Download The Technical Writer`s Checklist

http://www.occc.edu/gholland/EP1/TWC.doc
The Technical Writer's Checklist
Source: http://itrain.org/ttwc/
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Plan your writing
Write only what should be read
Get your facts straight
Write, rewrite, rewrite again
Check grammar, spelling, and style
Select efficient words
Write concisely
Write positively
Place frequently misused words in context
Avoid redundancy
Vary your sentence structure
Use passive voice
Avoid sentence fragments
Beware of run-on sentences
Don't overuse commas
Write effective paragraphs
Create unity
Add coherence
Build logical bridges
Include an enticing topic sentence
Develop each paragraph fully
Be sure subjects and verbs agree
Make company names singular
Use plural nouns and pronouns
Identify pronouns
Properly use indefinite pronouns
Avoid gender-specific language
Use nondiscriminatory language
Use parallel words or phrases in lists and series
Use bullets correctly
Capitalize correctly
Write numbers correctly
Write with confidence
Use a courteous and sincere tone
Avoid inappropriate abbreviations
Use your dictionary
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Proofread carefully
Use articles accurately
Countable nouns
Quantify countable nouns
Non-countable nouns
Non-countable expressions
Non-countable noun predecessors
Combine articles and conjunctions
Beware of split infinitives
Know when to end a sentence with a preposition
Don't begin a sentence with a conjunction
Use "between" for only two, "among" for more
I'm hopeful that you'll understand hopefully
Use over and more than
Avoid forwards and towards
Know who the people are
Since that's the way it is
Momentarily is more than just a moment
Scan vs. skim
"Off of" is awful
Gotten vs. got
Bad vs. badly
Preventitive vs. preventative
People are healthy; vegetables are healthful
Regardless of AOL, you have mail
Regardless; it's not irregardless
Possessive acronyms
Singular and plural possessives
For example that is
Binding landscape pages
One or two spaces
Curtailing an indirect question
Omitting words in a quotation
Omitting sentences within a quotation
End a sentence with a single period
Punctuate quotation marks
http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/peeves.html
These words and phrases have been "done to death." Here are a few ideas for better ways to get your point across
without using redundant, awkward or pretentious wording:
Weak
Better
A
absolutely essential
essential
accompany
go with
accordingly
so
additional
added, more, other
address
discuss
adequate enough
enough
adjacent to
next to
afford an opportunity
allow, let
anticipate
expect
a large number/part
many/most
a number of
some
a variety of
many, different
appreciable
many
approximately
about
as a means of
to
at the present time
now
B
basic fundamentals
basics
be responsible for
handle
C
capability/capable of
ability/can
center around
center in, at or on
comes into conflict
conflicts
commitment to excellence
quality
comply with
follow
comprise
form, include, make up
concerning
about, on
constitutes
is, forms, makes up
construct
build
contact
call, write, reach
currently
omit it. It's already implied.
cutting edge
forefront, frontier
cutting-edge
leading, pioneering, progressive
D
designate
appoint, choose, name
determine
decide, figure, find
do not hesitate to call
call
due to the fact that
due to, since
E
equitable
fair
evidenced
showed, shown
exhibit
show
exhibits a tendency to
tends to
F
facilitate
ease, help
factor
reason, cause
feedback, input
opinion, reaction
foreign imports
imports
for the purpose of
to
furnish
give, send
future prospects
prospects
G
generate
do, make, create
gives consideration to
considers
H
head up
head
high tech
(a more specific substitute)
holds a belief
believes
I
if at all possible
if possible
impacted
affected, changed, hit
implement
carry out, do, follow
in accordance with
by, following, under
in addition
also, besides, too
in an effort to
to
in conjunction with
with
in order to
to
in the near future
soon
inception
start, beginning
initiate
start, begin
innovative
creative, pioneering, inventive
input
comments, advice, response
J
joint cooperation
cooperation
just exactly
exactly
K
L
legislation
law
M
makes an attempt
attempts, tries
maximize
increase, enlarge, expand, broaden
minimize
decrease, lessen, reduce
modify
change
N
necessary (pre)requisites
(pre)requisites
new innovations
innovations
numerous
many, most
O
objective
aim, goal
optimum
best, greatest, most
output
comment, idea
P
past experience
experience
personnel
people, staff
pre-planning
planning
prioritize
put in order
prior to
before
provides guidance for
guides
possibly might
might
postpone until later
postpone
purpose is to
(don't need it)
Q
qualified expert
expert
R
(in the) real world
in the world, in society, in business
real-world problem
practical issue, business (or social) issue or problem
refer back
refer
retain
keep
S
send a communication to
notify
similar to
like
solicit
ask for
state-of-the-art
latest
T
try and fix
try to fix
U
unique
one-of-a-kind (literal) exciting, new, unusual (as often used)
utilize, utilization
use
V
viable
practical, workable
W
warrant
call for, permit
whereas
since
wide range
many, range
wide variety
many, variety
without further delay
now, immediately
with the exception of
except for
http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/capitalization.html
CAPITALIZATION
Academic Degrees
Use lower case when using bachelor's, master's or doctor's degree. Use lower case for doctorate
or doctoral program.
Academic Departments
Capitalize the names of departments except when used in a person's title.
Right: The director of admission is pleased with the number of applicants.
Use lower case for the word "department" when it stands alone.
Right: She's been with the department for three years.
Right: The Department of Special Events organizes commencement.
Capitalize the field when it's used to mean the department. Use lower case for the field when it's
used in a general sense.
Right: She's a professor in the Department of Physics.
Right: She's a professor in the Physics Department.
Right: She's a physics professor.
Right: She majored in physics.
Academic Majors
Use lower case for majors with the exception of languages, which are proper nouns.
Right: Her major is physics.
Right: He's an English major.
Addresses
Capitalize formal street names, but use lower case when used with more than one street name in
text. Use lower case when street words stand alone.
Right: Meet me at the corner of Forbes and Shady avenues.
Right: The avenue is a dangerous street to cross.
Administrative Offices
Capitalize the names of departments, divisions and offices.
Use lower case for the words "department," "division" or "office" when they stand alone.
