Browsing Tag

punctuation

Proofed and Polished
Do You Know The Apostrophe Basics?

In elementary school, I distinctly remember doing numerous worksheets on the possessive -s. There would be a list of…
August 22, 2021
Proofed and Polished
A Quintessential Quick Guide to Quotation Marks to Quell Your Quotation Qualms

Recently, I edited a PhD dissertation for a literature major which mostly meant that I had to wade through…
April 10, 2021
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Commas with Clauses

In light of the holiday season, here’s a final fun topic in our Punctuation Series: editing commas within independent…
December 22, 2019
History in the Making
Notes from a Contest Judge

Have you ever entered your work in a writing contest? These contests are organized by organizations like the American…
December 20, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Foreign Quotation Marks

Have you ever tried to read a book in a foreign language? Perhaps some of you have. I’ve tried…
November 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Slashes

We’re toward the end of our self-editing blog post punctuation series, but it certainly is not the end of…
October 22, 2019
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life
A Comma Here, A Comma There

I spent the better part of yesterday evening, into the night, grading analysis essays. As I marked up the…
October 6, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Hyphens

In the world of grammar and punctuation, there are three types of dash (hyphen, en dash, and em dash).…
August 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit the Em Dash

In the world of grammar and punctuation, there are three types of dash (hyphen, en dash, and em dash).…
July 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Lists

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
May 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Modifiers

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
March 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Capitalize Tricky Words

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
February 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: Four Ways to Edit Commas

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
January 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Editing Dialogue

Many writers are introverts and don’t prefer to talk a lot. Some writers are extroverts and love to talk.…
June 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
Choose the Correct Pronoun by Hope Toler Dougherty

Please stop using pronouns wrong! Between you and I, I’m sick of people using the wrong pronoun. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!…
February 19, 2018
Grammar and Grace
Introducing the Eight Parts of Speech

For 2017, let’s understand the basics of English grammar by learning the eight parts of speech. They are the…
February 17, 2017
Grammar and Grace
Presents for the Writer

For this post, I’m suggesting some books that you may want on your bookshelves or your may want to…
January 17, 2017
Write Justified
The Common Comma

Plenty of ink has been spilled and battles fought over the necessity and superiority of the Oxford or serial…
December 26, 2016
Write Justified
Mind Those Apostrophes

When editors are asked to name their pet peeves, misuse of apostrophes ranks at or near the top of…
May 17, 2016
Grammar and Grace
How to Pluralize Names for Christmas Cards

I love Christmas. I especially love sending and receiving Christmas cards. We send out a lot from our house,…
November 24, 2015
Grammar and Grace
Grammar and Grace

Hello, I’m Hope. A long, long time ago I used to teach English on the college level. I taught…
July 29, 2015