¶ The Library

Style

The young-learner edition — same rules, smaller steps, friendlier examples.

19 articles For readers 11–18 See the adult edition

Young LearnersUK & US

In this pillar

Every young-learner article

Start here Sounding Like You, On Purpose 2 min read Style isn't extra rules to obey — it's the choices that make writing sound like you meant it

"Very", "Really", "So": Ditching the Empty Intensifiers 4 min read "Very good" or "excellent"? The filler words that weaken a sentence, and the stronger ones that replace them
Academic & Professional Style: Credible Without Stiff 4 min read Sounding grown-up in an essay without going stiff — how to be clear and confident, not stuffy
Active vs Passive Voice: A Style Choice, Not a Rule 4 min read "The window was broken" or "Sam broke the window"? When each voice is the right tool, not a mistake
Avoiding Ambiguity: Making Sure They Get What You Mean 4 min read When a sentence could mean two things, your reader picks the wrong one — how to write so there's only one meaning
Avoiding Stereotypes & Loaded Labels 5 min read Words carry assumptions — how to describe people fairly and skip the labels that box them in
Clarity & Concision: More With Fewer Words 4 min read Saying more with fewer words — how cutting the padding makes your point land harder
Contractions in Formal Writing: Is "Don't" Ever OK? 4 min read Can you write "don't" in an essay? When contractions are fine, and when to spell it out in full
Cutting Wordiness & Redundancy: Edit Like You Mean It 5 min read "Free gift", "end result" — the extra words that repeat themselves, and how to trim your writing tight
Disability Language: Person-First, Identity-First 5 min read The respectful ways to write about disability — person-first, identity-first, and how to ask which someone prefers
Ending a Sentence With a Preposition: Myth vs Modern Usage 4 min read "Who did you go with?" is fine — the old rule against ending on a preposition is a myth, and here's when to relax it
Formal or Informal? Choosing the Right Register 4 min read Texting a friend isn't emailing a teacher — how to match your words to who's reading, and switch on purpose
Gender-Neutral Job Titles & Roles 5 min read Firefighter, not fireman — the up-to-date job words that don't assume who's doing the job
Impersonal Tone, Hedging & Cautious Claims 4 min read "It seems", "this suggests" — how careful writers soften a claim so they don't overstate what they know
Nominalisation: When Verbs-Turned-Nouns Help (and Bury) 4 min read Turning "decide" into "decision" can sharpen or smother a sentence — when the noun helps and when the verb wins
Professional Writing: Emails, Reports & Workplace Tone 4 min read Writing that sounds capable and polite — from a message to a teacher to a report, how to get the tone right
Sentence Fragments: Stylish or Sloppy? 4 min read A fragment can be a bold choice or a plain mistake — how to tell, and how to use one on purpose
Singular "They": Clear, Correct and Respectful 5 min read Using "they" for one person is correct, clear and kind — how it works, and why it's been around for centuries
Slang, Emoji, Ellipses & Dashes: When They Earn Their Place 4 min read Emoji, slang and trailing dots have their moment — when they add something, and when they just get in the way