Pros Write

Mastering Mechanics | Pros Writing in the News

About the grammar quiz in the WSJ article
Bydr.kim June 25, 2012August 11, 2012

About the grammar quiz in the WSJ article

A less-than-polite response to the Wall Street Journal’s grammar quiz from the linguist behind Real Grammar.

It’s the usual mish-mash of zombie rules, shibboleths and prejudices. Half of the questions are not about grammar at all, but about spelling and punctuation. Two fail to acknowledge a difference between British and American English usage. Three are based on false ideas about which words can introduce relative clauses. And, inevitably, there are the misguided questions about between versus among, less versus fewer and I in object position or following a preposition.

Read More About the grammar quiz in the WSJ article
Managing Style

The video tutorial on active and passive voice
Bydr.kim June 23, 2012June 8, 2013

Folks who rail against passive voice usually cite an unethical writer (or speaker) who is trying to avoid responsibility. Passive voice is certainly one linguistic tool for unethical behavior. But active voice can be used unethically, too. Compare the two lies: My homework was eaten. (passive) The dog ate my homework. (active) I see confusion here between the tool and the…

Read More The video tutorial on active and passive voice
Pros Writing in the News

Grammar nazis are alive and well
Bydr.kim June 23, 2012July 12, 2012

This Embarrasses You and I* One of my Bama colleagues sent me this link to a recent Wall Street Journal piece on grammar in the workplace. It’s generated 671 comments as I write this. Whew!

Read More Grammar nazis are alive and well
Managing Style | Platitudes

Amateurs accept platitudes about passive voice
Bydr.kim June 22, 2012September 9, 2012

“Passive voice is bad,” cry self-proclaimed (but undereducated) writing experts. I’ve known lots of these folks who can’t accurately identify a passive. And very few folks who can accurately define it. And even fewer who can provide amateur writers with more useful advice than this platitude. (In fact, I can’t accurately call it a platitude since…

Read More Amateurs accept platitudes about passive voice
Organizing Content

The video tutorial on cohesion
Bydr.kim June 21, 2012June 8, 2013

Yesterday’s post argued that sentence variety is the enemy of efficiency. Efficient sentence organization is dependent on cohesion: the links between ideas that hold sentences together. My experience teaching professionals to write is that most are able to create cohesive prose without explicit instruction. But, for those without this ability, the problem is critical. Their readers struggle…

Read More The video tutorial on cohesion
Organizing Content

Pros don’t worry about sentence variety
Bydr.kim June 20, 2012September 9, 2012

Which fork would you prefer to talk about at a party? Is it the same fork you would want to use when you’re in a hurry to eat your lunch? I hope you agree with me that the fork on the left is more interesting–hence a better candidate for conversation in a social setting–and the fork on the…

Read More Pros don’t worry about sentence variety
Other Stuff

Bydr.kim June 19, 2012September 9, 2012

Parker’s post on genres is great. It nicely captures the fact that, when aspects of rhetorical context like speech act (or purpose) are repeated often, they give rise to genres. One common workplace genre is the directive. You may notice that these speech acts fall within the four purposes identified in my tutorial: representatives = informing, directives…

Read More
Focusing on Readers & Writers

The video tutorial on purpose
Bydr.kim June 18, 2012June 8, 2013

Did cupid fail? You can’t be certain unless you know his aim (get it?). I mean maybe he was looking for work in the off season and was hired as a hitman. OK. That was kinda lame. But my point is that you ignore the importance of purpose in determining the success of a document at your own peril….

Read More The video tutorial on purpose
Focusing on Readers & Writers

Amateurs don’t want to be beginners
Bydr.kim June 17, 2012July 11, 2012

Growing up, my son never wanted to start at the beginning. I guess it’s human nature. I mean who doesn’t want to start with dessert? My son’s desire wasn’t an issue until he wanted to participate in some new activity that required skill (think karate, piano, golf, etc.), and he still wanted to skip the beginning. With those…

Read More Amateurs don’t want to be beginners
Organizing Content

The video tutorial on format
Bydr.kim June 15, 2012July 24, 2014

I don’t know people who read at work for fun. They read because they need help doing their jobs. That means they’re looking for documents they can USE. Few things make a document more usable than format. (I’m talking about white space, typography, etc.) Revising Professional Writing devotes a chapter to this topic. I’ve been using short…

Read More The video tutorial on format

Connect with Dr. Kim