Choosing Words Carefully

I’m sorry.It’s okay. We need the paperwork by Friday. The holding tank might explode. I think that restructuring is a good idea. What do these statements have in common? They are weather reports, informing the reader of feelings, needs, situations, and thoughts. Whether stated explicitly or not, their purpose is to inform. If all you […]

Sometimes it’s easier to learn by looking at examples of jobs well done. Here are a few sentences that illustrate a principle we teach in the Worktalk writing trainings: Create visual images. Abstractions do not move people the way images do. The more you can engage your reader’s senses — sight, sound, smell, taste and

Here are a few more fine distinctions from the 1922 pamphlet S.O.S. Slips of Speech by Frank H. Vizetelly, Litt.D., L.L.D. 1. Hypercritical/Hypocritical Hypercritical means overly or excessively critical. Hypocritical signifies deceptive, sham, for hypocrisy is false pretense 2. Idea/Opinion Idea implies something undetermined in the mind; Opinion is formed after deduction or reflection and

Last week I gave a few examples of words and distinctions made clear in a pamphlet from 1922 titled S.O.S.: Slips of Speech. Here are a few more excerpts. Statements in parentheses are mine. Divide Up As divide means to “separate into pieces,” “cut asunder,” “apportion,” or “distribute in shares,”, up is redundant and absurd.

I recently came across a pamphlet called Slips of Speech and How to Avoid Them. It was published in 1922 and written by Frank H. Vizetelly, Litt.D, LLD, Managing Editor of the Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary and its Abridgements. This fading, dog-eared publication is about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide. It