Tag Archive for: writing
Want to become a high-impact writer? Make your articles stronger and your message hit harder by utilizing the U2 method of high-impact writing. You can use a 3 step method to easily catch the attention of readers from the very first sentence.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s indisputable that Bono and gang wrote some incredible, lasting pop songs. Tunes that become a part of people’s lives.
“One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Pride in the Name of Love,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “With or Without You,” “Beautiful Day,” the list goes on…
How does U2 have such high-impact songs? It all stems from Bono’s approach to songwriting: Write the best chorus you can, then make that the verse and write an even better chorus.
So simple, yet so effective.
3 Step Method to High-Impact Writing
What the heck does Bono’s songwriting have to do with us writers? This is Write to Done, not Songwriting to Done.
Answer: You can apply U2’s method of high-impact songwriting to your own writing. Make your articles as immediate and catchy as U2’s songs.
Here’s the 3 step method:
- Write your high-impact point, the main message of your article
- Make that the first sentence or paragraph
- Write an even stronger point for the conclusion
So simple, yet so effective.
Plus, what’s awesome about the U2 method of high-impact writing is that it’s practical, rather than some abstract “push yourself to write better” tip
(what does that even mean?).
3 Reasons This Method Works
Here are 3 reasons why the U2 method will make your articles high-impact:
- Capture a reader’s attention right away – our short attention spans need immediate hooking in, or else we quickly lose interest
- Best foot forward – when you start off strong, people want to keep reading, just like a good intro riff makes you want to keep listening
- More valuable article – you make it easy for the reader to get the value, and the less they have to work the more they’ll read and the more value they’ll get
Nothing Clever, Just Solid Writing
Some songwriters get caught up in trying to be clever, thinking they need to figure out some secret chord progression or song structure to make a better song.
But all it is is simply pushing yourself to make the most high-impact chorus you can, then making it what starts the song and creating an even better chorus.
The same goes for writers. If you want readers, you don’t need to be clever with some fancy structure or rhyming scheme. Just write the best darn point you’re trying to make, then make that start the article and push yourself to write an even better concluding point.
I Utilized the U2 Method for This Article
The first paragraph of this article was originally the conclusion. It stated the message and value of the article.
But I decided to utilize the U2 method and put the high-impact point in the very beginning. Now, this article starts off with (hopefully) an immediate and catchy paragraph that hooked you in to read this far.
Following the 3rd step of the U2 method, the conclusion you’ll read next is an even higher-impact point.
The U2 Method of High-Impact Writing
Transform your next article into a high-impact hit. Utilize the U2 method of high-impact writing to create an immediate article that captivates readers and hooks passers-by.
You’ll capture a reader’s attention right away, have your best foot forward with your content, and create a more valuable article.
Oh U2, is there anything you wonderful Irishmen can’t teach us?
Published on the Write to Done blog http://writetodone.com When not pulling writing tips from the controversial but awesome Bono, Oleg Mokhov writes unconventional life-maximizing ideas for remarkable people and makes energizing electronic dance music for melody-lovers on his site Lifebeat.
Many writers get crushed when their 120,000-word novel is rejected. What happens when you enter a contest that says 500 words or less and you end up with 894 words? You might spend years writing your story or hours writing an article, but that doesn't mean you're done. It means you've completed the first draft. That's great, congratulations are in order, not everybody makes it that far. Remember it's a lot easier to cut words than to add them. I can picture several of you thinking, "Yeah right, my editor wants me to cut 10,000 words!"
Believe it or not, it's not as terrifying as many writers think. Let me give you an example. When I first thought about writing this article the name was: "How to Cut Your Word Count Down by 10,000 Words or More, in 3 Easy Steps." That's 16 words long, but it catches your attention, right? Then I came up with: "Three Easy Steps to a Better Word Count." When I read both to my wife, she said, "That's the same thing." She was right, except that now it was only eight words long. If you look at the top of the page, you see I ended up with "The Word Count Diet," which is only four words long. Did I change the meaning? No. Did I ruin the title? Obviously not, you're still reading it, aren't you?
