(10 Most Important Comma Usage Rules.)

Numerous English rules govern when we must capitalize words in articles or books. Although the more basic capitalization rules are relatively clear-cut, confusion can still sometimes arise about when to capitalize words in certain circumstances. These are the most important English capitalization rules to abide by. 

First Letters in Sentences

The most basic capitalization rule is that the first words in sentences must always start with capital letters. That is perhaps the strictest and most universal capitalization rule for which there is no exception. There’s not much more that can be said about this rule, except perhaps not to confuse semicolons to be the same as full stops (periods). You should not usually capitalize the first word after a semicolon (unless it’s a proper noun, formal title, or abbreviation) because it doesn’t start a new sentence like a period does.

Proper Nouns

A proper noun is a specific name for a person, place, or thing. The general capitalization rule for proper nouns is that the first letters in their words must be capitalized. These are some examples of capitalized proper nouns:

• Epic Games Launcher (software name)
• Apple Inc (company name)
• Alexander Hamilton (person name)
• Church of England (Christian church name)
• St. Peter’s Basilica (cathedral name)
• Republican Party (political party name)
• Mississippi River (a river name)
• Grand Canyon (canyon name)
• Italy (country name)
• Pacific Ocean (ocean name)
• U.S. Department of Defense (organization name)
• New York City (city name)

The principal words in proper nouns, like those above, should be capitalized. Exceptions are made for conjunctions (such as and, but, or, etc.) and short prepositions (in, at, on, to, for, by, etc.) included within the proper nouns. Thus, the preposition in the Church of England is not capitalized.

However, the capitalization of proper nouns is more of a general rule (rather than a strict one) because of the increasing number of companies releasing products with names that don’t start with uppercase letters. Apple is perhaps the most guilty culprit of expanding this rising (and frankly unwelcome) lowercase marketing trend with its iPhone, iPad, iMac, iPod, and macOS products. Those proper nouns for some Apple products have unique and awkward capitalization. When it comes to products, we must capitalize them exactly as Apple and company do on their websites and marketing materials.

Another point to note is that general food and drink names are common nouns rather than proper ones. Thus, food names like banana, tea, cheese, apple, milk, chocolate, chips, sandwich, and crisps should not be capitalized. However, brand names for foods should be capitalized, such as Tabasco sauce, Hellman’s mayonnaise, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, and Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Derivatives of Proper Nouns

A derivative is a word formed from another word. The many derivatives of proper nouns should always be capitalized in much the same way. For example, Russian, Christian, Germanic, and Venetian are capitalized derivatives for Russia, Christianity, German, and Venice.

The I Pronoun

I is a personal pronoun, which refers to I, myself, that must always be capitalized. That is the only pronoun we must always capitalize because of its unique single-letter nature. So, don’t forget to press the Shift key when entering the I pronoun in articles with a first-person narrative.

Title and Subheading Capitalization

English capitalization rules for titles and subheadings can be more confusing because alternative style guides (such as The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style) have slightly different conventions for them. The general rule is that nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in titles should have capital letters. It is not necessary to capitalize coordinate conjunctions (and, but, for, etc), articles (an, the, a), and shorter propositions in titles. That is the traditional title case rule for capitalizing the principal words in headings.

These are some examples of title case headings:

• “9 of the Most Important English Capitalization Rules”
• “What Are Software Articles (and Who Writes Them)?”
• “10 Handy Digital Tools for Freelance Writers”
• “Inside the Third Reich”

Yet, the rules for title and subheading capitalization are slightly loose, with different style guides having variable preferences. If you prefer Associated Press, then stick to that style guide for your titles. Or, you can capitalize titles and subheadings in your articles according to the Chicago Manual. Capitalization consistency is most important for titles and subheadings. You can utilize this Title Case Converter online tool to ensure heading and subheading capitalization consistency for your preferred style.

Formal Titles

Words like president, director, king, pope, and doctor are common nouns that should not have capital letters when they stand alone. However, this changes when formal titles directly precede proper noun names. Formal titles must be capitalized when preceding person names, as in these examples:

• President Trump
• Pope Leo XIV
• King Charles II
• Vice President Vance
• Director General Tim Davie

Historic Events and Eras

Historical eras were notable periods that had significant changes and events. The historical events were typically wars, but can also be other significant revolutionary, economic, or social occurrences in history. We should always capitalize specifically named historic eras and events, such as the following:

• World War II
• Renaissance
• Industrial Revolution
• Russian Revolution
• Great Crash of 1929
• Ancient Egypt
• American Civil War

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words that should be capitalized when used for abbreviated titles. For example, Mr. and Ms. are two common title abbreviations for mister and miss that are always capitalized when standing alone or preceding surnames. Jan., Feb., Mar., and Apr. are abbreviations capitalized like their full month names, January, February, March, and April. However, we don’t capitalize Latin abbreviations such as e.g. (for example), etc. (for et cetera, which translates to the rest), and i.e. (for that is).

An acronym is a special type of abbreviation that’s a pronounceable word formed from a longer phrase or proper noun. For example, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group), UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), and RAM (Random Access Memory) are some common acronyms. Such acronyms should be fully capitalized with all uppercase letters, like the preceding examples in this passage.

Capitalization Within Quotes

Quotations are frequently used in the middle of sentences. When quoting any complete sentence, you must always start the quotation with a capital letter, even from mid-sentence. However, we can make exceptions for partial quotes that are not full sentences. Here are a few examples of full and partial quotes:

• In his “Sinews of Peace” speech, Churchill stated, “An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent.”
• Nixon said he was “not a crook” when asked about Watergate during a press conference.
• Mr. Chamberlain said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again,” when he departed for the Munich Conference.

So, don’t forget those most significant English capitalization rules for your articles or books. We must abide by those rules of capitalization because they help readers identify proper nouns, the I pronoun, abbreviations, and title headings. Correct capitalization will also enhance clarity and consistency in your articles, books, letters, emails, and other documents.

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(5 Changes That Matter From the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition.)

