Writers, eat your greens!

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Eat your greens! For many people, that means eating foods that they don’t enjoy, but which are good for them. In the writing world, I think a comparable challenge is proofreading your text and checking on fine points of grammar. Here are some steps I suggest to help you eat your metaphorical greens.

1. Finish your drafts early

When you finish writing something before its deadline, you can approach it with fresh eyes for a final review. With fresh eyes, you’re more likely to catch errors of reasoning, grammar, or other areas.

2. Use tools and people to help you proofread and copyedit

It’s not easy to proofread or copyedit your own work, as my husband reminds me when he proofreads my monthly newsletter.

Online tools that check your spelling, grammar, and wordiness can complement your work. My recent post on “The compelling white paper that wasn’t” includes links to tools.

However, online tools won’t catch every mistake. For example, it won’t catch the investment professional with the title “portfolio manger” instead of “portfolio manager” with the additional “a.” That’s why it’s good to get a colleague or professional proofreader to review your work. Also, consider using the tip I describe in “Why I love Adobe Acrobat Pro for proofreading” to catch errors that eyes tend to gloss over.

If organization—not grammar—is your stumbling block, use my first-sentence check.

3. Have reliable references handy

You can’t buy or find online one of the most powerful tools for catching your errors. That’s a customized checklist that lists your most common errors. For example, if you often make “Bloggers’ top two punctuation mistakes,” add them to your checklist.

My favorite online resources include:

If you have a budget, you can subscribe to online resources from AP Style or the Chicago Manual of Style. I have mixed feelings about AP Styleguard software.

You can’t find all of the answers online. That’s why my library includes “My five favorite reference books for writers.”

The result?

If you follow these three tips, you’ll produce cleaner, better organized writing. That’ll make your writing more compelling and effective.

Tip for bloggers

Bloggers sometimes ask me where I get my ideas for posts on this blog. Today’s post was inspired by the image that accompanies it. When the image appeared as a free download from Depositphotos, a website I use to source some of my photos, it made me think about how many people don’t like greens. My mind quickly bounced to the tasks that writers don’t like.

Images can be a great source of blog post ideas. For more ideas on how to find inspiration in images, read “Photo + Mind Map = Blog Inspiration.”

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When do I need quotation marks?

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When should you use quotation marks? You probably know that you should use them around quotations or around the titles of some artistic works. (Books are an exception to the artistic works rule, except in AP style.) But other cases are open to debate.

I find that non-professional writers sometimes use quotation marks for emphasis, instead of their intended purposes. I don’t like that. Nor do most professional writers.

Garner’s Modern American Usage lists three times, in addition to when you’re identifying quotations or titles of artistic works, when you should use quotation marks:

  • when you’re referring to a word as a word, <the word “that”>, unless you’re using italics for that purpose
  • when you mean so-called-but-not-really <if he’s a “champion,” he certainly doesn’t act like one>
  • when you’re creating a new word for something—and then only on its first appearance <I’d call him a “mirb,” by which I mean…>

Some sources disagree with Garner and me on avoiding the use of quotation marks for emphasis, but urge discretion. Here’s what Amy Einsohn says in The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications:

Quotation marks may be used for emphasis or irony, but copyeditors should curb authors who overuse this device.

I’m okay with using quotation marks for irony. I believe that’s what Garner aims at in his so-called-but-not-really case. But I prefer to avoid using them for emphasis. In fact, I almost deleted Einsohn’s quote from this post because I dislike them so much.

You can make your own rules on this issue, but I suggest that create a style sheet to help you apply your rules consistently.

What do YOU think about quotation marks?

If you have strong feelings about the usage of quotation marks, please share. If you suggest a different set of rules, it’d be great if you could cite a source for your recommendation.

Disclosure: If you click on the Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I only link to books in which I find some value for my blog’s readers.

 

Colons and bullets: Keep ’em together or tear ’em apart?

