one-upmanship

How to appear erudite in writing

June 23, 2020 in Language, The lighter side

How can a writer’s choice of words convey a false impression of their knowledge of the topic in question?

Latest Book Reviews

Featured

Collection, Creative Writing, Bookshelf, Reviews

Compare and contrast: Picture Perfect

Collection, Creative Writing, Bookshelf, Reviews

As indicated by the title, the first thing to know about this anthology is that it comprises both poetry and prose, rather than one or the other. Many of the pieces are quite unusual...

Collection, Creative Writing, Bookshelf, Reviews

Bookshelf, Reviews

Compare and contrast: Nuts and bolts

Bookshelf, Reviews

It's rather disconcerting when one considers that buildings like The Shard are essentially held together by nuts, bolts and washers.

Bookshelf, Reviews

Compare and contrast: Love Triangle

Bookshelf, Reviews

Like, I suspect, many people, I have never knowingly come across an isosceles triangle in my life, and wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did. However...

Bookshelf, Reviews

Bookshelf, Journalism, Language, Reference, Bad writing, Back Catalogue, Reviews

Review: Waterhouse on newspaper style

Bookshelf, Journalism, Language, Reference, Bad writing, Back Catalogue, Reviews

This book may be thirty years old, but its advice is still pertinent. If you want to have a blitz or crackdown against, or shake-up of, bad writing (all examples of 'tabloidese'), then this is the book for you.