One of the greatest challenges for freelance writers is the creation of accurate time estimates for jobs. The Estimating Process Content research Task or tool training (self-education) Basic Estimates These estimates are based on JoAnn Hackos’ Managing Your Documentation Projects, page 170 (1994). Hours Required/Unit Information Type 5 hrs/page User…
Tag: editing
Academic Paper Draft Checklist Students (and we might suggest all writers) often need a checklist to help with the revision process. The checklist we provide here is only a sample, which we think a teacher could alter to match the requirements of his or her course. Checked Paper Title:…
Evaluating Errors One of the challenges for teachers of composition is deciding how serious an error is. How serious we judge an error to be affects both grading and teaching. We tend to focus a great deal more on serious errors than those we know are minor oversights. This guide…
Revising and Editing Academic Papers Revision and Reality The best way to ensure a higher grade on any writing assignment is to revise and edit each draft. While it has been said that writing “never ends,” the reality is that we face deadlines as writers and students. Deadlines limit us…
‘Academic’ Language Abuse Trying to sound smart often sounds silly Most words on this list are “real” and serve a purpose when used judiciously, but they have become trendy in academic publications, often stretched beyond their original meanings. Once a word is trendy it becomes an academic buzzword, expected in…
Interjections Sometimes, you need an exclamation! Darn! It’s the last of the major parts of speech: the interjection. Interjection (i.) An interjection is a word or group of words that express strong or sudden emotions. When something is interjected into a conversation, it interrupts the exchange. It is easy to…
Common Irregular Verbs Verbs with their own rules According to most texts, irregular verbs fail to comply with standard conjugation rules. However, the situation is not that simple. Most irregular verbs in English belong to groups of verbs that do follow rules. These rules have faded over time, but the…
Nouns and Pronouns Person, place, thing, or idea Nouns and pronouns are the subjects and objects of actions and thoughts. Without these two parts of speech, nothing happens to anything. Writing begins with nouns, with stories built around subjects. Every writer should appreciate the roles of nouns and pronouns. The…
Clauses and Phrases Groups of words, working together Complex sentences are combinations of phrases and clauses. Most writers know this, but they cannot remember how to distinguish the two. We understand — we can’t remember much of the time, either. We suggest studying clauses before examining phrases, which can be…
Prepositions Indicating physical and conceptual relationships It has been said that all things relate to each other. In English, prepositions describe relationships, even if not of the metaphysical sort. Preposition (prep.) Prepositions express the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word or phrase in the sentence. The relationship…