Advice and Articles > English as a Second Language (Page 5 of 7)

Copy Editing and Why You Need It

Everything you need to know about copy editing.

How to Write Concisely

Writing concisely is hard work; you must convey your meaning in just a few carefully chosen words. However, your readers will surely thank you!

A CV, or curriculum vitae, is an extremely important document, as it delivers that crucial first impression to a potential employer. In a way, it is a marketing document—and the product is you! To better understand what a CV is, check out our sample CV. The inability to write and format an effective CV is one of the main reasons that job seekers are unsuccessful when searching for a new position. This article provides advice to help you create a winning CV.

How to Format a CV

While the particular format and style you use when writing a Curriculum Vitae (CV) will depend on your specific purpose, there are a few general components that are necessary for creating the basic skeleton of your CV. This article will outline the major elements of a CV and explain how to properly write them.

How to Write an Expository Essay

Maybe you find yourself on this page because your instructor asked you to write an expository essay, and you aren’t exactly sure what’s expected of you—if so, you’ve certainly found the right place. Expository writing, or exposition, is a type of discourse used to describe, explain, define, inform, or clarify. It literally means “to expose.”

The Proper Use of Quotation Marks

Who knew formatting quotation marks was so complicated? In order to help you navigate their subtle nuances and unpredictability, Scribendi.com has compiled a list of rules to help you properly format quotation marks.

Square Brackets, Curly Brackets, Angle Brackets, Oh My!

This article discusses the proper uses of square brackets, curly brackets and angle brackets. Brackets are actually more complex than most people realize!

Bare/Bear

Scribendi.com's editors explain the difference between bare and bear.

Let's Have Fun With English

The English language is a tricky one, which is why our editors offer helpful writing tips about everything from writing a thesis statement to homophones to capitalization. Though learning English is difficult, there can be some humour in some of the language's common usage errors.

Advice/Advise

Scribendi.com's editors explain the difference between advice and advise.

The Question Mark: How and When to Use It

The question mark has a very simple function in writing–it indicates a question. If a sentence ends with a question mark, then it is asking a question, just as the name suggests.

An Example Outline

Writing academic papers is not easy. Sometimes you may have all of the research done, but just can't put pen to paper. If that is the case, you may need to write an outline. This article provides an alphanumeric example outline.

Full Stops: A How-To Guide

If you’re North American, you may be wondering what exactly full stops are—here’s a hint, there is one at the end of this sentence. This is the main function of full stops, or periods: marking the end of a sentence.

Homophone Worksheet: Think You Understand Homophones?

In our article on homophones, we discussed what they are and helped explain the differences between them. Now, it's time for you to try our homophone worksheet to test your homophone knowledge!

How to Write a Research Paper

In our first article of this two part series, we discussed how to research a term paper. In this article, we will discuss how to write a term or research paper.

How to Reduce Wordiness

Do you find yourself writing sentences that are far too long? Have you ever re-read a sentence and struggled to finish it in one breath? If so, you may be suffering from something called prolixity, or in laymen’s terms, wordiness. Our editors suggest several ways to help you avoid wordiness and increase quality.

How to Use Quotation Marks

If you thought the first article about quotation marks was a non-stop ride of grammatical thrills and chills, hold on to your hats because part two features even more explosions of grammatical greatness! And now, without further ado, we are proud to present Quotations Marks: How to Use Quotation Marks.

What Are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions are an integral part of the English language. If used properly, they can improve almost any type of writing. Conjunctions help create better sentences. However, using them incorrectly, or not using them at all, can create choppy and incoherent writing. This article will explain what conjunctions are and how to properly use them in your writing.