Excessive and unnecessary use of quotation marks in writing is just as bad, if not doubly annoying.  I for one cannot fathom how the practice of over-using quotation marks in texts began.  Might it have been a side effect of the Ice Age, or was it the very cause of the dinosaurs’ demise?

If anything, it’s something worth pointing out lest you be annoying all your readers (and friends) unwittingly.  So drop that quotation mark, serial offender, and read up before you commit another heinous grammatical crime.

First of all, as the name suggests, quotation marks are punctuation marks used to denote quotation or speech.  Given the dynamic nature of grammar, however, these marks were eventually used for purposes other than identifying lifted phrases or indicating speech.  Here are three levels of quotation mark usage that are prevalent today.  Read through them and see whether or not you’ve been guilty of a crime all along:

Level 1 - Green - Go, go, go!

*Correct

(1) To identify a direct quotation (ex. As Machiavelli wrote, “the end justifies the means”.)

(2) To indicate speech (ex. “I think it’s great,” Miriam said.)

(3) To indicate the title of books, songs, movies, etc. (ex. “The Count of Monte Cristo”)

(4) To differentiate nicknames or aliases from full names (ex. William “Bill” Clinton)

(5) To mention rather than use a particular word (ex. The term “philosophy” is derived from the Greek words “philo” and “sofia”.)

Level 2 - Yellow - Proceed with caution…

*Correct, but potentially confusing or annoying when overused

(1) To indicate irony (ex. He thinks he’s “too good” for us.)

(2) To indicate unusual usage (ex. Jim has a rather “interesting” hobby.)

Level 3 - Red - Stop! Drop that quotation mark!

*Incorrect

(1) To show emphasis (ex. These are really “tasty” dumplings!)

= This is where most serial quotation mark junkies go wrong.  They use the quotation marks to indicate emphasis, not knowing that doing so only makes it seem like they’re completely sarcastic or negating their actual idea.

As for the difference between single and double quotation marks, it’s more a matter of taste than anything else.  Usually, this is how I use single and double quotation marks:

“Didn’t Machiavelli write ‘The Prince and the Pauper’?”

The answer, of course, is no.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is a real “genius”.

XOXO,

]]> http://www.miss-write.com/2008/stop-get-rid-of-those-quotation-marks/feed/ http://www.miss-write.com/2008/mortal-syntax-a-brief-book-review/ http://www.miss-write.com/2008/mortal-syntax-a-brief-book-review/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:46:28 +0000 miss-write http://www.miss-write.com/?p=359 [This book is available on My Bookstore. Check out Miss Write's Top Picks today!]

As you know, I was very, very lucky to receive a signed copy of June Casagrande’s Mortal Syntax: 101 Language Choices That Will Get You Clobbered by the Grammar Snobs — Even If You’re Right.

Pretty long title right there, whew!

But the incredibly long title aside, I have to say the book is quite unlike the usual grammar guides we find in stores. Stuffy really isn’t a word you can use to describe Mortal Syntax, given Casagrande’s highly eclectic and quirky writing style.

The subject matter is far from easy, too, by the way.

Grammar really isn’t for the faint of heart, especially with so-called experts judging us writers at every turn. Blogs, forums — almost every opportunity to write has become an arena for bitchy “grammar experts” to criticize and poke fun.

What Casagrande points out in her book, however, is that these grammar snobs aren’t always right. Though they may like to think of themselves as perfect, this really isn’t the case. A lot of times, these grammar snobs may unwittingly be making fun of people who aren’t even wrong.

Gasp!

But Casagrande is right. Grammar is so dynamic that it would be near impossible to keep up with it. Of course some rules will always stay (like subject-verb agreement, for example), but the rest is pretty much open season.

It’s a fun and informative read, though Casagrande has the tendency to ramble at times. Some chapter leads are completely irrelevant to the actual grammatical issue in question, but it’s all good. Reading Casagrande is a bit like reading your favorite blogger: casual, light yet informative and useful.

Check out June Casagrande’s Mortal Syntax and arm yourself. The next time some grammar snob pokes fun at your sentences, you’ll be armed and ready.

XOXO,

Sure you can.

It sounds funny, I know, since most bloggers only know one way of earning through advertisements: the earnings-per-click model. Back when I was a newbie, I ran through the entire range of programs offering money in exchange for ads displayed on my websites. Unfortunately, each time I checked these programs to see my earnings, I would find a little over two cents at the most.

It got frustrating soon enough, and I just didn’t have the energy to deal with these programs anymore. Slowly, I moved towards other programs such as affiliate marketing and paid blogging and eventually forgot about those pesky ad programs.

Still, I knew deep down that ads were lucrative and less taxing to run. You just put up the ads and that’s that. It was too much work, though, and I gave up.