It’s unquestionably nostalgic but also unquestionably new. It means that you can hold the English language in your hands. 

Let’s explore some of the fun new entries in the Twelfth: 

adulting

We all know that nouns can become verbs in English. Sometimes we notice the shift, and sometimes we don’t: Most of us think nothing of the fact that we butter bread and we voice opposition and we iron clothes. Nouns more conventionally come from verbs–just think of walk and run. But it’s pretty rare that a noun comes from a verb that came from a noun, which is the case with adulting, derived from the verb to adult meaning “to behave like an adult.” The verb dates back to the early 1900s, while the new noun adulting surfaced in 2013, a high point of social media saturation. It’s a word that emerged while we narrated our lives while living them.

amirite

Texting and social media have made the informal language of others part of our daily lives in a way wholly unprecedented,  and the language has expanded accordingly. Terms like lit, bae, fomo, mood, stan, sus, and lowkey come from a new register of informal expression. It’s not just the compressed phonetic respelling, shorter for quick keying and perhaps a bit ironic in a knowing way, that distinguishes amirite; there’s a grammatical singularity about it, too, since it’s usually used as a tag question in social media posts. Amirite?

dad joke

Compound terms need to pass a simple test before being added to the dictionary. If a compound can be understood by consulting the definitions of its constituent parts, no new definition is needed. There is no entry for cattle ranch, for example, but there is one for dude ranch. A dad joke isn’t just a joke told by a dad—it has the specific qualities of wholesomeness, obviousness, and endearing corniness. 

fanfic

One of the inarguably positive things about social media has been the ability to find others who share one’s hobbies, habits, and passions. From knitting to gaming to collective fangirling and fanboying (two more newly added words), people have found a new way to share what they care about. The communities that both read and write fan fiction have given us another shortened term, fanfic, which can refer to both the genre and to a specific story, as in: “We wrote a fanfic about vampires who knit sweaters for fun.”

fluffernutter

Trademarks are a tricky thing for dictionaries. On the one hand, many trademarked terms are generically used to refer to things that correspond to the category, if not the specific brand, named by the trademark. You might be surprised to learn that escalator and dumpster and thermos began as trademarks. Still-active trademarks are only given usage indications rather than definitions, since only the trademark holder can legally say what their name refers to; this is the case for Jeep, Kleenex, and Xerox (when used as a noun). Fluffernutter, a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, is among the newest and most delicious trademarks to become a dictionary entry.

free solo

The sport of rock climbing without ropes or safety equipment is specific enough to have its own name: free solo. It might have continued as an obscure and fairly specialized niche activity, but an Oscar-winning documentary film entitled Free Solo made it much more familiar to the general public.  

mediopassive

As language lovers and certified word nerds, we love seeing new linguistic terminology in the dictionary. Mediopassive names the way the subjects of some sentences receive, rather than perform, the actions of their verbs. Seen in such sentences as “The window opens easily,” “The house sold in four days,” and “The car drives smoothly,” it’s a curious sentence structure that is useful and efficient. Intransitive verbs used in such sentences are said to be in the mediopassive voice. 

non-rhotic

Some English speakers don’t pronounce the sound of the letter r before vowels or at the end of words–think the classic Boston accent, for example, but also many accents heard in Britain or the American South. An “r-less” accent is called non-rhotic by linguists. Rhotic derives from a Greek word that means “to use the /r/ sound excessively or incorrectly.”

petrichor (geosmin)

Petrichor is one of those words that for a long time was used mainly to cite itself. It was the answer to the question, “Did you know that there is a word for that distinctive smell after rainfall?” But petrichor has been used more and more frequently as the name for the smell, and is a welcome new addition to the dictionary. Another new word, geosmin, is the chemical compound that generates the petrichor smell.

side-eye

Side-eye (a word born in the late 18th century but only made common in this one) means “a sidelong glance that indicates scorn, suspicion, disapproval, or veiled curiosity.” It’s sometimes used with the, as in “She gave him the side-eye,” and it’s a verb, too, as in “They were side-eyeing us with envy.” This is a linguistically interesting case of a facial expression carrying a specific meaning, which isn’t the case for words like smile or frown. Those words might indicate emotions but don’t often have metonymic uses that can be substituted for the cause of the expression; giving someone the side-eye is often showing scorn, but giving someone a smile is just smiling. 

Check out the Twelfth Edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary here:

Bookshop | Amazon

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Clench vs. Clinch

Clench is a verb that means to hold or to close tightly. So a person’s hand might clench a pen or a hundred dollar bill. Of course, it’s used by some people to describe tightening (as in someone clenching their butt cheeks or fist). Funny enough, the first definition for “clench” in my desk dictionary was the word “clinch” (true story!), but… 

(When Do You Capitalize President?)

Clinch is mostly used as a verb that means to make something final or to settle something. As in clinching a spot in the playoffs (if you’re into sports) or clinching a decision (if you’re into making decisions). Clinch can also be used as a verb that means to flatten the pointed end of a nail or screw or to hold a boxing opponent in close quarters. And clinch can also be used as a noun to represent a clinched nail or screw.

Here are a few examples of clench vs. clinch:

Correct: She clenched the telegram in her hand as she thought of her stranded lover.
Incorrect: She clinched the telegram in her hand as she thought of her stranded lover.

Correct: When the defendant didn’t show for the hearing, it clinched the judge’s decision in favor of the prosecution.
Incorrect: When the defendant didn’t show for the hearing, it clenched the judge’s decision in favor of the prosecution.

Correct: The Reds’ fan clenched his fist as he watched the Cubs’ clinch a spot in the playoffs yet again.

In a way, both words are used to tighten something, whether a thought or jawline. Clench tends to be a more physical grasping or tightening, while clinch tends to settle things that are up in the air.

*****

Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.

Click to continue.

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(Why the Oxford Comma—or Serial Comma—Is So Cool!)

