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 since 2009 in our Red Pony Express newsletter.
This collection features a selection of our best articles.
Minding your hises and herses
Many organisations and government departments have strict policies governing gender-neutral language. If you have them to hand, shut up and follow them. If you are left to your own devices, here are a few strategies you might employ to keep on the right side of the authorities …
Using the dash
Use dashes sparingly; instead, consider an alternative construction for the sentence, perhaps involving a semicolon. Still, there is a place for dashes, and you can employ them successfully by remembering a few simple guidelines.
Help documentation – how does this work?
If your business sells any type of product, whether it’s a physical object such as a board game or something less tangible such as a software application, providing your customers with clear, concise and easily followed help documentation is vital.
Politics and the English language
In 1946, George Orwell wrote one of the most prescient and influential essays, 'Politics and the English language’. In it he asserts that lazy writing prevents critical thought and ultimately leads to a corruption of political life.
Using the semicolon
You don’t see a lot of the semicolon these days, which is a pity; but it’s remarkable how much greater clarity can be brought to a complex sentence with the judicious application of a semicolon.
Why you need a style guide
A style guide is a useful tool (and, for a professional organisation, an indispensable one) for establishing the acceptable writing style or tone of documents as well as their physical appearance.
Lorem Ipsum
Have you ever come across the dummy text known as Lorem Ipsum? This is the text widely used in the printing industry to demonstrate how a publication will look when it’s printed.
Wielding the apostrophe
No single element of English usage produces such passionate outbursts as the correct use of the apostrophe. The commonest targets of grammarian wrath in this respect are greengrocers and signwriters—probably because their work is always on public display.
Using Microsoft Word templates
If all the documentation that flows out of your organisation to clients and to the wider public is consistent, clear and pleasing to the eye, you’ve overcome the first hurdle in communicating with your target audience.
Ending a sentence on a preposition
It's called a PREposition after all. And if it's 'pre' (or 'before') then it should have something after it, shouldn't it? Well, shouldn't it?
The case for case studies
Where have you been and what were the lessons you learned from the experience—positive and negative? Your clients and customers will be looking for this information too. They know that the best indicator of your future performance is your past performance.That's why a selection of case studies can be a very valuable addition to your website or suite of marketing materials.