I just read on the 'net about today being National Grammar Day.
Another way to phrase it is "National Write Clearly For the Readers Day," because that's your goal when you write. And my goal when copyediting is to make sure that writing is clear.
Showing posts with label copyediting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label copyediting. Show all posts
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Confusing Sentence Fragments
Some sentence fragments are all right. Some even have drama and as such are used for emphasis. But some are simply incorrect and confusing, as in the following paragraph:
"This museum is geared to the preservation of the history of the Native Peoples of the Plains. Magnificent displays and art exhibits make this a jewel. Ceremonial dance schedule and youth hostel reservations. Open winter Thurs-Sat noon-5 pm, Sun 1p-5-; summer Wed-Sat 11a-6p, Sun 1-5p. Adults $3.00, youth $1.50; 9151 I-40 East."
The sentences that contain schedule and price information are fragments and they're fine--we expect those sorts of sentence fragments in travel brochures. But the sentence "Ceremonial dance schedule and youth hostel reservations" leaves us wondering about those things. And why are those even in the same sentence fragment, much less the same sentence, unless the sentence told where visitors could find out what they needed to know about those things at the visitors' center, i.e. The Visitors' Center has information about other activities and facilities, including the ceremonial dance schedule and youth hostel room reservation instructions.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, we need to get someone to look over our work to see if there is anything that will confuse the reader and, if there is, correct it. Clear communication is important!
"This museum is geared to the preservation of the history of the Native Peoples of the Plains. Magnificent displays and art exhibits make this a jewel. Ceremonial dance schedule and youth hostel reservations. Open winter Thurs-Sat noon-5 pm, Sun 1p-5-; summer Wed-Sat 11a-6p, Sun 1-5p. Adults $3.00, youth $1.50; 9151 I-40 East."
The sentences that contain schedule and price information are fragments and they're fine--we expect those sorts of sentence fragments in travel brochures. But the sentence "Ceremonial dance schedule and youth hostel reservations" leaves us wondering about those things. And why are those even in the same sentence fragment, much less the same sentence, unless the sentence told where visitors could find out what they needed to know about those things at the visitors' center, i.e. The Visitors' Center has information about other activities and facilities, including the ceremonial dance schedule and youth hostel room reservation instructions.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, we need to get someone to look over our work to see if there is anything that will confuse the reader and, if there is, correct it. Clear communication is important!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Copyediting and Sentence Combining
Copyediting includes deleting words in individual sentences to make them more concise, but sometimes it's helpful to combine sentences when the thoughts are close enough.
1. "It's been over six months since Hurricane Ike devastated our island. And with it, our homes, our businesses and our lives--all turned as topsy-turvy as the contents of our dwellings when the floodwaters subsided."
It's been over six months since Hurricane Ike devastated our island and with it our homes, our businesses, and our lives--all turned as topsy-turvy as the contents of our dwellings when the floodwaters subsided.
2. "In that time, we've seen remarkable changes occur, the result of the remarkable spirit of generostiy and neighborliness that represents the best of us humans. From the very beginning, with the army of boom trucks that descended upon us from, literally, all over the United States, to help begin to untangle the snarled chaos that had been our electrical grid, to the throng of young people here from various schools and churches during their Spring Break to help us clean up."
In that time, we've seen remarkable changes occur, the result of the remarkable spirit of generosity and neighborliness that represents the best of us humans from the very beginning, with the army of boom trucks that descended upon us from, literally, all over the United States, to help begin to untangle the snarled chaos that had been our electrical grid, to the throng of young people here from various schools and churches during their Spring Break to help us clean up.
3. "And yet it is just that--the impermanence of things, change--that I want to discuss as we move towards the creation of our own authentic homes. Because Ike has given us the perfect opportunity to rearrange our homes, our lives, ourselves into new arrangements and patterns that suit us more."
And yet it is just that--the impermanence of things, change--that I want to discuss as we move towards the creation of our own authentic homes, because Ike has given us the perfect opportunity to rearrange our homes, our lives, ourselves in to new arrangements and patterns that suit us more.
1. "It's been over six months since Hurricane Ike devastated our island. And with it, our homes, our businesses and our lives--all turned as topsy-turvy as the contents of our dwellings when the floodwaters subsided."
It's been over six months since Hurricane Ike devastated our island and with it our homes, our businesses, and our lives--all turned as topsy-turvy as the contents of our dwellings when the floodwaters subsided.