Capitalize the field when it's used to mean the department, division or office specifically. Do not
capitalize the field when it's used in general.
Right: He works in the Cashier's Office.
Right: She works in student affairs. (the field)
Right: She works in the Student Affairs Office. (the university office)
Right: He works in Planning. (the university office)
Wrong: The Division will release its report.
a.m. / p.m.
Use lower case and periods for "a.m." and "p.m."
Annual Fund
Capitalize references to the Carnegie Mellon Annual Fund.
Right: Did you contribute to the Annual Fund this year?
Right: A healthy annual fund helps colleges and universities support basic programming.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees should be capitalized only when referring to Carnegie Mellon's board, but
"board" by itself is not capitalized, nor is "trustees."
Right: The Board of Trustees will meet in November.
Right: The board will meet in November with most trustees attending.
Buildings
All proper names of buildings, such as University Center, should be capitalized. Special building
projects, such as the West Campus Project, should be capitalized. Terms such as "north wing"
and "new residence hall" should not be capitalized, unless they are used in the title.
Centers and Institutes
The formal names of centers, such as the Center for Innovation in Learning or the Information
Networking Institute, should be capitalized, but "center" by itself should be in lower case. The
same rules apply to institutes.
Right: The Software Engineering Institute hosts seminars.
Right: The institute will welcome dozens of affiliates.
Right: The University Center opened in 1996.
Right: The center has an indoor pool and a rotunda.
Cities and Towns
Use lower case for general sections of the city, but capitalize widely recognized names for city
regions.
Right: The meetings will be downtown.
Right: Let's go to a restaurant on the South Side.
Classes and Courses
Use lower case when you refer to classes and courses, unless you use the specific (and
complete) title or the name carries a proper noun or numeral.
Right: I had a class in industrial management.
Right: I'm taking Industrial Management I.
Right: I'm taking biology, Advanced Shakespeare and calculus.
Commencement
Use lower case for "commencement" in text.
Committees
Capitalize the formal names of groups and committees, such as Faculty Senate, Long-Range
Planning Committee, President's Student Advisory Council. Use lower case for the words
"committee" or "council" when they stand alone.
the Cut
Capitalize the "C" only: the Cut.
Right: The Cut is a great place to play frisbee.
Right: The concert will be on the Cut.
Wrong: Meet me at The Cut.
Dean's List
Always use lower case: the dean's list.
Fax
The suggested way to use this word in a sentence is in lower case. If you're providing a fax
number on your business card or in a listing, it's okay to use an initial cap.
Right: Call or fax me with the information.
Right: Carnegie Mellon Public Relations
Phone: 412-268-1900
Fax: 412-268-6929
Homecoming
Use lower case for "homecoming" unless it's used as a title.
Honors
Use lower case and italicize cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude.
Hyphenated Words in Titles
A general rule of thumb is to always capitalize the first unit and capitalize the second unit if it's a
noun or adjective or if it has equal balance with the first unit.
Right: "Twentieth-Century Poets in South America"
"City-States in Nineteenth Century Europe"
"Non-Christian Religions in North America"
The second unit should be in lower case if it's a participle modifying the first unit or if both units
constitute a single word.
Right: "English-speaking People throughout Asia"
"Medium-sized Companies with Unions"
"E-flat Minor Melody"
"Re-establishing a Youthful Outlook"
"Self-fulfilling Prophecies in Small-Town America"
Government
Use lower case when the word "federal" is an adjective: federal court, the federal government.
Majors and Programs
Use lower case for majors, programs, specializations or concentrations (with the exception of
languages, which are proper nouns).
Right: He received a bachelor of arts degree in history.
Right: He'll study history.
Right: He's a history major.
Right: She's a Spanish major.
Race
Capitalize names of races (African American, Caucasian, Asian, Native American), but do not
capitalize "black" or "white" when referring to race.
Regions
Region names are capitalized when they stand alone and are widely understood to designate a
specific geographic area.
Right: western Pennsylvania
Right: the West Coast, the Midwest
Right: the east coast of Florida, the midwestern United States
Rooms
Capitalize only when used with a number, letter or name. In combination with a building name,
use the number only.
Right: We'll be in Room 100.
Right: We'll be in the training room.
Right: The movie is in Doherty 2110.
Seasons
Capitalize only when used in a title or as part of a formal name. Use lower case when these
words stand alone.
Right: fall semester, summer program
Right: The program started in fall 1989.
Right: The Spring Fling will be repeated this year.
Semesters
Do not capitalize semesters in text.
Right: Spring Carnival takes place during the spring semester; homecoming occurs in the fall
semester.
Social Security
Use lower case when referring to social security number. Only capitalize references to the Social
Security Administration.
Right: Fill in your name and social security number.
Right: The forms will be forwarded to Social Security.
Student Classifications
Do not capitalize "freshman," "sophomore," "junior," "senior," "postdoctoral fellow" or "graduate
student." But do capitalize as a class designation or formal title.
Right: He's a senior engineering major.
Right: The Senior Class gift was the clock.
Titles
A person's title is capitalized only when used before the name. When using a capitalized title
immediately before the name, try to keep it short. Do not capitalize an occupational designation,
only a true title. Department names are in lower case in a person's title.
Right: We met President Cohon.
Right: The president will speak at the dinner.
Right: Vice President for Enrollment William Elliott issued the memo.
Right: Our speaker will be artist William Cooper.
Titles following a person's name should appear in lower case. Use lower case when a title is used
alone.
Right: The president of Carnegie Mellon will address the group.
Right: Jeff Bolton, vice president for business and planning and chief financial officer, will host the
reception.
Chaired professorships appear in lower case, except for the proper name. University
professorships also use lower case.
Right: Andres Cardenes, the Dorothy Richard Starling and Alexander C. Speyer Jr. professor of
music, donated his Stradivarius violin to the School of Music in Carnegie Mellon's College
of Fine Arts.
Right: Her years of hard work were acknowledged when she earned the rank of university
professor.
University
Do not capitalize the word "university" when it stands alone.
