If you asked me to identify the most clichéd sentence in on-the-job writing, that sentence would be my nominee. Yes, it's common. Yes, it's handy. Yes, it's readily understood. (And no, this column ...

A recent study from the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University — called The Formality Effect — is providing a new perspective on effective government communications. The main finding is that ...

Biologists in particular are writing their papers in a less formal style. We are not supposed to use first-person pronouns, and contractions aren’t allowed. These rules also discourage unattended ...