Write Away e-bulletin

October 2011

This month we asked people to tell us their email bugbears – and boy, did they. We've condensed the long list into five main gripes. But take a deep breath before you read it, because you've probably been guilty of at least one of them.

As part of our Hit or myth? series, we've examined the popular rule that you can't begin a sentence with and or but. But can you? And should you?

And once you've got that sorted, you can give your spelling a quick brush-up with our 60-second fix. This month we're looking at bear and bare, born and borne. 

That might put you in the mood to have a go at our proofreading challenge. Simply cut and paste the example into the comment box and correct all the mistakes, and you could win a free copy of our style guide, The Write Stuff.

• The five most annoying things you can do in an email

  From read receipts to unreadable fonts, our Twitter followers didn't hold back when we asked what they hated most about emails. We've compiled a list of the top five ...

• Hit or myth: you can't start a sentence with 'and' or 'but'

  We all had the and and but rule drummed into us at school. And some of us continue to observe it. But should we?

• 60-second fix: bear and bare

  'No, no, no, Colin, I meant "bear with me", not "bare with me". Stop! Put your shirt back on.' Here's how to keep Colin clothed ...

• Proofreading challenge: how many mistakes can you spot?

  Get your red pen out for our proofreading test. The five most eagle-eyed respondents will win a copy of our style guide, The Write Stuff ...