MISTAKE MONDAY for August 29: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This is an example of why you can’t rely on spell-checking software to catch your mistakes.
Mistake Monday reign reinI post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

OK, not okay

Did you know that “OK,” not “okay” is the correct spelling of that familiar expression?

If you didn’t know how to spell OK, you have plenty of company, as I discovered when I ran a LinkedIn poll.

OK, not okay

 

Origins of OK

The term OK is an initialism. It comes from the misspelling “oll korrect” for “all correct.” Apparently such  misspellings were popular in the 1830s, when this term originated, according to “The Hilarious History of ‘OK’: The English language’s most successful export is a joke.”

Is okay never OK?

Associated Press style says, “Do not use okay.” But AP style is not the only style.

A respondent to my LinkedIn poll pointed me to a Chicago Manual of Style pronouncement that says either spelling is OK:

“OK” and “okay” are informal, so even though we might normally choose the first-listed “OK” in Merriam-Webster (rather than its equal variant “okay”), it doesn’t really matter which form of this handy nineteenth-century abbreviation you prefer.

Does your spelling matter?

There are worse errors than spelling OK the wrong way. After all, your reader will understand the word, no matter which way you spell it.

The most important thing, in my view, is to pick one spelling and stick with it. Consistency makes your writing easier for your readers to absorb. If you’d like to catch inconsistencies in your spelling, one of the tools I mention in “My three main software tools for proofreading” is great at that task.

 

NOTE

The blog will be on vacation for the rest of August. Enjoy the last days of summer!

MISTAKE MONDAY for June 27: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This item has multiple mistakes, but there’s one big one that caught my eye.

Mistake Monday Phising PhishingI post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

MISTAKE MONDAY for May 30: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. Unfortunately, people make this mistake too often.

Mistake Monday peak piqueI post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

My five favorite reference books for writers

A printed book is sometimes the best place to find a solution to your question about writing style, punctuation, or grammar.

Here are my five favorite reference books. I have updated this list because my favorites have changed over time, most notably with the elevation of Garner’s Modern American Usage from the “honorable mention” list.

  1. Edit Yourself: A manual for everyone who works with words by Bruce Ross-Larson. Everyone should own this small, inexpensive, easy-to-use book. I use Part II, the back of the book, the most. It lists troublesome words in alphabetical order. It’ll help you cut pretentious words and resolve problems such as deciding between “which” and “that.” Part I describes and offers solutions to problems common in everyday writing. Buy it today!
  2. Garner’s Modern American Usage by Bryan Garner. This book runs over 900 pages in length, so it covers just about any question you may ask. When I first published this list of favorite books, I wrote: “But it’s so darned technical I only turn to it as a last resort.” How times have changed! Now it’s the first book I turn to when tackling problems such as “Treasurys vs. Treasuries — Which is the right spelling?” I rank it behind Ross-Larson’s book only because I think Edit Yourself will be much more useful for most of my readers.
  3. The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn. I didn’t own this book when I first compiled my list of favorite books. Like Garner’s book, this delves more into the nuances of different grammar issues than book readers who aren’t grammar nerds.
  4. The Associated Press Stylebook. If you’ve ever heard an editor say, “We follow AP style,” they’re talking about the print or online edition of this style book. I rarely check my print edition because I prefer the constantly updated online edition, which I complement with a subscription to the online Webster’s New World College Dictionary. There’s also subscription software, Styleguard, for checking adherence with this guide. (I stopped using the software for reasons described in my blog post about Styleguard.) You can follow AP style on Twitter at @APStylebook or on Facebook.
  5. The Grammar Bible by Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas. This book gives plain English explanations of vexing issues of grammar and more.

Honorable mention

  • The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) was my favorite reference book for many years. If you’re writing a book or Ph.D. dissertation (as I was doing when I bought this book), rather than blog posts, articles, or other marketing pieces, this is an essential reference. It’s also useful for topics such as tables and other exhibits, which aren’t addressed by AP style. You can also subscribe online to the manual, get it integrated into PerfectIt proofreading software (which I’ve blogged about in “My three main software tools for proofreading,” and follow it on Facebook or Twitter.
  • Words into Type, based on studies by Marjorie E. Skillin, Robert M. Gay, and other authorities. Like CMOS, this book is aimed at individuals preparing manuscripts for publication. This fat classic from 1974 used to be my second “go to” reference book when flummoxed by a question of style, punctuation, or grammar. The importance of this book fell for me when I became a convert to AP style.
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. If you care about good writing, you should read this classic at least once. An early edition is online at Bartleby.com.

Your favorites?

If you’re passionate about good writing, you’ve probably got a favorite reference that I’ve overlooked. Please tell me about it by answering this poll question.

 

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.

Updated: November and December 2021

MISTAKE MONDAY for October 25: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? I see multiple problems. Please post your answer as a comment.

MM manger manager capitalC
I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

MISTAKE MONDAY for September 27: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Oops! Someone didn’t run a spell checker. Please post your answer as a comment.

MM mangaement management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

MISTAKE MONDAY for May 31: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? The company got this wrong in one place, but not the other. Please post your answer as a comment.

MM idenity identity

I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

MISTAKE MONDAY for April 26: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? I’m surprised that this item came from a highly respected national newspaper. (Thanks, John Lowell, for sending this one to me!) Please post your answer as a comment.

MM relliable reliable J Lowell

 

I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

MISTAKE MONDAY for November 30: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This should have been easy to catch. The problem leaped out at me. Oh well, if you ever get the chance to take this workshop with Maureen Stanton, she does a nice job. I’m looking forward to reading her memoir.

MM memior memoir
I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.