Right: The university is highly regarded locally, as well as nationally and internationally.
http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/dates_numbers.html
DATES, NUMBERS, PLACES
Dates/Years
When a month is used with a specific date, use it this way:
Jan. 1 Feb. 1 March 1 April 1 May 1 June 1
July 1 Aug. 1 Sept. 1 Oct. 1 Nov. 1 Dec. 1
Spell out the name of the month when using it alone or with a year alone. When using a month
and a year only, do not separate with commas. When a phrase is used with a month, date and
year, set both the date and year off with commas.
Right: January 2002
Right: Jan. 13
Right: Jan. 13, 1990
Do not use the word "on" before a date or day of the week when its absence would not lead to
confusion.
Right: The meeting will be held Monday.
Right: He will be inaugurated Feb. 22.
Right: The program ends in December.
To describe sequences of dates or inclusive dates, use a hyphen-with no spaces between the
hyphen and the characters-instead of the word "to" or "through."
Right: The box office is open Monday-Friday.
Right: The performance will run Sept. 14-22.
Do not use suffixes with dates.
Right: Oct. 14
Wrong: Oct. 14th
Use an "s" without an apostrophe after the year to indicate spans of decades or centuries, a
plural. Use an apostrophe before the year for class years or abbreviations to indicate the "20" is
omitted. Any reference to the decades or classes from the 1900s needs to use the "19."
Right: The university was formed in the 1960s.
Right: She belonged to the Class of 1924.
Right: Shannon will graduate with the Class of '03.
Wrong: The '60s were famous for hippies, flower power and the peace movement.
Right: Blair Underwood, A1988, was the guest speaker at commencement 2000.
Wrong: Blair Underwood, A'88, spoke to the graduating class of 2000.
An apostrophe after the year is needed for possessives.
Right: The presidential election was 1980's biggest news story.
Fractions
Spell out fractions less than one, using hyphens between words. Use figures for precise amounts
larger than one, converting to decimals when appropriate.
Right: one-half, two-thirds
Right: 1.5 liters
Wrong: one and one-half liters
Right: 8-1/2 x 11 News
Money
Use the dollar sign and numbers. Do not use a decimal and two zeros.
Right: $150
Right: $150.25
Wrong: $150.00
Use the comma in dollar amounts in the thousands.
Right: $1,000
Wrong: $1000
For dollar amounts beyond thousands, use the dollar sign, number and appropriate word.
Right: $14 million
Wrong: $14,000,000
Numbers
Spell out numbers from one to nine. Use numerals for all numbers 10 and above. Exceptions are
noted below.
Right: nine poodles
Right: 16 buildings
Right: four miles
Right: He teaches ninth grade.
Use figures for ages, percentages, equipment specifications, page numbers and sums of money
(when using the symbol, "$").
Right: She has a daughter, 2, and a son, 8.
Right: 8 megabytes, 240 RAM
Right: According to the cart on page 4, nearly half of the elementary-age children in Pittsburgh
receive a $5 weekly allowance.
Avoid starting a sentence with a number, but, if you must, spell out the number unless it's a year.
Right: Twenty students registered.
Right: 1914 was an important year.
Percentages
Always use numerals (including the numbers 1-9) and spell out the word "percent" in text.
"Percent" takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an "of"
construction. Use a plural verb when a plural word follows an "of" construction.
Right: Only 8 percent of the class voted.
Right: He believes 50 percent is enough.
Right: He believes 60 percent of the membership is coming.
Right: She believes 60 percent of the members are coming.
Use the percent symbol (%) in charts or figures and in academic, statistical or technical writing.
Telephone Numbers
If a publication is strictly for use on campus, you may omit the area code and first two digits. Use
the "8" or "2" followed by the four-digit number.
Right: Call us at 8-2900.
If the publication may or will be sent off campus, include the area code as part of the complete
number. Use a hyphen between the area code and number.
Right: 412-268-2900
If you use more than one number, separate with the word "or" in text, or with a slash in an
address listing. When providing telephone, fax, email, voicemail, cell phone, etc., numbers in an
address listing, identify each.
Right: Call me at 412-268-2900/6963.
Right: Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Phone: 412-268-2900
Fax: 412-268-6929
Cell: 412-268-2970
Email: [email protected]
Time
Use lower case with periods for "a.m." and "p.m." When writing a time that falls on the hour, do
not use ":00." Simply state the hour with "a.m.," "p.m." or "o'clock." Use "noon" and "midnight,"
never 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.
Right: 3 p.m.
Wrong: 3:00 pm
Right: Noon-1 p.m.
Wrong: 12 noon
Right: The concert begins at 8:30 p.m.
Right: The concert begins at 8 o'clock.
http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/punctuation.html
PUNCTUATION PRIMER
City, State
Place a comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name,
unless ending a sentence.
Right: They moved from Trenton, N.J., to Pittsburgh, Pa.,
Wrong: Kansas City, Mo. is the site of the conference.
Right: Kansas City, Mo., is the site of the conference.
Right: Washington, D.C., was the destination.
Colons, Semicolons
Use a colon after an introductory statement that uses the words "as follows" or "the following." Do
not use a colon between a verb or preposition and its direct object.
Right: They asked everyone: her sister, brother, cousin and mother.
Right: They asked others, such as her sister, brother, cousin and mother.
Right: They will talk about the following: (1) admissions criteria; (2) financial aid; and (3) student
activities.
Right: The topics were leadership, motivation, enthusiasm and creativity.
Wrong: The topics were: leadership; motivation; enthusiasm; creativity.
Use a semicolon to divide the two parts of a compound sentence (two independent clauses)
when the clauses are not connected by a conjunction.
Right: We already received your report; the follow-up mailing is not needed.
A semicolon also connects two independent clauses that use a connecting word like "therefore"
or "however."
Right: We already received your report; therefore, the follow-up mailing is unnecessary.
Commas
Do not use a comma before "and" in a simple listing. Use a comma only if the last item is a
compound idea that requires "and" as part of the item.
Right: The flag of the United States is red, white and blue.
Right: The restaurant offered pancakes, french toast, and ham and eggs.
Do not use a comma before "Jr." or "Sr." after a person's name.
Right: John Smith Jr.
Use a comma to introduce a complete, one-sentence quotation within a paragraph. A colon
should be used to introduce longer quotations.
Right: She said, "I don't want to go."
