“They” Is the New He or She: Queer Writing in Academic Journals

A few years ago, using the singular “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun was still largely considered grammatically incorrect. However, a growing acceptance of the singular “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun, particularly among LGBTQIA+ communities, was observed in recent years. Since the early 2010s, the singular “they” has become more common in everyday speech and writing. […]

4 Things Authors Should Do before Submitting to a Journal

Submitting to journals can be a daunting task especially if it’s your first time. It can even be more intimidating when we’re talking about high-impact journals. But in every submission, there are a few steps that you should always do to increase your chances of getting published in a journal. Select an appropriate journal This […]

Benefits of Peer Review in Research Writing

Within the scientific community, peer review is an essential part of research writing and the dissemination of new ideas or validation/disconfirmation of existing concepts. It is a process wherein scientific experts assess a research manuscript and provide valuable feedback and recommendation on whether the research manuscript is suitable for publication. According to the International Journal […]

What Is Hedging? (And No, We’re Not Talking about the Shrubs in Your Backyard)

Hedging is something that often comes up in most of our daily writing—e-mails, reports, and even simple chat messages. Go ahead and open your inbox right now. Chances are, you’re also guilty of committing this act. But, what the heck is hedging anyway? What Is Hedging? In language, a hedge (noun) refers to cautious or […]

How to Improve Your Internet Search

The Internet is an infinite source of information. However, having the world’s finest sword is different from being able to wield it. At the same time, having all the information in the world available right at your fingertips can prove useless when you don’t really know how to locate valuable resources in the first place. […]

Top 5 Reference Books for Editors

As one of Lexcode Inc.’s editors, I proofread, copy edit, or even rewrite documents written in English—academic, corporate, legal, medical, promotional, and scientific files, just to name a few. As such, I have come to familiarize myself with different reference books that help me in my daily mission to effectively deliver high-quality documents. Among the […]

5 Seemingly Interchangeable Words But Are Really Not

Just as how confusing your toothbrush with that of someone else is probably the most embarrassing blunder you can make, mistaking one word for another is something you and your audience will not forget anytime soon—albeit less disgusting. Here are five things that people often get wrong but, sadly, they don’t even notice. Everyday vs. […]

George Orwell’s Six Rules of Effective Writing

Haste makes waste—this adage also applies to writing. When writing, particularly when trying to meet a deadline, we often forget some basic rules. This can lead to written content filled with sentences that don’t make sense; ineffective use of language can lead to misunderstandings and even distorted ideas. If you want people to understand what […]