This is part of a series by editor Barbara McNichol to provide tips that help you write like a pro.

Do you find that at times the spoken language slides into your writing, but often the words selected aren’t the exact fit for what you mean?

Consider these sentences:

• How many executives do what they feel will win approval?
• The public feels certain people shouldn’t be in the workforce.

Given the context, is “feel” the correct word to express the intended meaning? No, because it doesn’t come from an emotional “feeling” source. Rather, it comes from a conviction based on experience—a place of belief. Because of this, better choices would be: [Read more…]