All posts by: Judy Yorke
Many people who are brilliant at their jobs and experts in their fields struggle with the everyday writing skills they need for work. Now I know that you need to write in short, clear sentences because I trained as a...
At the end of every Sentence Works course, we have a little section on spelling. Although most people groan, it’s actually one of the most entertaining parts of the day. It’s also the time I get the doughnuts out, which...
I love cats and my husband pretends to, so I thought I’d found the perfect Valentine’s Day card. There was a picture of a lovely cute cat on it, but then came the bit that ruined it. If I was...
I’m a big believer in short sentences. One of the first exercises we do at my workshops is to take some examples of really long sentences. These come from various sources – a website, a newsletter, an email and a...
If you’ve ever had to write to a particular word limit, you’ll know it’s easier to write too much than too little. And when that you do go over the word limit, you’ll be faced with an agonising decision about...
One of the easiest ways to keep your copy fresh and readable is to ensure you don’t keep using the same word repeatedly. That can be easier said than done when you find yourself constantly writing on the same subject....
My 12 year old son is mulling over whether to do Latin in school. I did Latin at O level (yes, I’m that old) and it was my favourite subject. If you’re a language fiend, like I am, it’s a...
Every so often, I get asked one of these questions: “Why does it matter if my writing is bad/my spelling is poor / my grammar is wrong? As long as people can understand what I mean, who cares?” I think...
When people find out what I do for a living, they often ask me a grammar question. I’m never quite sure whether it’s to catch me out, or whether it’s something that’s been bothering them for a while but they...
We’ve all done it….stared at a blank screen, unable to think of a word to write. Here are six ways to get over that and start to type. 1) Don’t start at the beginning Do you agonise over your intro?...