Writing

Affect vs. Effect: What's the Difference? (Audio Lesson Included)

Sep 12
7 min

Affect vs. Effect: What's the Difference? (Audio Lesson Included)

Recommended level: Advanced Quick Reference In most cases, affect is used as a verb and effect is used as a noun. (Ex: "The decision...

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Despite vs. In Spite of: Is There a Difference? (Audio Reading Included)

Alex

Aug 12
5 min

Despite vs. In Spite of: Is There a Difference? (Audio Reading Included)

Recommended level: Advanced "Is it 'in spite of' or 'despite of'?" Quick Reference Despite and in spite of are most commonly used in...

2 comments

The Difference between "Person," "Persons," "People," and "Peoples" (AUDIO Reading & GIFs Included)

Alex

Apr 21
4 min

The Difference between "Person," "Persons," "People," and "Peoples" (AUDIO Reading & GIFs Included)

Recommended level: Intermediate Quick reference "Person" is a singular noun. It refers to one human being. "People" is the plural of...

6 comments

Alex

Mar 20
8 min

WHO and WHOM: Facts, Rules, and Uses

Recommended level: Advanced Related resource: https://www.engvid.com/who-or-whom/ Quick Reference "Who" and "whom" are used as question...

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Compliment vs. Complement: What's the Difference? (Audio Reading Included)

Alex

Jan 30
5 min

Compliment vs. Complement: What's the Difference? (Audio Reading Included)

Recommended level: Intermediate Is it "My compliments to the chef" or "My complements to the chef"? Quick Reference Compliment and...

2 comments

Comma splices in English writing: What they are and how to fix them (and when they're okay)

Alex

Nov 23, 2022
7 min

Comma splices in English writing: What they are and how to fix them (and when they're okay)

If you didn't learn how to use commas in school, or if English isn't your first language, it's understandable that you might not know...

1 comment

NEW BOOK confirmed for August 15th, 2022!

Alex

Jul 18, 2022
1 min

NEW BOOK confirmed for August 15th, 2022!

Finally! I am happy to announce that the latest addition to the Practical English series, 300 Practical English Words and Phrases, will...

6 comments

Improve your writing: What are participle phrases? (with practice exercises)

Alex

Jun 1, 2022
4 min

Improve your writing: What are participle phrases? (with practice exercises)

Can you write this sentence in a shorter way? There were several people who were arguing about gas prices. If you said "There were...

3 comments

English punctuation: How to use semicolons

Alex

May 24, 2022
5 min

English punctuation: How to use semicolons

Good punctuation is fundamental to good writing. Many of us take commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation marks for granted. We...

0 comments

English writing: The subtle difference between "but" and "yet" (coordinating conjunctions)

Alex

May 18, 2022
4 min

English writing: The subtle difference between "but" and "yet" (coordinating conjunctions)

If you look online for the difference between but and yet, you are likely to find one or both of these statements: As coordinating...

0 comments

Alex

Jul 27, 2021
1 min

Video: 6 Tips for Improving Your Creative Writing

Writing fiction can be an excellent way to help you strengthen the clarity of your ideas. In my latest video, I provide six tips to help...

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Should You Study American AND British English? (audio and video included)

Alex

Jul 20, 2021
3 min

Should You Study American AND British English? (audio and video included)

English has many regional varieties, but the two most common that new English learners ask about are British and American English. In...

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What's the Difference Between Fluency and Proficiency? (audio included)

Alex

Jun 30, 2021
3 min

What's the Difference Between Fluency and Proficiency? (audio included)

Learning a language is a step-by-step process, but the road is not always straight. In fact, it has hundreds of paths that separate and...

3 comments

Alex

May 3, 2021
6 min

5 Advanced English Writing Techniques

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between advanced writing and regular writing? If so, this blog post is for you. We will...

2 comments