Tables and figures can add depth and clarity to your writing. But your readers may be confused or distracted if visual content suddenly appears in your document without an explanation. Avoid surprising your readers by following these five guidelines for how to reference tables and figures in text. Before we begin, let’s define tables and […]
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Writing Tips for the Real World
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Recent Posts
Three Ways to Create Bookmarks in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
In PDFs, bookmarks are links that appear in the Bookmarks panel. They are usually organized as a table of contents. Let’s look at three ways to create bookmarks in PDFs using Adobe Acrobat. Method 1: Create a Bookmark without a Selection Method 2: Create a Bookmark with a Selection Method 3: Create a Bookmark from […]
Other Recent Posts
How to Write University and College Names in Sentences
This post shares guidelines for how to write university and college names as full names and as abbreviations in sentences. We’ll also look at when to capitalize the word the in university and college names and when to lowercase words such as university and college. Note that these guidelines are for general writing. If you […]
How to Copy and Paste Text with Comments and Track Changes in Word
This tutorial shows how to copy and paste text with comments and Track Changes in Word from one file to another. If you want to copy comments separately from the text or other Track Changes, visit “How to Copy and Paste Word Comments into a New File.” The images below are from Microsoft Word for […]
Should You Use Singular or Plural Pronouns for a Company?
Have you ever wondered if you should use singular or plural pronouns for a company? The general guideline is to use the singular personal pronoun it to refer to a company or similar organization. This post explains the reasoning behind this guideline—and then shares two situations when you may want to use plural first-person pronouns […]
How to Use Tags in Word
This tutorial shows how to use tags in Word. Specifically, we’ll look at three ways to add tags to Word documents: 1. Add Tags through the Backstage View 2. Add Tags through Advanced Properties 3. Add Tags through Save As Then, we’ll look at how to delete tags in Word documents. The final section shows […]
When to Use Single Quotation Marks
When to Use Single Quotation Marks Do you follow American-English writing standards? If so, today’s post is for you because it explains two instances when you should use single quotation marks followed by two instances when you may want to use single quotation marks. Please note that single quotation marks are used more frequently in […]
How to Find Extra Spaces in Word
You can use Microsoft Word’s Find and Replace tool to delete extra spaces all at once. Or, you can find extra spaces in Word by customizing your proofing options and then deleting them individually as you type or during a Spelling & Grammar check. These three tasks are explained in this tutorial: Customize Word’s Proofing […]
How to Write the Names of Ships and Boats
Ships and boats hold a special place in the human experience. Our ancestors marked this importance by giving thoughtful names to their watercraft just as we do today.1 In fact, we even have guidelines for how to write the names of ships and boats to set them apart from less adventurous modes of travel, like […]
How to Change the Font and Font Size of Comments in Word
By default, Track Changes in Microsoft Word inherit preset styles from the body content. However, you can change these styles to make your edits more noticeable or easier to read. For example, you can change the font and font size of comments in Word, as shown in this tutorial. This tutorial can also be used […]
Three Types of Books Every Writer Should Own
As a copy editor, I frequently talk with people about the reference books they use when writing. Oftentimes, the books mentioned are outdated or insufficient. If you’re interested in updating or expanding your reference library, here are three types of books every writer should own: a style guide, a dictionary, and a grammar manual. (Yes, […]
How to Create Internal Links in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
Today’s tutorial explains how to create internal links in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. My last software tutorial showed how to create external links in PDFs and how to delete both external and internal links. Although the two processes are similar, the steps for creating internal links are a bit more complex. This tutorial […]