2. "In that time, we've seen remarkable changes occur, the result of the remarkable spirit of generostiy and neighborliness that represents the best of us humans. From the very beginning, with the army of boom trucks that descended upon us from, literally, all over the United States, to help begin to untangle the snarled chaos that had been our electrical grid, to the throng of young people here from various schools and churches during their Spring Break to help us clean up."
In that time, we've seen remarkable changes occur, the result of the remarkable spirit of generosity and neighborliness that represents the best of us humans from the very beginning, with the army of boom trucks that descended upon us from, literally, all over the United States, to help begin to untangle the snarled chaos that had been our electrical grid, to the throng of young people here from various schools and churches during their Spring Break to help us clean up.
3. "And yet it is just that--the impermanence of things, change--that I want to discuss as we move towards the creation of our own authentic homes. Because Ike has given us the perfect opportunity to rearrange our homes, our lives, ourselves into new arrangements and patterns that suit us more."
And yet it is just that--the impermanence of things, change--that I want to discuss as we move towards the creation of our own authentic homes, because Ike has given us the perfect opportunity to rearrange our homes, our lives, ourselves in to new arrangements and patterns that suit us more.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Copyediting--What To Start With
What to start with when you read a text for the first time? Nearly everything. Fix problems as you come to them, but be sure to read all of each sentence before you try to fix what looks like a syntax problem, because sometimes a sentence can look like it's incorrect when it really isn't--don't try to predict, just read, and fix the problem if there is one.
When you finish correcting any problems in the details, go back and look for global problems--lack of cohesion, an introduction that doesn't quite work, transitions that don't bridge from one idea to the next very well, a conclusion that stops abruptly or trails off, lack of organization of ideas, a change in tone, wandering verb tenses or an inconsistent use of pronouns, etc.--then fix those, and after that, give the whole thing a once over in case you missed something.
When you finish correcting any problems in the details, go back and look for global problems--lack of cohesion, an introduction that doesn't quite work, transitions that don't bridge from one idea to the next very well, a conclusion that stops abruptly or trails off, lack of organization of ideas, a change in tone, wandering verb tenses or an inconsistent use of pronouns, etc.--then fix those, and after that, give the whole thing a once over in case you missed something.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Global Problems
As well as details like typos, incorrect grammar, incorrect punctuation, etc., there can be global problems in a text. These include lack of cohesion and organization: the information may be grammatically correct, but it's simply in the wrong place in the paragraph or the text and these problems also hinder the readers. The following example contains all sorts of errors, but I want to use it to illustrate global problems:
Editing Sample
Original
Whether one arrives by car bus, plain, train or boat, the skiline will took your breath away. A single visit to New york will tell you why the city is both loved. And hated by so many people. And the streets seem so durty. cans and bags and newspapers lay in the guters an on the sidwalks, or somtimes fly acros you’re path. even the people who do not speek English won’t smile or say excuse me or give one good directions. The thril will only be hightened when you walk. Down the canyons formed by skyscrapers. look in the shop windows. go to the theatre, or a museum. stroll in the nayborhoods where no one speeks english. You starts to notise the noise of trafic and get annoyed at crowds. But all is not perfect--far form it. You has the same love-hate feelings as everyone else does. after a few days, when you’re reactions balance out.
In the revision, I have corrected the problems, including the global ones:
Edited and Revised
A single visit to New York will tell you why the city is both loved and hated by so many people. Whether you arrive by car, bus, plane, train, or boat, the skyline will take your breath away. The thrill will only be heightened when you walk down the canyons formed by skyscrapers. Look in the shop windows. Go to the theatre or a museum. Stroll in the neighborhoods where no one speaks English.
But all is not perfect--far from it. You start to notice the noise of traffic and get annoyed at crowds. Even the people who do not speak English will not smile or say "Excuse me." The streets seem so dirty. Cans, bags, and newspapers lie in the gutters, on the sidewalks, or sometimes fly across your path. When your reactions balance out after a few days, you have the same love-hate feelings as everyone else does.
So when you ask someone to copyedit your work or if you are copyediting someone else's work, remember to look for these global errors and correct them, for the writer's and readers' benefit.
Note
Unfortunately I cannot remember the source of this editing sample, though I think I received it years ago from someone who taught composition.
Editing Sample
Original
Whether one arrives by car bus, plain, train or boat, the skiline will took your breath away. A single visit to New york will tell you why the city is both loved. And hated by so many people. And the streets seem so durty. cans and bags and newspapers lay in the guters an on the sidwalks, or somtimes fly acros you’re path. even the people who do not speek English won’t smile or say excuse me or give one good directions. The thril will only be hightened when you walk. Down the canyons formed by skyscrapers. look in the shop windows. go to the theatre, or a museum. stroll in the nayborhoods where no one speeks english. You starts to notise the noise of trafic and get annoyed at crowds. But all is not perfect--far form it. You has the same love-hate feelings as everyone else does. after a few days, when you’re reactions balance out.
