I just received an email that reminded me of the commonest error I have been seeing in content–not in punctuation or grammar, in content.
The email begins this way:
***Correction***The original message to you had an error regarding the day of the meeting. This notice is updated with the correct information.
The original message, which had arrived about 90 minutes earlier, announced a meeting on Thursday, January 13. Unfortunately, January 13 falls on a Tuesday.
Let's wipe out this error in 2009! Before we press Send or close the flap on a message, let's make sure any days and dates are correct. In the three seconds it takes to recheck our calendars, we can save ourselves plenty of embarrassment and dozens if not hundreds of "Correction" notices. Not to mention saving time for our readers.
Are you with me?
2017 UPDATE: I'm pleased to announce my new course Proofread Like a Pro. It features plenty of practice finding errors in content, grammar, punctuation, and formatting.
Lynn
Syntax Training