[EzineArticles] National Punctuation Day is September 24!

National Punctuation Day is September 24! "Comma" Down to the Party! Did you know that September 24 is National Punctuation Day in the United States? Even if you hail from outside of the US, feel free to whip out your party hats and help us celebrate the ever faithful (and ever tricky) punctuation mark. More than likely, you've come in contact with the more common guests of honor at least once before: The exclamation point The period The apostrophe The comma The colon The semicolon The quotation marks The parentheses The hyphen The dash Even the best writers get mixed up on what to use and when from time to time; that's why proofreading is so important! After all, we've all seen "punctuation fails" like the ones on the right. Mistakes like these can be funny, but they can also result in bad publicity, lost clients, or a decline in trust for your business. So, in honor of National Punctuation Day, we've prepared a short quiz to test your punctuation knowledge. (Don't peek at the answers!) 1. What are the punctuation marks between the words in the phrase "out-of-tune" called? a. Hyphens b. Dashes 2. An ellipsis is a series of three: a. Hyphens b. Periods 3. Which sentence shows an Oxford comma in use? a. I enjoy cashews, peanut butter and fish. b. I enjoy cashews, peanut butter, and fish. 4. Which sentence uses the correct punctuation? a. My cat likes one thing: fish. b. My cat likes one thing; fish. 5. Which is the correct way to use an apostrophe when a noun ends with an "s"? a. This is the Jone's soccer ball. b. This is the Jones' soccer ball. 6. Periods always belong inside quotation marks. a. True b. False 7. What is a comma splice? a. When you join two complete sentences with a comma simply because they are related, for example "I went to the movies, I saw Jaws." b. When you use a comma where an apostrophe should go, for example "I went to Mike,s house yesterday." 8. The question mark goes inside of the quotation marks when the quote is a question, for example: "Are you talking to me?" a. True b. False Ready to tally your score? Question 1: A Question 2: B Question 3: B Question 4: A Question 5: B Question 6: A Question 7: A Question 8: A OK, let's see how you did! 7-8 Correct – Master of Punctuation You should be very pleased with your grammar aptitude! Way to go! Even though you scored very high in our quiz, that doesn't mean you don't need a refresher from time to time. Keep up the great work! 4-6 Correct – Punctuation Apprentice You have a pretty good handle on punctuation usage. Nice work! You may want to refresh yourself on the more advanced concepts by reviewing our previous blog posts on grammar rules. Less Than 4 Correct –Punctuation Cadet Don't worry; we can help! Even though you may have struggled with our quiz, you can easily rise up in the ranks by reading some of our previous blog posts and training materials on grammar and punctuation. We'd love to hear your results! Did you do better or worse than you thought you would on the quiz? What is your biggest punctuation obstacle? Share your punctuation advice with other authors that might be struggling in the comments section! Do you need to brush up on your punctuation knowledge? No problem! Start out by getting a FREE download of our Top Punctuation Howlers guide here. To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion! Kari, EzineArticles Senior Editor http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/ http://EzineArticles.com/ P.S. Struggling with writer's block? Check out our Article Template Packages here. EzineArticles Member Endorsement "High Standards of Customer Focus" I would like to encourage the staff at EzineArticles, as to their professionalism, high standards of customer focus, and reliable support. Having over 4,900 articles, I've had sufficient exposure to 'rate' EzineArticles and I just commend you for the standards you uphold. Steve Wickham http://ezinearticles.com/endorsements/ EzineArticles Newsletter Information Join EzineArticles | Manage Your Newsletter Subscription EzineArticles RSS Feed | List Support Create Free Membership Account | Login For Members Only To Leave The EzineArticles Newsletter: leave-10414121-4884430.91384863d13c19d33b8fa26a396b13a6@lists.permissionbasedemail.com ISSN: 1525-7126 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. Postal address: EzineArticles.com, PO Box 12740 Green Bay WI 54307 USA © Copyright 1999-2014 EzineArticles.com. All Rights Reserved.

Read More......

