October 27, 2012

Weekly Finds: October 27, 2012

A Man With Magnifying Glass by digitalart
Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Every week, we’ll be sharing a list of posts, stories, news, or opinions that we've run across the Internet during the past week or two. We won't be discussing them in detail here, but we do encourage you to check them out as they could contain valuable ideas and insights for your IELTS exam.

If you're ready, here we go...

A Better Way to Practice

Whether it's learning how to code, improving your writing skills, or playing a musical instrument, practicing the right way can mean the difference between good and great.

Discussing Linguistics with Kanye West

Kanye West decided it was time to have a discussion about profanity in pop music on Sunday, particularly focusing on the way he, and other artists, use the b- and n- words.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Know the rules on properly using apostrophes.

English Verbs Class | Verb Patterns

The author discusses verbs that go with the to-infintive, the gerund or -ing form, or both.

[REALITY CHECK] - GRAMMAR & PUNCTUATION – THE “RULES” ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN

The author argues: "Language is not static. Language evolves over time. Words come en vogue (or are invented) and some words become passé or archaic. As language changes, so do the 'rules' of its use."

Seven Ways to Overcome Inertia and Get Yourself Unstuck

In order to make changes in your life and achieve your goals, you need to use the law of inertia to your advantage; here’s how.

How to Email Your Professors

The author shares 5 tips to properly use email.

How to Deal With Revision Fatigue

The tip here could be useful for your IELTS Writing practice sessions.

How can I improve my writing?

There’s a lesson for writers… A lot of potential authors are simply too sensitive. As a writer, you need a place to bad, so that you can learn to be good.

How to project your voice

The author, Olivia Mitchell, answers a question: "I always feel that I am not able to project my voice and articulate the words properly. Is there any material / information on how I can improve these areas?"

Throw Your Life a Curve

The author's hypothesis is that those who can successfully navigate, even harness, the successive cycles of learning and maxing out that resemble the S-curve will thrive in this era of personal disruption.

What People in 1899 Thought the Year 2000 Would Look Like

The author writes: "If you asked me back in the year 2000, what 2012 was going to be like, I'm not sure I could have gave you a good answer. So you could imagine how wrong people back in 1899 were about the year 2000."

The Writing Life: The point of the long and winding sentence

Pico Iyer says writing longer phrases is a way to protest the speed of information bites people are subjected to each day.

Five Things I Know About Writing

The author shares his motto: "Tune out the infernal voice of the internal editor and just write. Put pen to paper and let the words flow."

13 signs with unintentionally suspicious quotation marks

The author shares that aside from the apostrophe, there's another punctuation mark out there that sign-makers can't seem to get the hang of, with often disastrous results.

4 Tips to Make the Most of Failure

Don't waste your next failure--follow these steps to make sure you get the most you can out of the experience.

Life as a Walking Typo

Here's a post that tells us why we should keep on trying despite the mistakes.

Grammar-grouching on 'myself' misuse

The author shares a few rules to help you through those times when you're not sure how to talk about yourself.

What Is the Plural of Scissors?

Get Grammar Girl's take on the plural of scissors. Learn why scissors and pants always seem to be plural.

Actually, Literally, What Your Crutch Word Says About You

The author shares her list of frequently used crutches, and what your crutch of choice has to reveal about you.

The Most Taboo Word in Our Vocabulary

The word "need" is being disgraced from our vocabularies -- which to me is erasing the humane component out of humanity. If properly embraced, it's what makes us human.

Breaking Stereotypes: A Vocabulary Lesson at the Flea Market

Have you misjudged anyone lately? Learned any new words? Seen a callipygian? Experienced pareidolia?

How to Coil Rope So It Doesn’t Get Tangled

You might say that rope's natural state is tangled. It's tangled when you're not using it, and tangled when you need it. But it doesn't have to be that way. You could get some tips here so you'd be ready when you're tasked to describe a process in IELTS Writing Task 1.

English Verb - To Spread

Learn about the various tenses for the verb "to spread."

More Reading for Better Writing

There's a lot you can do to develop better writing, like write every day and proofread your work. But the number one way to improve your writing is to read.