Articles about writing, editing and improving content

Most writers hate cutting their own copy, yet cutting is one of the best ways to improve your writing. Here are some tips on how to do it:

Weasel words suck the life out of your writing by making it less specific and harder to understand.

Here’s a list of words to avoid:

If you struggle with writing good link text, you’re not alone – the web is filled with poorly written links.

Yet writing informative link text (also often called anchor text) makes your site easier to use and it can help search engine optimisation (SEO).

Here are some tips:

Every sentence needs a subject and a verb – and the stronger your verb, the stronger your sentence will be.

This article explains how to choose the right verb:

Do you know the difference between exalt and exult? Or fewer and less? If not, you’re not alone.

One solution is to read Word to the Wise by Mark Broatch – it’s an easy to read (and occasionally amusing) book that untangles the mix-ups, misuse and myths of language.

This article contains some examples from the book: