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Danglers Ahead
Danglers in their various forms are one of our most common grammatical lapses. Participle phrases, “like” comparisons, appositives and other modifying constructions generally must be adjacent to the noun or pronoun they refer to. Otherwise, they dangle — and leave a clumsy or confusing sentence. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/danglers-ahead/
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Bright Passages
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Getting Guns Right
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The Stranger in the Story
Most anecdotal ledes are fine in themselves. But the device seems rote and shopworn if a reader encounters one story after another with the same approach. There are many, many ways to start a non-straight-news story; we should look harder for alternatives. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/the-stranger-in-the-lede-2/
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Mandela and me: how our chance encounter influenced my research
Bumping into Mandela on her return to South Africa inspired expat academic Candi Miller to make a difference With the death of Nelson Mandela – Madiba to South Africans – I’ve wondered if a chance encounter with him almost 20 years ago wasn’t in some way responsible for my academic career and research interest. I…
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The Slang Patrol
Slang and colloquialisms have their place, for special effect or to deliberately convey an informal, conversational tone. But otherwise, they can seem trite or hackneyed, and can undercut the serious and literate tone we seek. After Deadline http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/the-slang-patrol-2/