To conclude my series of posts on the English language in general and on rhetorical devices, oxymora, respecting the language, and writing well in particular, here is a post about how illogical and difficult it is to master the English language. As with those previous posts, this post was a …
This post is a continuation of my discussion of writing and the English language. Yesterday and Monday, I posted about oxymora and some tips about writing well. Both posts were based on handouts I used to give my students when I was teaching journalism at the University of Illinois. If …
In my ongoing posts about writing and the English language, here is another handout I shared with my students at the University of Illinois during my tenure there as a professor and dean. I hope you will find it useful. An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two …
As promised Saturday, here is another handout I used to give to my students when I was teaching journalism at the University of Illinois. I hope you find it useful. The contents of this post are an alphabetical arrangement of two lists that have been circulating among writers and editors for …
(When I was teaching journalism at the University of Illinois, I used to give this handout on Respecting the Language: 80 Do’s and Don’ts to the Reporting 400 class I taught. Students told me they found it helpful. Here it is for those of you who write or who are …
Anybody who covered the Vietnam War, as I did, became familiar with several phrases that were used to explain or clarify American involvement. Terms like “Body Count,” “Hearts and Minds,” “Pacification,” “The light at the end of the tunnel,” come immediately to mind. But there was another phrase that with …
The other day I watched Netflix’s “Closer” Special with comedian Dave Chappelle. Now, don’t get me wrong. Chappelle is a funny guy. I especially respect him for his “anti-PC” comedy and commentary. It takes guts to speak your mind openly in today’s politically correct and cancel-culture world where just about …
I was interviewed recently about the art and craft of writing in general and writing in the historical fiction genre in particular. As a journalist for some thirty years, I interviewed thousands of people all over the world. Now that I am on the other side of the table, I …
All of us know that English is the most inconsistent, confusing, and maddening tongue on the planet. Unlike most other languages, it is often called a “bastard” language because of its multifarious etymological and philological foundations. English is a combination of Latin, Germanic, French, Saxon, Gallic, and Nordic tongues—to mention just …
A few commentaries have been floating around the Internet for the past several years that have attempted to add a little perspective to the many critical issues and challenges we are facing today. I have adapted the contents of a couple of those to my essay here. Essentially what those …