One sentence is different than a whole story, but the concept is there. The more time you have invested, the harder it is to cut words from your baby. But let's face it, you want your baby to grow up someday and leave the nest, right? That's called editing. There I've said it, you don't have to hold your breath anymore. But I'm a creative soul, you think, why would I want to tear it apart?
Listen to this statement; "Editing is not destroying, it's simplifying, it's enhancing, it's making it easier to read." With that in mind, where do you start if you're not a professional editor or English major? I suggest you look at three areas that will improve your work. These areas are adverbs, adjectives, and glue words.
Adverbs are modifiers of verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. The easiest way to identify an adverb is that it usually ends with the letters LY. Why is everybody against using LY words? Many writers, editors, and readers consider it lazy writing because you don't show anything. Example: She lightly tapped on the door. The word tap means "a light knock", so it's kind of redundant. You could say: She tapped on the door with a gentle caress for fear of waking the baby. Not shorter, but it is more engaging. I also could have said definitely not shorter, but it serves no purpose. When you look at most LY words that's what you find, they don't add any substance.
The phrase 'all things in moderation' means stop using so many stupid, pointless, space wasting, disgusting adjectives. I could have said, stop using adjectives, but what fun would that be? Many writers have the mistaken idea that the more adjectives you use, the better. This is not true. It slows the reader down. Mark Twain exhorted writers to "kill" any adjectives they could catch. I don't know if I would go that far. Soft brown eyes are fine but... soft brown, glowing, golden eyes like pools of honey... is a little much, don't you think?
What exactly is a glue word? Glue words are the 200 most common words in the English language. The problem is they are so common it's easy to overuse them. Words to look out for include: like, the, so, very, and, or, but, big, tall, up, down, etc. For example, you could say, "Sally walked across the room so she could check out the full-length mirror and see how good her new dress looked." (21 words) Or you could say, "Sally admired her new dress in the mirror." (eight words) The meaning has not changed, but the word count has. The other concern with glue words is they are so vague, they don't mean anything. Don't say very sad, say depressed. Don't say really tired, say exhausted. Nine times out of ten you can remove the word that and nobody will notice. Maybe it's only a word here and there, but when you know which words to look for it can add up. Look at the title again, from 16 words to four words. Even if you only do half that good, your bloated 120,000-word novel has just become a 60,000-word bestseller. Think about it.
Award-winning writer/photographer Tedric Garrison has 40 years' experience in both areas of expertise. As a Graphic Arts Major, he has a unique perspective on creativity. His photography tells a story and his writing is visual. Tedric shares his insight, experience, and skills at his website: http://writephotos.weebly.com
The fuss generated by Lynne Truss’s book, “Eats Shoots & Leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation,” really brought this topic into focus when it was first published. From the way everyone was talking when the book came out, you’d think punctuation was a whole new, previously unappreciated art form that could light up all our lives.
In the cold light of the business day, though, punctuation is not much more than a set of tools we use to fine tune our writing -– nothing more romantic than that.
You’ve probably noticed that it tends to split into two separate categories:
1. Punctuation that affects the meaning of what you write (so it’s worth getting right)
2. Punctuation that doesn’t really affect the meaning of what you write (but irritates some people if you get it wrong)
Beyond that, also there are variations in punctuation rules from one English language culture to the next. Most of those, I would say, fall into category #2.
So let’s take a look at the topic from the non-literary, business-only viewpoint. Please note these are my opinions only and I’m no English graduate – only a realist - so feel free to disagree!
Punctuation that affects the meaning of what you write (so it’s worth getting right)
Apostrophe
This is probably the most misunderstood punctuation element of them all. Time and time again I see examples of the apostrophe incorrectly used and I think, “well, if I can get them right on the strength of mere high school / secondary school English, why can’t they?” Apostrophes are easy. Here’s how:
The apostrophe is used in 3 main ways:
1. To make a noun possessive - Suze’s, the children’s, everyone’s – and if it has an “s” at the end of the original noun, then the apostrophe goes after that – cheeses’ – helpers’ – mothers’ – etc.
2. To show you’ve left something out and/or contracted two words - don’t, won’t, she’ll, he’d, etc.,
and most importantly, it’s as in the contraction of it is
3. To indicate plurals of some lowercase letters - but only a few, as in “mind your p’s and q’s.
The apostrophe is NOT used to accompany possessive pronouns or for noun plurals, including acronyms and well-known abbreviations.