The comma punctuation mark highlights a shorter, softer pause in a sentence than a full stop. It is a cue to take a quick breath when reading anything aloud, while the full stop represents a longer pause. Articles with too many unnecessary commas can be fragmented, but those with too few can leave you slightly breathless. These are some of the most important comma usage rules to be aware of for your articles or books.

Coordinate Conjunctions

Coordinate conjunctions are joiner words that connect two independent clauses in single sentences. And, but, for, nor, yet, or, and so (remember the FANBOYS acronym) are the coordinate conjunctions with which we can join independent clauses that could otherwise stand alone in separate sentences. You should always add a comma after coordinate conjunctions that join two independent clauses in sentences. Here are some examples of coordinate conjunction comma usage:

• “The sprinter ran fast, but he still lost the race.”
• “You can go to the cinema with me, or you can go to the beach on your own if you prefer.”
• “The man walked down the street, and then he brought a newspaper from the newsstand.”

Each of those examples includes two independent clauses that could stand alone as sentences. The coordinate conjunctions and, or, and but join the clauses into single sentences with their commas. Note that joining independent clauses with commas alone, without suitable coordinate conjunctions, is called the comma splice, which is something to avoid.

List Series

You should always include commas to separate different items in lists included within sentences. For example, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, violet, red, and green are the seven colors of the rainbow. An alternative to using commas is to add lists with bullet-point formatting, but you must always use commas for those within sentences.

However, UK and US English have different stylistic preferences for serial commas that separate the last two items in lists. The US English preference is to include a comma between the last two items in a list. This is not so much the case in UK English, which has a preference to exclude the serial comma between the last couple of list items. Choose whichever serial comma preference you prefer, but be consistent with usage.

Non-Restrictive Clauses

A non-restrictive clause is a non-essential part of a sentence that provides extra information (similar to brackets). Such clauses can be in the middle or at the end of a sentence. We should always add commas for setting off non-restrictive clauses, typically added with phrases like such as, otherwise, and which. These are some examples of non-restrictive clauses set off with commas:

• “There are many great historic attractions in Rome, such as the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, and Castel Sant’Angelo.”
• “The video game, which I purchased from Steam, was grossly overrated.”
• “My pet dog, otherwise a Bulldog, barks like crazy.”

Dates

It is necessary to include commas for the US date format of MM-DD-YY. For example, the full date, June 6, 2025, should have a comma in between its day and year. This comma is necessary for separating two different numbers. However, a monthly date like June 2025 does not need to include a comma.

Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjacent nouns for describing the same subject or noun. We should include commas in between coordinate adjectives within sentences. Here are a few examples of coordinate adjectives with commas included for them:

• “It was a cold, wet day in Glasgow.”
• “I took a holiday on a large, overcrowded cruise ship.”
• “Snooker is one of the dullest, least energetic sports to play.”

Quotations

It is a general rule to introduce short one-sentence quotations within paragraphs with commas. For example, the actor Matthew McConaughey is quoted as saying, “Life is a series of commas, not periods.” However, the AP Style guide advocates using colons for introducing quotes of two sentences or longer.

Commas are also used for closing quotes within sentences in American English. If you prefer to start a sentence with a quote and include attribution at the end, add a comma to the end of the quote before attributing the source. “Life is a series of commas, not periods,” said the actor  Matthew McConaughey.

Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases are phrases and words for connecting related ideas or showing contrasts at the beginning of sentences. Such phrases like however, so, nevertheless, consequently, as a result, for example, and thus can enhance the flow of articles or books when included. Always add commas after transitional phrases that start sentences, like in these examples:

• “So, who can tell me if we need to head north or south?”
• “Consequently, this vehicle won’t start.”
• “Nevertheless, Chelsea still won the match despite the bad start.”

Introductory Phrases

An introductory phrase is a set of words added before a sentence’s main clause. The purpose of most introductory phrases is to add extra context, more description, or set the stage for the main clauses in sentences. Infinitive, absolute, appositive, prepositional, and participial are the five main types of introductory phrases for starting sentences. Such phrases should always have commas that separate them from the main sentence clauses, as in these examples:

• “To move the rock, we’ll need a crane.”
• “An astonishingly colorful and vibrant show, the musical production was certainly worth watching.”
• “After bombing Pearl Harbor, the Japanese planes returned to their aircraft carriers.”

Direct Address

Direct address is a writing construct for the direct addressing of a person or group. Fictional books typically include more instances of direct address for character dialogue. When adding a direct address at the beginning of a sentence, you should add a comma after the noun. Add commas before and after directly addressed names added mid-sentence. These are some examples of comma usage for direct address:

• “Mr. Andrews, don’t forget the prior agreement we had.”
• “Billy, please answer the telephone.”
• “Dad, where did you put the door keys?”
• “Who knows, Dr. Smith, where your lost documents might be.”

Geographical Names

You must include commas for separating two connected geographical names. Connected geographical names are two parts of the same destination, such as city and country. Also, note that additional commas should be included after related geographical names in the middle of sentences. These are some geographical destinations with commas added to separate them:

• “The 1996 Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia.”
• “I took my vacation in Plymouth, Devon.”
• “I have lived in London, England, for many years.”

There are numerous other comma usage rules beyond those discussed here. However, the comma rules above are some of the most important ones that cover the most common usage scenarios. Remembering those rules will likely ensure more accurate comma placement in your articles, books, or other content.

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(Common Publishing Terms for Writers.)

For writers who podcast, these terms are helpful to understand as you get going.

