No-nonsense words

The only way is weird

I try writing something in the style of the 20th century’s most notoriously difficult novel. Can AI do it, too? And why set ourselves that task in the…

Aug 7 • Mark Jones

April 2026

A world without adjectives

As the Artemis II astronauts travel further than anyone before, we also take a journey to a surreal place where descriptive words are banned

Apr 10 • Mark Jones

October 2025

Botox copy

No, I am not promoting beauty treatments. I'm looking at what happens when words become frozen and expressionless

Oct 2, 2025 • Mark Jones

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August 2025

The Sausage, the Spa and the Abstract Noun

A set of writing rules from the author of Narnia sets me thinking about the classic divide between showing and telling

Aug 22, 2025 • Mark Jones

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July 2025

Writing, science and the law of levity

Why do writers and broadcasters think they have to present science in a 'lighthearted' way? The YouTubers and conspiracy theorists don’t

Jul 31, 2025 • Mark Jones

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June 2025

Bullying nouns and sneaky adverbs – inside the Grammar Class

Wouldn't it be nice if all the parts of speech got on together? Dream on...

Jun 18, 2025 • Mark Jones

The Grammar Class, deconstructed

Are adverbs really sneaky? Are nouns bullies?

Jun 18, 2025 • Mark Jones

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May 2025

Let's make punctuation fashionable again

🥺🧓🏫🤹♾️🪛

May 14, 2025 • Mark Jones

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It’s rude not to point

In this subscriber-only blog, we look at full points, colons and one of the most controversial things on your keyboard – the exclamation mark!

May 14, 2025 • Mark Jones

March 2025

Everything should be shorter, Part 1

We kick off a new series on business English with some invaluable ideas for saving you and your organsation time and trouble

Mar 25, 2025 • Mark Jones

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The golden rule: everything should be shorter

Lesson one: nouns versus verbs, verbiage versus clarity

Mar 25, 2025 • Mark Jones

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February 2025

Here's your new job sharer

Emma is the face of AI – in German tourism circles, anyway. How does she – and it - write and sound?

Feb 6, 2025 • Mark Jones

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