Tag Archives: SDAŠ

As is often the case, this is one you all know: “Only after I arrived at the store I remembered that my wallet was still at home.” No. You need an inversion. When you start a sentence with “Only after…,” … Continue reading →

A few notes on abstracts. – avoid footnotes (they get very ugly very fast, especially if the abstract appears in two or more language – three harmless-looking footnotes become six) – try to pack everything init to a single paragraph; … Continue reading →

Here’s a structure to ponder: ‘Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the most influential philosophers of language who explained the essential role of “family relationships” in his influential works.’ The phrasing is complicated and and, in fact, wrong (since there are … Continue reading →

Try to avoid “in… in…” patterns. Use adjectives or adverbs to soothe the reader’s eye and ear. 1) “In an interview in 2001, Obama states…” vs. “In a 2001 interview, Obama states…” 2) “In general in Atwood’s work…” vs. “Atwood’s … Continue reading →

Here are two quick ones: 1) “too long” can neatly be replaced by “overly long” when used before a noun. “This too long novel is dull.” “This overly long novel is dull.” (Hyphenated “too-long” has a smidgen of humour. E.g. … Continue reading →

Here’s a quick rule that you’ll be tempted to break often: don’t have two massive sentences in a row. A fiction editor once told me that 20 words is already a long sentence. Two qualifications: “long” is not pythonesque; fiction … Continue reading →