[EzineArticles] 5 Ways Reading Can Encourage Better Writing Techniques

5 Ways Reading Can Encourage Better Writing Techniques Read Often. Write Often. Repeat. "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." - Stephen King The two obvious ways to become a better writer are: read and write often. However, with today's increasing influence on technology and all of the world's information at our fingertips through the power of the Internet, is basic reading losing its appeal? We don't think so; we think lots of reading is crucial for writing success! If you're looking for a spark of inspiration to help you keep up with your reading, these 5 ways will help keep you on your toes. 1. Expand Your Sources: Most people establish a routine when it comes to their reading material. Perhaps they prefer a certain author, follow an enjoyable blog, or check the same news site on a daily basis. It's great to establish a reading habit; however, if you aren't open branching out in your reading, it's possible you won't branch out and incorporate multiple perspectives in your own writing. Expand your reading online and offline to help you gain an edge on how topics are covered in multiple places. 2. Always Carry a Book: Finding extra time in our busy schedules can seem unattainable. Think hard on how the times of day you have free time. It's likely you have down time where you reach for your smartphone or honker down in front of the TV. If you have a book on hand, you will be more inclined to read. Spend a few minutes reading while dinner is cooking; read on your lunch break; read in the bathroom! The more you read, the more you will become familiar with proper linguistics. 3. Vocabulary Boost: When you were in school, did your teacher ask you to look up definitions of new words? Why not do it as an adult?! As you're reading content from various mediums, jot down unfamiliar words. Learn the definitions and try to incorporate them in your own writing when fitting. You will learn something new in the process, and slowly build up your vocabulary. Don't be afraid of new words; they could end up becoming your favorite! If you need a good starting point, refer to our past blog 100 Words Every Expert Author Should Know. 4. Learn from the "Classics": Even if you're just bursting on the scene as an author, getting back to the basics is highly encouraged. Writing styles have certainly changed over the years, but it's important to look back on what was deemed a "classic" and see what all of the fuss was about. You may be patiently waiting for your favorite author to publish another fascinating piece, but in the meantime, take a peek at some older novels or highly acclaimed articles as well. 5. Read Your Own Content: Do you ever look over your writing a 2nd time and realize the sentence structure sounds repetitive and bland? Or worse, like a cyborg? Reading out loud can help you drastically improve your grammar and your content will make more sense in print. Tweak your wording and read it out loud again, but not too loud so you disturb your colleagues! The bottom line is: persistent reading needs to be in your game plan. Reading offers countless ways to boost your writing skills and expand your knowledge-base. When you need a break from writing, pick up something to read! What are your best tips to find new reading material and make time to read? Share your comments, and feel free to provide your own advice on how to keep reading enjoyable! To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion! Kari, Senior Editor http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/ http://EzineArticles.com/ P.S. Looking for even more great writing advice? Our Video Library is jam-packed with valuable writing tips! Check it out today! EzineArticles Member Endorsement "... keeps me doing what I love so much - writing" Writing for EzineArticles keeps me involved in life and learning. I've written articles on topics I never thought I would write about and enjoyed the challenge. My articles have been published thousands of times and translated into Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, and many other languages. EzineArticles keeps my name on the Internet and this helps me market my books. Most of all, writing for EzineArticles.com keeps me doing what I love so much - writing. Harriet Hodgson http://ezinearticles.com/endorsements/ EzineArticles Newsletter Information Join EzineArticles | Manage Your Newsletter Subscription | EzineArticles RSS Feed List Support | Create Free Membership Account | Login For Members Only To Leave The EzineArticles Newsletter: leave-10403623-4884430.91384863d13c19d33b8fa26a396b13a6@lists.permissionbasedemail.com ISSN: 1525-7126 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. Postal address: EzineArticles.com, PO Box 12740 Green Bay WI 54307 USA © Copyright 1999-2014 EzineArticles.com. All Rights Reserved.

Read More......

