Category Archives: Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics

Cool Google Docs “Insert Symbol” Feature

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I was just working on something in Google Docs and needed to insert a letter “a” with a circumflex. I clicked on “insert symbol” and searched for “a,” but none of the options were what I needed. Then I noticed … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, Learning, Technology, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Way cool last minute Christmas gifts (thanks, Co.Design!)

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

I have loved Fast Company for at least 20 years. It’s sort of a “new economy” business magazine, but it’s actually more about ideas and people than it is about business, industry, or technology. I cited an old Fast Company … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, Life, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Colons: how and when to use them

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

A couple days ago I posted on semicolons, with a note that I’d decided to split my original post, covering both semicolons and colons, into two parts once I realized that the semicolon discussion was getting out of control.  Okay, … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Semicolons: how and when to use them

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

The most popular post I’ve written so far has been the one titled “What’s the difference between grammar, punctuation, and mechanics?”  It gets at least one view per day, and most days it tops my list of most-viewed posts. Because … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Affect versus effect: which is which?

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

In commenting on the dash–hyphen post a couple days ago (and that’s an en dash between the words “dash” and “hyphen” 🙂 ), Kathleen suggested that I write a post about “affect” and “effect.”  Great idea!  Using “affect” and “effect” correctly … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Hyphen or dash: What’s the difference, and when to use which?

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Here’s a punctuation “issue” that people have asked me about lately: what’s the difference between a hyphen and a dash, and when do you use which? Difference #1 — a hyphen is short, and a dash is long.  In Morse … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

What’s the difference between grammar, punctuation, and mechanics?

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

The title of today’s post is actually one of my blog’s categories, shown at the lower right-hand side of the screen.  Someone was wondering about the difference, so I thought I’d explain.  What follows here is not dictionary-type definitions, but rather my own … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer), Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 77 Comments

“Principle” versus “principal”

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

Because I’m teaching a technical communication course on writing and editing this quarter at MSOE, I’ve had issues of grammar, punctuation, and spelling on my mind more than usual lately.  One common error that came up in class last week … Continue reading →

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“It’s” versus “its” and “who’s” versus “whose”

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

These are some tricky ones, and even people who kinda-sorta know them will still call me up to ask which spelling to use in a particular sentence.  (Which, in fact, someone did just the other day.) The way most people remember … Continue reading →

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“May” versus “Might”

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

There is a difference between “may” and “might.”  I don’t think the distinction is taught in school, and because neither is the kind of word that would call attention to itself when used incorrectly in conversation, it’s not usually a … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments