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I have edited a lot of multiple-choice questions (and seen several more throughout my own education). Here is a guide I’ve put together about how to create good multiple-choice questions and avoid creating bad ones. Obviously, make sure the question and answer are correct. Less obviously, make sure none of the distractors (wrong answers) are… Continue reading How to write multiple-choice questions

"You are mostly welcome." I first came across "You are mostly welcome" on a photo of a sign in one of those online collections of mistranslations, but since then I've had a client say it to me in real life. It's a completely logical thing for a non-native speaker of English to say: "most" can… Continue reading English: Too illogical for non-native speakers

Disambiguation means taking an ambiguous sentence and removing the ambiguity. For example, "I like chocolate more than you" is ambiguous. You could disambiguate it to either "I like chocolate more than you do" or "I like chocolate more than I like you." I am coining the term "dysambiguation" to mean disambiguating the wrong way. Suppose… Continue reading “Dysambiguation”: Mistaken Disambiguation

If you're writing scientific or mathematical content, it's not enough to get your work checked by an editor who only knows spelling and grammar. You need one who also has a mathematical or technical background, otherwise they will misunderstand your writing and make mistaken "corrections" which might make it into the final version. I don't… Continue reading 5 Reasons You Need a Numerate Editor