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Simple Proofeading Test Helps You Master Basic Business-Editing Skills

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Introduction

Let’s begin by recalling Mark Twain’s famous words: “To err is human, to forgive devine.”

Trouble is, Twain never wrote those words. Alexander Pope wrote these words: “To err is human, to forgive divine.”

Oops! The writer made two mistakes in a single sentence. It happens. The world doesn’t come to an end when it happens, a very good thing.

Regardless, “catching” this kind of mistake is an important business-proofreading skill. Credit was given where credit wasn’t due — to Twain instead of Pope. Meanwhile, the quote itself was wrong, having used “devine” instead of “divine.” Check quotations closely for mistakes in attribution and wording. It’s common business courtesy.

It is vital that you check carefully for mistakes involving names and quotations.

When Is A ‘Mistake’ Not A Mistake?

Knowing when to let a “mistake” fall through the cracks is another important skill. It’s possible that, in the eyes of the intended audience, a “mistake” is not a mistake at all.

Proofreading and editing errors are virtually inevitable. I’ve been an editor for more than 20 years and have witnessed thousands and thousands of errors. No editor gets it write — I mean, right — all of the time. There are simply too many things about which an editor needs to be right. One of them, reportedly, is never to end a sentence with a preposition.

This often leads to formal, semi-awkward constructions such as this: “There are simply too many things about which an editor needs to be right,“ instead of “There are simply too many things an editor needs to be right about.“

Lots and lots of spoken sentences and written sentences end with prepositions. Plenty of highly skilled business editors would let the preposition “mistake” stand, instead of rewriting the sentence to make it more formal. In many, many writing contexts, rigid adherence to a formal style becomes a deal-breaker for members of the audience. Comprehension is a key. So is knowing the reader.

If you’re a business person — and if your target audience is auto mechanics who know the language of the trade and drink four tavern beers nightly after work to cool off — do you want your ad or web copy to sound as though it’s targeted to martini-sipping members of country clubs?

It is possible to love language and not be offended by informality, an outcome many purists would have you believe impossible. They would have been pleased had Capt. James T. Kirk of the starship “Enterprise” said “to go boldly where no man has gone before,” as opposed to “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

“To boldy go” is a split infinitive, an alleged no-no. Hollywood let Kirk get away with it, a good call.

Below you’ll find three proofreading tests. They are not designed to be “tricky.” The purpose of the tests simply is to raise awareness and help web authors improve their skill sets. More and more business people are taking advantage of online publishing opportunities. At the same time, web authors with no publishing experience are creating eBooks and information products.

Use this Proofreading Knol to expand your knowledge base. Whether the tests below are “too hard” or “too easy” is your call. In any event, they are designed to help improve business communications.

Take Proofreading Test No. 1

Here is a simple test I created when I was a Moderator at the Warrior Forum, an online business community, to help members improve their proofreading skills. Assume each italicized sentence below is for a general audience, is punctuated properly and is factually correct — but has at least one mistake. Answers are at the bottom of this Knol.

So, what’s wrong with this sentence?

Editors strive to acommodate other editors.

And what’s wrong with this sentence?

Your in for a rough ride if you call yourself a writer but don’t take the trade seriously.

What’s wrong with this sentence?

Rising gasoline prices have a huge affect on disposable income.

How about this one?

Click hear right now and start making money right away. You can’t loose!

And this one?

Mickey Mantle hit one of the the longest homers ever, a 565-foot blast.


Mistakes routinely show up on business websites. Many of them could be eliminated if owners raised their level of awareness and devoted a few extra minutes to proofreading.

Take Proofreading Test No. 2

Proofread this short article I wrote as part of the skill test for Warrior Forum members. Answers are at the bottom of this Knol.

Steven was waiting with baited breath. Would Tiger Woods sink that tricky put on the 18th green to force a Monday morning playoff with Rocco Mediate?

Tiger is the most dominant gofer in the world. His mere presents in the field raises the steaks for other competitors, almost all of whom know their playing for second place.

Steven marveled at Tiger’s toughness under pressure; it was as though Tiger could force a ball into the whole through shear use of willpower.

The ball reached the cup. For an instant it appeard as though it would lip out. The crowd rose to it’s feet and erupted when it dropped. Steven’s Dr. Pepper slipped from his hand when he jumped out of his recliner and stood to applaud.

Thank heaven for Du Pont stainmaster, he thought. Like Tiger Woods, it is the best.

Steven wondered how he’d make the time to watch the 18-hole playoff Monday between Tiger and Rocco. It was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the morning California time, noon on the east coast.

Take Proofreading Test No. 3

Here is the final part of the test given Warrior Forum members. Answers are at the bottom of this Knol.

Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings are my favorite meal. I’ve been known to eat too entire plates!

I have many happy memories of the flavors of Thanksgiving. Dripping with gravy, Mom served dinner every year.

“Forgot those roles in the oven,” she’d say. She always forgot about the rolls, and it became a family joke.

“Don’t forget about the rolls, Mom!” we’d squeel. She’d just beam. Nothing was better than having the entire family home for for Thanksgiving.

Mom was such a card. “You’re only allowed to have to rolls, Patrick,” she’d admonish. “Save some for your brothers and sister.”

My favorite dish was stufffing; my sister just loved Turkey, and my brothers couldn’t get enough of the mashed potatos.

After dinner my brothers and I would go outside. We through the football back and forth until the meal began to ware off, and then we’d go back inside and start eating all over again.

One of the great mysteries about my younger brother was that he’d drink Diet Coke with his meal. That didn’t make much cents to me, considering it already was a 9,000-calorie day.

No matter. It made for a laugh or too every year.

Nothing ever will top Thanksgiving diner in my family.

Answers For Test No. 1

Editors strive to acommodate accommodate other editors.

Your You’re in for a rough ride if you call yourself a writer but don’t take the trade seriously.

Rising gasoline prices have a huge affect effect on disposable income.

Click hear here right now and start making money right away. You can’t loose lose!

Mickey Mantle hit one of the the the longest homers ever, a 565-foot blast.

Test No. 1 Notes

1.) Accommodate commonly is misspelled. It has a double “c” and a double “m.”
2.) “your” for you’re is a common mistake. So is “you’re” for your.
3.) “affect” for effect is a common mistake.
4.) “hear” for here is a common mistake. So is “here” for hear. Same is true of “loose” for lose and “lose” for loose. The mind reads what it wants to read, which is why it’s important to proofread slowly.
5.) Very easy to miss double occurrences of words: the the.

Answers For Test No. 2

Steven was waiting with baited bated breath. Would Tiger Woods sink that tricky put putt on the 18th green to force a Monday morning playoff with Rocco Mediate?

Tiger is the most dominant gofer golfer in the world. His mere presents presence in the field raises the steaks stakes for other competitors, almost all of whom know their they’re playing for second place.

Steven marveled at Tiger’s toughness under pressure; it was as though Tiger could force a ball into the whole hole through shear sheer use of willpower.

The ball reached the cup. For an instant it appeard appeared as though it would lip out. The crowd rose to it’s its feet and erupted when it the ball dropped. Steven’s Dr. Dr Pepper slipped from his hand when he jumped out of his recliner and stood to applaud.

Thank heaven for Du Pont DuPont stainmaster Stainmaster, he thought. Like Tiger Woods, it is the best.

Steven wondered how he’d make the time to watch the 18-hole playoff Monday between Tiger and Rocco. It was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the morning California time, noon on the **east coast.

** One could argue that “east coast” should be “East Coast,” but this is a style call and may vary from website to website.

Test No. 2 Notes

1.) “Baited” and “bated” often are confused. Please enjoy looking them up. :-)
2.) Lots of people forget the second “t” in putt.
3.) It’s often hard to “catch” a spelling mistake such as “gofer” for golfer. The mind reads what it wants to read, which is why it’s important to proofread slowly.
4.) Very easy to miss mistakes such as “presents” for presence and “steaks” for stakes and “their” for they’re and “whole” for hole and “shear” for sheer.
5.) “appeard” for appeared is another example of why it’s important to proofread slowly.
6.) “it’s” for its is a common mistake. Looking it up will help you. :-)
7.) Dr Pepper dropped the period after “Dr” in the 1950s.
8.) DuPont Stainmaster. Getting names right is important.
9.) 9 a.m. in the morning is redundant.

Answers For Test No. 3

Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings are is my favorite meal. I’ve been known to eat too two **entire plates!

I have many happy memories of the flavors of Thanksgiving. Dripping with gravy, Mom served dinner every year. Mom served dinner, dripping with gravy, every year.

“Forgot those roles rolls in the oven,” she’d say. She always forgot about the rolls, and it became a family joke.

“Don’t forget about the rolls, Mom!” we’d squeel squeal. She’d just beam. Nothing was better than having the entire family home for for for Thanksgiving.

Mom was such a card. “You’re only allowed to have to two rolls, Patrick,” she’d admonish. “Save some for your brothers and sister.”

My favorite dish was stufffing stuffing; my sister just loved Turkey turkey, and my brothers couldn’t get enough of the mashed potatos potatoes.

