Editing Tip(s) of the Day

Here are a few quick tips.

• Spell out numbers from one to nine and use numerals for all higher numbers. However, spell out a number at the beginning of a sentence.


• Use commas with numbers in the thousands (e.g. 1,325).


• Ages expressed as an adjective before a noun use hyphens (e.g. They have a 6-year-old daughter).


• Capitalize the word “state” only in formal reference to the state as a legal institution (e.g. the State of Michigan; the state legislature; the State Assembly; We work for the state).


• Use “backward,” not “backwards;” “toward,” not “towards;” “forward,” not “forwards.”

Here is one reference: www.pvamu.edu/files/institutional_relations_public_service/ProofreadingTipSheet.pdf

Editing Tip(s) of the Day

The Apostrophe. The apostrophe has three uses:

1) to form possessives of nouns
2) to show the omission of letters
3) to indicate certain plurals of lowercase letters

Apostrophes are NOT used for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals, including acronyms.

The apostrophe should not be confused with the right closing single quotation mark (usually rendered identically but serving a quite different purpose).

’ or ’ notice the direction? ' You may use a straight single quote, but be consistent in your document. Never use ‘ or ‘ which is a left single quote.

Examples:

If you have one cat: The cat’s water bowl needs to be filled with clean water.
If you have more than one cat: The cats' water bowls are dirty.

To omit letters: Don’t (do not), ’cause (omitting ‘be’), should’ve (should have omitting an ‘ha’), it’s (it is), I’ll (I will).
To omit numbers: ’90s means the 1990s (omitting ‘19’) NOT 90’s (used for temperature) or ‘90s (notice you don’t use a left single quote, never!).

Plurals of lowercase letters: Mind your p’s & q’s.

Here are two references: owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_apost.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe

Editing Tip(s) of the Day

Looking for mistakes. Don’t proof for every type of mistake at once—do one proof for spelling, another for missing/additional spaces (i.e. two spaces instead of one), consistency of word usage (i.e. past tense versus present tense), font sizes, etc. And don’t be afraid to read with your finger while proofreading—it’ll keep you focused on that word.

Editing Tip(s) of the Day

Acronyms. Many style books are now recommending SMALL CAPS for all appearances of acronyms, such as NAACP or NCAA. The effect of this practice is to allow the acronym to blend more smoothly with the rest of the text. Today I’ll be commenting on the acronyms we use for time. A.M., P.M., NOON, and MIDNIGHT. When typing 12:00 you would use NOON or MIDNIGHT as 12:00 is neither A.M. or P.M. To save space on certain layouts, I have been known to use just the first letter and in lowercase (e.g. 1p, 2a, 12n, 12m, or 12mid). In my opinion, as long as you know the correct way to use these acronyms you have artistic freedom to use them in an appealing way. But, whichever way you choose be consistent in the same layout. Know your client. If you’re editing or designing anything but a one page artistic layout, use small caps. Here’s one reference: desktoppub.about.com/cs/finetypography/ht/small_caps.htm

Editing Tip(s) of the Day

Dashes. Besides a regular dash, there is the en dash (–) and the em dash (—) and each is used differently. You use an en dash (the width of the letter ‘n’) to signify ranges (e.g. ‘Roughly 10–12 people showed up for the party.’) or durations (8:00 P.M.–2:00 A.M.) and an em dash (the width of the letter ‘m’) is used to connect two sentences. During my search for references for this tip, I found an excellent one at Wikipedia. It does a much better job at explaining this subject. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash

If you work in HTML the codes are [without any spaces] & #8211; (en dash) and & #8212; (em dash). It really makes your pages look more professional when you use the correct dashes. More HTML codes here: www.ascii.cl/htmlcodes.htm or www.tntluoma.com/sidebars/codes/

Editing Tip(s) of the Day

Today’s tip is on paragraphs. When starting a story, most people don’t know that the first paragraph is NOT indented. A new, indented line tells you that you've come to a break between two paragraphs. The first paragraph doesn’t come after a break. It doesn’t need an indent. Neither does the first after a subheading.
   Some people start with a drop cap or bold the first few words. I’ve even seen some start out with the first three words capitalized and bolded (I used this method on VCO articles).
   Now on the second paragraph, you can indent (just a few space, not a gaping hole!) to signify the start of a new paragraph, or you can double-space between paragraphs, BUT then you would NOT indent—that would be redundant.
   I've used the indent method on this article. I prefer the double-space method in my articles as you can see from prior posts. Here's just one reference:
spider.georgetowncollege.edu/t3/wsr/csc120/ruler97.htm

Editing Tip(s) of the Day

I'll be sharing one or more tips I’ve learned over the years:

ONE SPACE between sentences. Typewriters use characters that are mono-spaced, meaning each letter or character is the same size as the other (see example). Whereas computers and most fonts use proportional spacing, meaning each letter or character takes up as much space as it needs horizontally (e.g. ‘m’ takes up more space than an ‘i’). Here's just one reference: desktoppub.about.com/cs/typespacing/a/onetwospaces.htm

Periods and commas go inside quote marks (single and double). As far as I know this rule is for the U.S.A. only as in England they put periods and commas outside the quote marks. Question marks and other punctuation depend upon the context. If you have a quote with a question mark in it then it goes inside. If you’re asking a question, the question mark will more likely than not go outside the quote marks. Here's just one reference: www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LwtaQuotation_Marks.htm