How to be a good writer
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Tag Archives: writing
Spot the mistakes
Can you tell what’s wrong with these notices, signs and extracts taken from newspapers, magazines and TV programmes? “The police have been urged to stop drinking at football matches.”“A piano is being sold by a lady with carved legs.”“Warning Guard Dogs Patrolling”“Apologies Work In Progress”“Ronaldo unleashed his left foot and it hit the back of… Read More »
Surely they don’t mean it?
Sometimes, what matters is not what is said, but how it is said. Notice in a Japanese hotel:You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid. In a Bangkok dry cleaner’s:Drop your trousers here for best resultsIn an East African newspaper:A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the… Read More »
What colour are you?
This poem, written by an African child, was nominated as the best poem of 2005: When I born, I black.When I grow up, I black.When I go in sun, I black.When I scared, I black.When I sick, I black.And when I die, I still black.And you white people.When you born, you pink.When you grow up,… Read More »
Sorry seems to be the easiest word
Want to take the mainstream media to task? Check out “Regret the Error“, a site dedicated to reprinting corrections and errors from newspapers, magazines and other news sources. The funny headlines and media apologies (some lame ones) make for a good afternoon read. Be sure to also run through the mind-boggling “Plagiarism/Fabrication Round Up” –… Read More »
First they came…
Here’s the translation of a famous 1976 poem by Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller: When the Nazis came for the communists,I remained silent;I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats,I remained silent;I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists,I did not speak out;I was not a… Read More »