Audio and Recording Terms for Writers

• Clipping. Clipping is when the volume exceeds that peak, causing distortion—essentially, your audio is “breaking.”
• DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). A DAW is software used to record, edit, and mix audio. Popular DAWs for new podcasters include GarageBand, LogicPro and Reaper. Professional standard DAWs include Adobe Audition (or Premier for video), and ProTools. DAWS are essentially an audio editing studio on a screen.
• Double-Ender. A double-ender is a recording method where each podcast participant records their own audio locally (also called a “native recording”). Later, the separate files are synced in post-production for high-quality results. This method is especially helpful for remote interviews when internet service fluctuations can create problems. The idea is that the final recording quality is not internet dependent, so even if communication gets bumpy, the audio and video files will be glitch-free.
• Dynamic Range. The dynamic range of recording is the difference between the quietest and loudest parts of your audio. Producers use compression to reduce this range—making quiet parts louder and loud parts softer—then raise the overall loudness to meet industry standards. This helps ensure a consistent, professional sound.
• Gain. Gain is the strength of the audio signal, which can be adjusted via the gain knob on your microphone or recording interface. Adjusting the gain increases or decreases your levels.
• Levels. In audio recording, levels refer to the volume.
• MP3 files and WAV files. MP3 and WAV files are the most common audio file formats you’ll work with in podcasting, but they serve different purposes: WAV files are uncompressed and high-quality, ideal for editing and mastering. MP3 files are compressed and smaller, making them the standard for podcast distribution and streaming. Record in WAV, and export the final episode as an MP3.
• Normalized Audio. Normalized audio has been compressed to reduce the dynamic range and has a consistent loudness throughout. This creates a good experience for the listener who won’t need to adjust their volume while enjoying the episode.
• Peaking. Peaking happens when audio is too loud, nearing the maximum (or peak) level a system can handle. Think of peaking as a yellow flag meaning you should turn down your gain.
• Room Tone. Room tone is the ambient sound of a recording space when no one is speaking. Capturing a few seconds of room tone, usually at the start of a recording, helps editors create undetectable edits and remove background noise without making the audio feel unnatural or overly silent.

Click to continue.

Creative Element Terms for Writers

• Episode Chapters. Just like a book, podcast episodes can have chapters. If you’re uploading to Youtube this is a simple, supported feature. Not every audio platform supports chapters but some, like Spotify, do. Chapters help with audience engagement and retention by giving listeners the option to skip forward if they are bored or looking for a certain part of the episode. Skipping over expositional banter is one of the most common reasons listeners look for chapters. Even pasting chapter timestamps into your episode show notes can help support listenership.
• Music Bed. A music bed is background music layered under dialogue or transitions. It enhances mood and pacing without overpowering the voice track. Podcasters often use royalty-free music libraries (like Artlist, Epidemic Sound, or Free Music Archive) or music licensed under Creative Commons. When using Creative Commons-licensed music or sound effects, be sure to check the terms. Some require attribution, while others do not and some may restrict commercial use.
• Show Notes. Show notes are the written summaries accompanying each episode. They include episode highlights, guest bios, links, and any resources mentioned. Show notes improve SEO, accessibility, and give listeners more context.

Distribution Terms for Writers

• Analytics. Podcast analytics track listener behavior—downloads, geographic location, devices used, listener retention, and more. Hosting platforms (like Libsyn, Podbean, or Audioboom) provide this data so creators can understand and grow their audience. When choosing a hosting platform (which is usually where your RSS feed lives), one thing to look into is whether you like the analytics the platform provides, as they are a bit different platform to platform.
• ID3 Tags (Metadata). ID3 tags are embedded in your MP3 files and include information like the episode title, podcast name, artwork, and genre. These tags display on media players and help organize your episodes for listeners or collaborators.
• RSS Feed (Really Simple Syndication). An RSS feed is the digital pipeline that delivers your podcast episodes to directories like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It contains all your show’s metadata—title, description, episode list—and updates automatically when you publish new content (kind of like it’s…really simple syndication). So, when you upload new podcasts episodes, you only upload them to your RSS feed, which broadcasts your content to all platforms.

Advertising Terms for Writers

• Baked-In Ads. These are advertisements recorded directly into your episode and are part of the permanent audio. They don’t change over time and feel more organic, like host-read endorsements.
• Dynamic Insert Ads (DIA). These ads are dropped into episodes after publishing using ad placement technology. They can be targeted based on listener location, behavior, or time of download, and swapped out over time—useful for keeping content fresh or monetizing your back catalog.
• Faked-In Ads. Faked-in ads are a cross between baked-in and direct insert ads. They are host-read, but rather than being permanently included in the episode audio, they are dropped into episodes with DIA technology. This allows host-read ads to change over time, or be dropped into other podcasts with overlapping demographics.

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(How to Find Free-to-Use Images for Writing Projects.)

However, there’s a plethora of unique characters and symbols for maths, currency, punctuation, and diacritics (accent marks) that standard keyboards don’t have specific keys for entering. Here, we’ll look at how you can enter some of the more common and useful special characters in your articles for which there aren’t any specific input keys on standard keyboards.

The Most Common Special Characters Not Available on Standard Keyboards

Although standard keyboards are satisfactory for inputting standard punctuation marks, their mathematical, diacritic (accent mark), and currency character keys are limited. There are even some slightly more obscure punctuation marks standard keyboards don’t have keys for. 

So, most freelance writers will probably occasionally need to input some special characters or symbols not available on their keyboards. These are some of the more common and useful special characters that standard keyboards don’t have keys for entering:

• Em dash: —
• Yen (missing on English keyboards): ¥
• Section sign: §
• Fractions: ½, ¼, ¾, ⅔, etc
• Acute accent: é
• Euro (missing on US keyboards): €
• Grave accent: à
• Copyright: ©
• En dash: –
• Degrees (Fahrenheit or Celsius): °F °C
• Ellipse: …
• Card symbols: , , , and
• Manicule: ☛
• Registered trademark: ®
• Division and multiplication: ÷ and ×

An obvious shortcoming of standard keyboards is their lack of keys for diacritics accent marks like é and à. There are numerous common English words derived from French that have accent marks, such as café, résumé, déjà vu, cliché, and à la carte. Some people omit the accent marks from such words because there aren’t any specific keys for entering them.

Nor are there specific keys for basic multiplication, division, and fraction symbols. Some writers might improvise by entering the letter x or slash / for multiplication and division symbols rather than the correct ÷ and × signs. Standard keyboards are woefully inadequate for writing articles that cover mathematical topics.

