All you fantastic (and soon-to-be fantastic) writers out there know you need the best writing tools if you want to create writing that’s fluent, error-free, and original. So you’ve been asking: Which is better, QuillBot or Grammarly?
In this article, we break it down for you. Read on to learn about the key features of these two tools, how they compare, their price points, and who should use them.
Continue reading: QuillBot vs. Grammarly
IKR stands for “I know, right?” and shows strong agreement.
As one of the most casual initialisms we often use in texting and chat, IKR is a short, quick way to show someone you agree with what they’ve said. It stands for the phrase “I know, right?” in which “I know” means you agree and “right?” is a verbal way of putting your arm around the person’s shoulder in solidarity.
So why not just say “I know” (IK)? In writing, where tone can be hard to discern, “I know” can come across as if the person didn’t need to say what they said because you already know it. This might seem rude if they were venting or looking for empathy rather than just sharing information. Adding “right?” to the end is literally asking if they agree, a question that is unnecessary but shows you care about the other person’s perspective.
IKR is for casual use only, so there are no rules about using punctuation with it or capitalizing it. Though the phrase it stands for is correctly written with a question mark, it’s fine to write IKR without a question mark. To learn more about it, let’s look at the various settings in which people use this abbreviation in English writing.
Continue reading: What Does IKR Mean?
LMK is an abbreviation for “Let me know.”
The letters in LMK may be capitalized or lowercased, but the meaning is always the same in texting and chatting. When a person says “LMK,” they’re usually asking for information that they don’t expect to get immediately but that will probably be available soon.
To understand how to use LMK, see the explanations and examples below.
Continue reading: What Does LMK Mean? | Let Me Know
E.g. stands for exempli gratia, “for example,” while i.e. stands for id est, “that is.”
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FYI is an initialism meaning “for your information.” It can be a noun or just a phrase tacked on to show you’re letting the reader know something.
Plenty of abbreviations that we use in digital communication, like ROFL and IRL, were invented within the last 20 or 30 years, but not this one. FYI, like IDK, has been around for nearly a century. We found it in a book about journalism published in 1935, but it was likely used in telegraph transmissions even earlier.
Read on to see examples of those uses in English writing today.
Continue reading: What Does FYI Mean? | For Your Information
A research question is a question that establishes what you aim to learn by conducting your research. It asks for information that is missing or the solution to a problem, which many papers describe in a problem statement.
The purpose of a research question is to give your research proposal or paper a sharp focus. It helps both you and your readers stay locked onto the knowledge you’re trying to gain or the problem you’re trying to solve. In a sense, writing a research question is like setting a goal and posting it prominently on your wall.
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The Oxford comma appears just before and or or in a sentence that lists three or more items.
We can buy two pies, one cake, or eight donuts.
The sentence above shows an Oxford comma example: it’s the comma after cake. This punctuation mark is also called the Harvard comma or the serial comma, which makes sense because it separates items in a series.
Continue reading: What Is the Oxford Comma, and When Should You Use It?
A dissertation is a paper explaining the individual research that a student has conducted to earn a degree. It usually consists of several sections or chapters and follows the rules of formal academic writing. The degree candidate chooses the research topic.
In the United States, a graduate student writes a dissertation to earn a doctorate degree. For instance, they may write a PhD dissertation to earn that degree after they have already completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree. There are some exceptions, though. One is that the paper a medical student must write in the US to earn an MD degree is often called a thesis.
However, this dissertation definition doesn’t apply in many other countries. For example, European universities typically call the document a dissertation if the candidate is working toward a bachelor’s or master’s degree but call it a thesis for a doctoral degree.
In short, a thesis and a dissertation are basically the same—long papers written to earn a degree. But the two words tend to be used in certain ways depending on the country or the academic field. Read on for some answers to basic questions about dissertation meaning and parts.
Continue reading: What Is a Dissertation? Meaning, Types, and Tips
IDK is an abbreviation for “I don’t know.”
It’s a common misconception that IDK is part of internet-speak, a set of relatively new abbreviations and lingo we use to talk online or in text messages. Instead, it has been around for much longer. Like many common English abbreviations, it seems to have originated with the US military, in this case during World War I.
Below, you’ll find a more detailed explanation of what IDK means and how to use it.
Continue reading: What Does IDK Mean? | I don’t know
Demeanor means a person’s outward behavior—the way they act, speak, and express themselves. Just as it’s “not about what you say, but the way you say it,” demeanor is not about what you do, but the way you do it.
So, is demeanor related to demean, which means “to degrade or corrupt something or someone”? According to etymonline.com, the word has its roots in Latin, which evolved into Old French demener (“to guide, conduct; to live, dwell”). It later evolved into Middle English demean (“to handle, manage, conduct”), then into 15th-century English demenure (“conduct, management, treatment, behavior toward someone”), which is pretty close to what it means today. Demean and demeanor are related—they come from the same Latin root, and “to conduct or behave” is another, much rarer, definition of demean.
The only other correct spelling of demeanor is demeanour. The -our ending is standard in every English-speaking country except the US.
Continue reading: What Does Demeanor Mean?