Are You Sure?

2020-01-14T14:20:19-05:00

Are You Sure? It is paradoxical that three words meaning "to make secure or certain," to quote The American Heritage Dictionary, create confusion in the minds of writers. Assure, ensure, and insure are kissing cousins, but they are not triplets and should not be used interchangeably regardless of context. In American English – British waters are muddier – it may be simplest to assign this trio three distinct roles: Assure should be used when eliminating doubt or instilling confidence in someone, as in, "Alicia assured her mother that students at Princeton get enough sleep." Ensure should be used when making certain [...]

Are You Sure?2020-01-14T14:20:19-05:00

Winners of Staff Essay Contest Named

2015-05-25T14:50:19-04:00

Four employees have received accolades for their submissions to Princeton Writes’ inaugural essay contest, which was launched last fall to encourage and recognize outstanding writing on the part of University staff. Marianna Bogucki, Ruth McGuire, Jamie Saxon, and Dana Sheridan were among 41 contestants, representing 29 academic and administrative units, who responded to the Selection Committee’s invitation to “describe an aspect of Princeton’s campus that often catches your attention.” In a pool of superlative essays, theirs most clearly, creatively, and compellingly addressed this topic, earning Bogucki the Princeton Writes Prize and McGuire, Saxon, and Sheridan honorable mentions. From left, Princeton [...]

Winners of Staff Essay Contest Named2015-05-25T14:50:19-04:00

Gilead (2004) by Marilynne Robinson

2015-05-01T12:00:40-04:00

Critical Assessment "Nowadays, when so many writers are acclaimed as great stylists, it's hard to make anyone notice when you praise a writer's prose. There is, however, something remarkable about the writing in 'Gilead.' It's not just a matter of writing well, although Robinson demonstrates that talent on every page . . . . It isn't just the care with which Robinson can relax the style to a Midwestern colloquialism: 'But one afternoon a storm came up and a gust of wind hit the henhouse and lifted the roof right off, and hens came flying out, sucked after it, I suppose, [...]

Gilead (2004) by Marilynne Robinson2015-05-01T12:00:40-04:00

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