Tag Archives: writing

Word Nerd: 5 Exciting Words You Must Know This December

30 Nov

Image via GIPHY Whether you’re thinking of writing Christmas wishes or just keen to learn more about the most festive season of this year – we’ve got you covered with this exciting list. From Christmas monsters to spongey desserts, this list has it all (and none of them is Santa’s famous laugh). 1. Krampus: Well, […]

Word Nerd: 5 important elements that your writing needs

29 Jul

Perhaps you’ve come across tips like, “Show don’t tell” or “No ideas but in things.” You’ve probably considered these tips were best used by those interested in writing poetry, features, or stories. It’s true that a poet needs to give “airy nothing” a “[l]ocal habitation and a name (Shakespeare).” But, say you’re a lawyer writing an important brief, you would do well to keep your senses in mind. Great writing is concrete. US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor advises lawyers in her memoir, “It is the particulars that make a story real.”

Word Nerd: How to avoid sexism in your writing

24 Mar

Have you ever been addressed as a man if you’re a woman or vice versa? And this was not because of your voice or appearance but simply because the other person could not be bothered to research or just felt free to assume? On the other hand, have you ever made the same mistake? Image […]

Changemakers: How a novice educator is taking The Lede in inspiring low income students to learn again

29 Mar

By Rayana Kalra Dedicated and supportive teachers have shaped my life. Now its my turn to spark that creativity in others. From my 4th grade English teacher, Mr. Ahuja who converted an apathetic pre-teen into a budding writer, to my 11th grade IB HL Drama teacher who has taught me to use my emotions to […]

Word Nerd: How the passive voice can ruin your college application

11 Sep

It is well known that the passive voice should be avoided. The question is, who does the well-knowing and the avoiding? The answer, of course, is you and me. But it’s not always that obvious. When to use the passive voice First, without getting bogged down in a yawn-inducing grammar lesson, let’s look at what […]

Word Nerd: How to write an email to your professor

5 Jun

Thanks in part to films such as The Absent-Minded Professor (a Disney classic from 1961), the 1963 film The Nutty Professor (remade in 1996 starring Eddie Murphy, and as an animated version in 2008), and the 1989 film Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams, the eccentric professor has become something of a stereotype. The reality, […]

Word Nerd: 4 Secrets to Writing a Good Sentence

1 May

A good sentence is key to writing a respectable piece of prose – whether it’s a letter, an essay, or a novel. We can entertain ambitions about writing epic novels, or A-grade essays, but, without a good hold on this building block, our ambitions are likely to remain pipe dreams. In this Word Nerd, we […]

Word Nerd: Why it’s important to write concisely

3 Apr

Business news reports sometimes refer to “manufacturing units” when they mean “factories”. One college library had a sign above its photocopier that read “Reprographic Unit”. We often use two or more long words when a short one would be enough. This sort of verbosity – sometimes the result of a shaky vocabulary, and at other […]