So you DO NOT need an apostrophe in examples like his … yours … hers … its (aha, that’s why!) … etc.
Similarly you DO NOT need an apostrophe to make plurals out of things like … the 1970s … Ipods … PCs … etc.
Comma
Here’s another really useful punctuation mark. Commas split thought processes after introductory 1) words, 2) phrases or 3) clauses, particularly where there would be a pause in natural speech.
1) However, I’m delighted to say that…
2) From the employee’s perspective, I can see we need to…
3) Looking at it from the employee’s perspective, I can see we need to…
Semi colon
This creates a more dramatic pause, usually to link two clauses if you don’t want to use a verbal link like “and” or “but.”
With verbal link:I want to go to the wine bar, but I have work to do here
Without verbal link:I want to go to the wine bar; I have work to do here, however
You can also use semi colons to create a list – for example…
In writing fiction we need to consider a number of issues including establishing the background; defining the main characters; developing the plot; introducing sub-plots; and sketching the roles of supporting characters.
Bullet points
In modern business writing – especially for online purposes – it’s usually better to use bullet points to form a list, because they’re easier to follow both verbally and visually. Generally you should use them for lists of three or more points, and probably for no more than about ten without some sort of break.
Colon
This creates an even more definitive pause. It’s most frequently used after a complete (short) statement so you can introduce one or more directly related ideas. If they come in list form you may want to use semi colons to separate the list entries that follow.
For example …
The following people were instrumental in helping us achieve our goals: John Doe, senior chemist; Mary Jones, technical manager; Joe Bloggs, technical advisor; Jane Smith, liaison officer.
Don’t forget, too, that colons form an essential part of timings (e.g. 05:00 hours, 6:00 p.m.)
Period/full stop
Need I say more? Well, yes. Be sure you use this punctuation mark often enough. Long sentences in contemporary business communications tend to wander and obscure meaning. Shorter sentences are punchier, better understood, and far more powerful.
Parentheses/brackets
Parentheses section off extra thoughts that, although not critical, are still relevant to a sentence, e.g. … I wondered if the old homestead (which had been built in the 19th century) would withstand this modern onslaught of renovation.
Dash
To an extent dashes perform the same function as parentheses … e.g. I wondered if the old homestead -- which had been built in the 19th century -- would withstand this modern onslaught of renovation. They also can be used in the same way as a colon, e.g. I wondered if the old homestead would withstand this modern onslaught of renovation –- having been built in the 19th century, it might not have been strong enough.
Quotation marks/inverted commas
These marks show direct quotations. Whether other punctuation marks like commas, periods/full stops, colons and semi colons go inside or outside the quote marks depends on where you went to school!
Quote marks also indicate words you want to pull out to suggest irony or some other quirk.In an advertising or promotional context, some people feel that to put quote marks around a statement will make readers believe it has been said by some authoritative person and therefore deserves to be taken seriously.
Well, I know that can work when you’re advertising a fairly low-level product to a certain mass-market level. But believe me if you operate in the higher echelons of business-to-business communications, forget that one. If you want it to be believed, make sure you attribute it to its genuine originator.
Punctuation that doesn’t really affect the meaning of what you
write (but irritates some people if you get it wrong)
Hyphen
Hyphens are used to join two words into one compound word … e.g. well-known, eighty-three, semi-skilled. You also should hyphenate words with some prefixes and suffixes like ex-wife, mid-1970s, self-interested, chairman-elect.
Exclamation mark
People often tend to overuse the exclamation mark which weakens its impact. I’m guilty of this. Often I’ll compose an email to someone, then go back and edit out all but one or two of the “screamers.” Too many of these cheapen your writing, even if it is intended to be light-hearted.
Leader dots…
Another “guilty” from Suze … see? You can use these instead of parentheses or dashes, but they are frowned upon by some people. To be safe, it’s better to use them sparingly or not at all.
Underlining
Underlining is a common way to emphasize text, but be very careful about using it in text that is intended to be used online. Here, an underlined word or words in an email or web text can represent a link. It’s best to use the bold facility for emphasis.
Italics
Another means of emphasizing text. Online, try to avoid using it unless your font is large, because italics are not easy to read from a screen. Traditionally they’re used to show the title of something like a play or newspaper, and also some foreign words e.g. haute cuisine, schadenfreude.
Slash/oblique
This is often used to represent and, or, or and/or. Use it sparingly online as it can be visually confusing
© Suzan St Maur Better results from your business writing
W: http://www.suzanstmaur.com E: suze@suzanstmaur.com
For more of my business and marketing communication tips, take a look at my articles on the US website, Marketing Professionals .... go:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/arch/author_list.asp?aut=Suzan_St_Maur
And for even more of my articles, go: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Suzan_St_Maur
Do you hate to write? Does it take you a long time to get the words on the page? Usually when people struggle to write, it’s because they are trying to edit as they go along. There is an easier way to write and be more creative!
Step 1 - Write
It’s hard to be creative if you’re editing at the same time. When you begin your writing project don’t think about word choices or punctuation. Just write. Don’t read your work. Just write. It will be difficult at first because you will be tempted to make changes. Resist the temptation! Just write. You’ll find that thoughts and ideas start flowing once you stop editing. When you’ve finished writing put it away for a couple of days. When you take it out, become the editor and start making your changes.
Step 2 - Edit
Read through your work, then mark the parts you want to change or revise. Focus in on the paragraphs, sentences and words that need revision. Get more specific with each round of edits. Read the piece again, then focus in on specific passages, sentences, paragraphs that you want to shape up. When you’re finished, read the entire piece again.
Now would be a good time to use the spell checker. However, don’t depend on it to catch all of the errors. If you write “your” and you really meant “you’re” the spell checker won’t catch it. It’s not a misspelled word. Unless your spell checker points out commonly confused words, it won’t find the problem.
Step 3 - Listen
Satisfied with your changes? Read your work out loud so that you’ll be more likely to catch missing words, incorrect tenses or repetitive phrases. It will also allow you to catch places where perhaps a word can be changed to a more appropriate one, or a sentence can be reworked so that it flows better. Make additional revisions and read it again.
If time permits, put your work away for another day or two. Give yourself some distance from the work, so when you read it again you’ll be less likely to be filling in words or meanings that aren’t there. You’ll be able to see it as though you were reading it for the first time. If possible have someone else read it and give you feedback. Perhaps another “pair of eyes” will find that a thought or concept isn’t coming across as you intended.
You know what you want to say, but that doesn’t mean that your readers will get it. Having someone else read the work will give you another perspective. In fact, it would be better to have a few people read it, especially if your work will be presented to a large audience. Take the feedback and determine what makes sense and what doesn’t. For instance, if the majority of your feedback mentions a specific issue, pay attention.
Allow yourself to write whatever comes to mind without editing. Let your ideas flow and you’ll see how easy it is to get your words on the page.
Autor Deborah A. Bailey, Writing Services Central, LLC
Deborah A. Bailey is a professional writer and owner of Writing Services Central, LLC. Her company provides expert writing and editing services to entrepreneurs. Subscribe to the free monthly ezine for writing and editing tips and articles at http://www.writingservicescentral.com
"Out of all that you possess, what do you believe is the most valuable?" he asked me.
"Rich, you know me well enough to know I put little value on things in my life. So, this, for me, is a difficult question," I replied.
"It's not the same answer for everyone and yet, most people put little, if any, value on this," he said.
Rich is a man with more energy than any one person should have. When he is speaking with you he talks to everyone around you. When he is in a room everyone knows it. He is not boisterous, rude or obnoxious. He is just super happy and friendly with everyone he meets.
There are times when I see people and wish out loud, "I want to be that happy." I'm not sure I'd want to be as happy as Rich. He sometimes exhausts me.
I thought about what he said for a few minutes while he scanned the people nearby.
"Hey, this is Bobby Perks. He's a big time writer!" he said to someone. I, in turn, wanted to hide.
"Well, I would guess I would say I value my home. It's a simple one, big enough for Marianne and I, but I would guess shelter would have to be at the top of my list."
"Good answer. I knew you wouldn't say your car. You don't drive a fancy one. You don't wear a watch or fancy jewelry. You're right, stuff doesn't matter to you."
