Proofreading 101 10 Presented by Erin Maguire www

Proofreading 101 10 Presented by Erin Maguire www. iaap-vip. org 1

Proofreading 101 § § § § § The what, why, how, and when of it all Consistency is key Spell check and grammar check Punctuation Numbers Capitals Hyphenation Commonly confused words Miscellany Where to go from here www. iaap-vip. org 2

Proofreading 101 § § What Why How When www. iaap-vip. org 3

Consistency Is Key § As important as correct spelling and grammar § In a particular document § In all documents produced by person, department, or company § Even if you’re wrong, be wrong throughout www. iaap-vip. org 4

Spell Check & Grammar Check § § Always use, but always double check Helpful, but not infallible Should be an integral part of your work Turn on email software’s spell check prior to sending www. iaap-vip. org 5

Punctuation: Commas § Separate elements in a series – I bought lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery. § Connecting 2 independent statements with a little conjunction (junction what’s your function…) – I bought the lettuce, but forgot the tomatoes. § Introduction of elements – Dashing into the grocery store, I realized I left my wallet in the car. § Set off parenthetical phrases – The grocery store, which is in the next town, really needs to be updated. www. iaap-vip. org 6

Punctuation: Commas § Separate adjectives – Erin would like to be a tall, leggy blonde, with the IQ of a fern. § Quotes – Momma always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. ” § Phrases of contrast – That money is mine, not yours. § Avoid confusion – Outside the parking lot was covered in leaves. – Outside, the parking lot was covered in leaves. www. iaap-vip. org 7

Punctuation: Commas § Typographical reasons – City, State • Alexandria, Virginia, is considered a good place to live. – Date and the year (January 10, 2013) • July 4, 1776, is regarded as the birthday of American Liberty. • July 1776 is regarded as the birthday of American Liberty. • 4 July 1776 is regarded as the birthday of American Liberty. – Name and title • Erin Maguire, Center of the Universe – Long numbers • My retirement plan is to win $50, 000 in the state lottery. www. iaap-vip. org 8

Punctuation: Commas § Typographical reasons (continued) – Name and a suffix • Robert Downey, Jr. • Richard Harrison, III • Martin Luther King Jr. § NOT between a subject and its verb – Being a good proofreader is the key to success www. iaap-vip. org 9

Punctuation: Semicolons § Semicolons – Most commonly used when you link 2 independent statements that are closely related • Some authors write on a computer; some prefer pen and pad. – Used when you have a series of items that involve commas • Some people write with a word processor, typewriter, or a computer; but others, for different reasons, choose to write with a pen or pencil. www. iaap-vip. org 10

Punctuation § Semicolons vs. comma – How do you know what to use? • Semi or comma? – The cow is brown, it is also old. – The cow is brown; it is also old. – The cow is brown, but not old. – The cow is brown; but not old. www. iaap-vip. org 11

Punctuation: Quotes § Quotes – Straight • Straight quotes = " = an inch mark (I need 8" of rope. ) • Straight apostrophe = ' = a foot mark (I need 8' of plywood. ) – Curly • Considered more polished • Called the “published style” or “smart quotes” – The true apostrophe (or single quote) looks like ‘this’ – True quotation marks (also called “smart quotes”) look like “this” www. iaap-vip. org 12

Punctuation § Punctuation and quotes – Err on putting punctuation inside the quotes, and you’ll be right more often than not – Periods and commas always go inside • The sign changed from “Walk, ” to “Don’t Walk, ” to “Walk” again within 30 seconds. • She said, “Hurry up. ” • He said, “Dawn said, ‘Hurry up. ’” www. iaap-vip. org 13

Punctuation § Punctuation and quotes (continued) – Question marks – Use logic • If quote is a question, put mark inside quotes – She asked, “Will you still be my friend? ” • Outside the quotes – Do you agree with the saying, “All’s fair in love and war”? • No double punctuation – No need to have. ”? – Wrong: Did she say, “May I go? ”? – Right: Did she say, “May I go? ” www. iaap-vip. org 14

Punctuation § Punctuation and quotes (continued) – Single/Double • Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes (and put the period inside all quotation marks) – He said, “Tammy said, ‘Do not treat me that way. ’” – Only use quotes to set up a direct quotation • “When will you be here? ” he asked. • He asked when you would be here. www. iaap-vip. org 15

