WhiteSmoke Blog

Welcome to the brand new WhiteSmoke blog! We have recently made a series of updates to the blog system to provide users with a better experience. Primarily, we have implemented a new comments section for community conversation on each blog entry – so join in the discussion!


The WhiteSmoke Blog still aims to deliver great tips and tricks for your English writing. Expect to find entries on English grammar, explanations of English vocabulary, “How to Write” tutorials, and more. We will also be expanding the blog to include more entries from WhiteSmoke staff, and a series of tutorials for WhiteSmoke software.


Thanks for visiting the WhiteSmoke Writing and Grammar Blog!

Understanding Subjects, Verbs, Objects, and Modifiers

12/08/08
Every complete sentence has a subject and a verb. There may be many additional elements, such as objects and modifiers, but the subject and the verb are always there.
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So What Is A Gerund Anyway? Understanding the Parts Of Speech

12/05/08
Traditional English grammar divides words into eight parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. There are a few more terms also often used to define words, such as articles and gerunds.
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Proper Parallel Structure

12/03/08
Parallel structure occurs when a sentence contains a list of words, phrases, or clauses, usually connected by coordinating conjunctions (and, or, etc.). Read our latest blog post on parallel structure in English writing.
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How to Write a Complete Sentence: Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and Comma Splices

12/02/08
In order to write well in English, you must understand all the elements that make up a complete sentence. In this post, we look at the structure of English sentences.
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Tutorial: The WhiteSmoke Grammar Checker

11/30/08
The first entry in our new tutorial series is dedicated to arguably the most powerful feature of the WhiteSmoke desktop application - the grammar checker. Read the tutorial for an understanding of WhiteSmoke's grammar checking capabilities.
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WhiteSmoke Free Online Tools

11/27/08
Around a month ago, we quietly launched a couple of free tools for writers and English learners, right here on WhiteSmoke.com. After the initial period of use and testing, time has come for an official announcement :). the two tools are our online checker for your writing, effectively bringing WhiteSmoke's core features to your text for free, and our free online dictionary, which features definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and a translation module for every word.
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Welcome to the New WhiteSmoke Blog!

11/27/08
Today we offically announce the new iteration of the WhiteSmoke Blog. We now have features for user comments, and you can search all entries by category in the right-hand column. If you use RSS feeds, visit the RSS Page to grab feeds - you can choose to subscribe to the whole blog, or to any categories that are of interest to you. The All Posts page gives you a quick view of all the blog content.
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5 Steps for Perfect Grammar

01/06/09
Have you ever wished that you could write or speak English using perfect grammar? Here’s good news for you: it’s possible! To achieve this, you can start with these five useful tips.
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4 Tips for Constructing a Sentence

01/04/09
Basic sentence construction is a must for anyone writing English, from native speakers writing at work through to ESL learners. The 4 basic tips in this post will help you construct your sentences correctly.
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English Word Series: Play

01/02/09
The origin of the word ‘play’ is unknown- all we do know is that English adopted the word ‘pleien’ meaning to ‘dance, leap for joy, and rejoice’ from Dutch in the later Middle Ages (c. 14th century). This was adopted into English as ‘pleg(i)an’, ‘to exercise, or frolic’.
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5 Tips for the Perfect Resume/CV

12/31/08
The purpose of the resume or curriculum vitae (CV) is to get potential employers to notice you. With the number of applications that employers receive, you need to make your resume stand out among the rest. Check out these five tips on how to do this.
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Press: WhiteSmoke Expands Writing Style Features

11/25/08
Today WhiteSmoke released an update to its English writing software, WhiteSmoke 2009, providing additional writing style suggestions. WhiteSmoke 2009 is an advanced tool for checking grammar, spelling, and writing style. WhiteSmoke hopes the update will bring a competitive advantage to users whose writing performance at the workplace is crucial. As stated in the National Commission on Writing: “Writing is integral in nearly every job. It’s really not a promotion issue since you’d never get to the point of promotion without good communications skills. You can’t move up without writing skills.”
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4 Tips for Essay Writing

12/20/08
It can be quite challenging to write an essay. Some people find it hard to translate their ideas into written words, while others just do not know how to begin. This article gives four easy steps to show you how to write an essay.
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5 Tips for Writing the Perfect Sales Pitch

12/18/08
When writing a sales pitch, your objective is to close a sale. So how do you write the perfect sales pitch that will accomplish this goal? The following are five simple tips.
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English Word Series: Love

12/16/08
‘Love’ is a word used to describe one of the most, if not the most, potent experiences available to humans. But what ‘love’ means from person to person, let alone from century to century, is one of the most varied in the English language. The word ‘love’ was once ‘*leubh’, a word used by the Proto-Indo-Europeans approximately five thousand years ago to describe care and desire.
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3 Tips for Using Correct Abbreviations

12/14/08
Abbreviations are the shortened forms of words. They are very useful, especially when you need to take down notes quickly. As an ESL student, you must familiarize yourself with common abbreviations used in the English language.
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4 Tips for Correct Use of the Comma

12/12/08
Are you an ESL student struggling with the use of the comma? Aside from learning through ESL software, you can also keep in mind these four simple tips on how to use the comma. The following enumerates the four most basic functions of a comma in a sentence.
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English Word Series: Life

12/10/08
What is the meaning of ‘life’? The answer to this question is almost five thousand years old and leads us to the Proto-Indo-European word ‘*lip’ meaning, ‘to remain, persevere, and continue’. When this word was adopted into the English language as ‘l?f’ about 1500 years ago, it stayed true to its original meaning but closely resembled its Germanic predecessors meaning of ‘body’.
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5 Steps to Perfect Business Documents

12/23/08
Writing excellent business documents is imperative for any working professional, especially a businessman or businesswoman. A poorly written business document will immediately convey a negative impression about the person who wrote it or the company for which it is written. So how does one write business documents effectively? Check out these five easy steps.
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Avoid Plagiarism in Your Essay

12/26/08
Plagiarism is an act of fraud in the writing world. With the development of the internet plagiarism has become a bigger problem. Many students will cut and paste another’s work into their own essays. Anyone considering altering the text slightly to avoid this charge should be aware that copying the structure of a sentence, even though you may have changed several words, is still considered plagiarism. Teachers are faced with the difficult problem of checking that a student has not copied or partially copied one of the many documents that exist on the internet.
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