Around two months ago, however, I discovered a different kind of money for advertisements program. I’m a bit late about this and some of you may have heard of this already, but trust me — it’s worth taking time to try this.

Instead of earning per click, this model pays you a specific sum monthly for putting up ads in your website. There’s no need to worry about the clicks; all you have to do is slap the ads on and you’re set. Of course, this isn’t quite as lucrative for major bloggers, but for us little people it’s practically godsend.

Here are some ad programs you can try:

The Ad Network

- Earn £5 per approved website (three ads per website)

- £10 sign-up bonus

- On-time payments

- You can submit an unlimited number of sites (subject to their approval)

Matched.co.uk

- Earn £5 per ad on your website (maximum of five per website)

- £5 sign-up bonus

- Takes time to get ads matched

There are more, by the way, only a lot of them aren’t accepting any more publishers right now. Of the two, I can vouch readily for The Ad Network as I’ve been paid several times already. As long as you get approved, you’re fine. All you have to do is put up the ads they give and you’re set.

Do check them out and see if you can make a bit more moolah off these programs.

Yes, I was busy.

But busy as I was (I had to resort to synthetic means to stay awake), I have to say that I really love school, and it’s the one thing that I actually do out of love, apart from writing and playing the guitar that is. I’m a geek, and studying is a stepping stone towards achieving my dream of teaching.

One thing a working student like me dreads, however, is enrollment day. It’s not cheap, taking up a Masters course, and even if I have several jobs, it still burns a pretty big hole in my pocket.

This is where my latest discovery comes in. SPENDonLIFE is willing to help out with your tuition expenses, in exchange for no more than 400 words. That’s right. Less than 400 words. Of course, these 400 words will have to be quite engaging, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

SPENDonLIFE is offering $2000 under its Credit Blogging Scholarship to a student who can come up with the best blog post on the significance of credit and the potential danger of identity theft. The topic in itself is not especially difficult, plus it’s actually helpful and a chance for students to speak up and discuss something that is very important in this digital age. Students grapple with credit first hand, what with student loans and other similar issues to deal with. Identity theft is just as significant, given its potentially damaging effects on anyone who has the misfortune to come across it.

The SPENDonLIFE Credit Blogging Scholarship does have the following requirements:

1. Contestant must be full or part-time student of an accredited university/college
2. Contestant must be 18 years old and above
3. Contestant must have a legitimate blog (meaning you actually must have entries, not just spam

And that’s it! You will have to go to the site directly for more details, as I’m not really sure which universities or colleges are considered accredited. Deadline is on December 1, 2008, and the check for $2000 will go to the winner by January 1, 2009. Hooray!

By all means check it out. There’s really nothing to lose (no need to pay up for joining or anything), so give it a shot. That’s $2000 on the line, kids! Visit SPENDonLIFE Credit Blogging Scholarship for more details.

XOXO,

Anyway, I’m mentioning ghost writing because of this new money-making opportunity I found online.  It’s relatively new and is quite unknown in the online world, but I did try them out and they paid me!  Now if that isn’t something worth talking about then I don’t know what is.

The website weneedghostwriters.com is as straightforward as you can get.  In a nutshell, they need people to write 500-word articles on specific topics.  Every article must be original and up to their standard to be accepted.  Here’s the deal: every accepted article is worth US $10, direct to your Paypal account.

The topics are fairly easy.  I’ve seen pet grooming and website building as two of the most common topics listed.  The thing about them is that they require at least two weeks to review your article.  Mine took at least two weeks and a half and was only paid for when I emailed them about it.

They don’t articulate their standards that much.  All they give you are the basics: no plagiarism, excellent writing and 500 words.  Granted it gives them a lot of room to say that your work isn’t up to par, but I think that’s something you can discuss with the company directly, if ever.

It’s just simple content writing, actually, except that you don’t get credit.  Personally that’s fine by me.  I’m more cash kind of girl anyway.

So do check it out and see if you can make some cash out of this.

Good luck and happy ghost writing!

XOXO,

I recently realized that there is indeed quite a tidy sum to be made from this field. The older platforms of earning through blogging focus solely on ad sales. The more people click on your ads, the better. Unfortunately, it’s not everyday that people click on your ads. Even the best and most well-placed advertisements don’t always get clicked by blog visitors.

That’s pretty much the reason why I gave up on most earn-through-advertising programs.

With affiliate marketing, you get to discuss matters with the advertisers directly, thus giving you the free hand to build your own plan of action. With this relatively larger rein over your own advertising campaign, you can utilize your niche’s focus, your understanding of your loyal readers and their basic needs in order to fully introduce whatever product you want to highlight.

