Published on
5 March 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
11 May 2023.
The correct way to use commas with the conjunctive adverb ‘however’ depends on where it appears in the sentence. The table below shows the correct way to punctuate it in different positions.
Published on
5 March 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
20 March 2023.
You need a comma before ‘or’ when it connects two independent clauses. These are clauses that could stand alone as full sentences because each contains its own subject and verb.
But you shouldn’t use a comma before ‘or’ when it connects two verbs with the same subject.
Published on
28 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
3 October 2023.
ChatGPT is a popular AI language model that can provide fluent answers to all kinds of different user prompts. Given its strong language abilities, you might wonder if it can help you to improve your academic writing when asked to proofread it.
To find out, we ran an experiment where we gave the same text to ChatGPT and to a human editor, asking them to improve the language and style and to clearly explain the changes they made.
The experiment showed that both editors improved the text overall, but the human editor made more extensive and reliable changes, and only the human editor was able to properly explain their changes.
Our general conclusion is explained below, followed by our methodology and an in-depth exploration of each edit.
Published on
25 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
18 April 2023.
An abstract noun is a noun that refers to something non-physical – something conceptual that you can’t perceive directly with your senses. Examples include ‘sadness’, ‘analysis’, ‘government’, and ‘adulthood’.
Abstract nouns are contrasted with concrete nouns, which are words like ‘cat’, ‘desk’, or ‘Andrew’ that refer to physical objects and entities.
Published on
24 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
18 April 2023.
A concrete noun is a noun that refers to a physical thing, person, or place – something or someone that can be perceived with the five senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste). Examples include ‘pencil’, ‘dog’, ‘Timbuktu’, and ‘Patricia’.
Concrete nouns are contrasted with abstract nouns, which are words such as ‘politeness’ describing concepts that you can’t perceive directly with the senses.
Published on
17 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
15 May 2023.
ChatGPT, the popular AI language model, is quite new. Educational institutions and style guides are still working out their policies on when and how content from the tool can be used and cited in academic writing.
Guidelines are still evolving, so we provide formats based on what the different style guides have said about the issue so far. This article will be updated over time to reflect the latest guidelines as different authorities develop their recommendations.
Published on
17 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
22 June 2023.
ChatGPT, the popular AI language model, is a really exciting piece of technology. In response to your inputs, it can instantly generate fluent, human-sounding responses. But how accurate is the information in those responses?
While testing the tool, we’ve come to the conclusion that, though its language capabilities are impressive, the accuracy of its responses can’t always be trusted. We recommend using ChatGPT as a source of inspiration and feedback – but not as a source of information.
Below, we explain what ChatGPT does well and what kinds of things it tends to get wrong. We also explore why its responses aren’t always reliable and look at the best ways to use it responsibly.
Published on
13 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield
Revised on
15 May 2023.
People are still figuring out the best use cases for ChatGPT, the popular chatbot based on a powerful AI language model. This article provides some ideas for how to use the tool to assist with your academic writing.
ChatGPT can assist you with the following steps when writing a paper, thesis, or dissertation:
Published on
13 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
3 October 2023.
A possessive noun is the special form of a noun that’s used to indicate ownership (possession). The possessive noun represents the owner (possessor) of something and usually comes right before another noun representing what they own (e.g., ‘Jeremy’s car’).
Possessive nouns are formed from the basic versions of nouns by adding an apostrophe and the letter ‘s’: for instance, boy becomes boy’s. The possessives of plural nouns normally only add an apostrophe, not an additional ‘s’: boys becomes boys’.
Possessive nouns don’t always indicate literal ownership. ‘Alice’s brother’ doesn’t suggest that Alice owns her brother; the possessive is just used to show their relationship.
An appositive (also called an appositive noun or appositive phrase) is a noun phrase that follows another noun phrase and provides additional information about it. The two words or phrases are described as being in apposition.
The usual structure is the antecedent (a noun phrase that the appositive will give more information about) followed by the appositive itself, either set off by commas or, if it’s essential to the meaning of the sentence, without any additional punctuation.