Questions tagged [writing]
For questions specifically related to written English.
336 questions
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What do native speakers commonly use for the Australian dollar: "$", "AU$" or "Australian dollars"?
How do native speakers write about the Australian dollar?
Approach 1: In 1991, the largest portion of household spending in Australia was on non-essential goods and services, averaging AU$250 per ...
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3
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What's the difference between these titles? 'Discourse on (topic)' VS 'On (topic)' VS '(topic)'
What subtleties do 'discourse' and 'on' carry? Like,
Discourse on the Method vs On the Method vs The Method
Discourse on the Arts and Sciences vs On the Arts and Sciences vs The Arts and Sciences
...
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Pronunciation of "I'd just like" and "I just like"
I've learned that the the /d/ sound in I'd like could never be completely omitted in spoken English, but when there's a "just" before "like", I find it really hard to tell them ...
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Why is it "Master of Science in Robotics" and not "Master in Science of Robotics"?
MSc. is title of Magister Scientiae, scriptum in Lingua Latina, and MSc. Robotics is a degree specifically in the interdisciplinary field of Robotics. For context, a master's degree is evident ...
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What vocabulary should English language learners focus on for the IELTS Writing?
In preparing for the IELTS exam, particularly for Writing, I am truggling with identifying which vocabulary is most beneficial to study.
What specific types of vocabulary (e.g., academic phrases, ...
- 504
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121
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Using capitalized letters or small letters in research paper titles
I have a question regarding the use of capitalization and lowercase letters when writing titles and research papers. Below are some research titles. My understanding is that every initial letter in ...
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Translation of degrees in Spanish to English: "Ingeniería en Sistemas Computacionales" and "Maestría en Cómputo Aplicado"
I'm doing a resume in English and I'm having a hard time trying to translate my degrees accurately.
I have searched on Google, worked with translators and with AI assistance, but none of the answers I ...
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What does "of" mean when it is at the beginning?
When I check the dictionary, I often see the word "of" at the beginning. Can you explain what it exactly means?
Here's an example of the definition "rare" from a dictionary.
Rare:
...
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Are words marked with the "old-fashioned" tag in dictionaries suitable for academic writing?
I guess there are old-fashioned informal words, but it seems to me that most "old-fashioned" words are formal. I've seen these words in the dictionary quite often, e.g. nigh on or nay (in ...
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On the cursive penmanship [closed]
In France, I was taught to write in cursive penmanship from my 6 years old to my 10 years old (alongside vocabulary, grammar, grammatical conjugation and so on). Once I have completed this learning, I ...
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Is omitting apostrophe after "husband" in "the husband of your husband or wife’s sister" correct?
I saw one entry in the definition of "brother-in-law" from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Dictionary written as follows:
the husband of your husband or wife’s sister.
But I'm ...
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In a sentence consisting of three clauses, sometimes it's hard to tell which clause is parallel to which
In conclusion, it is my conviction that prohibiting tourist activities for the sake of local culture is an unwise proposal. This is because it is pointless to try to stop change and because such a ban ...
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" ...syntactically, being rather a matter of pragmatics, dependent... " - Can we delete 'being rather' in the parenthetical?
In the non-parenthetical construction the matrix verb and its subject
may also be backgrounded, but this is not signalled syntactically,
being rather a matter of pragmatics, dependent on context and ...
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Past Tense Story Telling
I'm a part-time hobby-writer, an average book reader....
The question I have for you is... I noticed that most writers favour the 'Past Tense' style in their writing and it leaves an open question in ...
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Could I use "that" if I merely have one bike?
On https://www.grammarly.com/blog/which-vs-that/, it says
In a restrictive clause, use that.
In a nonrestrictive clause, use which.
It shows two examples.
My bike that has a broken seat is in the ...
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speaker name and action in direct speech
I am trying to write a story in English, though English is not my mother language.
I would like to know if any of the two following lines is correct, and which is better:
"I talked to Bob," ...
Daniel Canarutto
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3
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Which (if any) of these three alternative sentence constructions is most understandable for use in function documentation comments? [closed]
I'm writing documentation (i.e. code comments) for a JavaScript function with multiple parameters.
In specifying the purposes of each of the parameters, I have encountered some difficulty in making ...
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210
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Using gerund vs. relative pronoun in sentences: "A set S that consists of x, y, z is called.." vs "A set S consisting of x, y, z is called..."
I saw many sentences with the following pattern:
A set S consisting of x, y, z is called...,
which uses the gerund form of the verb "consist".
Considering another sentence that I created ...
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Inclusive meaning
These example sentences are from Cambridge dictionary. One thing I can't understand is the use of the word inclusive. If I omit it, does it mean the same? The other example is the same. I don't know ...
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Holds no benefits to alleviate the problem
Two people are arguing/quarrel and the arguing/quarrel they have will not alleviate the problem the already have. It is like someone telling him that stop arguing/quarrel that won't alleviate the ...
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Adjective plus noun in a sentence
When describing a charts, Is there a way to use adjective plus noun other than using there is or there was.
Can I say, the consumption of fast food had a gradual increase over the years.
The mobile ...
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synonym for "The number of"
I am describing a chart in the past.
Is this sentence correct? What word can I use as synonym for "The number of"
According to the chart, the number of people who preferred fast food ...
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130
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The difference between "Each cake's piece" and "Each piece of the cake"
The difference between "Each cake's piece" and "Each piece of the cake".
What's the correct option to use when writing IELTS writing task 1 discussing a pie chart?
Example:
"...
helpielts
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263
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What's the best way to avoid repeating the name of the subject in a formal letter?
What's the best way to avoid repeating the name of the subject in the letter?