[EzineArticles] EzineArticles.com Links Are Now 100 Percent NOFOLLOW

EzineArticles.com Links Are Now 100 Percent NOFOLLOW Effective today, we've updated EzineArticles.com to be 100% NOFOLLOW. Previously, we were NOFOLLOW on everything except for the Resource Box, below the Article Body. Keeping Our Authors' Best Interests in Mind I sometimes feel we should have made this decision years ago, but our members made it loud and clear to us that they valued the links in the Resource Box that didn't include the NOFOLLOW attribute, even though we've felt the importance of this attribute has been muted due to the several hundred signals that search engines now use to determine rank and search results. Today is a turning point where we believe there is more UPSIDE to moving 100% of EzineArticles.com to NOFOLLOW than a downside loss in confidence by members who may believe otherwise. We don't guess; we test. :-) The goal here at EzineArticles.com has always been to help our Members to publish high quality articles that will increase traffic back to your website, help you build credibility and influence within your industry of expertise, and also to gain media exposure. Every single year, we have raised the bar and set higher quality standards to ensure we're delivering the best end-user experience. Quick Overview In the past, we allowed Members to place up to 1-2 links in their Resource Box and these did not include the NOFOLLOW attribute. This meant they instructed the search engines to follow them and to also infer that our site believed these links should bleed value from our site, brand and reputation. Keep in mind that search engines now use several hundred signals to deliver their results and the NOFOLLOW attribute was only one of several hundred signals. Perhaps it had a lot of importance in the first year of its introduction, but that importance is no longer the same today in 2014. As the criteria for page indexing and search engine ranking has changed over time, we updated our standards on what types of links were accepted. For example, on several occasions we updated our requirements in terms of overall link quality. On another occasion, we updated our criteria to ensure the link content was relevant to the topic of the article. All of this was done in order to ensure that links in the Resource Box that didn't have a NOFOLLOW attribute adhered to the highest standards of relevance and value for end users. Our Future with NOFOLLOW Links Typically, sites that use NOFOLLOW links tend to be considered higher quality websites. These sites in turn see higher overall traffic. Also, in the past, search engines relied more heavily on links when determining how to index pages in search engine results. New data implies that search engines are relying less on the content's links and more on other quality content aspects. In order to evaluate how we can get our members the most exposure and traffic, we updated all links to NOFOLLOW as a test to see how article and site performance is affected. Please be assured, we gave this decision a great deal of contemplation that was backed with plenty of market research and determined it was necessary for us to test with NOFOLLOW links throughout. Dispelling Your Concerns Essentially, there are many pieces of the puzzle that determine how a page is indexed by search engines. We can say with confidence that links without the NOFOLLOW attribute don't carry as much weight as they did in the past. There are many content marketers who have found success in posting to NOFOLLOW pages as the website itself holds a higher ranking. In the grand scheme of things, transparency and quality content will always rise to the top. If you post an excellent article sharing new information that uses natural keywords and includes a high quality relevant link, your readers will be more likely to engage. These types of organic, natural efforts will result in a bottom-line that truly matters. In addition, when your articles are shared by another person, it's possible to gain links that may not include the NOFOLLOW attribute on other more highly-niche resource websites, which results in natural backlinking, one of the keys to search engine optimization. Moving Forward There is no way to know if something works unless you test! If we see better results for our Members, we will keep the links NOFOLLOW from here forward. If we see a negative change for a substantial amount of individual articles and our website as a whole, we will re-evaluate this decision. This was a very difficult decision for several years, but in today's current SEO climate, this was a much easier decision and we think it's in our mutual best interests. Because our goal is to deliver you the most traffic possible in exchange for your high quality unique article submissions, we believe today's change has very little downside and most likely only an upside. Time will tell and we will monitor this closely. We don't guess; We test. To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion! Christopher M. Knight, Publisher http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/ http://EzineArticles.com/ P.S. Are you looking for guidance on content marketing? EzineArticles' Premium Membership offers priority Member Support help and 30 reader-targeted keywords to help you with your marketing efforts! EzineArticles Member Endorsement "The editorial quality and common sense approach to authors means that only quality is sufficient." I have been using the services of EzineArticles for several years now and I can honestly say that it provides me with one of the most constant and reliable forms of traffic to my own sites. The editorial quality and common sense approach to authors means that only quality is sufficient. This gives my contributions - and those of other authors - considerably more credibility. Mark Clayson http://ezinearticles.com/endorsements/ EzineArticles Newsletter Information Join EzineArticles | Manage Your Subscription | EzineArticles RSS Feed | List Support Create Free Membership Account | Login For Members Only To Leave The EzineArticles Newsletter: leave-10397307-4884430.91384863d13c19d33b8fa26a396b13a6@lists.permissionbasedemail.com ISSN: 1525-7126 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. Postal address: EzineArticles.com, PO Box 12740 Green Bay WI 54307 USA © Copyright 1999-2014 EzineArticles.com. All Rights Reserved.

Read More......

[EzineArticles] Have a Case of Weak Wording? Revive Your Parts of Speech!

