More Blog Posts
Monday, May 14, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
The misguided nature of a book review of The Language Wars. Also in today’s News Roundup: the misunderstanding of passive voice, idioms are not metaphors, Janus words, and rumpuses. Happy Monday, copyeditors!
Top pick
A recent New Yorker article about descriptivism and prescriptivism is way off base, says Mark Liberman. Find out how in “Rules and ‘Rules’.” (Language Log)
More great articles
- “Beliefs About Grammar and Extraterrestrials”: Pity those trying to “squeeze syntactic blood out of the turnip of naive metaphysics.” Or trying to define the passive voice. (Lingua Franca)
- “...
Friday, May 11, 2012 - 7:35am
Dawn McIlvain Stahl
0
Erin Brenner of Right Touch Editing has been editing or proofreading for twenty years and has been a full-time freelance professional for the last three years. She is currently the editor of Copyediting newsletter and will be our moderator for next week’s audio conference, Weathering the Publishing Storm: Copyediting in the Digital Age.
How’d you get into editing, Erin, and what is your current editing world?
I never considered editing as a career, figuring I’d get a master’s degree and teach literature. I got the master’s degree but was...
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Friday, May 11, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
The Sentence Doctor diagnoses the problem with compared to constructions. Also in today’s News Roundup: sprachgefühl, scary quotes, and a new kind of dictionary.
Top pick
Learn how to avoid the danger of the compared to construction in “Sentence Doctor: Don’t Lose the Thread.” (Angry Sub-Editor)
More great articles
- “Sprachgefühl: Sometimes, You Just Know …”: How Merriam-Webster decides to add new words to its dictionaries. (Collaborative Services)
- “‘Scary Quotes’”: Now appearing in headlines and subheads: scary quotes. (...
Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
Words used too freely can develop issues. Also in today’s News Roundup: a changing grammar word, a grouse about Star Trek and other pop culture references, the solidity of lexicography, and a usage quiz.
Top pick
Have we become too free with the word racist? Ben Yagoda examines the case in “A Word With Issues.” (Lingua Franca)
More great articles
- “Some Changing Uses Of ‘Grammar’ Words: Are You Across Across?”: Maybe prepositions aren’t a closed class after all. (Macmillan Dictionary Blog)
- “Some Readers Don’t Get It: And Other Reasons...
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
If you want a trimmer manuscript, check out Verbal Detox™. Also in today’s News Roundup: participial phrases, profanity, headlines, and trousers.
Top pick
Try Verbal Detox™ today for a slimmer manuscript tomorrow! Find out how in “Plain Language: A Verbal Detox.” (The Media Online)
More great articles
- “How Participial Phrases Can Hurt Writing”: Help your write kick the habit of relying too much on participial phrases. (Grammar Underground)
- “Reporting the Profane”: If your publication doesn’t print profanities, you might want to...
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - 8:25am
Erin Brenner
7
A while back, Bill Walsh tweeting as @TheSlot, sent out this message:
It begs the question: Did you try and literally infer you could care less?
So many phrases to argue over in one little tweet. Would you allow any of them to stand in an edit? Some of them? All of them? Over the next few weeks, I’ll examine each usage problem in turn.
Begs the question
Begs the question comes from logic and is used to point out that an argument made to prove a claim doesn’t actually prove said claim. The argument’s foundation is based on the claim being true.
On his...
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
A word of caution on signing editing contracts. Also in today’s News Roundup: would like to have verbed and issued with, as well as meta headlines and an AMA Style update.
Top pick
Copyeditors, be careful of the contracts you’re asked to sign. Find out why in “The Business of Editing: Contracts—A Slippery Slope.” (An American Editor)
More great articles
- “Ask Language Log: ‘… Would Like to Have VERBed’?”: Would you have liked to have stayed longer, or would you have liked to stay longer? (Language Log)
- “A Different...
Monday, May 7, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
In today’s News Roundup: understanding do, using inflammable, banning words, and more.
Top pick
Do takes on more jobs than you might think at first. Find out about them in “The Verb Do Is Weirder Than You Think.” (Grammar Girl)
More great articles
- “Flame Proof”: No, really, inflammable means flammable. (The Grammarphobia Blog)
- “Banned Words: Should Teachers Ban the Use of Offensive Terms?”: One teen examines the utility of banning words in school—or not. (HuffPost Teens)...
Friday, May 4, 2012 - 8:12am
Dawn McIlvain Stahl
0
Christine Steele has been editing for about 25 years, the last 7 years as a senior copy editor in investment communications at American Funds (a Capital Group company). Christine is also an American Copy Editors Society board member and one of the panelists for our upcoming audio conference, “Weathering the Publishing Storm: Copyediting in the Digital Age.”
How’d you get into editing, Christine?
I always loved spelling and the English language and majored in communications and journalism. I pursued jobs in proofreading/editing and always wanted to work for a newspaper. Instead, I was able to find editing jobs in non-newspaper fields and...
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ACES, American Funds, Bryan Garner, Capital Group Companies, Christine Steele, Copyediting newsletter, corporate communications, Editing, Electronic Resources, instructor, interview, investment communications, Print Resources, SABEW, senior copy editor
Friday, May 4, 2012 - 5:20am
Erin Brenner
0
Knee-jerk reactions can cause problems in the newsroom. Also in today’s News Roundup: verbosity and quality, teleprompters, and Pearls Before Swine.
Top pick
It’s important to know when and when not to use the likes of ain’t, says John McIntyre, in “The Mistake of Taking the Hard Line.” (You Don’t Say)
More great articles
- “The Quality-Length Correlation”: Can sheer verbosity indicate quality? (Lingua Franca)
- “Is Teleprompter a Trademarked Term?”: One of Yahoo’s editors gives us the scoop on teleprompter. (As an...
Try and make some sense! See how that doesn't make any sense. You try to make sense. You don't try and also make sense while you're at it, or make