Assuming that I need to refer to the same person in a formal letter multiple times, what's the formal way to do so?
For ...
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Incline[d] bench?
While reading about weight lifting, it's common to bump into mentions of incline benches. There's the "incline bench press" exercise, for example, which is a bench press variation used on an ...
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Why did they use single and not double quotes in this news headline?
'King Charles should feel justified - he's defied predictions the
monarchy would crumble'
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Combinig past and present tenses together
I've made a discovery that a phrase to be out of the question is an idiom, meaning to be an event that cannot possibly happen.
In a book (Charlotte Bronte - "Jane Eyre") I approached the ...
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If we don't know the name and gender, what should we write? [duplicate]
Hello everyone.
Think you don't know the name and gender of a person.
What should we write?
Let's see this example:
Yesterday someone on internet helped me to write a better letter, but unfortunately, ...
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What's the difference in "throw clothes away" and "throw away clothes"?
Does it change the meaning of the sentence?
Are both correct grammar?
In writing any kind of writing, which one is better to use?
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Valediction for a team / group
I am writing a letter starting with 'Dear recruiting team,' (multiple recipients, not addressed by name).
Is 'Yours faithfully' the proper valediction for ending this letter?
Edit: It is for a British ...
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Should the suffix "III" be included in the salutation to a senator
The rule for the salutation in a letter to a senator is:
Dear Senator (Surname)
Should the Surname include their suffix, specifically "III" as in 'the third'.
For a Senator Rober Smith III, ...
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Does this sound rude? How could I have said it better?
Me: Good afternoon, ma'am Josie. Just letting you know I'm ready for the
interview. Could you please let me know if it will still happen this
afternoon? Thank you.
Josie: Hello. You were scheduled for ...
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"One of the reasons why ..." vs "One of the reasons (no why) ..." [duplicate]
Will the words "One of the reasons why I ..." be considered wordy? Should I just write "One of the reasons I ..." or there is no much difference between them ?
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What are the common greetings when writing to an acquaintance (not necessarily a close friend)?
What are the common greetings when writing to an acquaintance (or someone not necessarily a close friend)? Is "how are you" or "how are you doing these days" too casual in writing ?...
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Is this statement correct : "Certificate of Winner/Champion in English Debating Championship 2022"?
I'd like to know how to write a statement in a cover letter telling people about a certificate that I got after winning an English debate.
in my application letter where I wrote down like this:
For ...
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Is this usage of apostrophe grammatical: "the person with dementia’s employer"
This is from a booklet about caring for elderly people who has dementia:
"requesting flexible working arrangements from your employer and the person with dementia’s employer."
When I read it,...
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Comparison of two categories over a specific period of time
Year: 2009 / 2019
Mobile use: 15% / 26%
Tablet use: 5% / 19%
what is the correct way to describe changes in two different years? I have tried to describe the changes in three different ...
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Do they consider typos as misspellings in computer delivered IELTS?
I mean there's a difference between a misspelling and a typo, e.g. the word "circulate" is considered misspelled if it's "circilate" or "cerculate", but if it's circukate ...
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which one is more appropriate? indicate: ... or indicate
I'm writing to describe a cartoon, and there's a caption that means "on the road" below the cartoon.
should I write
1: The caption indicates: "On the road".
or
2: The caption ...
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How to write a book title, subtitle, edition and author in a work email?
I'm requesting that my organization upload a digital version of a book and I want to make sure they give me the correct one. I would like to include the following information in my request. Book title,...
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Difference between "Why is this so?" and "Give reasons for this and solutions?"
In IELTS writing task 2, I saw some questions such as the following,
Why is this so? Give reasons for this and solutions?
Here, the IDP asked to answer in the following essay structure (paragraph-...
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WRITING: Is there any grammatical rule that prohibits multiple topics in one paragraph?
I came across an educator who teaches students to limit the number of topic sentence to only one(he is not a native English speaker).
Is this a widely agreed,valid rule for writing?Has there been such ...
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Am I asked to express my opinion?
In IELTS band descriptor, it is clearly written that I have to mention a position and stick to it throughout the essay from Introduction to Conclusion.
Band 9: “presents a fully developed position“
...
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How to identify ambiguous sentence?
'The theoretical arguments regulating home schooling begin from this point.'
I have no idea why this sentence is ambiguous. Although the answer says 'It leaves the reader guessing whether the ...
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143
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When asking about a health condition which tense do you use? [duplicate]
If a person got injured, in their legs, for example, yesterday and you want to ask that person the next day how are their legs doing. Do you say "how were your legs?" or "how are your ...
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When asking about cast and crews of a movie which tense do you use?
When I search up on Google I normally see both present tense and past tense being used. For example: Who plays Willy Wonka?Or Who played Willy Wonka?. What’s the difference? It confuses me to be ...
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Has understood or had understood?
I'm doing some essays to prepare for the C1 writing test. I wrote this sentence:
"after a student had understood a formula, it would be more efficient if he was able to apply it through ...
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pull a face in shock?
What's the correct expression? I'm not a native speaker. I want to describe that he made a expression of shock; like pulled a face in shock; but I feel that's wrong. How can I see it concisely?
magicphoenix
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Is there a reason that some wikipedia pages use "BC" while others use "BCE"?
On https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus it says:
Born Gaius Octavius
23 September 63 BC
Rome, Italy, Roman Republic
Died 19 August AD 14 (aged 75)
Nola, Italy, Roman Empire
On https://en....
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Is year's full form hyphenated in English?
Someone said In English year's full is only written with the last two numbers hyphenated. So, if I am talking about the year 2121, should I write it as twenty one twenty-one?
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