Which Versus That
Contrary to popular belief, "which" and "that" do not function in a similar capacity. Although "which" and "that" are both pronouns, they are not interchangeable. "Which" is used for non-restrictive...
View ArticlePunctuation Marks
In “Understanding Punctuation,” we covered some of the most common punctuation marks used in English writing. Now, let’s look at a few more punctuation marks in further detail.
View ArticleThe 10 Most Common ESL Mistakes
Scribendi.com's editors outline the ten most common mistakes made by ESL students.
View ArticleHow to Use Brackets (Parentheses) Properly
Writers, have you ever found yourselves with a great deal of important information that you want to include in a sentence, but have difficulty finding a spot for all of it? Fitting everything into a...
View ArticleLigatures: A Guide to their Proper and Improper Use
In writing and typography, a ligature is two or more graphemes that are joined to make a single glyph. More simply put, a ligature is a single character that is created by joining several characters.
View ArticlePlural Possessives: Does that little apostrophe get you every time?
Do you struggle with plural possessives? If so, don’t feel bad; you’re not alone! Knowing when and where to add the apostrophe to possessives can be tricky. Further complicating matters is that the...
View ArticleStumped by Exclamation Marks?
The exclamation mark is arguably one of the most controversial pieces of English punctuation. Some writers love them; others hate them. The editors at Scribendi.com offer advice on when to use...
View ArticleHow to Write a Persuasive Essay
Have you been assigned to write a persuasive essay and don't know where to begin? Our editors explain what a persuasive essay is and how to write one.
View ArticleUsing Dashes: En Dash, Em Dash, 2 Em Dash, or 3 Em Dash?
If you’re confused about the various types of dashes and when to use them, you’re not alone. Figuring out whether to use an en dash, em dash, 2 em dashes, or even, gasp!, 3 em dashes can be confusing....
View ArticleESL Writing Tips
You are a professional and are very proficient at academic writing in your first language, but when it comes to translating your work into written English, suddenly you don't know your "ifs" from your...
View ArticleThe Functions of Conjunctions
Conjunctions are an integral part of the English language. If used properly, they can improve almost any type of writing. Conjunctions help create better sentences. However, using them incorrectly, or...
View ArticleHow to Use Quotation Marks
If you thought the first article about quotation marks was a non-stop ride of grammatical thrills and chills, hold on to your hats because part two features even more explosions of grammatical...
View ArticleHow to Eliminate Wordiness
Do you find yourself writing sentences that are far too long? Have you ever re-read a sentence and struggled to finish it in one breath? If so, you may be suffering from something called prolixity, or...
View ArticleHow to Write a Research Paper
In our first article of this two part series, we discussed how to research a term paper. In this article, we will discuss how to write a term or research paper.
View ArticleHomophone Worksheet: Think You Understand Homophones?
In our article on homophones, we discussed what they are and helped explain the differences between them. Now, it's time for you to try our homophone worksheet to test your homophone knowledge!
View ArticleFull Stops: A How-To Guide
If you’re North American, you may be wondering what exactly full stops are—here’s a hint, there is one at the end of this sentence. This is the main function of full stops, or periods: marking the end...
View ArticleAn Example Outline
Writing academic papers is not easy. Sometimes you may have all of the research done, but just can't put pen to paper. If that is the case, you may need to write an outline. This article provides an...
View ArticleThe Question Mark: How and When to Use It
The question mark has a very simple function in writing–it indicates a question. If a sentence ends with a question mark, then it is asking a question, just as the name suggests.
View ArticleLet's Have Fun With English
The English language is a tricky one, which is why our editors offer helpful writing tips about everything from writing a thesis statement to homophones to capitalization. Though learning English is...
View ArticleHow to Write an Introduction
An introduction does exactly what its name implies: it introduces the subject of the paper to readers. But most importantly, it provides readers with a map to the overall paper. A good introduction...
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