Insights archive
Red Pony is a team of writers, editors, Microsoft Office template developers and communications trainers. We have been writing about our areas of expertise for over a decade in our Red Pony Express newsletter.
This collection features the best articles from the last 10 years.
Origins of punctuation
Regular readers will know that we’ve written a range of articles in the past about the purpose of different punctuation marks and how to use them in your writing. This time, I want to talk about the origins of punctuation itself.
Command centre: using imperatives in copywriting
Of the four kinds of English sentences – declarative, interrogative, exclamatory and imperative – the imperative might be the one you use least in your writing. It can be tricky to tell someone what to do without sounding blunt, even rude.
Tips for curing writer’s block
As a professional writer I occasionally get stuck with that dreaded affliction called writer’s block – the feeling of being stuck and unable to write. Most writers experience this feeling at some point, and it can last for anywhere from minutes to years.
From Shakespeare's Globe to Fountain Gate: how pop culture shapes English
Pop culture enriches language in delightful ways. TV catchphrases that become part of everyday speech transcend their origins, like countless phrases from Shakespeare which seamlessly integrate into modern English.
Too many notes – tips for succinct writing
Writing succinctly isn’t easy. Here are my top tips for trimming those excess words.
Taking simple seriously
While we’ve documented the formal push by governments in the United States and New Zealand to legislate plain language in the past, we’ve recently seen a shift towards producing easier to read documents at the grassroots level here in Australia. At Red Pony, we use a 3-tier system to classify the different requirements for any simplified English project.
How the ATO use 'nudge' theory to get more people to pay their taxes
The concept of ‘nudge’ theory – using subtle prompts to influence human behaviours – is being used by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to encourage tardy taxpayers to make good on their debts.
In short: literature condensed
In short, a good summary will provide the right level of crucial information for a general audience, while also inviting the reader to go deeper if they wish. Condensed forms of writing can paradoxically be the best way to expand our knowledge of a subject.
Simplified Technical English: what it is and why it exists
Some time back, my colleague Andrew Eather wrote a Red Pony Express article about contronyms: a word that can have completely opposite meanings. The English language is endlessly plastic, but this can be a problem when lives depend on precision.
‘I do’ and other performative utterances
Language allows us to put words to the world we see around us, but on special occasions words can do more.
Red Pony Express marks its 15th year
Back in 2008, my colleague Andrew Eather and I began working on ideas for a newsletter we could send out every couple of months. In the tradition of the television ‘clip show’, I’m going to look at some of our previous articles and the people who wrote them.
Planes, trains and automobiles
While writing a book is private and sedentary, publicising a book is anything but. This is a meditation on planes, trains and automobiles, which many of us will embark upon over the holiday period.
And the word of the year is...
Each year the Macquarie dictionary announces its choice for Word of the Year. The winner, and indeed the shortlist of candidates, offers an insight into the events of the previous 12 months and how our society is changing. 2022 was no exception.
The heredity of royal words
With the Queen’s passing being so present in the news, we’ve all been surrounded by a family of words with an interesting heredity.
The secret life of nursery rhymes
How many nursery rhymes that you know have a dark backstory?
Neologisms: language upcycling through the ages
Unsurprisingly, neologisms are often the by-product of a cultural or technological shift. In the case of the pandemic, reactionary linguistic terms spawned rapidly to cope with an intensifying global crisis.
NZ a step closer to making plain language law
The New Zealand Government is looking to pass legislation that will make it a legal requirement to use plain language for official documents and websites. It’s time we did the same in Australia.
How to write a great thought leadership article
Writing an article, web page or blog post where you share your expertise is a chance to provide interested readers with information useful to them, while also building your profile as an expert in your field.
What’s in a place name?
Although many of us remain armchair travellers due to COVID-19 restrictions, the landscape of Australian language is constantly shifting.