In the revision, I have corrected the problems, including the global ones:
Edited and Revised
A single visit to New York will tell you why the city is both loved and hated by so many people. Whether you arrive by car, bus, plane, train, or boat, the skyline will take your breath away. The thrill will only be heightened when you walk down the canyons formed by skyscrapers. Look in the shop windows. Go to the theatre or a museum. Stroll in the neighborhoods where no one speaks English.
But all is not perfect--far from it. You start to notice the noise of traffic and get annoyed at crowds. Even the people who do not speak English will not smile or say "Excuse me." The streets seem so dirty. Cans, bags, and newspapers lie in the gutters, on the sidewalks, or sometimes fly across your path. When your reactions balance out after a few days, you have the same love-hate feelings as everyone else does.
So when you ask someone to copyedit your work or if you are copyediting someone else's work, remember to look for these global errors and correct them, for the writer's and readers' benefit.
Note
Unfortunately I cannot remember the source of this editing sample, though I think I received it years ago from someone who taught composition.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Why Copyediting?
From The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes comes the following anecdote excerpt:
"GEORGE III ON PROOF-READING
The king had some valuable advice for the diarist and author Fanny Burney.
He laughed; and enquired who corrected my proofs?
'Only myself,' I answered.
'Why, some authors have told me that they are the last to do that work for themselves. They know so well by heart what ought to be, that they run on without seeing what is. They have told me, besides, that a mere plodding head is best and surest . . . and that the livelier the imagination, the less it should be trusted to. Madame d'Arblay, VI" (Longford 317).
Now, whatever you think about George III, he was right about proofing: "They know so well by heart what ought to be, that they run on without seeing what is" (Burney, qtd. in Longford 317). We know what we want to say, and our mind slots it in without us realizing it, so it is very difficult to proof what we've written and we always need someone else to read our work.
Copyediting is also important, and to begin I use more secondary information (with some names changed) in the form of a letter some friends received when they lived in an apartment and gave to me because they knew I could use it:
Dear Sir or Madam:
As we all know the Village at Central Park is a beautiful apartment complex which offers many amenities. However, one deficiency in the apartments is affecting most of us almost daily; the shower heads are positioned below most people’s heads, which makes taking a shower incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, compels the user to bend down and thus may cause back ache.
We, Bendi-stretch Advantage Company, feel that we have found a practical, inexpensive solution to this problem. We have developed a new, useful shower extension which was designed to free the user from the unhealthy necessity to bend down while taking a shower. Now, the user has the choice and flexibility to adjust the shower head height to his/her individual need.
We are happy to offer you this quality item absolutely free of charge for 5 days in your own shower. This free distribution is a part of our marketing research plan which is done in order to elect the correct marketing strategy for our newest product, understand our important customer needs and improve our quality service.
If you are interested in taking advantage if this exclusive offer, we will place our unique shower extension in your shower and will provide you with a market research questionaire to answer about your personal experience with it. The product placement procedure takes just a few minutes.
For showing you our great appreciation for trying our product and helping us conduct our marketing research, we will also give you a free gift out of a variety you can choose from.
To gain all these benefits, all you have to do is to call us at (817) 555-71 11 in order to set up the installment at a time convenient to you. If, after trying the shower extension, you decide to keep it, you will be elegible to own it for its wholesale price which is below similar but not identical products in the market. For this market research we need only a limited number of applicants. If we have covered our limit by the time you contact us, plese accept our apology. However, for such occurences we keep extra free gifts and we will happily give you the free gift mentioned above just because we appreciate your interest.
We thank you very much for your cooperation and are very confident that you will benefit greatly from this highly useful product.
Thank you again.
Jon Doe
Bendi-stretch Advantage Research
It is difficult to copyedit what we've written, even for those of us who have writing skills, and not everyone has the same skills, so we need someone to look at our work to make sure it is clear and concise for the readers. The following revision of the "Bendi-stretch" letter shows how copyediting works:
Edited and Revised
Dear Resident,
The Village at Central Park Apartments provides many comforts and amenities for its residents. However, there is one problem that affects us on a regular basis: improperly positioned shower heads.