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I’m a big fan of bulleted lists. They’re reader-friendly because, when used properly, they’re easy to scan. But I’ve gone back and forth on how to punctuate the text introducing a list of bullets. I always used a colon before the list until a friend told me that was wrong. However, other friends chide me when I skip the colon.

To put an end to this argument, I’m reviewing some opinions on this topic.

Use a colon to introduce bullet points

“End your introduction with a colon, which serves as an anchor,” says Bryan Garner in the section about bullets Garner’s Modern American Usage.

Use a colon to introduce lists

Many texts don’t explicitly discuss the combination of colons with bullets, but they discuss colons preceding lists. “Use a colon to introduce a list that appears at the end of a sentence,” say Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas in The Grammar Bible (p. 426). My 2007 Associated Press Stylebook says, “The most common use of a colon is at the end of a sentence to introduce lists, tabulations, texts, etc. (p. 325).

“Following” or “as follows” demands a colon

Other texts don’t explicitly mention bullets, but give mixed opinions about colons preceding lists. For example, my 1982 copy of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) says, “A colon is commonly used to introduce a list or a series” (p. 149).  It also specifies that “The terms as follows or the following require a colon is followed directly by the illustrating or enumerated items or if the introducing clause is incomplete without such items.” My 1974 copy of Words into Print agrees these “follow” phrases require a colon.

However, things get complicated after that.

Here are some of the situations when you should skip the colon after the introductory phrase, according to CMOS (all citations on the same page).

  1. “A colon should not be used to introduce a list or object of an element in the introductory statement.”–Words Into Print seems to agree, saying, “When the introduction is not a complete sentence and one or more of the items of the list are need to complete it, no colon or dash should be used” (p. 181).
  2. “If the list or series is introduced by expressions such as namely, for instance, for example, or that is, a colon should not be used unless the series consists of one or more grammatically complete clauses.”

Grammar Girl’s two-part rule

Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl, suggests a simple two-part rule in “Formatting Vertical Lists.”

  1. “If your lead-in statement is a complete sentence, use a colon at the end to introduce your list.”
  2. “On the other hand, if your lead-in statement is a sentence fragment, I recommend that you don’t use a colon.”

I like rules that are easy to remember. They boost the likelihood that I’ll punctuate consistently.

What about you?

If you have strong feelings about colons and bullets, please express them below.

Image courtesy of Master isolated at freedigitalphotos.net.

Punctuation reminder: When an -ly adverb is part of a compound modifier

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Should you hyphenate “socially responsible” in the following phrase?

“Socially responsible funds are…”

“Hyphens should never be used with compound modifiers that include an adverb ending in -ly,” as my colleague Hilda Brucker reminds me occasionally. Yes, I make punctuation mistakes, too. This is one of my weaknesses.

 

How can I brush up my grammar?

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Grammar, punctuation, and word usage questions puzzle many of my readers. If you’d like to brush up on the basics, I’ve got some tips for you.

1.  Buy and read Edit Yourself  by Bruce Ross-Larson.

This slim paperback offers tips in an easy-to-read style in its first 11 chapters. For example, “Long sentences−those of more than, say, twenty words−often are hard to read. Short sentences usually are not.” The second half of the book is an alphabetical, reader-friendly reference.

When you have questions beyond the book’s scope, check out the books listed in “My five favorite reference books for writers” and the online resources I discuss in “Poll: What’s your favorite online resource for grammar, punctuation, and word usage questions?”

2. Take GrammarBook.com quizzes.

GrammarBook.com offers interactive quizzes. What I liked about the one quiz I took was that the answers explained the rules clearly. Plus, it taught me some fine points of grammar, so it’s good for advanced students as well as writers who are brushing up.

Some of the GrammarBook quizzes are free. If you like the freebies enough, you can buy an annual subscription to access the rest.

Disclosure: If you click on an Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I provide links to books only when I believe they have value for my readers.