"So, what's your answer?"
"Your words. Not because you are a writer and a speaker. I believe that you own your words and many people don't. You care about what you say."
He gives me more credit than I deserve for I have, like some people, said things I regretted later.
I thought about "owning my words."
Language Of Care Versus Language Of Neglect
They say that actions speak louder than words, but people tend to say things without really thinking.
Words build up or tear down.
Words inspire or insult.
The first words spoken have made lovers out of strangers.
The last words whispered may ease a mourners pain.
Words spoken in anger are often forgiven, but rarely forgotten.
"Just what I needed to hear!" means God spoke through you.
You are what you say and how you say it.
Matthew 12:37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Dale Carnegie once said, "You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime."
Sometimes words are all we have when there's nothing we can do.
"I wish you enough!"
Bob Perks
Bob Perks is an inspirational author and speaker. Bob's new book I Wish You Enough has been published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. A collection of stories based on his Eight Wishes expressed below. Available through your favorite bookstore or online. Visit www.BobPerks.com
"I Wish You Enough!"
(c) 2001 Bob Perks
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."
An old college friend and accomplished writer, John Scalzi, recently posted a list of writing tips for non-professionals, which I'd highly recommend for professionals and non-professionals alike. One of his most unusual suggestions is to "speak what you write" -- literally, to read your writing out loud before publishing, whether in a blog post or just an e-mail to friends. This, he argues, will not only help catch spelling and other errors (each of which Scalzi says decreases the writer's apparent IQ by 5 to 10 points), but also help you see whether you're conveying the meaning you intend.
So what does psychology research have to say about this notion? (No, not that typos decrease your IQ, but the larger idea that reading your words out loud will help you determine if your meaning is clear.)
A team led by Justin Kruger conducted a series of experiments on how we perceive each other's intentions in e-mail, and their findings do have some relevance to Scalzi's claims. One common problem in e-mails is deciding whether your correspondent is being serious or sarcastic. Taking Scalzi's example, most readers will realize that one of his observations was sarcastic: your IQ doesn't literally decrease when you make a spelling error. But what about the advice given by the aptly-named blogger Grumpy old Bookman, who in response to the much-hyped controversy over fabrications in James Frey's memoir, suggested that authors literally make everything up, taking no inspiration from the real world? Most commenters to that post clearly thought he was being serious, but I have little doubt that the post was intended to be sarcasm (I also think he anticipated that many readers wouldn't "get it" -- and that was part of the joke).
But do most writers actually accurately anticipate how readers will perceive the tone of their writing? Kruger's team tested sixty pairs of students at Cornell University, asking each person to choose 10 statements from a list of 20. Each person had a different list; on both lists, some of the statements were sarcastic, and some were serious. In separate rooms, one member of the pair typed each of the chosen statements into an e-mail message. The other member recorded the statements with a tape recorder. Each person guessed whether the message recipient would be able to identify the statements correctly as sarcastic or serious; then they listened or read their partners' messages and indicated whether they actually thought the message was sarcastic. Here are the results:
While both e-mailers and talkers thought most sentences would be read accurately, e-mail recipients couldn't judge whether sarcasm was intended -- their readers guessed their intentions at a rate no better than chance. By contrast, people speaking sarcastic messages were accurately able to guess when recipients would see the sarcasm. Message recipients were also asked to say how confident they were in their understanding of the message, and again, whether reading e-mails or listening to recordings, nearly everyone believed they had accurately judged the message's intent.
So talking appears to be a better way of conveying sarcasm than e-mail. But what about Scalzi's advice -- can saying what you write actually help you better understand how your written message will be taken?
In a new experiment, pairs of volunteers e-mailed each other as before, but before they guessed how their message would be taken, they recorded
the statements on a tape recorder. Half of the group read the statements as intended, using a sarcastic voice for the sarcastic statements, and a serious voice for serious statements. The other half read them using the opposite intonation: a sarcastic voice for serious statements and a serious voice for sarcastic statements. Here are the results:
When people read the statements with the same intonation as they intended to convey, they were wildly inaccurate at guessing whether readers would judge the statements' intentions correctly -- in fact, readers again were barely better than chance. But when e-mailers tried reading the statements with the opposite intonation, their guesses as to how readers would perform exactly matched actual performance. So here is a case where speaking what you write does appear to help you understand whether readers will read your message the way you intend it to be read.
