Grammar sends many people into a panic, as they desperately try to recall what they learned in English lessons at school. But grammar doesn't have to be an impenetrable mass of rules and regulations. Breaking the English language down into bite-sized chunks and...
Barbara Wilson
Knock the writer’s block
Most people have felt the curse of the dreaded writer’s block: that plummeting feeling of panic that takes hold as you stare hopelessly at a blank page, or at that accursed flashing cursor. If you’re afflicted with this condition, you’re in good...
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Or would that be a late spring afternoon?
Lots of people find the difference between a metaphor, a simile and an analogy a tad confusing. But there’s no need to get your undergarments in a twirl over this one. It’s relatively simple to explain ... though much harder to do well. Metaphors should...
Don’t monkey around with fonts
According to children’s literacy website Reading Rockets, when kids start to read, they like to mirror the writing they see around them. So, if they see you writing a list, they may well write one too. If you’re writing in your diary, they’ll probably have a pretend...
And now for a number of points
If you watched the recent Horizon programme on BBC Two – 31 March at 9pm to be precise – you can’t have failed to have been moved by the power of maths and how we are literally surrounded by myriad aspects of it in our daily lives. Professor Marcus...
Clear writing is dangerous
Clear writing is dangerous writing. If you edit out all the padding and get to the point, you might actually say something, and this can be quite disconcerting. After all, you might not want to be bold and stick your head above the parapet. You might be quite at home...