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How to Write Alt Text for Blog Images: A Decision Guide With Examples
When an image needs alt text, when it should be empty, and how to write a short description that serves screen reader users, using the W3C’s alt decision tree.
The latest
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Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: What Google Actually Recommends
How to write a title element and meta description that describe the page, avoid boilerplate and keyword stuffing,…
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How to Write Concisely: Five Kinds of Words You Can Cut Today
A practical editing guide to wordiness: obvious detail, filler modifiers, repetition, redundant pairs and redundant categories, with before-and-after…
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Plain Language: How to Write So Busy Readers Understand You the First Time
What plain language means, the US government guidance behind it, and five practical habits (audience, active voice, present…
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Dangling Modifiers: How to Spot Them and Three Ways to Fix Them
Why “Walking into the office, the printer jammed” reads so oddly, and three reliable ways to repair a…
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Apostrophes Without the Panic: Possessives, Contractions and Its vs It’s
The three jobs an apostrophe does, how to handle plural and singular possessives, and the small set of…
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How to Use a Semicolon (and When a Full Stop Is Better)
The three jobs a semicolon does, the mistakes that make editors wince, and a quick test for deciding…
The Sunday Letter
One useful read, every Sunday.
A short note from the editors with the week’s most practical article. No hype, no daily blasts.
Money
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How to Prepare Your Records for Tax Season
A calm, month-by-month system for gathering receipts, forms and statements, with the IRS rules on how long to keep each one.
On writing
More on writing →-
How to Write Concisely: Five Kinds of Words You Can Cut Today
A practical editing guide to wordiness: obvious detail, filler modifiers, repetition, redundant pairs and redundant categories, with before-and-after examples and a word-count table.
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Plain Language: How to Write So Busy Readers Understand You the First Time
What plain language means, the US government guidance behind it, and five practical habits (audience, active voice, present tense, uncovered verbs and short paragraphs) with before-and-after…
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The Plain-English Edit: Seven Cuts That Make Any Paragraph Stronger
Seven small cuts, made one pass at a time, turn a padded paragraph into a clear one, with examples and guidance from the UK and US…
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Better Writing Skills publishes practical, plainly written guides to work, money, home and everyday life. Every article is checked against primary sources, corrected in the open, and sponsored pieces are always labelled.
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