Do Your Readers a Favor: Cut ‘It’ Out

Check out the Grammar Girl newsletter!

To view this email as a web page, go here.

The Grammar Girl Week in Review Do Your Readers a Favor: Cut ‘It’ Out Want a timeless, painless tip that quickly helps you clarify your writing? Look for it. What William Cobbett said two centuries ago still rings true:   “The word it is the greatest troubler that I know of in language. It is so small, and so convenient, that few are careful enough in using it. Writers seldom spare this word. Whenever they are ...Read More 05/19/2016 7:12pm View           Why Is It Called Commencement? Last week a professor in my department asked me why we call a graduation ceremony “commencement” when the event marks the end of college. “To commence” means “to begin,” not end, so it seems like an odd name for the ceremony. I thought that was a great question, and I didn’t have an answer, so I did some research ...Read More 05/19/2016 5:12pm View               FROM QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS Get More Grammar Girl Visit the website. Subscribe to the Grammar Girl podcast at iTunes or via RSS. Find Grammar Girl books, gear, and more at the Quick and Dirty Tips store. Have Questions? Search the Quick and Dirty Tips website. We have more than 600 articles about grammar and language. There's a good chance your question has already been covered.                 Best wishes, (and the Quick and Dirty Tips Team)                 Want more tips? If this was forwarded to you by a friend and you'd like to receive future tips, you can sign up here. Please don't use the subscribe/unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page because this will overwrite your friend's subscription. (If this came directly to you, you can use the subscribe/unsubscribe link below to manage your subscription.)                 FOLLOW ME

This email was sent by: Macmillan 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY, 10010, USA We respect your right to privacy - view our policy Macmillan believes piracy hurts writers, readers and everyone who loves books. Learn more and report suspicious activity here. To subscribe to this or other email communications from Macmillan, please click here. Visit our profile center to update your email address and/or other information. If you no longer wish to receive this email communication, click here to unsubscribe.