Numbers § To spell out or not to spell out, that is the question – Spell out zero to nine – Use actual numbers 10 and up – Exception: Spell out any number that starts the sentence • Eighteen people thought this exception was silly. – Use actual number when talking about percentages (5%) • Exception: Spell out at beginning of sentence – Seventy-five percent of the population believe this to be true. – Sentence that contains both • There were three clients and 12 colleagues at the meeting. • They had 4 four-room houses, 10 three-room houses, and 12 10 -room houses. www. iaap-vip. org 16

Numbers § To spell out or not to spell out, that is the question – Ordinals • Spell them out (first, second, etc. ) if they can be expressed in one or two words – The twenty-first item in the list. – The 150 th item on the list. » Not, the one-hundred-fiftieth item on the list. § Numbered lists vs. bulleted lists – What to use? www. iaap-vip. org 17

Capitals § When to capitalize – First word of a quoted sentence • Rhett said, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. ” – A proper noun • Betty and Erin drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, screaming. – A person’s title • Chairperson Smith – Martha Smith, chairperson of the corporation, will speak. • Governor Mc. Donnell – All governors are expected to attend. – Direct Address • I need a tourniquet, Doctor. www. iaap-vip. org 18

Capitals § When to capitalize (continued) – Points of compass only when referring to a specific region • I had three relatives from the North visit over the holidays. – Go east 3 blocks and then turn south. – Names derived from proper nouns • I must take English and math. – Names of specific course titles • I have to take history and Calculus II. • I have to take American History and Intro to Underwater Basket Weaving. www. iaap-vip. org 19

Capitals § Lowercase – Companies vary, but in general, no need to capitalize department or group • The department is going to deliver that document to you. • If you prepare the name, then capitalize – The Human Resource Department (Department) can address your personnel issue. – Names of seasons • spring, summer, autumn, winter – earth vs. Earth • Everything on the earth www. iaap-vip. org 20

Hyphenation § Hyphenation is tricky because the experts do not agree § Companies may have different styles § When to hyphenate – To join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun: • a one-way street • chocolate-covered peanuts – But, when compound modifiers come after a noun: • The peanuts were chocolate covered. • The author was well known. www. iaap-vip. org 21

Hyphenation § When to hyphenate (continued) – Compound numbers: • forty-six • sixty-three – To avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters: • re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job) • semi-independent (but semiconscious) – reelection vs. re-election • shell-like (but childlike) • coworker vs. co-worker www. iaap-vip. org 22

Hyphenation § When to hyphenate (continued) – With the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters: • ex-husband • self-assured • all-inclusive • mayor-elect • mid-September • T-shirt • mid-1980 s § NOT -ly www. iaap-vip. org 23

Commonly Confused Words § § Accept/Except – Accept—verb meaning to receive or to take – Except—preposition meaning with the exclusion of Advise/Advice – Advise—verb meaning to counsel or to inform – Advice—noun meaning recommendation or suggestion Affect/Effect – Affect—verb meaning to influence (preferred over “impact”) – Effect—noun meaning outcome or result; verb meaning to cause to happen Complement/Compliment – Complement—noun meaning something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect; verb meaning to complete or make perfect – Compliment—noun meaning recognition or praise; verb meaning to praise www. iaap-vip. org 24

Commonly Confused Words § § § Ensure/Insure/Assure – Ensure—verb meaning to make certain – Insure—verb meaning to protect monetarily against loss – Assure—verb meaning to give someone confidence (so the “object” of this verb should be a person) Every Day/Everyday – Every Day—adverb phrase meaning each day – Everyday—adjective meaning ordinary or customary Its/It’s – Its—pronoun—possessive form of it – It’s—contraction of it is and it has www. iaap-vip. org 25

Commonly Confused Words § § § Loose/Lose – Loose—adjective meaning not fastened or tight, having freedom of movement – Lose—verb meaning to fail to win, gain, or keep; to mislay Than/Then – Than—conjunction used to indicate comparison – Then—chronological adverb meaning “at that time” or “next” Led/Lead – Led—the past tense of “lead” (don’t spell it like pencil “lead”!) www. iaap-vip. org 26

Miscellany § S apostrophe S? – Mr. Jones’s golf clubs – Texas’s weather or or Mr. Jones’ gold clubs Texas’ weather § Plurals – Adding “s” alone creates the plural forms of capital letters, acronyms, and initials • Rs, PCs, IRAs, HMOs – An apostrophe before the “s” should be used in cases where confusion could result • Three A’s, too many I’s www. iaap-vip. org 27

