Proofreading Archives

Test Your Proofreading Skills

Get your proofreading game on! Three challenges await you. A hint about the number of errors, followed by the solutions, appears at the end of the tests. Test 1: The Note of Thanks Dear Krista; Thank you very much for your work on the auction.… continue reading

10 Places to Ignore Your Grammar and Spelling Checker

You check your documents electronically to try to catch every error. But your grammar and spelling checker may be giving you bad advice. Because it’s a software program, it can’t read your mind or know your intentions. Also, it can’t always distinguish between correct and incorrect… continue reading

The $10 Million Serial Comma–Why Not Use It?

Please explain to me why people don’t use the serial comma. When millions of dollars can be drained away in a lawsuit because of its absence, why would anyone not use it? To be clear, these examples show the serial, or Oxford, comma and its role… continue reading

Proofreading

Quick Test: Can You Tighten These Bullet Points?

Today a business service I use sent me a bulleted list of updates. Every single bullet point starts with the contraction We've or We're. Those unnecessary words not only stretch out the bullets. They pull the focus away from the essential content. Also, the sentence format encourages… continue reading

Can You Find The Errors? Try These Error Quests

Each of the three short passages below has one error. Can you find all three? Test your skills. Passage 1: I just saw the schedule for the conference, and I am frustrated because Caren and Priya’s presentations take place at the same time. If I… continue reading

Proofreading

Fact Checking to the Rescue

During election seasons, we often hear about fact checkers working overtime to check candidates’ assertions. But in this guest post, marketing expert Marcia Yudkin shares why and how business writers should check the facts in their proposals, marketing pieces, and other writing. Read Marcia’s excellent advice… continue reading

A New Word That’s Not a Word: Disconcerning

Lately I have been hearing the word “disconcerning.” When it came up yesterday in an interview on NPR (National Public Radio), I knew it was time to write about it. “Disconcerning” is actually not a word–at least not a correct one. I’ve just checked all… continue reading

Proofreading

For Adjacent Numbers–Figures, Words, or Both?

Which is correct: two 2-room apartments, 2 two-room apartments, 2 2-room apartments, or two two-room apartments? In business writing classes, people often ask whether to use words or figures for adjacent numbers like those. What do you think? Here's advice from The Gregg Reference Manual (Gregg): When… continue reading

The Most Common Capitalization Error

Guess which is the error: Best Regards, OR Best regards, In email after email (including two this morning), I find people incorrectly capitalizing the complimentary close. The rule is to capitalize only the first word of the close. This rule applies wherever you use a complimentary… continue reading

A Sales Flyer in Need of Hyphens

On a morning walk, I picked up a sales flyer for a luxury building–luxurious except for the missing hyphens. How many hyphens would you insert in the passage below? Feel free to list your hyphenated words. Stunning stand alone home. Striking design and functionality come… continue reading