Oxymorons—What Are They and What Are Their Functions?

Published on June 16, 2025 by Gina Rancaño, BA

An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory words are put side by side to form a phrase. Examples include jumbo shrimp, organized mess, and crash landing.

Oxymorons are used for multiple reasons, whether it be to add a dramatic effect, illustrate a rhetorical point, make an audience ponder, or make them laugh.

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Understanding the Difference Between Abbreviations and Acronyms

Published on June 16, 2025 by Gina Rancaño, BA

We’ll go over what abbreviations and acronyms are, plus provide examples and a short quote that can help you remember their difference.

What’s the Difference Between an Abbreviation and an Acronym?
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word, like Dr. for doctor or Jan. for January. An acronym is a shortened word of a phrase made up of the initial letters, and is pronounced as a single word, such as laser for light amplification (by) stimulated emission (of) radiation.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between an abbreviation and an acronym, you’re not alone. Before we dive into what these two are, we’ll give you this epigram:

All acronyms are abbreviations, but not all abbreviations are acronyms.

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The Oxford Comma: Useful, Necessary[,] or Annoying?

Published on June 16, 2025 by Julia Merkus, MA

When it comes to the Oxford comma, opinions are sharply divided: some champion its use as a clarity tool, while others reject it as unnecessary or inconsistent.

Defenders of the Oxford comma claim that, without separating the final two items in a given list, the reader automatically combines the words. Meanwhile, opponents argue that a grammatical rule cannot simply be disregarded whenever it seems ambiguous — and if you favor the Oxford comma, it needs to be used every single time.There are several ways to avoid ambiguity when using an Oxford comma, such as adjusting punctuation or restructuring sentences.

Whether you decide to use or omit the Oxford comma, the important thing is to stick to one style at all times.

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Metaphors: What They Are and How To Write Them

Published on June 16, 2025 by Gina Rancaño, BA

Metaphors are a figure of speech in which a link is established between two unrelated things, actions, or ideas. This link expresses an implied comparison, making what you’re trying to describe easier to visualize and understand.

Put simply, metaphors draw a comparison by saying something is (or does) something else.

However, even though all metaphors compare two separate things, not all metaphors explicitly follow the formula that x=y. There are different types of metaphors, some more discreet than others.

Picture reads: Writing is magic. What is the meaning of metaphors? Continue reading to find out.
One can say that “writing is magic” in that metaphorical sense that it can “transport you to another place while you’re sitting on the couch,” or make you feel a certain way through the use of words alone. But it’s not literally magic, of course.

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The UK Plans to Revert Their Measurement System Back to Fully Imperial

Published on June 16, 2025 by Marvin Erdner

These days, the British government is discussing re-establishing the imperial system instead of the metric system or, to be precise, their current coexistence.

Correct Use
  • When the United Kingdom was colonizing the globe during the 18th Century, they brought with them their English system, also known as the imperial system.
  • One of their then main colonies, the United States, adapted this unified system of measurement and formalized it as the United States customary units, which are still in use today.
  • During the 19th Century, continental Europe created the metric units that primarily rely on a decimal system (with the base number ten), known as the metric system.
  • Almost every country uses the metric system, except for the United States and its former colonies, Liberia and Myanmar (also known as Burma) .

You might have realized that people from the US use different measuring units compared to almost anywhere else in the world. But why is that, and how can we cope with the differences these fundamental systems entail? Let’s have a look at the imperial system and the metric system in this article.

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Alliteration Appreciation

Published on June 16, 2025 by Gina Rancaño, BA

Alliteration is a literary device in which the first consonant sound of two or more words appearing next to (or near) each other are the same. The Wicked Witch of the West is an example of alliteration.

When writing an alliteration, you must focus on the sound the letters make, not just the letter itself. For example, great gorilla is an alliteration, but giant gorilla is not.

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