Right: She said: "I don't want to go. I'm tired. The cat's sick, and I have no interest in post-modern
art."
Do not use a comma at the start of a partial or indirect quotation.
Right: She said the play "was the finest drama Williams wrote."
Wrong: She said the play, "was the finest drama Williams wrote."
Omit the comma before "of" in writing a person's name and address.
Right: Robert Redford of Sundance, Utah
Wrong: Robert Redford, of Sundance, Utah
Watch for missing commas. If you're using an interruptive clause with a comma at the end, you'd
better check and insert the comma at the beginning.
Right: Dr. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon, spoke at the meeting.
Wrong: Dr. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon spoke at the meeting.
Right: Executives, such as Mr. Brown and Ms. Smith, also attended.
Right: Executives such as Mr. Brown and Ms. Smith also attended.
Wrong: Executives such as Mr. Brown and Ms. Smith, also attended.
Right: She drove from Cleveland, Ohio, to Pittsburgh.
Wrong: She drove from Cleveland, Ohio to Pittsburgh.
Right: The car, which was silver, raced down the road.
Wrong: The car, which was silver raced down the road.
Wrong: The car which was silver raced down the road. (See That/Which on page 31.)
Company Names
Use Co. or Cos. when a business uses either word at the end of its proper name. If "company" or
"companies" appears alone in the second reference, spell the word out.
For possessives: Ford Motor Co.'s profits.
Spell out the names of theatrical organizations.
Never use a comma before Inc. or Ltd.
Dangling Modifiers
Avoid dangling or misplaced adverbs or adjectives.
Right: Walking across the lawn, I got mud on my shoes.
Wrong: Walking across the lawn, mud covered my shoes. (In this construction, mud is walking
across the lawn.)
Dates
Omit comma between month and year if no date is included.
Right: Dec. 12, 2000
Right: December 2000
Hyphenation
In general, many two-word phrases are two separate words when used as a noun, verb or adverb
but take a hyphen when used as an adjective. Double check the way the word(s) is(are) being
used in your sentence. As a rule, phrases after the verb are not hyphenated. To hyphenate in a
series, follow this example:
Right: He wrote 10- and 20-page papers.
Clarifying common confusions:
A
all-terrain
B
bilingual
C
co-chair
co-sponsor
coed
child care
cooperative (adjective)
co-op (noun)
course work (noun)
class work (noun)
D
data base or database (choose one and use it consistently)
decision-maker (noun)
decision making (verb)
decision-making (adjective)
E
extracurricular
F
follow-up
full-time employee (adjective)
she works full time (adverb)
fund raising is difficult (noun)
the fund-raising campaign (adjective)
We are holding a fund-raiser (event)
He is a fund raiser (person)
I
interoffice
inter-related
L
lifestyle
long-range (adjective)
The long-range plans are astounding. long range (adverb)
The ideas cover a long range.
long-term (adjective)
The long-term system will be in effect for many more years.
long term (adverb)
The results will be firm and long term.
M
mainframe
microcomputer
multimedia
multipurpose
N
newly renovated (usually no hyphen with -ly words)
nonprofit
O
on-campus movies (adjective)
There are movies on campus each week (preposition and noun)
P
part-time job (adjective)
part time is the best option. (noun)
percent
playoffs
pre-application
preschool
R
re-evaluate
reinforce
(In general, use a hyphen when the vowel "e" follows the prefix "re." There are exceptions and
additions. Consult your dictionary to be sure)
S
semicolon
T
time-sharing (all computer-related uses)
V
vice president, vice chair
W
world-renowned school (adjective)
The school is world renowned.
Introductory Phrases
Introductory phrases such as "Last year" and "In 2001" do not require commas.
Right: Last year the board approved a tuition increase.
Wrong: In 1997, Jared L. Cohon was named Carnegie Mellon's eighth president.
Right: In 1997 Jared L. Cohon was named Carnegie Mellon's eighth president.
Punctuation Samples
Right: Joan Smith, president of the group, will run the meeting.
Wrong: Joan Smith, president of the group will run the meeting.
Right: He went to the store, which was closed.
Right: He went to the store that was closed.
Wrong: He went to the store which was empty. (See That/Which.)
Quotes and Quotations
Follow these rules when using quotes and quotation marks:
The period and the comma always go inside the quotation marks.
Right: He said, "I'm going to the store."
Wrong: He said, "I'm going to the store".
Right: She told us "stay in school," which was good advice.
The dash, the exclamation point and the question mark go inside the quotation marks when they
apply to the quote only. When they apply to the whole sentence, they go outside the marks.
Right: Sergeant Parker gave the following order: "Peel potatoes-then lights out!"
Right: Gomer Pyle said, "Golly, Sergeant!" when he heard the news.
Right: Francis Schaeffer's book asks, "How Shall We Then Live?"
Right: What did Martin Luther King mean when he said, "I have a dream"?
Note: This usage prevails in the United States. Britain and Canada apply different rules. The
colon and semicolon should be placed outside quotation marks. When matter ending with one of
these punctuation marks is quoted, the colon or semicolon is dropped.
Right: The president said the plan needed "a few minor adjustments"; however, he did not reject
it entirely.
In running quotations, each new paragraph should begin with open quotation marks (no closing
marks). Only the final paragraph should contain the closing quotation mark.
Right: The speech was as follows: "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I have a few points to make
today. The first is to thank you for this honor. My accomplishments are noteworthy only in
so far as they help to advance this important field of human endeavor.
"The second is to ask you to continue thinking about this critical issue. Only through
continued research and experimental programs such as the one you've recognized today
will we advance our cause and improve our society.
"Finally, let me ask you to do more than turn your mental energies to this important effort.
Give your total energies—in the form of financial support, volunteer time, active
advocacy—for the sake of progress. Then we can all share in this special honor. Thank
you."
When including a quote or "highlighted" word inside another quotation, use single quotes (')
instead of double (").
Right: In his charge to the committee, the chair said, "I have often told you, 'don't give up the
ship.' Thanks to your efforts, we've been able to reach our goal."
Spacing at End of Sentence
Use a single space at the end of a sentence and after a colon. Double spaces date back to the
days of typewriters, when all characters were allotted the same amount of space. Computerized
typesetting adjusts the spacing for a good fit. Extra spaces create gaps and look unprofessional.