There are also some useful punctuation marks omitted from standard keyboards, such as the em dash (—) and en dash (–). The em dash is an alternative to parenthesis used for the strongest possible break from a sentence. En dash is a punctuation mark used for numerical ranges or connections, such as 1914–1918, for example, that’s shorter than the em dash but longer than the hyphen. However, many people use the hyphen for ranges because there isn’t an en dash keyboard key.

Some legal secretaries might lament the fact that there isn’t an § character key on standard keyboards. The section sign (§) is a punctuation mark often needed for legal documentation and contracts. This mark is used for referencing sections in legal documents and is always followed by a number, such as “refer to §145 of document B” for example.

One interestingly obscure punctuation mark you can’t enter with standard keyboards is the interrobang. The interrobang (‽) is an exclamation and question mark wrapped into one. So, why not add interrobangs to some articles‽

Of course, there’s a limit to how many special character keys standard keyboards can include. It would be good to have additional keys for entering some of the more common special characters listed above, where possible. Nevertheless, there are alternative ways we can input such special characters into articles without specific keyboard keys for them.

Enter Special Characters With ASCII Codes

One way we can enter special characters and symbols not available on our keyboards is to input ASCII (Alt) codes for them. ASCII is an encoding standard that assigns unique codes to unique characters and symbols. We can enter special characters on Windows PCs by holding the Alt key and inputting their codes with the numeric keypad.

For example, the Alt code for inputting the copyright © symbol is 0169. To enter that symbol with its code, press the Num Lock key first (Num Lock must be on). Then, hold down the Alt key and input the code 0169 with the number keys on your keyboard’s numeric keypad.

The Alt codes for special characters can have one to four numbers. You can find the codes for many unique characters on this Alt code page. Look for the character or symbol you want to enter in your article on that page and input its adjacent code.

Use the Windows Character Map

The Character Map is a Windows tool with which you can enter special characters and symbols without remembering or looking up codes. This utility is included with all Windows platforms dating back to 2000. You can find, copy, and paste special character codes into your articles with that tool.

To access Character Map, first open Run by pressing the Windows logo + R key. Input charmap into the Run dialog and click OK. You will then see a Character Map window with a grid that includes myriad special characters for you to select.

To add a unique character from there, input a search term to find it. For example, enter a section sign keyword in the Search for box to find the § character. Click the § character found and Select > Copy. Then, press the Ctrl + V hotkey to paste the § wherever you need it in a document.

Add Symbols With the Emoji Keyboard

The emoji keyboard is an alternative Windows tool to the Character Map with which we can add a wide variety of punctuation, language, currency, mathematical, and supplemental symbols to articles. However, this tool also enables us to add emojis and kaomoji like the smiley. You can liven up your informal email or forum messages by adding emojis and kaomojis.

To open the emoji keyboard, press the Windows logo key + . (period|) hotkey. Click the Symbols tab within the emoji keyboard to see the special characters you can input in your article. To add a special character from there, click somewhere in your document’s word processor to enter it and select a symbol.

Check Out the Copychar Site

Copying and pasting special characters you need for articles is a simple way to enter them. Copychar is a website from which you can copy and paste diacritic, punctuation, currency, mathematical, numerical, symbol, and arrow characters into your articles. You can utilize Copychar to add special characters to documents open on Windows PCs, Android & iOS mobile devices, and macOS computers.

Open this Copychar website in a browser. To find a unique character there, input a keyword within that site’s search box. You can copy any character found there by clicking (or tapping for touchscreens) on it. Press the Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut to paste the copied character into your document on a Windows PC.

Add Special Characters With Microsoft Word’s Symbol Tool

Microsoft Word users can add special characters to their articles with that software’s Symbol tool. This built-in World utility conveniently saves (or remembers) your most recently used special characters or symbols, which is a good feature. So, Word users might prefer that tool to the Windows Character Map.

You can access that tool for special characters by clicking Symbol > More Symbols on Microsoft Word’s Insert tab. Then, select a symbol to add and click Insert to enter it at your cursor point in a document. Alternatively, click the Special Characters tab to select a character to add.

So, don’t let your keyboard restrict the characters and symbols you use for articles. You can use many, many more unique characters and symbols by entering them into your articles, as discussed above. Using more special characters will enable you to add more punctuation marks, highlight key points better, and enhance visual clarification in your articles. 

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Chafed vs. Chaffed vs. Chapped

Chafed is the past tense verb of chafe, which can describe being irritated, worn away, or warmed by rubbing together (like having chafed legs when running). The chafing action often comes from one thing (for instance, a super strong and cold wind) rubbing or wearing against another thing (like bared skin). 

(When Do You Capitalize President?)

Chaffed is the past tense verb of chaff, which describes the action of teasing another person, usually in a good-natured way (as opposed to bullying). So a person who chaffs another person might be joking around about wearing a winter coat on a hot summer day or wearing their sunglasses at night.

Chapped is the past tense verb of chap, which describes the action of opening in small cracks and slits. Often, people use this as a word to describe their chapped lips, which is why so many people buy chapstick.

Here are a few examples of chafed vs. chaffed vs. chapped:

Correct: He chafed the bottom of his feet from spending too much time in the pool.
Incorrect: He chaffed the bottom of his feet from spending too much time in the pool.
Probably Incorrect: He chapped the bottom of his feet from spending too much time in the pool.

Correct: She chaffed her date about forgetting her name throughout dinner.
Incorrect: She chafed her date about forgetting her name throughout dinner.
Incorrect: She chapped her date about forgetting her name throughout dinner.

Correct: He complained about his lips, which were chapped from the dry air.
Incorrect: He complained about his lips, which were chafed from the dry air.
Incorrect: He complained about his lips, which were chaffed from the dry air.

There may be a few other examples, but I can think of at least one where chafed and chapped could be used interchangeably. That’s if you were to describe lips (or other skin) chafed (or chapped) by strong winds. I believe it would be appropriate to use either to describe this situation.

