GrammarPhile Blog

Last week we took you back to high school with an English test that hopefully didn’t bring back any bad memories. Take a look at the answers below to see how you did.

Remember the stress of English tests in school? Not only were they timed, but it was nearly impossible to know exactly what to study. Whether it was long passages and reading comprehension questions, sentence diagramming, or this word is to this word as that word is to that word, it seemed like no matter what you spent hours hammering into your brain, the teacher would decide to throw something completely different at you.

The good news about this test is that if you fail, we won’t send you back to high school.

See if you can make a passing grade on these questions, inspired by the brain stumpers you might see on AP, SAT, or ACT tests.

Remember when all formal correspondence started with To Whom It May Concern? These days, if you receive an email with that as the opener, you’re more likely to send it straight to the trash. The days of proper letters have come to an end, but that doesn’t mean you should use loose, casual language and expect to get what you want. A formal email is not the same as an effective email, but combining the power of the two gives you a better chance of getting the reply you desire.

If most people’s No. 1 fear is speaking in public, and dying is their second biggest fear, then their third biggest fear must be writing about themselves. Or maybe it just feels that way when the assignment of writing a bio comes up.

These days, it’s common to be asked for a blurb about your personal history for websites, apps, conference materials, etc. Ultimately, the point of a bio is to sell yourself in a more personal way than a résumé could, or should, accomplish. The following will help you craft the right message in your unique voice, to get readers to say, “I want to meet this person!”