We developed a practical, inexpensive solution to this problem: the “Bendi-stretch Shower Head Extension.” This flexible shower head adjusts to any height and thus frees you from the bending and stretching that can cause backache.
We want to offer you the use of this product free for 5 days, with free installation provided at your convenience. We request that you fill out the accompanying questionnaire; customer feedback helps up fulfill customer needs for quality goods and services.
To show our appreciation for your participation, we give you the choice of a free gift from our catalogue.
To set up an appointment for installation of the “Bendi-stretch Shower Extension,” call us at (817) 555-7111. If, after 5 days of free use, you decide you want to keep this product, you can purchase it at the wholesale price.
Only a few applications are needed. If the number is filled when you contact us, please accept our apology and choose a free gift from our catalogue in appreciation for your interest.
We hope you will take this opportunity to try the “Bendi-stretch Shower Extension.”
Sincerely,
Jon Doe
Bendi-stretch Advantage Research
I'll let the example speak for itself. I know that we're apt to "File Thirteen" any direct mail, but we never know if something might be read, and since we never know, we need copyeditors to look over our work to make sure there aren't any problems or to solve any problems that are there.
Work Cited
Longford, Elizabeth, ed. The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
"GEORGE III ON PROOF-READING
The king had some valuable advice for the diarist and author Fanny Burney.
He laughed; and enquired who corrected my proofs?
'Only myself,' I answered.
'Why, some authors have told me that they are the last to do that work for themselves. They know so well by heart what ought to be, that they run on without seeing what is. They have told me, besides, that a mere plodding head is best and surest . . . and that the livelier the imagination, the less it should be trusted to. Madame d'Arblay, VI" (Longford 317).
Now, whatever you think about George III, he was right about proofing: "They know so well by heart what ought to be, that they run on without seeing what is" (Burney, qtd. in Longford 317). We know what we want to say, and our mind slots it in without us realizing it, so it is very difficult to proof what we've written and we always need someone else to read our work.
Copyediting is also important, and to begin I use more secondary information (with some names changed) in the form of a letter some friends received when they lived in an apartment and gave to me because they knew I could use it:
Dear Sir or Madam:
As we all know the Village at Central Park is a beautiful apartment complex which offers many amenities. However, one deficiency in the apartments is affecting most of us almost daily; the shower heads are positioned below most people’s heads, which makes taking a shower incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, compels the user to bend down and thus may cause back ache.
We, Bendi-stretch Advantage Company, feel that we have found a practical, inexpensive solution to this problem. We have developed a new, useful shower extension which was designed to free the user from the unhealthy necessity to bend down while taking a shower. Now, the user has the choice and flexibility to adjust the shower head height to his/her individual need.
We are happy to offer you this quality item absolutely free of charge for 5 days in your own shower. This free distribution is a part of our marketing research plan which is done in order to elect the correct marketing strategy for our newest product, understand our important customer needs and improve our quality service.
If you are interested in taking advantage if this exclusive offer, we will place our unique shower extension in your shower and will provide you with a market research questionaire to answer about your personal experience with it. The product placement procedure takes just a few minutes.
For showing you our great appreciation for trying our product and helping us conduct our marketing research, we will also give you a free gift out of a variety you can choose from.
To gain all these benefits, all you have to do is to call us at (817) 555-71 11 in order to set up the installment at a time convenient to you. If, after trying the shower extension, you decide to keep it, you will be elegible to own it for its wholesale price which is below similar but not identical products in the market. For this market research we need only a limited number of applicants. If we have covered our limit by the time you contact us, plese accept our apology. However, for such occurences we keep extra free gifts and we will happily give you the free gift mentioned above just because we appreciate your interest.
We thank you very much for your cooperation and are very confident that you will benefit greatly from this highly useful product.
Thank you again.
Jon Doe
Bendi-stretch Advantage Research
It is difficult to copyedit what we've written, even for those of us who have writing skills, and not everyone has the same skills, so we need someone to look at our work to make sure it is clear and concise for the readers. The following revision of the "Bendi-stretch" letter shows how copyediting works:
Edited and Revised
Dear Resident,
The Village at Central Park Apartments provides many comforts and amenities for its residents. However, there is one problem that affects us on a regular basis: improperly positioned shower heads.
We developed a practical, inexpensive solution to this problem: the “Bendi-stretch Shower Head Extension.” This flexible shower head adjusts to any height and thus frees you from the bending and stretching that can cause backache.
We want to offer you the use of this product free for 5 days, with free installation provided at your convenience. We request that you fill out the accompanying questionnaire; customer feedback helps up fulfill customer needs for quality goods and services.