So let’s untangle this: Chafed with one “f” refers to the act of irritation through friction; chaffed with two “f”s refers to good-natured taunting; and chapped probably just requires a bit of chapstick.

*****

Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.

Click to continue.

The post Chafed vs. Chaffed vs. Chapped (Grammar Rules) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(10 Handy Digital Tools for Freelance Writers.)

The grammatical voice you use can have a notable impact on the clarity, engagement, and tone of your content. It’s important to recognize the distinction between the two voices for your articles or books because the active is generally considered better than the passive, albeit with exceptions occasionally made.

What’s the Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice?

The distinction between the active and passive voices is that of the subject of a sentence performing the action or being acted upon. A sentence in the active voice has a subject performing an action. This means the subject is the doer, rather than the receiver, of an action. 

These are examples of sentences in the active voice:

• “Ned cleaned the table.”
• “Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.”
• “The dog chewed my rug.”
• “Liverpool won the 2022 FA Cup.”

Those examples are sentences in the active voice with the doer (person or thing doing the action) as their subject. The object or thing being acted on is the subject of a sentence in the passive voice. 

Here are some examples of sentences in the passive voice:

• “The table was cleaned by Ned.”
• “Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese planes in 1941.”
• “My rug was chewed by the dog.”
• “The 2022 FA Cup was won by Liverpool.”

We can now see the difference between sentences that say the same things in the active and passive voices. Ned, Japanese planes, a dog, and Liverpool are subjects performing actions in the active voice examples above. Table, Pearl Harbor, rug, and FA Cup are subjects (objects and a location) receiving actions in the passive voice.

Thus, the active voice places emphasis on the person or thing performing the action. The passive voice emphasizes the object or thing receiving the action. This difference in emphasis is the crucial distinction between the two voices to remember.

You can manually detect passive voice in your content by identifying the action doers in sentences. Those doers are usually at or near the end of sentences in the passive voice with the verbs preceding them. For the active voice, the doers are at or near the beginning of sentences. To change passive voice to active, you must place a doer near the start of a sentence with the verb immediately after it.

Why the Active Voice Is More Preferable

You might now wonder why the active voice is generally preferred over the passive alternative. One important reason the active voice is better than than the passive is conciseness. Notice that all the active voice examples above are two words shorter than their passive alternatives. Thus, using active voice will make your articles more concise and less wordy.

The active voice makes it clearer who or what is performing the action. This makes sentences in the active voice more direct than passive alternatives. Clearly stating who or what is performing an action with the active voice enhances clarity and engagement.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you must always avoid the passive voice. The passive voice can be preferable when you want to place emphasis on the object or thing receiving the action. It can also be more useful when it’s not known what person or thing performed the action. For example, you could write “Ned’s wallet was stolen yesterday” rather than “Somebody stole Ned’s wallet yesterday.”

Online Tools for Checking the Passive Voice

There are numerous online tools (web apps) with which you can check your articles (or text passages) for the passive voice. These tools detect and highlight passive voice sentences within passages entered into them. Some of those utilities also convert passive voice lines into active alternatives.

• Passive Voice Detector is one online tool that shows instances of the passive voice within analyzed passages. There, you can manually input passages for that tool to analyze. Alternatively, click the up arrow button to upload a saved document. That tool will list all passive voice sentences detected when you click the Re-Analyze button.
• Free Passive Voice Checker is a tool that enables you to convert passive voice sentences to active alternatives. To do so, copy and paste a passage of text into that tool’s text box with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V hotkeys. That tool will automatically highlight all instances of the passive voice detected. Click on the active voice suggestions that the utility provides to apply changes.
• You can also utilize the Passive to Active Voice Converter tool on the AHelp site, which seemingly has no usage restrictions. Input content of any length to analyze into that utility’s left text box, and select the Active radio button. The tool will convert passive voice content to active voice in the text box on the right when you click Generate.

How to Set Microsoft Word to Check for Passive Voice

Microsoft Word 365 is one of the foremost word processors that incorporates an advanced SPAG checker called Editor. If you’re a Word user, you can set that word processor to identify the passive voice in content for correcting. You can then change passive voice sentences to active alternatives with Word’s SPAG checker.

To enable passive voice checking in Word, click the File tab and Options within that software. Select Proofing on the left side of the Word Options window. If not selected already, select the Check grammar and refinements in the Editor Pane and Show readability statistics checkboxes.

There’s a Writing Style drop-down menu below those checkboxes. Select Grammar on the Writing Style drop-down menu and press Settings. Scroll down to the Clarity subheading in the Grammar Settings window that opens. Select the Passive Voice and Passive Voice with Unknown Actor checkboxes there and click OK twice.

Open a document to check in the Word software. Word will now highlight passive-voice sentences in that document with blue underlines. To convert to active voice, click Spelling & Grammar on Word’s Review tab. This option activates a sidebar from which you can select Change for suggested editing.

It’s quick and easy to check for and eliminate passive voice from your articles with the aforementioned online tools and MS Word. Sticking to the active voice will generally make your content more concise, direct, and engaging. However, there can sometimes be good reasons to use the passive voice. It’s up to you to decide when the passive voice will be more appropriate in your articles or books.

The post The Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice and Which Is Better appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(5 Changes That Matter From The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition.)

Many websites and magazines open to freelance contributors ask for articles submitted to adhere to AP style for the sake of consistency, accuracy and clarity. AP style is one of the most important style guides for freelance writers to be familiar with because of its universality.

What is the “Associated Press Stylebook”?

“The Associated Press Stylebook” is an AP style handbook, first published in 1953, that gets regularly updated with new editions on a biennial basis. This reference handbook is a comprehensive guide to the Associated Press style. That book is organized like an A-Z of AP style rules and conventions for spelling, punctuation, word usage, abbreviations, numerals, capitalization, dates and much more. It includes thousands of style entries readers can look up when needed.

