Online proofreaders

The Difference Between Eg and Ie

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Do you know when to use e.g. or i.e.? E.g. and i.e. mistakes are spotted on a regular basis by our proofreading team. In this article we take a look at the differences between the two latin abbreviations and explore how they can be used correctly in written English. Have you ever seen a sentence … Read more

39 Expert Tips on Generating Ideas for a Blog Post

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Regularly updating your website with fresh content is imperative to building a good reputation with search engines and attracting a regular flow of visitors to your site. However, generating ideas for a blog post can often present a significant challenge, and it can be very difficult to generate fresh ideas that attract an audience. This … Read more

A Quick and Simple Guide to Modifiers

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Modifiers are words or phrases that provide additional descriptive information about the subject addressed within a sentence. Modifiers are used to inject life into sentences and make them much more interesting for the reader. Take a look at this sentence: Sarah fell over. This sentence is grammatically correct and great for people who want to … Read more

What is the Difference Between Editing and Proofreading?

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Editors vs. proofreadersMany people do not understand the difference between editing and proofreading. This article aims to provide you with a quick and simple overview of the two processes and what they involve.

If you know you need help perfecting your written documents but are not sure whether you need editing or proofreading services, then this handy guide should help you to understand the differences between the two activities.

If you’re looking for assistance with editing an essay, see our ultimate guide to editing an essay.

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Could This Be the Worst English Translation Ever Written?

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An example of a poor English translationTranslating one language into another can be a challenging endeavor that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Proof of this can be seen in a brochure that a recent visitor to Beijing received upon boarding her hotel’s shuttle bus.

The brochure contained a literal translation of Mandarin to English. The translation may have been a good attempt but it most certainly would benefit from the help of an online proofreader.

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86 Great Examples of Portmanteau

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Portmanteau Frankenfood

A portmanteau is a word that is formed by combining two different terms to create a new entity. Through blending the sounds and meanings of two existing words, a portmanteau creates a new expression that is a linguistic blend of the two individual terms.

For example breathalyzer is the portmanteau word formed from combining breath and analyzer, while blog is derived from the source words web and log.

P.S. If you are interested in portmanteau lists, you may also find our examples of hyperbole useful.

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What Are Scare Quotes?

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Writers will often use scare quotes around a word or phrase to indicate that they don’t entirely buy into the context within it is being used. For example, a writer may write: Yesterday I was chased by my neighbor’s “dog”: a poodle. Here, the writer is letting the reader know that he doesn’t think of … Read more

Lesser-Known Proofreading Marks

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Wouldn’t it be great if these lesser-known proofreading marks were formally introduced into our proofreading services! It would certainly make life more interesting for our proofreaders.   Need an online proofreading service? Check out our online services now. Looking for some proofreading fails? Check out 69 excellent reasons why proofreading is important Free instant quote   … Read more

Humorous Headlines: What A Mistake!

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Mistakes happen and, if we’re honest, we quite like that fact. It gives us something to have a chuckle at! This week we put our researcher to the task of finding humorous headlines that would have benefitted from our online proofreading services. Here’s our pick of the best: Really? Rather him than me! Four simple … Read more

54 Great Examples of Modern-Day Neologisms

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Sign reads: "they haven't invented words yet for what I will do to you"
Neologisms are newly coined terms, words, or phrases, that may be commonly used in everyday life but have yet to be formally accepted as constituting mainstream language. Neologisms represent the evolving nature of the English language. Over time people create new words that express concepts or ideas that were previously expressed using other words or use words that may not have existed at all. Neologisms can be completely new words, new meanings for existing words or new semes in existing words. Here are some examples of neologisms that are finding their way into modern-day English language.

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64 Examples of Oxymorons in Sentences

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Oxymoron signs placed side by side

Oxymorons are figures of speech in which two contradictory terms are combined in order to create a rhetorical effect by paradoxical means. The word oxymoron is derived from the Greek for pointedly foolish (oxys = sharp/keen and moros = foolish). Oxymorons are extremely useful in written English because they can make effective titles, add dramatic effect, add flavor to speech, and can sometimes be used to achieve a comedic effect.

Here is a comprehensive list of 64 examples of oxymorons in sentences. In each example, the oxymoron is underlined.

Before you start, if you’re looking for a super simple guide to literary devices, take a look at our Figurative Language for Kids

Do you need help refining your written English? Take a look at our proofreading services.

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Five Types of Phrases: A Free Printable Cheat Sheet

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It is generally accepted that there are five major types of phrases in the English language, one for each of the main parts of speech. Phrases are a group of words that act as a part of a speech but cannot stand alone in order to form a complete sentence because they do not include both a subject and a predicate. You can find out more about phrases in our guide to phrases. Our free printable cheat sheet presents the five major types of phrases together with information about how to spot them and what punctuation rules you should bear in mind when using them. To download a free copy of the Five Types of Phrases cheat sheet, simply click on the image below.

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20 Ill-Conceived Slogans That are Unintentionally Brilliant

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Advertising copywriting is a hard task. Formulating the perfect combination of words to sum up a product or service while avoiding all innuendos and insults is no mean feat and these slogan writers have failed miserably in their quest to sell a serious product. Luckily, these genius slogans didn’t escape the attention of those of us who prey on mistakes. Here are our favorite slogans of all time. Let us know if you’ve come across any gems.

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Proofreading: The President Will Thank You for It

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Writing stories worthy of newspaper print is actually quite challenging and journalists deserve much more credit than they get. Capturing an audience’s attention takes real skill and journalistic flair but, if all else fails, our budding reporters have the option to forgo a proofreading service and make headlines for completely different reasons. This particular gem proves that sometimes just one small letter really can make all the difference.

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A Massive Compilation of the Most Horrendous English Translations Ever Recorded by Man

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As the world gets smaller, the art of translation becomes all the more imperative to our ability to communicate with the people on the other side of the world whom we don’t really like but will tolerate because they are not Canadian. Thankfully, when a non-native speaker of a language translates something, there is always … Read more

Splendidly Smug Cover Letter That May Not Bode Well for Your Job Prospects

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This totally outlandish cover letter is actually quite inspiring. On face value, it actually checks all the boxes: grabs attention (check), focuses on why the candidate is different (double check) and avoids cliché phrases that have no real substance (mega-check). However, it’s safe to say that this type of letter isn’t going to get you … Read more

When is it Okay to Use Contractions in Formal Writing?

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Many people avoid using contractions in formal writing because they are under the impression that contractions are only appropriate for casual writing and that they constitute non-standard grammar. Are they really representative of sloppy writing? When is it okay to use contractions? Many automatic grammar-checking software packages will produce an error if you use a … Read more

When to Indent Paragraphs

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Questions about when to indent paragraphs may constitute typographic minutia, but getting it right is important nonetheless, especially if you intend to produce writing that will be professionally published. Many people believe that every single paragraph in a piece of text should be indented. This is actually unnecessary. You should use indentation to indicate a … Read more