From http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/wrerrors/wrerrors.html
1. MAKE YOUR SUBJECTS AND VERBS AGREE
The subject in a sentence has to agree with the verb. This means that the verb has to be correctly inflected
(i.e., have the right ending) to match the subject. You know, of course, that you mustn't write things like
"You has to go," so we won't bother with the basics. There is, however, an error that you might make
without ever noticing, and you must stop. Take a look at this:
"Pavel Bure is a faster skater than him."
If that looks right to you, you are dead wrong. This is because both "Pavel Bure" and "him" are both using
the same verb, "is." The sentence is a comparison of what Pavel Bure and some other shmuck can do, but
the second use of the verb is assumed and left out. If it were included, the sentence would read like this:
"Pavel Bure is a faster skater than him is." That would be so wrong. The correct way to write the phrase is
this: "Pavel Bure is a faster skater than he." If that sounds funny to you, we recommend that you include the
second instance of the verb, i.e., "Pavel Bure is a faster skater than he is." The wrong way: "Belinda is
prettier than her," "We wreck shop at a higher level than them," and "John eats more toast than me." The
right way: "Belinda is prettier than she," "We wreck shop at a higher level than they do," and "John eats
more toast than I." People make this error so often that it's difficult to keep it out of your speech, but if
you're careful you can eliminate it from your writing and give your critics one less reason to smirk.
2. MAKE PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS AGREE
A pronoun is a word which refers to a subject or object which has already been identified. The antecedent
is the word which is being referred to by the pronoun. For example: "When you use an antecedent in the
first clause of a sentence, you can refer to it with the pronoun ‘it' in the second clause of the sentence."
Pronouns are great things, as speech would be unbelievably tedious without them. Pronouns must,
however, agree with their antecedents in number and gender, and many people are not careful enough about
this. The most common error is to use the pronoun "they" to refer to a singular antecedent. Bad: "If you go
and talk to a grammarian, they will say that you are dead wrong when you use ‘they' as a singular
antecedent."
Many people make the foregoing mistake because they do not wish to use a gender-specific pronoun. We
do not have a gender-neutral pronoun in English, so when we refer to an antecedent whose gender is
unknown we must either use the old method and use "he" or we must say "he or she." Some people
recommend alternating "he" and "she" as gender-neutral pronouns within a piece of writing, but we think
this is rather contrived. (When feeling trendy, we use "(s)he," but we have heard this horrifies old school
grammarians, so do so at your own risk.)
To use "they" with a singular antecedent is simply incorrect, because it does not agree in number with the
noun to which it refers.
Wrong
"If you meet a snake-charmer on the road, tell them that you'll have none of their nonsense."
"I spoke to somebody at the office, but they couldn't help."
Right
"If you meet a snake-charmer on the road, tell him or her that you'll have none of his or her nonsense."
"I spoke to somebody at the office, but she couldn't help."
(In the latter case, since the writer spoke to the "somebody," the gender is probably known and therefore it
should be specified.)
3. DON'T MISUSE APOSTOPHES
Apostrophes indicate possession and form contractions. That's it.
What part of that is unclear? Apparently, the use of apostrophes is extremely confusing to many people.
What does "CD's" mean to you? If you answered "It is the plural of CD," you are dead wrong. "CD's"
indicates that something belongs to the CD, as in "The CD's case was eaten by a goat." The plural of CD is
"CDs." We don't understand when people began using apostrophes to pluralize nouns, but we see signs
reading "Driver's wanted" and other such nonsense all the time. We heard, to our dismay, that The New
York Times recently used "the 60's" in a headline. Indicating the plural of a decade using an apostrophe
(e.g., "70's" instead of "70s" or "seventies") is one of the most common apostrophe errors. We don't care
what The New York Times thinks; it's just plain wrong. If you use apostrophes in this manner you must stop
doing so immediately.
Here are the right ways to use apostrophes:
Use apostrophes to indicate possession
When you want to indicate possession with a singular noun, whether it ends in an "s" or not, you add an
apostrophe and an "s" on the end. For example: "the midget's pathos," "the pathos's source" and "the
source's nature." The only exception to this is the word "it," with which you indicate possession by adding
an "s" alone (i.e., "its"), because the word "it's" is a contraction meaning "it is." When you want to indicate
possession with a plural noun which ends in any letter other than "s," you add an apostrophe and an "s" on
the end. For example: "the people's champion," "the hippopotami's excrement," and "the geese's habitat."
When you want to indicate possession with a plural noun which ends in "s," you add an apostrophe on the
end. For example: "the peoples' champions," "the debutantes' routine," and "the undergarments'
impenetrability." That's all there is to say about indicating possession with apostrophes.
Use apostrophes to form contractions
Apostrophes are also used to form contractions. We are told that contractions were invented by signpainters back in the olden days because they kept running out of room or paint when they were plying their
trade. Many commentators suggest that contractions should not ever be used in writing, because they are
too informal. We think that contractions are fine in informal writing or when it is necessary to convey a
conversational tone, but we'll leave it up to you. The important thing is that you understand that
contractions are the only other use for apostrophes. For example: "you can't so don't," "they're wrong," and
"it's incorrect to use apostrophes for anything other than indicating possession or forming a contraction."
When can you use an apostrophe to indicate that a noun is plural? Never. We hope that's clear.
4. DON'T USE NOUNS AS VERBS
Look at these examples
This is a tricky subject, because nobody seems to agree on which words are just nouns and which ones are
nouns and verbs. The truth is that language evolves and words which once were used only as nouns begin
being used as verbs. The hybrid verbs often describe the action of being or obtaining the object described
by the noun. Some examples of nouns which are used as verbs are: "contact," "impact," "focus," "parent,"
"medal," and "liaison." Just to take the guesswork out of it, we will tell you what the verb-forms of these
nouns are supposed to mean, which ones you may and may not use, and why you may or may not use them.
Contact: To establish contact with something else. You may use this noun as a verb, because it is so
prevalent that you'll end up sounding very strange if you don't use it.
Impact: To make or have an impact on something. You may not use this noun as a verb. It sounds horribly
clumsy and many people find its use as a verb aesthetically offensive. You have been warned.
Focus: To narrow or clarify one's figurative focus to concentrate on a particular point. You may use this
noun as a verb. Once again, it's just so common that you might as well bow to the mindless masses.
Parent: To behave as a parent would. You may not use this noun as a verb. This is just laziness, and it
sounds so idiotically new-age that it makes us ill.
Medal: To receive a medal, usually in the Olympics. Of course you may not use this noun as a verb. How
horrible.
Liaison: To attend a liaison. You may use this noun as a verb. The military uses it extensively, and its
members will not listen to us no matter what we say. It is also an anglicized noun from French, so what
harm will a little more tinkering do to it?
Use your judgment
Modern dictionaries, particularly the Merriam Webster dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm),
will tell you that it is all right to use words just about any way you might ever imagine. This is because they
suffer from Samuel Johnson's fear of missing some word or use of a word in their attempts to be
comprehensive. It is perfectly acceptable for you to disagree with the writers of dictionaries and say "Just
because some idiot thinks it's okay to use ‘medal' as a verb doesn't mean I'm going to join in." If you look
at a dictionary entry carefully, you'll often see that the word you're looking at was used exclusively as a
noun up until 1983 or something like that. This is a good sign that only those with no taste would use the
noun as a verb. Of the above examples, we only use "contact" as a verb, and we only use that because of
pressure from past employers and professors. You might choose to be less sensitive to this issue than we
are, but you'd better hope your written work is never evaluated by someone who agrees with us.
5. USE SIMILAR WORDS CORRECTLY
There are many words which sound or look similar, but which have different meanings or go with different
words. Some of the differences are simple and some are complex, but we will explain them all so that you
can use the words properly.
1. Use "affect" and "effect" correctly
"Affect" is a verb which means to influence something (e.g., "The wind affected the kite-flying"), or to
attempt to convey something untrue or misleading (e.g., "He tried to affect an English accent").
"Effect" is a noun which refers to the result of some antecedent cause (e.g., "The aphrodisiac had a dizzying
effect" or "The effect of the crash was an exploding school-bus"), or it can be a verb which means to bring
about (e.g., "The corporate raiders effected a hostile takeover of the defenseless startup company").
The use of "effect" as a verb is what causes the most confusion with these words. Just remember: "affect" =
to influence, and "effect" = to bring about. We can affect you with our bad singing (by irritating you) and
we can affect a Spice Girls impersonation with our bad singing (by posing as a group who can sing), but we
cannot effect either you or the Spice Girls with our singing because our singing has nothing to do with
bringing about (1) your existence, or (2) the existence of the Spice Girls. We hope that's clear.
Use "thus" and "therefore" correctly
People mix these up all the time. Therefore, you can stand out as a smarty-pants if you avoid messing them
up. "Thus" primarily means "like this/that" or "in this/that manner," while "therefore" primarily means
"because of the foregoing, this follows." It is far more common to see people using "thus" where they
should use "therefore" than it is to see the opposite. Here are some examples:
Wrong
"I am a goat. Thus, I am not a human."
"We tied planks of wood together with vines and tree branches. Therefore, we effected a raft."
"Water is not an element; rather, it is a combination of elements. Thus, almost every use of the word
'elemental' throughout history has been incorrect."
Right
"I am a goat. Therefore, I am not a human."
"We tied planks of wood together with vines and tree branches. Thus, we effected a raft."
"Water is not an element; rather, it is a combination of elements. Therefore, almost every use of the word
'elemental' throughout history has been incorrect."
Use "e.g." and "i.e." correctly
Finally, just to set the record straight, "i.e." means "that is" and "e.g" means "for example." You don't care
which Latin words the letters stand for and we don't remember. Just take our word for it. For example: "We
asked the human pustule, i.e., Jerry's cousin, to keep his distance from our pizza," "The continents are made
up of various layers of rock, e.g., granite and basalt," and "It was inappropriate for the best man, i.e., you,
to make comments about various aspects of the groom's past, e.g., the drugs, the gambling, the whoring,
and the war crimes." In order to make sure you don't make errors with these two pesky little abbreviations,
just say "that is" in your head whenever you write "i.e." and "for example" if "e.g." is what you want to
write. That way you won't mess up unless you have the I.Q. of a vegetable, e.g., a potato, in which case we
can't help you much.
6. DON'T SPLIT INFINITIVES
The infinitive form of a verb is just the action that the verb describes. Most verb forms need to be inflected
(i.e., the verb needs to have something added to the end like an "s," an "ed," an "es," etc.) based on the
person or persons who are doing it, when it was done, whether it was actually done or just might have been
done, etc. Like we said, we're not going to lay out a whole frickin' grammar textbook for you. The
important point is that the infinitive form doesn't make reference to who does it or anything else. It is just
the word "to" and the verb root. For example: "to eat," "to sleep," "to drink," and "to prestidigitate." Now
that we know what an infinitive form is, we need to insist that the infinitive form of the verb should be
treated as if it were one word instead of two. It is a form of a verb, just like "ate," "slept," "drank," or
"prestidigitated." It is incorrect to monkey about with this poor verb form and to split it up by putting extra
words in between the "to" and the verb root. Sorry, trekkies: "to boldly go" just ain't right. Most of our
grammar is inherited from Latin, and the infinitives in Latin are one-word (e.g., "comprendere," "facire,"
and "manere"). We don't know why we ended up with two-word infinitives, but we don't think it's fair to go
taking liberties with our infinitives just because they seem vulnerable. Go ahead and say whatever you like,
but don't write "to fastidiously sharpen," "to assiduously manipulate," "to ever so slightly dislodge," or
anything of the sort.
We should note here that we have heard that the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, of all
sources, has declared that split infinitives are no longer incorrect. We don't know where it gets off saying
that, and we hope it was that execrable Oxford Dictionary of New Words, instead of the good old OED, but
we are too scared to look. It seems that some people think they can make up the rules of grammar as they
go along. We see no good reason to stop treating the infinitive form with respect and to place modifiers
either before or after the two words which make up the verb. For example "to sharpen fastidiously," or "to
manipulate assiduously," or "ever so slightly to dislodge." The important thing for you to remember is that
there are many people, not all of whom are wearing smoking jackets and staring through bleary eyes at
paintings of their clubs' founders, who will think that you don't know any better if you split your infinitives.