After dinner my brothers and I would go outside. We through threw the football back and forth until the meal began to ware wear off, and then we’d go back inside and start eating all over again.

One of the great mysteries about my younger brother was that he’d drink Diet Coke with his meal. That didn’t make much cents sense to me, considering it already was a 9,000-calorie day.

No matter. It made for a laugh or too two every year.

Nothing ever will top Thanksgiving diner dinner in my family.

** One could argue that “people don’t eat plates; they eat food.” But is this a “mistake” worth correcting if readers won’t be confused?

Test No. 3 Notes

1.) Subject and verb agreement:  “Thanksgiving dinner . . . is my favorite meal.
2.) Lots of “two, to, and too” mistakes out there. These rankle audiences of all types. Even grade-schoolers know these rules.
3.) “Dripping with gravy, Mom served Thanksgiving dinner” means that Mom herself was dripping with gravy — not the meal.
4.) Very easy to miss “roles” for rolls and “through” for threw and “ware” for wear and “cents” for sense. It’s also easy to miss common misspellings such as “squeel” for squeal and “potatos” for potatoes. Ask former U.S. Vice President Dan Quail — I mean, Quayle.
5.) Very easy to miss double occurrences of words such as for for.
6.) “Stufffing”: Very easy to miss an extra letter in a word such as stuffing.
7.) “diner”: Very easy to miss a word that needs an additional letter.

About Patrick Pretty: “Patrick Pretty” is a longtime writer and editor, and owner of the Patrick Pretty line of digital information products. Patrick has worked in offline publishing for more than 20 years. He embraced the power of the Internet for online pursuits in 2005.

Posted by white smoke | Filed Under Writing Software, editing, editing proofreading, english writing, proofreading, proofreading software, white smoke, whitesmoke, writing, writing proofreading 