Although the Associated Press originally established its stylebook guide primarily for news reporting, AP style usage scope goes far beyond that today. It is more like an industry-standard style guide for magazines and newspapers. “Associated Press Stylebook” usage is especially prevalent for copywriting, especially public relations and marketing material.

The printed “Associated Press Stylebook” version is currently retailing at $34.95. There’s also a digital (online) AP style guide version you can subscribe to, which gets updated throughout the year. This Associated Press page provides updated pricing details for all AP-style packages.

Purchasing (or subscribing to) the latest “Associated Press Stylebook 2024-2026” and reading through many of its entries is the best way to familiarize yourself with AP style. However, we can review some of the more important AP style rules and conventions here. These are some of the most notable AP style practices to be aware of for your articles.

Numbers

The general AP style numerical rule is to spell out numbers of nine or lower and use digits for those higher than 10. That’s simple enough, but this rule has numerous exceptions. The “Associated Press Stylebook” states you should always use numerical digits irrespective of value for the following:

• Ages
• Speeds
• Temperatures
• Times and dates
• Financial values
• Percentage values
• Sizes

Capitalization of Titles and Subheadings

AP style for the capitalization of titles and subheadings is primarily title case. The AP stylebook’s general rule is to capitalize all principal words of four or more letters in titles. This includes prepositions of four or more words, such as with and from. However, prepositions, coordinate conjunctions and indefinite articles (the, an and a) of three or fewer letters in titles and subheadings should not be capitalized.

Title Case Converter is a handy online tool for converting titles to AP style or other alternatives. To utilize that tool, open this Title Case Converter page and input a title or subheading in the text box. Select the AP radio button and click Convert to see how your entered title is capitalized for the Associated Press style.

Quotation Marks for Composition Titles

Composition titles are names of books, movies, songs (or albums), TV programs, radio shows, famous speeches, video games, artworks and poems. “The Associated Press Stylebook” says double quotation marks should be added around all such composition titles. Here are a few examples of composition titles that adhere to the AP style:

• “Inside the Third Reich”
• “CBS Evening News”
• “Gone With the Wind”
• “Time After Time”
• “Mona Lisa”
• “The Marriage of Figaro”

Dates

We often need to include dates in articles. AP style favors the U.S. date format of MM/DD/YYYY, which isn’t surprising for what is an American style guide. Longer month names such as August, September, October, November, December, January and February should also be abbreviated to Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan. and Feb. in dates. These are some examples of full dates that stick to AP style:

• Dec. 12, 2024
• May 7, 1945
• April 18, 2025
• July 20, 1969
• Nov. 11, 1918

Also, note that AP style dates (and those more generally) should not include ordinal numbers like 11th, 23rd, 31st and 22nd. Dates must always use figures with suffixes omitted. However, the AP style does use ordinal numbers for street addresses.

Exclude Serial Commas

“The Associated Press Stylebook” rule for simple lists is that serial commas should not be included before the coordinate conjunction (and) at the end of them. For example, excluding a serial comma for the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet list of colors in a rainbow is correct for AP style. This is a slightly contentious rule for an American style guide because U.S. English generally favors including serial commas at the ends of lists, as advocated by “The Chicago Manual of Style” and APA guides. Most Americans who stick to U.S. English would probably prefer to include the serial comma in lists within sentences.

Times

AP style generally advocates using a.m. or p.m. (with periods included) for time listings rather than o’clock. Times must always use figures and should have colons that separate hours from minutes. For example, times written like 3:30 p.m. or 11 a.m. adhere to AP style.

Internet and Web

Authors, especially tech writers, often need to mention the internet and the web in their articles. Associated Press changed policy when it decided to lowercase the internet and web entries in its stylebook in 2016. An AP editor explained this policy change as follows, “The changes reflect a growing trend toward lowercasing both words, which have become generic terms.”

Thus, the nouns web and internet should not be capitalized in accordance with AP style. This shift in policy highlights Associated Press now recognizes web and internet to be common nouns rather than proper ones. Note that this rule applies to all instances of web, such as web browsers and web pages.

Singular Possessive Nouns Ending in S

“The Associated Press Stylebook” advocates only adding an apostrophe to possessive nouns ending with s. Those who stick to the AP style never use a double s for such possessive nouns. For example, “James’ book was 300 pages long” is correct for AP style. However, alternative guides like “The Chicago Manual of Style” advocate adding an apostrophe and s to possessive nouns that end with s.

No Accents in Foreign Words

“The Associated Press Stylebook” states that foreign words such as cafe, cliche, a la carte and deja vu should not include accent marks. This is probably a welcome rule, as letters with accent marks are special characters for which the required keys to enter them are not especially obvious. However, AP style does make an exception for quoting languages that use accent marks.

The Percentage Sign

It used to be the case that the Associated Press favored using the percent word with numbers rather than including the % sign. However, this has changed with a more recent 2019 stylebook update. The percent entry within the “Associated Press Stylebook” now says we should pair the percentage sign with numbers, such as 50%, 25%, 8.5%, etc.

However, the AP style guide still advocates using words for percentages in more casual circumstances. This approach is preferred when referring to percentage values more figuratively than statistically. For example, you could write, “He estimated he had a 100 percent chance of winning the bet.”

The AP style rules and conventions above merely scratch the service of “The Associated Press Stylebook.” However, the AP book is still a more concise and focused style guide than “The Chicago Manual,” which is more than 1,000 pages long. This conciseness makes the AP style guide more suitable for short-form newspaper, magazine, and website articles. Your articles will likely have better consistency and clarity if you stick to AP style, which are two of the most essential guiding principles of “The Associated Press Stylebook.”

___________________

Note:

Note that I have excluded serial commas from listed things (x, x and x) in the article so that it conforms with the AP style. I would not usually do that, but I feel it’s appropriate to do so in this case for an article about the Associated Press style. 

The post 10 Important Rules and Conventions of Associated Press (AP) Style appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(10 Handy Digital Tools for Freelance Writers.)

