Apostrophe Problem

Sometimes people have problems with apostrophe placement. One common problem occurs when people use an apostrophe when they really want to indicate plurality, as in the case of VCR's instead of VCRs: VCR's On Sale This Weekend! instead of the correct VCRs On Sale This Weekend! This problem is very common, especially in advertising. Please pay attention!

Spelling, Business Names, and Beginning Readers

Ok, I know some people like to be cutesy or quirky in spelling their business name wrong, as in businesses that spell the word quick as kwik, for example. But that can confuse beginning readers. Or if it doesn't confuse them, they'll just think you're not being helpful. That's what I thought when I was learning to read and saw business names spelled incorrectly on purpose. People need to be helpful, not cutesy or quirky when it comes to spelling. Spell correctly. Save the cutesyness and quirkyness for graphics. Set a good example.

General Reader Language

I voted today.

Before I voted, I read up on the items on which we have the privilege of voting.

The main reason I read up on the items is to find out what they really say.

Ballot language has gotten marginally better, but it still has to be put in general reader language in other places like voters' guides.

And it's good that the information is available a couple of other places other than the ballot when we get to the polls.

But it should be written in general reader language in the first place, i.e. on the ballot itself.

Why gum up the language on the ballot?

That's not considerate. Or patriotic.

Redundancy, Common Phrases, and Conciseness

Redundancy isn't just a sentence that contains words or phrases or clauses with the same meanings. Redundancy also appears in common phrases. One example is action plan. Now, many times plans don't get accomplished for various reasons and sometimes nothing at all gets done. But the word plan does inherently imply action, and that's why the phrase action plan is redundant. So let's expunge that phrase from usage, verbal and written, for it conveys sloppy thinking and that's not what we need!