Personally, I rarely go for “selling”. I want to give my readers what they want, so I often pick programs that’ll help them earn as well. I often choose programs that require no payments and are helpful for other aspiring writers. I still get paid, obviously, so it’s a win-win situation for everyone. I get to earn without selling out my conscience, and I still give my readers real tools that they can utilize to make money online!

There are quite a lot of affiliate marketing programs to choose from out there and I’ve mentioned several of them in this website. As you know, I try to cover as many of these available programs as possible. That way I can at least help you make an informed decision.

Without further drama, here’s the latest player in the affiliate marketing field: Motive Interactive. The program’s a bit new, but fear not. Named one of the fastest-rising companies in online advertising by no less than Entrepreneur magazine, Motive Interactive offers a two-tier solution for Publishers like us. It all depends on what you think you — as a blogger — can offer your Advertisers.

There’s “Display Solutions” that’s more geared towards the display of advertisements in your website, and “Performance Solutions” which works on a variety of levels to give you total control over your advertising campaign plan. Whether you prefer lead generation, affiliate marketing or CPA advertising, this performance-based solution can help you and the advertisers you represent make the most out of the campaign.

With Motive Interactive upgraded to 2.0, navigating the site is a lot easier with its fresh green and white background that’s soothing to the eyes. Plus, it offers all the information that any new user needs. With its 2.0 system at work, using the Motive Interactive interface has become a lot faster and more efficient. Check this video out for a quick look:

One thing that’s really outstanding about Motive Interactive is its wide array of advertisers to choose from. I’ve seen quite a few that I would willingly introduce to you all via this website in the near future. No matter what niche your blog or website has, I’m sure Motive Interactive has the right advertiser for you.

Higher payouts, cool advertisers and more control over your own campaign plan. Maximize your affiliate marketing earnings with this new and innovative platform.

If anything, it’s worth a pretty good shot. It can be quite a good way for us bloggers to make some more money without selling our souls out.

Check out Motive Interactive and tell me what you think!

***This post is brought to you by Motive Interactive***

XOXO,

I have to admit that I’ve been a bit disheartened ever since my Google Page Rank dropped from PR2 to PR0.  I worked very hard to achieve a PR2, as you all know, and seeing it drop to nothing was just a bit painful.

I’m not really sure what happened, but I do remember that the last thing I did was install the Text Link Ads plugin.

I read somewhere that TLA can be quite a bane for bloggers, given that Google sort of really hates it.  Really.  As in hates it, a lot.

Wish I’d thought of that before I put up the plugin, but it’s too late for drama now.

It’s the reason why I dropped out of this site and remained silent for sometime.  I was still busy writing in my personal blog, but here I just didn’t seem to have the energy.

Today I found out that Google had a reevaluation again and my other blogs grew from PR2 to PR3 and PR0 to PR2.  Unfortunately, this site remains at zero.  I don’t know when Google will give me back my lost PR, but I’ll wait.

So I guess you’ll understand if I’m not so enthusiastic about blogging.  Plus I’ve got quite a few school assignments to complete, so I’ll have to work doubly hard.  But I’ll get back right on track, you just wait.  I’m readying quite a few articles and I’ve got some new writing jobs for all of you so stay tuned!

XOXO,

I know it’s a day late, but I had to celebrate my birthday after all. Cakes and parties are over, though. Here are the contest winners!

By the way, just to spread the win evenly, I decided that each contestant could only win once. That way, nobody hogs the prizes :

Winners:

First Prize (2 Books by June Casagrande): CHORVA

Second Prize (1000 EC credits each): KRANJCARZ and TOMGU

Third Prize (500 EC credits each): ALL CONTESTS, ZRIZ, MARS, KAT, SHERRY

If you want to seen the Random.Org results, just leave a comment. I can’t put it up here yet because I used the registered emails for the list. I’ll edit the photo and post it here later (I can’t figure out how to edit photos with Mac).

EC credits were sent to the email addresses you used to subscribe to my site.

Thanks to everyone who joined!

XOXO,

Thanks to everyone who joined!

Results will be announced tomorrow

Hey there!

Last August 18, I announced my birthday contest here and got quite a few responses from fellow bloggers and writing enthusiasts. I sort of realized that books aren’t as enticing, though, because the influx of contestants can be likened to a trickle rather than a torrent.

Anyway, I’m just glad that there are at least people who took the time to join.

Now there’s one week left in this contest, and I’m waiting for more contestants. It’s not that I’m not entirely happy with the outcome, but at least a few more contestants should make things a lot spicier, right?

As of today, though, here’s the list of contestants with all their entries:

Chorva - 16 entries

Kranjcarz - 26 entries

Kat - 21 entries

Wiehanne - 11 entries

Zriz - 16 entries

All Contests - 11 entries

Mars - 16 entries

Tomgu - 11 entries

PinayMommy - 11 entries

There’s still a week left to join, so let’s go!

XOXO,