Today, print and digital publications are primarily split between the US and UK English variants. American magazines and websites usually expect articles to be in US English, but it’s the other way around for UK publications. This means freelance writers might sometimes need to adapt to both English variations for American or British publications, which can be confusing. These are some of the most notable differences between US and UK English to be aware of for your articles.

Spelling

Spelling is one of the biggest differences between US and UK English. American spellings of numerous words differ from those of UK English. The disparity primarily lies in how the endings of words are spelled. Some of these spelling variations can be summarized as follows:

• -or instead -our: Words ending with -or in American English end with -our in UK English (e.g. color instead of colour).
• -ize instead of -ise: Words ending with -ize in American English end with -ise for alternative British spellings (e.g. organize instead of organise).
• -er instead of -re: Words that end with -er in US English have an -re ending for UK spelling (e.g. center rather than centre).
• -ense instead of ence: Words ending with -ense in US English are spelled with -ence in Britain (e.g. license and licence).

Those ending differences can affect the spelling of a wide variety of common words, such as harbor, prioritize, theater, pretense, and recognize. Another difference is that British spelling has a double l rule for words like canceled, traveler, and marvelous. Those words are spelled cancelled, traveller, and marvellous in UK English.

Vocabulary

British and American vocabulary differences are also quite broad. Americans have different names for some things, but seldom will this vocabulary difference cause confusion. These are some of the preferred American names for things that differ from UK English:

• Movie
• Apartment
• Fries
• Cookie
• Pants
• Elevator
• Vacation
• Trash
• Soccer

The British English alternatives for those American nouns are film, flat, chips, biscuit, trousers, lift, holiday, rubbish, and football. Trousers and football are two vocabulary variations that can confuse. Although Americans call trousers pants, they are not the same things in England. Pants is the alternative name for underpants in Britain.

Soccer and American football are different sports in the United States, but that’s not so much the case in Britain. Americans call English football soccer, which is the name of that sport for most US publications. However, UK magazines and websites always call the ball-kicking sport football.

Quotations

Double-quotation marks are used around quotes and speech in US English, as in the first paragraph of this article. Americans add single quotation marks around quotes within quotes. American English quotations always include commas and periods within the quotation marks.

The opposite is true for quotations in UK English. The British style adds single quotation marks around primary quotations. Double-quote marks are used for secondary quotations within quoted passages or speech. However, the US quote style is becoming more prevalent in UK English.

Title Abbreviations

The abbreviations of formal titles in American English always include periods after them. For example, Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Col. are abbreviated titles for which periods are included in US English. However, this requirement for title abbreviation periods doesn’t apply to UK English.

Date Formats

The US and UK have different date formats that apply to their alternative English variants. Americans write dates with the MM/DD/YY format. For example, the 11/25/2024 date is written as November 25, 2024, in US English. Commas are always included between the day and year numbers for the US date format.

UK dates include days before months with the DD/MM/YY format. This format changes the 11/25/2024 date to 25/11/2024 in Britain. The written form of that date in British English is 25 November 2024, for which a comma is not required.

Time

There is a small stylistic difference between US and UK English for writing clock times. The Americans always include a colon for times, such as 11:30, for example. In UK English, a period rather than a colon is placed between the hours and minutes, such as 11.30.

Collective Nouns

In US English, collective nouns for organizations, companies, bands, and other groups are usually considered singular subjects. This means groups are more widely treated as single units in US English. Consequently, singular verbs and possessive pronouns are more widely used for collective nouns, as in these examples:

“Apple has released its latest iPhone.”

“The band is playing music in the concert hall.”

“My team is going to win the match.”

However, collective nouns can be plural or singular depending more on the context in UK English. UK English generally places more emphasis on group members for collective nouns, especially sports teams which are always treated as plural subjects. For example, “The band are playing music in the concert hall” is correct in UK English.

The Serial Comma

The serial comma between the last two things in lists is favored in US English. The American Chicago Manual of Style and APA Publication Manual recommends using serial commas in lists. For example, a list of colors like green, blue, purple, and red includes a serial comma between the final two items.

The serial comma is not so widely used in UK English. However, exceptions are sometimes made when necessary to include serial commas for clarity or in more complex lists. This usage is comparable to the Associated Press Style, which recommends only including serial commas for complex lists.

Got and Gotten

In US English, gotten is the past participle of get for more dynamic situations that refer to obtaining or becoming. However, the past participle of get is always got in UK English. For example, the Americans say “I have gotten very tired,” but in UK English that should be “I have got very tired.”

How to Convert Between US and UK English

You can use word processor software and online tools to seamlessly switch between US and UK English when needed. Most word processors include alternative language settings you can select to switch between American and British English, along with other variations. Setting your word processor to US and UK English will at least ensure 100 percent spelling consistency for your articles.

I recommend utilizing the freely available Grammarly online tool for proofing your articles according to US or UK English SPAG differences. To do this, click the Sign up with Google button on this Grammarly page and input your Google account details. Or click Sign Up It’s Free if you don’t have a Google account.

When you’ve logged into Grammarly, set it to US or UK English. Click the menu button at the top-left corner of Grammarly. Select the American or British option on the Language preference drop-down menu.

You can now apply UK or US English editing by clicking the New Document button. Copy and paste an article’s content into the Grammarly text editor with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V keyboard shortcuts. Then, apply corrections highlighted by the red and blue underlines in Grammarly.

There are also various online US to UK English conversion tools you can try by pasting article text into them and clicking their Convert buttons. However, many of these tools seem limited to spelling conversions and corrections you can apply with word processing software. Check out the pages below to try some of those converter tools:

• British to American Translator
• Ditto Transcripts
• US to UK English
• British to American English Converter

Whether you use UK or US English in your articles should primarily depend on your general audience rather than your native preference. The magazines or websites you submit articles to will likely prefer contributors to stick to either US or UK English. You can ensure consistency of approach by selecting American or British English options within your word processor and the Grammarly proofing tool.

The post 9 Differences Between US and UK English for Writers appeared first on Writer's Digest.