Introducing “Mistake Monday” on the Investment Writing Facebook page

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Every writer makes mistakes. The best writers learn from mistakes. In the interest of furthering your learning, I’ve introduced Mistake Monday on the Investment Writing Facebook page. My goal is to share examples of writing mistakes every Monday. I also welcome your contributions.

For Mistake Monday, can you suggest a replacement for "mitigate"? You may not think of "mitigate" as a mistake, but I'd prefer a simpler word.

Why you should visit the Mistake Monday posts

Mistake Monday offers you a chance to test your knowledge of the fine points of writing. I’ll post writing samples, but I won’t correct them. At least not right away. I’d like to give you room for friendly discussions about the mistakes on the page.

Reading the comments on the Mistake Monday conversations will help you to refine your understanding of good writing. I expect to learn things, too.

Please contribute to Mistake Monday

I welcome your posts of writing mistakes on any Monday, but only on Mondays. Please keep the content clean and your comments civil. I look forward to learning from you!

How do you make Degas possessive?

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I learned in high school English to form the possessive of a word ending in the letter s by adding only an apostrophe. According to this rule, the workers of Degas should become Degas’ workers.

But times have changed. Today many people and organizations don’t observe the apostrophe-only rule. Not even The New York Times, where I spotted “Degas’s.”

Leave off the s for the possessive

Grammar Girl says opinions are divided, but she prefers to leave off the s.

Here’s what my old AP style guide says about the possessive and singular common nouns ending in s:

Add ‘s unless the next work begins with s: the hostess’s invitation,the hostess’ seat; the witness’s answer, the witness’ story.

In another complication, the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) says:

add ‘s to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s)

OWL’s rule means that you’d write about “General Mills’s divisions.”

I think the AP and OWL recommendations are too complicated. Let’s keep things simple! However, if you prefer different rules, it’s okay as long as you apply them consistently. Consistency will make it easier for your readers to process what you write.

 

Note: I updated this post on Dec.  27, 2015 by adding links.

“Atrocious apostrophe’s”

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Writers abuse apostrophes. If you find this amusing, you can see many examples in the Atrocious Apostrophe’s Flickr stream.

Do you understand what’s wrong in the photo to the right? I’ve explained it in “Bloggers’ top two punctuation mistakes.”

If you have questions about apostrophes, please post them as comments on this blog post.

JUNE 6 UPDATE: I apologize if you clicked on the broken link to “Atrocious Apostrophe’s.” I’ve corrected it to http://www.flickr.com/groups/apostrophes/

What’s your favorite online resource for grammar, punctuation, and word usage questions?

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Grammar, punctuation, and word usage questions come up every day–even for someone like me who prides herself on being a good writer.

We can all benefit from online resources that help us figure out answers to our writing challenges.

My three favorites: GrammarGirl, OWL, and Google

I often Google my writing questions.

But sometimes Google’s results aren’t on target or the sources don’t seem reliable. This is when I turn to GrammarGirl and Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL). Both are trustworthy sources that explain things clearly.

GrammarBook

Jane Straus’ GrammarBook website was brought to my attention by Jill Brogan of Martingale Asset Management after I originally drafted this post. I plan to visit this site more often. Although founder Jane Straus  passed away, her husband plans to continue her work.

Subscription-based resources

I use the hard-copy versions of the following two resources, so I imagine they’re worthwhile for organizations with budgets.

Your favorite online resource?

What’s YOUR opinion on the best online resource? Have you discovered new resources? Please share your new discoveries.

 

Note: This post has been updated since it originally appeared on Feb. 27, 2011.

 

My May blog posts by category: Blogging, economy/investments/wealth management, marketing, social media, writing

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Did you notice that I went wild in May, posting every day as part of the Word Count Blogathon? For your convenience, I’m listing my May posts by category.

Blogging

Economy, investments, and wealth management

Marketing

Social media

Writing

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Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved