Your First Seven Words Make Your Message
You have seven words to get attention. Distracted people ignore messages that take too long to read. That’s why your first seven words are so critical.
Writing
7 Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing and Formatting in Microsoft Word
Pro writers and editors save time with these seven advanced keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Word for PC and Mac.
Clutter: How to Remove Extra Words that Make You Sound Boring
Removing clutter is the easiest way to correct boring writing. Clutter is any extra sentence, word, or syllable that doesn’t contribute to your main point.
User Manual Motion Graphics and How to Use Them
User manual motion graphics add clarity and interest to digital documentation. Learn how to explain your message using movement in your owner’s guides.
Lessons from Amazon’s Typo Catastrophe
Amazon’s typo broke the internet. A simple mistake cost companies millions of dollars. Here are some tips for preventing typos, no matter your industry.
Christmas Movie Tropes: Cliché Screenwriting We Love Year After Year
Christmas movies use familiar storylines to inspire audiences. These tropes may be predictable, but well-written Christmas movies still become traditions.
HIV “Patient O” Cleared Decades After Shortsighted Spelling Choice
“Patient O” Gaëtan Dugas was wrongly accused of bringing HIV to the US after shortsighted researchers used a naming convention that was misinterpreted.
Content Development SEO Case Study: A Shoe Mystery
Content development SEO turns a web writer into a modern Sherlock Holmes. Our case study in web content development SEO explains how to improve engagement.
Technical Writing & Instructional Design: A Convergence
Technical writing and instructional design have long been regarded as separate disciplines, but that is changing. Overlap is forging a unified discipline.
Jefferson’s Polygraph Machine
Almost every day, Thomas Jefferson wrote letters. “From sun-rise to one or two o’clock,” he noted, “I am drudging at the writing table.” Jefferson wrote almost 20,000 letters in his lifetime, and he needed to keep copies of his letters. Fortunately, John Isaac Hawkins (1772–1855) and Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) invented this little gadget that …