To show our appreciation for your participation, we give you the choice of a free gift from our catalogue.
To set up an appointment for installation of the “Bendi-stretch Shower Extension,” call us at (817) 555-7111. If, after 5 days of free use, you decide you want to keep this product, you can purchase it at the wholesale price.
Only a few applications are needed. If the number is filled when you contact us, please accept our apology and choose a free gift from our catalogue in appreciation for your interest.
We hope you will take this opportunity to try the “Bendi-stretch Shower Extension.”
Sincerely,
Jon Doe
Bendi-stretch Advantage Research
I'll let the example speak for itself. I know that we're apt to "File Thirteen" any direct mail, but we never know if something might be read, and since we never know, we need copyeditors to look over our work to make sure there aren't any problems or to solve any problems that are there.
Work Cited
Longford, Elizabeth, ed. The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
icopyedit
The title of this blog was inspired by my cousin's cooking blog http://icooktexas@blogspot.com (lots of good recipes, by-the-by). I like to cook too, but I also like to copyedit. No, make that love to copyedit. I've been known to copyedit travel brochures while on vacation, just to get some copyediting in. And some of the travel brochures have needed it. And travel articles in magazines. I am not one of those "correct people's grammar in conversation" types--I am very anti that because it's rude and gives English majors a totally unjustified bad rep. What I'm interested in is clear, concise communication for readers, any readers of any thing, be it book, article, brochure, letter, or even memo. Or even the direct mail that sometimes doesn't get much of a read because it's something we didn't ask to receive.
My interest in good communication for readers began in childhood, though I did not realize it then. When I wasn't with family or friends or watching tv, I was reading, and that was simply another form of entertainment. I read the My Book House Books series my parents bought for me at the State Fair, and kids' books--fiction and biography--with an occasional foray into the World Book Encyclopedia just for a change. Later I moved on to young adult fiction, more non-fiction while continuing with biographies, and poetry and plays. All that reading gave me a knowledge and instinct for what makes a good sentence and a not-so-good sentence, a knowledge and instinct for what readers should expect out of whatever they happen to be reading. Later on, my schooling gave me more knowledge and more practice writing, which also helped. I really don't remember what I copyedited first. But I soon realized that I loved that task.
Why do I love copyediting? Besides making sure a text communicates properly, my love for copyediting has to do with the creativity and problem-solving mystery of it all. Now, problems like subject-verb agreement or typos are clear cut--you fix the agreement, retype the word correctly, and that's it. But if a sentence is really snarled, or there are what one of my profs called "wandering verb tenses," or the pronouns go from singular to plural and back again, there's more than one way to fix the problem, and that's where the creativity and problem-solving mystery of it comes in. It's like, perhaps more prosaically, fixing a plumbing problem or filling the potholes in a road. It's like carving out what's unnecessary, to reveal the text. It's like putting a puzzle together and being able to change the pieces without changing the picture. It's challenging, creative, and fun.
But that's not all there is to it. Read this blog tomorrow for why copyediting is important. And have a good day!
My interest in good communication for readers began in childhood, though I did not realize it then. When I wasn't with family or friends or watching tv, I was reading, and that was simply another form of entertainment. I read the My Book House Books series my parents bought for me at the State Fair, and kids' books--fiction and biography--with an occasional foray into the World Book Encyclopedia just for a change. Later I moved on to young adult fiction, more non-fiction while continuing with biographies, and poetry and plays. All that reading gave me a knowledge and instinct for what makes a good sentence and a not-so-good sentence, a knowledge and instinct for what readers should expect out of whatever they happen to be reading. Later on, my schooling gave me more knowledge and more practice writing, which also helped. I really don't remember what I copyedited first. But I soon realized that I loved that task.
Why do I love copyediting? Besides making sure a text communicates properly, my love for copyediting has to do with the creativity and problem-solving mystery of it all. Now, problems like subject-verb agreement or typos are clear cut--you fix the agreement, retype the word correctly, and that's it. But if a sentence is really snarled, or there are what one of my profs called "wandering verb tenses," or the pronouns go from singular to plural and back again, there's more than one way to fix the problem, and that's where the creativity and problem-solving mystery of it comes in. It's like, perhaps more prosaically, fixing a plumbing problem or filling the potholes in a road. It's like carving out what's unnecessary, to reveal the text. It's like putting a puzzle together and being able to change the pieces without changing the picture. It's challenging, creative, and fun.
But that's not all there is to it. Read this blog tomorrow for why copyediting is important. And have a good day!
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