Kruger and his team argue that their study demonstrates that writers are generally overconfident about what their readers will understand. While confidence about our writing matches our confidence about speaking, in reality, we're less able to convey those intentions in writing. Amazingly, readers, too, believe they can effectively judge the writer's intent, so the potential for miscommunicating in e-mail is amplified. The research also appears to support Scalzi's claim that "speaking what you write" can improve writing, with a caveat: to better understand the potential for misreading, you should try to read your words using an intonation opposite what you intend.
As for the link between spelling errors and IQ, more research will be needed before a definitive answer can be reached (seriously!).
Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 89(6), 925-936.
Posted by Dave Munger on Cognitive Daily
You may also be interested in:
Manage your e-mail so that it does not rule your workday
Bird by bird : some instructions on writing and life
by Anne Lamott
Anne makes it clear that writing must be pursued for something other than mere publication. It won’t solve the mechanical aspects of writing, or structural excellence, but it will spark creativity. It is incredibly informative, with startling revelations. The practical and real life advice will stay with you as you struggle to become the writer you already are. It is fabulously funny with unpredictable humor and absolutely generous warm compassion. => http://bit.ly/Lumxf5
The University of St Andrews has a fair number of successful writers on its staff: poets, academics, novelists. But strolling the streets of the town, risking conversations with eccentric bird men, you’ll find Foz Meadows, an Australian-born young adult writer and author of Solace and Grief, the first of a trilogy, published in 2010. In March, Foz, gave an engaging talk to the University’s Literary Society about why Young Adult (YA) fiction matters. I talked to her about the genre of YA and her life as a writer. => http://bit.ly/lzbBb7
[Via Proofreadnow.com]
A customer asked about titles today. She said she was in a friendly office argument whether or not to capitalize an employee's title after the name, as in "Matilda McAlfalfa, vice president of human resources, will speak this evening." Some in her office said to capitalize as Vice President of human resources.
Well, the Chicago Manual of Style, the standard reference for American form, says NO. CMS says that titles are to be capped when they immediately precede a personal name and are thus used as part of the name. When the title follows the name, it is generally lowercased. An exception is often made for promotional or ceremonial contexts, or in a heading, of course.
• President Washington; the president
• General Lee; the general
• Cardinal Newman; the cardinal
• Governors Brown and Patrick; the governors
You need not repeat the title once the title has been given.
• Mortimer P. Snerd, senator from Massachusetts; Senator Snerd; Snerd
In promotional or ceremonial contexts such as a displayed list of donors in the front matter of a book or a list of corporate officers in an annual report, titles are usually capitalized even when following a personal name. Exceptions may also be called for in other contexts for reasons of courtesy or diplomacy.
• Tallulah Throckmorton, Director of Water Sports
A title used alone, in place of a personal name, is capitalized only in such contexts as a toast or a formal introduction, or when used in direct address.
• Ladies and Gentlemen, the Prime Minister.
• I would have skied today, Captain, but the waves were too big.
• Thank you, Madam President.
When a title is used in apposition before a personal name?that is, not alone and as part of the name but as an equivalent to it, usually preceded by the or a modifier?it is considered not a title but rather a descriptive phrase and is therefore lowercased.
• the empress Elizabeth of Austria (but Empress Elizabeth of Austria)
• German chancellor Angela Merkel (but Chancellor Merkel)
• Florida senator Marco Rubio
• the German-born pope Benedict XVI
• former president Reagan
• former presidents Reagan and Nixon
• the then secretary of state Colin Powell
Other examples of proper form:
• John Adams, vice president of the United States; Vice President Adams; vice-presidential duties
• the Holy Roman emperor
• Nero, emperor of Rome; the Roman emperor
• the shah of Iran
• the mayor; James Michael Curly, mayor of Boston; Mayor Curly
• the president; George Washington, first president of the United States; President Washington; the presidency; presidential; the Washington administration (note the lowercase administration)
Source: Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition.
From the Weekly Grammar Tip published by ProofreadNow.com