We wince whenever we see a split infinitive in a news article or essay, and we don't even own smoking
jackets or belong to clubs (yet). You just never know when someone who cares is going to see your writing
and think ill of you.
7. STOP MISUSING "HOPEFULLY"
What does the word "hopefully" mean to you? If you answered that it means "It is to be hoped," you are
dead wrong. "Hopefully" is an adverb which describes the manner of someone who is hopeful. For
example: "When he heard the zipper opening, Antoine looked around hopefully." It is incorrect to begin
sentences with "hopefully" and then state something that you hope. For example: "Hopefully, people won't
think I'm a goof even though I keep making this stupid error." Don't do that. Instead, say "I am hopeful
that," "I hope that," or even "It is to be hoped." We're not kidding. You really have to stop.
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/mistakes.htm
Some Common Mistakes
And How to Avoid Them
by Melisa Michaels
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The Apostrophe
Phrase Matching
Spelling
Identifying Your Pronouns
Being Consistent
The Apostrophe: When In Doubt, Leave It Out
The omitted apostrophe confuses meaning less often than the needless one does. If I write a note to tell you,
"This is Janes dog," you'll likely know I mean to let you know the dog belongs to Jane. If I write instead,
"Jane's friend's are writer's," and you know anything about the punctuation of English, you will be in some
confusion as to what belongs to whom.
In general, the apostrophe means one of two things.
1.
2.
There is a missing letter where it is. For example, in "don't" there is a missing "o"; in "it's" there is
a missing "i": each of these is a one-word contraction commonly used to represent two words.
"Don't" means "do not," and "it's" means "it is."
Something belongs to someone. For example, "Jane's dog" means the dog belongs to Jane. "Fred's
house" means the house belongs to Fred (or at least that he lives in it). Apostrophe-S is used to
indicate possession.
Unfortunately, number 2 above presents a problem when a thing belongs to a thing. If we want to say, "The
box has its label now," shouldn't we use "it's" to show possession? The answer is most emphatically no, we
should not. "It's" means "it is." It never means "belonging to it."
And here I present you with a writerly secret about apostrophes: if the reader sees none where there should
be one, she will imagine you've dropped it by accident, and that the result is a typographical error (a "tyop")
rather than an indication of ignorance.
But if she sees an apostrophe where there should be none, she is unlikely to imagine that you added it by
accident. Even if in this one case you really did hit that key without noticing, your reader is going to
assume that you did it deliberately, in ignorance. It is a sad truth about readers. As a result, you're much
safer if you follow the apostrophe rule: when in doubt, leave it out.
Phrase-Matching
A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
Luckily this rather daunting injunction is simpler than it sounds. An example from Strunk's The Elements of
Style:
Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children.
The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. If the writer wishes to make it
refer to the woman, he must recast the sentence.
He saw a woman, accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road.
Strunk considers this example adequate, and perhaps it is. Even without an understanding of "participial
phrases" and "grammatical subjects," you should be able with moderate effort to extend this logic to other,
similar sentences.
The next rule contains even more daunting terms:
Participial phrases preceded by a conjunction or by a preposition, nouns in apposition, adjectives,
and adjective phrases come under the same rule if they begin the sentence.
If you don't know what those terms mean, you should still be able to see by example what is meant.
Wrong: On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station.
Better: On arriving in Chicago, he was met at the station by his friends.
Wrong: A writer of popular self-help books, they hired her to write their company manual.
Better: A writer of popular self-help books, she was hired to write the company manual.
Wrong: Inexperienced as he was, it sounded easy to write a book.
Better: Inexperienced as he was, he thought writing a book would be easy.
Sentences that violate these rules are often ludicrous:
Being weather-damaged and badly infested with termites, I was able to buy the house at quite a low price.
Wondering which way to turn, a bird soiled my hat.
As a writer of popular romances, his computer was quite fast.
Spelling
If your word processor has a spell-checker, use it. Be aware, however, that spell-checkers can only
determine whether words are spelled correctly. They cannot determine whether the word in question is the
one wanted. For example, had I written "they cannot determine weather the word … is the one wanted," a
spell-checker would not have flagged it because, although "weather" was quite the wrong word, it was
spelled correctly.
It is therefore necessary not only to spell-check by hand, but also to know more than your computer does
about which word you wanted. A hardcopy dictionary is essential. If you know there are other words that
sound like the one you used, it's a good idea to look them up, to make sure you selected the right one.
Did you say "they're" or "there" when you meant "their"? What about two, too, and to--have you used the
right one? Do you know how to decide which of "you're" and "your" and "yore" you want? Depending on
your regional accent, the words within these groups may sound identical. Have you really selected the
correct one? Do you know how to tell?
A dictionary will help in every case. If you look up the word you selected and the meaning turns out to be
quite different from what you intended, look up similar-sounding words until you find the one you wanted.
You may be surprised how many words are commonly used incorrectly or mistaken for each other in
speech.
Identifying Your Pronouns
Fred went to his brother's house to get his hat.
Whose hat is that? Can you tell from that sentence? I can't: the hat could belong to either Fred or his
brother, or even to someone else entirely. All we know is that it belongs to someone male.
Sometimes it feels awkward to identify a pronoun. In the above example neither "Fred went to his brother's
house to get Fred's hat" nor "Fred went to his brother's house to get his brother's hat" sounds quite as
satisfactory as the original. Yet you do want your reader to know just whose hat it is; otherwise she may
fuss about it so much she doesn't enjoy the rest of your story. Readers are like that.
The solution is to recast the sentence:
Fred went to his brother's house to get the hat he left there the previous day.
This is still mildly ambiguous, but will be understood in context. The probability that it is Fred's hat is
increased.
Or if the hat belongs to the brother, you could say,
Fred went to his brother's house to borrow a hat for the party.
It could be that Fred's brother keeps a houseful of hats belonging to persons we have not met, but very
likely he does not, and the hat in question actually belongs to him.