Have a Case of Weak Wording? Revive Your Parts of Speech! The Informal Writing Bug In a world where we're accustomed to 140-character Tweets, simple text messages, spontaneous emails, and casual blog posts, we're familiar with informal grammar. It's not uncommon to shorten a message by omitting certain parts of speech. This style of writing certainly has its place, but it doesn't belong in your content writing! In order to establish your credibility as an Expert Author, it's important to maintain proper grammar and sentence structure. In other words, avoid using "weak wording" in your writing. What is Weak Wording? Weak wording is written like this: "Going to store to get dinner. Will be back in 15 minutes. Please have table set." In this example, the subjects and articles are omitted from the sentence. The proper version reads: "I'm going to the store to get dinner. I'll be back in 15 minutes. Please have the table set." Let's cover what's missing. The Subject When it comes to parts of speech, a subject is the person, place, thing that is performing the action or being described. In this case it is "I'm" and I'll." The Article An article is a short word that is added before a noun to signify the type of reference being made to the noun that follows. In English, these are: - the - a/an The word 'the' is the definite article. It refers to a SPECIFIC thing. Example: Set the table. (We are referring to a specific table). The word 'a' is the indefinite article. It refers to an UNSPECIFIC thing. Example: Set a table. (We are not referring to a specific table). The Source of the Bug When our Editors see articles that are missing proper subjects and articles, we realize it can happen for a variety of reasons. Some of those include: ESL Weakness: Sometimes non-native English writers aren't familiar with certain parts of speech in English, such as "the" or "a" and will instead omit the article before the noun. In that case, we prescribe a full review of our Grammar Training found here: http://media.ezinearticles.com/pdf/ezinearticles/training/full/paragraph-grammar.pdf SEO Grammar Plague: Other writers have caught the plague of problematic SEO writing. Theses writers realize many people enter choppy, SEO-friendly keyphrases into search engines and then try to exploit those weaknesses. However, anytime a keyphrase is used, it needs to make sense in the context of the content, regardless of SEO purposes. You can refer to section 1a of our Editorial Guidelines (http://ezinearticles.com/editorial-guidelines/guideline/1a) for further information. Immunity! Finally, some of us do it simply because we're used to typing in a shorthand form. In this case, we challenge you to be true to yourself and uphold your best writing style, no matter what you are writing! Get in the habit of reading your articles out loud prior to submission. This will help you catch any parts of speech that you inherently omitted. Doctor's Advice: When you're writing an article to be shared with others, be sure to include all necessary subjects and articles in your sentences. While it might save time and it's likely readers will be able to figure out your intent, your expertise as a writer will be lost. There's a time and a place for all styles of writing. When it comes to your content, establish your credibility by writing with correct technique. In turn, you will see less article rejections for problematic grammar. It isn't easy to become a strong writer; don't throw your skills out the window and succumb to the weak wording that surrounds our everyday lives. Improve your writing health today! To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion! Courtney, EzineArticles Member Support http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/ http://EzineArticles.com/ P.S. Did you know you can get even faster article reviews and Member Support help with our Premium membership? Find out more here! EzineArticles Member Endorsement "I really do love EzineArticles." Was EzineArticles always so awesome and I've just been missing it? I'm discovering all kinds of impressive ways EzineArticles is reaching out to its authors with a personal touch. I really do love EzineArticles (and it's not just because I got some really cool gifts yesterday with a handwritten note ... but that helps!). Thanks EzineArticles for being the best article directory - far better than any other directory I know of - and thanks for making me be a better writer. Stephanie Morrison http://ezinearticles.com/endorsements/ EzineArticles Newsletter Information Join EzineArticles | Manage Your Subscription | EzineArticles RSS Feed | List Support Create Free Membership Account | Login For Members Only To Leave The EzineArticles Newsletter: leave-10391124-4884430.91384863d13c19d33b8fa26a396b13a6@lists.permissionbasedemail.com ISSN: 1525-7126 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. Postal address: EzineArticles.com, PO Box 12740 Green Bay WI 54307 USA © Copyright 1999-2014 EzineArticles.com. All Rights Reserved.

Read More......

[EzineArticles] Top 10 Reasons for Article Rejection

Top 10 Reasons for Article Rejection This is One Popular Group You Don't Want to Hang Out With! Rejection can be a scary word. No one likes to be rejected; and trust us, we don't like to reject your articles! This is why we provide so many resources for you, such as the Editorial Guidelines, the FAQs, and the training materials and videos. We want you to succeed! However, we know that sometimes mistakes happen. If you find yourself on the receiving end of an article rejection, the best thing you can do is read the email explaining why the article wasn't accepted, fix the mistake accordingly, and move forward! We've created this handy infographic that outlines the 10 most popular reasons articles are rejected. To view the graphic in full, simply visit the blog post. Do you have any questions on the information we've provided? Don't be afraid to speak up … we're happy to help you learn! To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion! Christopher M. Knight, Publisher http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/ http://EzineArticles.com/ P.S. Did you know we offer a Premium Membership subscription which offers faster article review speed, faster support response time, more keyword data, and much more? Find out about this high-value product here! EzineArticles Member Endorsement "My Material ... Is IMMEDIATELY Out There in Cyberspace" I love writing my restaurant reviews and other articles without having to keep them in a drawer or go through the hugely complex process of submitting them to newspapers and magazines. I don't have the time for that. By posting at EzineArticles.com, my material, which I edit very, very carefully, and which also gets checked out by EzineArticles' very competent editorial staff, is IMMEDIATELY out there in cyberspace, available to an audience around the globe who regularly goes to EzineArticles.com to find material for their web pages and magazines. I'm delighted with EzineArticles. It is beautifully run and easy to use. Francesca Salerno http://ezinearticles.com/endorsements/ EzineArticles Newsletter Information Join EzineArticles | Manage Your Subscription | EzineArticles RSS Feed | List Support Create Free Membership Account | Login For Members Only To Leave The EzineArticles Newsletter: leave-10380525-4884430.91384863d13c19d33b8fa26a396b13a6@lists.permissionbasedemail.com ISSN: 1525-7126 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. Postal address: EzineArticles.com, PO Box 12740 Green Bay WI 54307 USA © Copyright 1999-2014 EzineArticles.com. All Rights Reserved.

Read More......