Miscellany § i. e. or e. g. ? – i. e. : Latin for id est (that is) – e. g. : exempli gratia (for the sake of example) § i. e. – Used to paraphrase • I went to my least favorite place (i. e. , the dentist). – Swap with “in other words” § e. g. – Used to give an example • I like Baroque composers, e. g. , Bach, Handel, Scarlatti. – Swap with “for example” www. iaap-vip. org 28

Miscellany § Who or whom? – Substitute he for who, him for whom • Who/Whom propped open the outside door? • For/To who/whom should I address this letter? • We all know who/whom pulled that prank. § Either, neither, or, nor – Neither this or that… www. iaap-vip. org 29

How Did I Miss That? ! § Best way to not miss anything – Use what works best for you – we’re all different • Read/edit online • Print it out, mark it up • Double-proof with someone else – Double-proofing can be fun, if you have the right partner. • Backwards www. iaap-vip. org 30

Where To Go From Here § Marketing/Sales Department § Manuals of Style – The Associated Press Stylebook – The Chicago Manual of Style – The MLA Style Manual § Gregg Reference Manual § Online resources – Universities/Colleges – Grammarbook. com – Englishgrammar. org § Practice, practice www. iaap-vip. org 31

Parting Words § § No one is perfect Sometimes you have to go with what sounds right Plant your flag Choose your battles www. iaap-vip. org 32

QUESTIONS? www. iaap-vip. org 33

If You Only Have 5 Minutes § Scan – You’d be surprised what will jump out at you § Check client name – Client’s website – Go to their Press Room, see how they refer to themselves in press releases § Margins – Consistency gives polish § Paragraph Spacing – Is everyone neat and tidy? § Font – One size usually does the trick www. iaap-vip. org 34

What About –ly? § No hyphen – When an -ly adverb comes before the adjective – Between two or more adjectives when they are separate ideas that could each be used alone with the noun – Do not hyphenate adverbs that follow the verb § Hyphen – -ly words can be adjectives, and you add the hyphen when it is before a noun and forms a single idea with another adjective – What kindly-looking eyes you have, Grandma. – “Kindly” is an -ly adjective here www. iaap-vip. org 35

Active vs. Passive Voice § Active – The dog bit the boy. • Subject: dog • Action: bit § Streamlined § Preferred § Passive – The boy was bitten by the dog. • Subject: the boy • Action: was bitten www. iaap-vip. org 36

Changing Passive to Active § Change these Passive sentences to Active – The box was mailed by Betty. – At each concert, at least one tune from a well-known opera was sung by the soprano. – Large chunks of asbestos-laden material will be removed from the hallways on the second and third floors by asbestos abatement teams. www. iaap-vip. org 37

Objective vs. Subjective Pronouns § Is it “I” or “me”? “We” or “us”? – If you have 2 pronouns (or a noun and a pronoun), drop the other noun and see if it makes sense. • Betty and me like to laugh. (If you drop “Betty and, ” you have “me like to laugh”…? ) • Barb gave the tickets to Richele and I. (“Barb gave the tickets to I”…? ) • Us men like football. (“Us like football”? I think not. ) – When comparing using “than” or “as” (repeat) • He is taller than {I or me? } (am tall). – He is taller than me am tall. (No!) • This helps you as much as (it helps) {I or me? }. • She is as noisy as {I or me? } (am). www. iaap-vip. org 38

Ending in Prepositional Phrase § Very common in oral and written communication § Informal § Popular preps – At, but, by, for, from, in, of, to – There are too many to list on this page, but these are the common ones § Consider revising sentence to present a more formal (and, might I mention, correct) structure – Who should I give the report to? • To whom should I give the report? – Where you at? • Where are you? (okay, that was just for fun) www. iaap-vip. org 39

A or An With Acronyms § Go with pronunciation – ROI (Return on Investment) • A “are – oh – eye” OR An “are – oh – eye” � – NGO (non-governmental organization) • A “ehn – gee – oh” OR – SOS (Save Our Ship/Souls) An “ehn – gee – oh” � • A “ess – oh – ess” OR An “ess – oh – ess” � – TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) • A “tee – vee – aiy” �OR An “tee – vee – aiy” www. iaap-vip. org 40