This sort of thing is important to the reader. If she is left in doubt as to whose a hat is, she will all too often
keep worrying the problem long after a more rational being might have gone on to something else. What's
worse, she'll bring it up again and again at the most inopportune moments, reminding anyone who'll listen
that she was left in doubt in the middle of your book (she may make it sound as bad as having been left
without water in the middle of a desert) as to the ownership of a hat.
Far better simply to tell her at the first mention of it that the hat is Fred's, or you may never hear the end of
it. Nobody wants to spend her entire literary career worrying about Fred's hat.
Being Consistent
Now that we have settled this pesky matter of the hat I feel comfortable mentioning that although the reader
often seems to have only the frailest grasp of what's going on and therefore needs every clue possible to
stay abreast of the fictional situation, it is unwise to assume that he or she will overlook the smallest
discrepancy in your logic.
Perhaps you think that the person who could not tell that was Fred's hat you were talking about will not
notice that Fred lived on Elm Street at the beginning of your novel and yet goes home to Ellis Street at the
end with never a change of address mentioned in between. Not so. Readers will notice the oddest things.
If your protagonist puts down her blaster on page one, walks away from it, and yet has it handy in her
holster to shoot another villain on page three, your reader will be testy about it.
If your protagonist has blue eyes and yellow hair on page forty-two, but has become a brown-eyed brunette
by page ninety-eight, your reader will very likely be vexed.
There are a great many hazards in the path of a beginning writer that I have not even mentioned, and
seemingly endless skills you will need to acquire. And when you have mastered them all, you will be left
alone with that shockingly dense and perversely astute creature called "the reader," who cannot be trusted
to divine the ownership of a hat but will relentlessly examine your every apostrophe for its purpose,
meaning, and needfulness.
That creature is the one to whom you are telling your stories. That is your audience, and it can be appeased
only with the greatest of care and attention to detail. It will notice when you change tenses in mid-sentence.
It will snarl when you change points of view without warning or explanation. It will show its teeth when
you confuse it, and it will be easily confused … except when you want it confused so it won't notice
prestidigitation. Then it will remain steadfastly alert and attentive despite your best efforts to bludgeon it
into insensibility.
That is the nature of the beast. Fortunately it is willing, even eager, to be amused. If you have done your
research, mastered the tools of your trade, exercised all the skill at your command, and been consistent in
your choices, you may please it.
Melisa Michaels is the author of the science fiction novels Skirmish, First Battle, Last War, Pirate Prince,
Floater Factor, and Far Harbor, the fantasy novel Cold Iron, and the mystery novel Through the Eyes of
the Dead.
Distribution of this article is encouraged as long as it is kept intact and proper credit is given.
This page was last modified on Tuesday January 04 2005.
http://www.ilstu.edu/~jhkahn/writing.html
Common Mistakes of English Grammar, Mechanics, and Punctuation
Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, Illinois State University
The following illustrate some common mistakes made in papers written by college students. This is by no
means an exhaustive list of all of the mistakes that could be made with respect to grammar, mechanics, and
punctuation. Rather, this is a list of some of the more common mistakes that occur.
Avoid using sexist wording, such as "he" or "his" when you are trying to refer to both boys and girls
or to both women and men.
Wrong: When the subject reported being finished, the experimenter asked him to complete a second
questionnaire.
Right: When the subject reported being finished, the experimenter administered a second questionnaire.
Do not combine singular and plural forms of words in the same sentence.
Wrong: Each subject rated their own mood on the questionnaire.
Right: Each subject rated his or her own mood on the questionnaire.
Right: All subjects rated their own moods on the questionnaire.
Wrong: A variety of issues were presented at the meeting.
Right: A variety of issues was presented at the meeting.
Use commas when appropriate. Sometimes a comma should be omitted, whereas other times
including a comma may help to improve your writing.
Use a comma when separating main clauses:
Wrong: We are here on this planet once and we might as well get a feel for the place.
Right: We are here on this planet once, and we might as well get a feel for the place.
Set off parenthetical material within commas.
Wrong: Sometimes people gossip as Barbara Walters has observed because they want to be interesting.
Right: Sometimes people gossip, as Barbara Walters has observed, because they want to be interesting.
Avoid unnecessary commas.
Wrong: The facts were selected, and organized with care.
Right: The facts were selected and organized with care.
Wrong: The Air Force debunked UFO sightings, but, millions of Americans didn't listen.
Right: The Air Force debunked UFO sightings, but millions of Americans didn't listen.
Do not write fragmented sentences. Every sentence needs a subject and a predicate.
Wrong: And for days tried to change my mind. (no subject)
Right: For days he/she/it tried to change my mind.
Do not confuse "its" and "it's." "Its" is the possessive form of "it," whereas "it's" is a contraction
for "it is."
Wrong: Its time for a change.
Right: It's time for a change.
Wrong: What is it's purpose?
Right: What is its purpose?
Do not confuse "effect" and "affect." "Effect" is typically a noun, meaning some consequence or
result. "Affect" is typically a verb, meaning to bring about an effect. (But note that "affect" also can
be a noun meaning emotional expression, and "effect" can be used as a verb to mean to cause
something to come into being.)
Wrong: The experimental manipulation caused an interesting affect.
Right: The experimental manipulation caused an interesting effect.
Wrong: The intervention did not effect the behavior of the therapy group.
Right: The intervention did not affect the behavior of the therapy group.
Use apostrophes in the appropriate place to indicate possession. A word ending in "s" has an
apostrophe at the end of the word; otherwise, place an apostrophe followed by "s" to indicate
possession.
Wrong: The student's faculty advisor was very committed to their learning.
Right: The students' faculty advisor was very committed to their learning. (if more than one student)
Right: The student's faculty advisor was very committed to her learning. (if only one female student)
Do not use an apostrophe to indicate a plural form of a word. Only use it to indicate possession.
Wrong: The student's all have busy schedules.
Right: The students all have busy schedules.
Use a hyphen when using two words to act as one adjective (unless the first word ends in -ly).
Wrong: The college student sample was smarter than the high school sample.
Right: The college-student sample was smarter than the high-school sample.
Wrong: A completely-new product was put on the market today.
Right: A completely new product was put on the market today.