Articles

Schaefer Wordsmithing helps you with more than editing your writing; we provide articles and posts offering tips and other guidance on writing, grammar, and usage to help you improve your writing.

Below are some of our more recent articles organized by topic.

Writing

Woman scientist writing on her laptop in the laboratory with male colleague in the background

Write in English, not in “Science Speak”

Jun 20, 20238 min read

Scientific research is hard; writing a scientific paper in good English style can be even harder. Pick up almost any paper in a scientific journal, and you’ll encounter sentences like…

monitor screen showing chatgpt landing page

On Using AI to Write

Jun 5, 20231 min read

I was feeling cheeky and a little curious, so I asked ChatGPT to write me an essay on why using human writers was superior to AI. Perhaps the most fascinating…

LeBron James taking a shot against the LA Lakers

The Passive Voice Is Nothing to Fear

Feb 23, 20231 min read

The passive voice is one of the most popular no-nos for good English writing. Most style guides—and writing software like Microsoft Word and Grammarly—will tell you: avoid using the passive…

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Grammar

lined paper with the words whoever and whomever crossed out repeatedly

When to Use Whomever and Whoever

Jun 29, 20231 min read

Educated writers, aware of the difference between who and whom, will often generate sentences like the following: (1)Whoever we elect as chair will do a good job.(2)He gives this document…

English language textbook on table with definite and indefinite articles in English superimposed over the image

Definite and Indefinite Articles: How to Use “The” and “A”

Jun 22, 20231 min read

Decades ago, I studied abroad in Moscow, in the Soviet Union. One day, my Russian friends and I were walking along at VDNkh and came across a billboard that read…

Dictionary entry for

The Fault Is in Our Grammars: Language, Gender, and Pronouns

Jun 3, 20232 min read

To say that our cultural consciousness on matters of gender identity is rapidly evolving is an understatement. In a few short years, our awareness as a culture went from practically…

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Usage

chalkboard with that or which written on it

The Difference Between That and Which

Jul 20, 20231 min read

At first glance, there might not appear to be a difference between that and which, two relative pronouns used to introduce a dependent clause in a sentence. But in careful…

lined paper with the words whoever and whomever crossed out repeatedly

When to Use Whomever and Whoever

Jun 29, 20231 min read

Educated writers, aware of the difference between who and whom, will often generate sentences like the following: (1)Whoever we elect as chair will do a good job.(2)He gives this document…

Dictionary entry for

The Fault Is in Our Grammars: Language, Gender, and Pronouns

Jun 3, 20232 min read

To say that our cultural consciousness on matters of gender identity is rapidly evolving is an understatement. In a few short years, our awareness as a culture went from practically…

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Reflection

monitor screen showing chatgpt landing page

On Using AI to Write

Jun 5, 20231 min read

I was feeling cheeky and a little curious, so I asked ChatGPT to write me an essay on why using human writers was superior to AI. Perhaps the most fascinating…

Dictionary entry for

The Fault Is in Our Grammars: Language, Gender, and Pronouns

Jun 3, 20232 min read

To say that our cultural consciousness on matters of gender identity is rapidly evolving is an understatement. In a few short years, our awareness as a culture went from practically…

The words black and white negatively superimposed over an alternate diagonal background of white and black

On Capitalizing “Black” and “White” When Talking about Race

Dec 13, 20221 min read

Questions of racial justice and equity have occupied—as they should—a large role in our national discourse of late. A long-overdue examination of the embedded biases and structural inequities in our…

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