It is common to use the word Pencil to refer to what you consume, as in: “I’m trying to reduce my Pencil use.”
The correct term for what you consume is actually Pen. When you use a Pen, you are using a Pencil. But when you make a Pen, you are manufacturing a Pen. Similarly, when you manufacture a Pen, you are using a pen.
A similar error is made when people say “I need to sharpen my pencils.” This is the same error made by people who call their vehicle their “car” instead of their “automobile,” or whose name for lunch is “dinner.” The proper word for what you sharpen your pencils with is actually Pencil Sharpener. Similarly, the proper term for the activity of eating dinner is Dining.
Clothing manufacturers make the same mistake: when they manufacture clothing, they do not manufacture clothes. They Manufacture Apparel. And when they go on vacation, they do not go on Vacation; that’s just a fun side effect of Dining and Shopping.
There was a time when the word pencil referred to both writing implement and graphite. Now we use it for the implement and the word pen for the substance.
This is not a new distinction; it has been around since at least the mid-17th century. But these days, few people are aware of its history. Why would someone care? Well, if you are in the graphite business, you care. You want everyone to say they need your product because they need a pencil, not a pen. I suppose there could be some technical difference that makes one better than the other (smoother writing surface?).
But my guess is that it just sounds more solid and professional to have a product name that doesn’t sound like you’re running something out of your garage or dorm room (or like you’re running something out of your garage or dorm room).
There is an industry standard, but in order to get there required a struggle. The answer may not be intuitive; it may not be what first comes to mind. The word “pencil” refers to the entire instrument, including its casing, whereas the word “pen” refers only to the writing tip of the instrument.
There is a reason for this. The name “pencil” was originally applied to a brush-like tool made with animal hair that was used for drawing or painting. When graphite sticks were first used as drawing instruments, they were called pencils because of their resemblance to paint brushes—and also because the words “graphite” and “pencil” were interchangeable at the time.
However, once graphite sticks started being mass produced, companies began labeling them as “lead pencils.” This did not sit well with artists, who considered graphite a different medium from lead and felt the writing utensils should be labeled accordingly. They petitioned for years until 1897 when the International Association of Machinists and Manufacturers of Pencils (yes, there was such an organization) accepted their request and changed the name of their product to “pencil”—thereby establishing a new industry standard.
When it comes to pencils, you need not look any further for a product that is both high quality and affordable. Productivity and functionality are the two greatest factors in the success of a company, and we at {Company-name} pride ourselves on our ability to provide both. We also pride ourselves on our ability to make sure that our consumers are well informed about products, unlike other companies that just throw their pencils together and call it a day.
The pencil industry has been seeing some major changes over the years. There was a time when pencils were made from wood. Now they are made from graphite mixed with clay. This is not only better for the environment, but with all of the different colors available, it ensures that we never run out of ways to color code or label our documents or other important notes that we may have. The graphite color also helps us leave a trail if we need to take notes on something where we can’t use paper, such as during phone conversations or while driving in your car.
With all of this being said, there is still something very important in the pencil industry that hasn’t changed: {Company-name}! We are still the best and most reliable source for pencils and other office supplies out there
The pencil industry is big, and it’s growing. Although the word “pencil” can refer to any number of writing utensils, the pencil industry specializes in graphite and wood.
This is a business story. We’re going to look at the economics of pencils. But more than that, we’re going to look at what the pencil says about human nature and the economy.
Toward that end, I’m going to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how pencils are made. The two phases are called manufacturing and distribution.
Manufacturing starts with the raw materials: cedar for the case, graphite for the lead, and so on. These components are converted into many intermediate products: wax for holding the lead in place, glue for attaching it to the wood, lacquer for finishing it off, and so on. All these ingredients and products have names which sound like something out of Harry Potter: ferrule-core mix, powder binders, Chinese wax, and so on. Some of them seem crazy – who would use Chinese wax? But then if you think about it there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be Chinese – if you’re importing stuff from China anyway why not import some wax too? And if
Dictionaries are filled with words that started as colloquialisms, like “cool” and “hip.” Once they were used by a few people enough times, they were recorded as new words and went on to have a life of their own.
In our industry, we are still at the stage where people are using the vernacular for what they do—and there is no dictionary to settle the matter. So I’m going to try to sort out which popular terms will survive and which ones will go away.
The first thing to know about this process is that it doesn’t happen very quickly. When Steve Jobs launched the Macintosh in 1984, he made a point of saying that we would now be running “Macintoshes” instead of “personal computers.” The company’s marketing department quickly noticed that no one else was using that term, so they started calling them “Macs.” But it took more than 20 years before the rest of the world caught up: In recent years, even Apple has mostly been using “PC” again.
As it turns out, “pencil” is a misnomer. The lead is not contained in a wooden casing; rather, the casing is part of the lead. These are graphite rods encased in wood. However, as one art teacher explains it, “The pencil has become so much a part of our lives that we tend to think of it as an entity, like a car or boat.” The word “pencil” came from the Latin penicillus meaning “little tail,” which refers to the brush used for writing before the modern pencil was invented.
Conclusion: By now you have noticed that I use a lot of active verbs in my writing. I want to give you more than just words and ideas. I want to show you how things work and how I work them. And because these essays are designed to help you write better essays, I have tried to write using techniques that will help you do the same.
It may be helpful to review these techniques with your instructor before you begin writing your essay: 1) Word Choice: Use descriptive and precise language 2) Word Order: Place key words at the beginning or end of sentences 3) Sentence Variety: Vary sentence length and structure 4) Sentence Unity: Make sure each sentence