
if and only if (shortened iff) is a biconditional logical connective between statements. Is it proper to use iff to denote if and only if in academic writing (papers)?
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Does Grammarly predominantly give the correct use of English? [closed]
I make use of Grammarly, often to aid with writing what I suppose, with the suggestions provided, to be correct English. With regularity, Grammarly makes suggestions that I feel compelled to ignore, ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
What is a word for non alpha numeric characters that are the same when opened and closed?
Edited:
I'm searching for a way to describe this:
When using "quotes", one character is used twice: "
When using (parentheses), two characters are used once: ( )
Is there a word for this property?...
