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Person holding a book in their arms in front of a table with several books on it.

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Welcome to the Grammar Table

Thursday August 7, 2025

Look carefully along the streets of New York City and you might be lucky enough to spot the iconic turquoise sign and the grinning grammarian. At the Grammar Table, Ellen Jovin invites passersby to ask questions, resolve their “semicolonphobia” or simply vent about grammar. On a 2023 trip to NYC, I was lucky enough to […]

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Brandt Johnson Ellen Jovin grammar Laura Bontje

Three dictionaries in a row with letters A - Z on cover.

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Tracey Anderson

Plain Language Resistance: Is “Plain” the Problem?

Thursday November 6, 2025

As a writer and editor who also teaches academic and business writing, I get asked a lot of language questions; it’s a regular and expected part of the job. One recent question, though, caught me by surprise: “How can I justify using plain language to my boss, who’s resistant to it?” The persistence of resistance […]

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plain language Tracey Anderson

Academic items including globe, calculator, chemistry beakers, pile of books, set square, pencil and clock. (Copyright: irinamedvedeva © 123RF.com)

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Templates as Generative for Creativity: Reading They Say / I Say

Thursday May 14, 2026

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein’s They Say / I Say aims “to demystify academic writing by isolating its basic moves, explaining them clearly and representing them in the form of templates.” Overview Working from the assumption that “academic writing…calls on writers not simply to express their own ideas but to do so as a response […]

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academic editing academic writing RJ McArthur

This image is a head shot of designer Naomi MacDougall, taken outside against a background of leafy trees. She wears shoulder-length brunette hair and is smiling slightly at the camera.

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What does your markup say about you?

Tuesday March 19, 2013

A friend of mine was venting to me about his old boss, who used to look over his reports. Whenever his boss found an error, he’d not only circle it but also emphasize his discovery with an exclamation point—a practice that drove my buddy nuts. Encoded within this tiny mark of punctuation was his micromanaging […]

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designer editing editor editor's role proofreader proofreading working relationship

This image shows rolled-up calculations on paper from a printer calulator, set on top of a tax guide for British Columbia page.

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New Tax Guidelines for Self-Employed BC Editors

Tuesday March 26, 2013

On April 1, 2013, the BC government will repeal the HST and return to the former GST + PST regime. What does that mean for self-employed editors? We’ve dug into the matter and are happy to share what we’ve found. Please note that these are our personal comments, not those of EAC. We are not […]

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accounting editors freelance editors self-employed editors self-employment taxes

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EAC_blog_Continuity_in_Film_and_Fiction

The 2nd post in a series on editing in the film industry draws parallels between film and fiction when addressing issues of continuity. EAC/ACR blog – The Editors’ Weekly, June 4, 2013.

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film_editing

Both print and film editing can be described as part of the “post-production process” of their respective fields.

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made for USA stamp

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Adrienne Montgomerie

This Book Contains Canadian Spelling

Tuesday February 11, 2014

Every publisher who has hoped for a large U.S. audience has asked me to edit to U.S. spelling standards. You know, drop the dipthongs (oe and ae), omit the u from ou pairs, use z instead of s, allow only one consonant before adding an ending… They seem to think Americans won’t buy a book […]

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book editors book publishing Canadian spelling editing publishing spelling writing

ABC computer mouse

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Don’t Tick People Off, and Other Tips for Writing and Editing Web Copy

Tuesday October 14, 2014

If you’re writing or editing copy destined for the web, know this: People don’t read. They don’t even finish what they’re not reading. Instead, they scan for answers and, with any luck, take action based on what they find. It’s less about the journey, more about the destination. Your mission, then, is to pave and […]

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copywriting editing readability scannability usability user experience web content website navigation websites writing

English test

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What’s English? | Linguistics, Frankly

Wednesday November 12, 2014

Here’s a quick quiz. Tell me which of the following are English and which aren’t. For each one, say why it is or isn’t English and, if it’s not, what language it is. There’s no place to plug your car in in the parkade. A wha dat dey dem people deh nyam ih smell sweet. […]

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language linguistics Linguistics Frankly usage word choice writing