Q: I frequently see ads that ask for writing samples, along with the résumé and cover letter. I have hesitated to respond to these job ads because I’m not sure what kinds of things I should submit.

Let's turn away from pet peeves to language we love. My last column applauded a reader who turned a lovely phrase: He wrote that someone using bloated language is creating "the illusion of fluency." ...

Maxine Berg receives funding from The Leverhulme Trust. Natalie Zemon Davis, who died on October 21 just short of her 95th birthday, was probably the best-known and most well-regarded of North ...