Jessica Allen, Author at BusinessWritingBlog

How to Write ____

How To Write a Whitepaper Document

A white paper is the perfect format to compile and share your business’s deep knowledge of the industry. It’s a useful product that can highlight your company’s expertise, and it’s also a valuable marketing tool. But how exactly do you transform your knowledge into a… continue reading

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The Compare and Contrast Technique

In this article, we’ll first help you determine whether a particular assignment is asking for a comparison/contrast. Then, we’ll guide you through generating a list of similarities and differences, deciding which to focus on, and organizing your paper to be clear and effective. This article… continue reading

Is It Passed or Past? What’s the Difference?

The English language contains many homophones that can be confusing for both native and non-native speakers. While speakers typically move right past homophones, many writers are left unsure of which word to use. One example of a confusing set of homophones is “passed” and “past.”… continue reading

Similar Words

Is It Compliment or Complement – What’s The Difference?

Remember this: The word “complement” is related to the word “completion.” Meanwhile, the word “compliment” refers to flattering acts or words. Everyone loves a compliment. Or is it a complement everybody loves? In any published list of commonly confused words, you’re sure to find these… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Enamored With, By or Of?

One of our readers was confused by the use of enamored by rather than enamored of (British enamoured). As they explained, the only usage of “enamored” that sounds correct to them is the phrase “enamored of,” which can be found in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Methought I was… continue reading

Graphic with a greasy burger and the word "Unctuous"

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Unctuous: The Word We Love to Hate

One reader alerted us to a new use of the word unctuous that we hadn’t previously been aware of. Recently, unctuous has begun to take on more of a positive connotation. If you watch cooking shows, you may have heard celebrity chefs describing dishes as unctuous when they mean rich,… continue reading

Is It A While or Awhile?

Often the source of confusion for writers, awhile and a while are homophones; they’re pronounced the same but have different meanings. Additionally, they both are considered different parts of speech, which makes their difference even more important! Related: See our other articles on homophones – Whose vs. Who’s and… continue reading

Whether or Weather or…Wether?

Wether is a word that often slips past spell check. This is thanks to the fact that it’s easily confused with two homonyms, whether and weather. It’s easy to miss the single letter that separates these words as you’re typing along! And unless you happen to be a farmer,… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Ampersand – The “And” Symbol

The symbol used for the word and (&) is called an ampersand. It is a logogram (also called a logograph), which is a written symbol that stands for an entire word or phrase. The ampersand’s origin is the Latin conjunction “et,” which means “and.” This symbol… continue reading

Grammar and Usage

Led or Lead?

There’s often confusion regarding the past tense of the verb lead. The correct past tense is led, not lead. A reason for this confusion could be that read, a similar verb, has a past tense that’s spelled the same as the infinitive. However, that’s not the same case with lead.… continue reading