Proofreading Archives

Proofreading

How to Stop the Gossip

A client sent me a worried email about an administrative assistant. The assistant had sent out an email to some executives in the company, and that email had lots of errors. When I read the email thread, I saw the offending email. I also saw… continue reading

Proofreading

Make It Big (to Proofread)

I am always surprised when people in writing classes proofread their documents in type this size. (For those who couldn’t read that phrase, it said "in type this size.") They stare at the screen, asking themselves "Do I have a comma or a semicolon there?"… continue reading

graphic stating "Washington State or state of Washington"

Washington State of Confusion

[NOTE: This information was updated in October 2014.] I live in the state of Washington. I live in Washington State. And when it comes to capitalization, it’s the state of confusion. Why? Because various style manuals recommend capitalizing differently. When state comes after the state’s… continue reading

Microsoft Turns Mangers Into Managers

Reading an e-newsletter a minute ago, I came across an error I see often. Can you find it in the sentence below? The New Hampshire-based organization surveyed 117 senior executives and mangers around the globe for the survey, whose results were distributed April 26. Yes.… continue reading

Proofreading Tips

If I said I never send out documents with errors, I would be lying. Just today I realized that the notebooks for two classes I taught recently had an error in one of the page titles. What should have said "Use Active Verbs Primarily" said… continue reading

Formatting User Instructions

Julie, a marketing and communications manager from Atlanta, Georgia, asked me about the formatting I used for commands, menus, and other items in my post Make Microsoft Find Passives. Many of us use technical terms in our writing–especially procedure writing–and I'm glad to provide tips.… continue reading

Can You Defend What You Write?

In a Better Business Writing class last week, I noticed places in attendees’ writing where they implied something they did not intend. Here’s a sentence from one letter denying a request: "At this time I cannot accommodate the schedule you have requested." Reading that sentence… continue reading

A graphic of a phone and the words: "Phone Number Format"

How to Format Phone Numbers

Let’s discuss telephone number etiquette and try to answer the question “how to format phone numbers.” Some use periods (dots) between the parts of a telephone number while others use parentheses and hyphens. Which style or format is correct? As usual, style guides differ. The… continue reading

See You on the 80th!

I recently read an auto-response from a client, which announced that he would return to work on Tuesday, the 80th. Of course, this was a typing error. Unfortunately, though, it was impossible to tell when he would actually return. Did he mean Tuesday, the 28th… continue reading

Capitalizing Thanksgiving Day

Across the United States, people are celebrating Thanksgiving Day. Inspired by the day and having a moment before I get ready for the festivities of eating, drinking, and enjoying good company, I want to write about capitalizing the word day in holidays. Around individual holidays… continue reading