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

In 1996, the popular news magazine U.S. News and World Report conducted a nationwide survey of professors from nearly a hundred Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (M.F.A.) programs.  The result of this survey was the publication, in 1997, of the first-ever program rankings in the field.  Each program was given a numeric score based upon a single factor: the reputation of the program, as assessed by current faculty at various M.F.A. programs nationwide.  At the time, the top five programs were listed as (in order), University of Iowa, The Johns Hopkins University, University of Houston, Columbia University, and University of Virginia.
In the four years following the first publication of these rankings, the survey results were republished several times by U.S. News and World Report, each time without alteration or update.  Eventually, in 2001, the magazine publicly announced that it would, in fact, cease ranking M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs, and had no present or future plans, therefore, to amend or augment the data it collected in 1996.  The rumored reason for this editorial decision was that the magazine felt its statistical paradigm and assessment tools were ill-suited to assessing studio-art graduate programs (though, interestingly, the magazine continued publishing annual rankings in the fields of Ceramics, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Multimedia/Visual Communications, Painting/Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture).
In 2005, a fiction-writer and Lecturer at Stanford University, Tom Kealey, wrote and published the first comprehensive guide to M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs, The Creative Writing MFA Handbook (Continuum Publishing, 2005).  While the book did not formally rank programs, it was notable for both the depth of its treatment of its subject as well as its introduction of a then-novel concept: that the quality of the financial aid package offered by an M.F.A. program should be as important a consideration in the matriculation decision of an applicant as a program’s reputation and location.  The theory behind this maxim, according to Kealey, was that as the M.F.A. degree was a “studio” degree, rather than a professional degree–inasmuch as the degree alone did not guarantee employment in any specific field–applicants should avoid, where possible, programs which did not fully or at least generously fund all their students.
The result of Kealey’s funding-centered analysis of M.F.A. programs was a fundamental reordering of the program rankings previously published by U.S. News & World Report.  Whereas these latter rankings had not included funding as a factor, the implicit rankings of The Creative Writing MFA Handbook–which discussed the comparative quality of various programs without formally ranking them–significantly privileged fully-funded programs.  Consequently, the top programs, in Kealey’s assessment, appeared to be (in order), University of California at Irvine, University of Texas, University of Michigan, Cornell University, Indiana University, University of Virginia, Syracuse University, The Johns Hopkins University, Brown University, and University of Houston.  Notably absent from Kealey’s top-ten rankings were the popular New York City-based programs at Columbia University and New York University, both of which had been ranked in the top ten in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, but were now felt to offer sub-standard financial aid packages.  Kealey’s implicit overhaul of the earlier U.S. News and World Report rankings presaged a new era in the ranking of M.F.A. programs, in which much of the old conventional wisdom–for instance, that apart from the much-vaunted program at the University of Iowa, programs on the East and West coasts were categorically most desireable–would be discarded.
In December of 2006, I published on my website, The Suburban Ecstasies, my interpretation of the largely-implied M.F.A. program rankings contained in The Creative Writing MFA Handbook, calling the resulting rankings The Kealey Scale.  Realizing that The Kealey Scale was, by dint of its origin, heavily weighted toward consideration of funding, I augmented The Kealey Scale with an informal poll of M.F.A. applicants conducted primarily on the website of the literary magazine Poets & Writers.  While in no way sponsored or endorsed by Poets & Writers, the resulting Poets & Writers Reader Poll was nevertheless significant in that it was the first-ever assessment of which programs the most well-informed M.F.A. applicants favored.  The results were striking, largely in their substantial deviation from the rankings published by U.S. News and World Report in 1997.  The top-polling programs, amongst a group of 200 respondents, were (in order) University of Iowa, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University of Texas, Cornell University, Indiana University, Syracuse University, Brown University, and University of California at Irvine.  This new data had the effect of confirming the significance and accuracy of Kealey’s earlier-published rankings, as the correlation between Kealey’s research and the opinions of the largest gathering of M.F.A. applicants on the internet was striking.
The response to the publication of The Kealey Scale and the Poets & Writers Reader Poll was overwhelming; within days of their publication, The Suburban Ecstasies began receiving more than 1,000 unique visitors/day, suggesting that the rapidly-expanding field of graduate study in creative writing was desperate for new assessment tools.  In light of the popularity of the two new rankings of M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs on The Suburban Ecstasies, I began collecting additional data on M.F.A. programs heretofore unavailable either on the internet or in print.  Specifically, I researched the yield-exclusive acceptance rates for more than fifty programs, including most of the top fifty programs as ranked by Kealey and the readers of Poets & Writers.  The most significant discovery of this process was that the top creative writing programs were more difficult to get into than the top medical, law, engineering, and business schools in the United States.  Specifically, all of the top-ten toughest-admit M.F.A. programs in the field had yield-exclusive acceptance rates below 3%, headed up by three schools–Cornell University, University of Texas, and University of Wisconsin–each with acceptance rates of 1.5%.  While research into M.F.A. admissions data also uncovered the low number of applications per program, with only University of Iowa receiving more than 1,000 applications total, it also revealed a distinct upward trend in the number of applicants per program, and even the number of programs in the United States overall.  In the ten years since U.S. News and World Report had last published M.F.A. in Creative Writing rankings, an average of six new programs had been founded per year.
In late 2007, I augmented The Kealey Scale, the Poets & Writers Reader Poll, and the data on M.F.A. acceptance rates with a fresh Poets & Writers Reader Poll as well as the first-ever genre-specific polls (including rankings in the genres of poetry and fiction, and a ranking of the nation’s few PhD. in Creative Writing programs).  Interestingly, the 2008 Poets & Writers Reader Poll was so similar to its 2007 predecessor as to suggest a high confidence level, statistically speaking, for the admittedly unscientific results of both polls.  In 2008, the top-ranked M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs were University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Texas, University of Virginia, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Brown University, Cornell University, Indiana University, Syracuse University, and University of Wisconsin.  In poetry, the top five programs were University of Michigan, University of Iowa, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of Virginia, and Brown University; in fiction, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Syracuse University, University of Texas, and University of Virginia; among U.S. Creative Writing PhD. programs (of which only thirty-five presently exist), Florida State University, University of Utah, University of Houston, University of Georgia, and University of Southern California.
In mid-2008, I was asked to contribute a lengthy chapter to the second edition of The Creative Writing MFA Handbook. I determined that, if Kealey’s vision of promoting funding-weighted admissions decisions was to be realized, a funding-only ranking of M.F.A. programs was needed.  This first-ever funding ranking (denominated the Abramson/Kealey Funding Ranking) is now due to appear in the second edition of the Handbook (scheduled for release in late 2008).  By way of previewing this ranking, it can now be said that the top five best-funded M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs are University of Texas, University of Michigan, Cornell University, and (in a three-way tie for fifth) University of Florida, Indiana University, and Purdue University.
The second edition of The Creative Writing MFA Handbook also contains the first-ever Comprehensive Tiered Ranking of M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs, as well as the “master” Poets & Writers Reader Poll, with nearly 300 respondents across the application cycles of 2006-7 and 2007-8.  The top five M.F.A. programs in the field of creative writing, according to this master poll, are University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and (in a tie for fifth) University of Texas and University of Virginia.  The tiered ranking of programs–which includes, in total, more than sixty programs (four “top” tiers of twelve schools each, an “On the Bubble” classification containing six schools, and a “New and Climbing” category with eight programs represented)–can be found exclusively in the second edition of The Creative Writing MFA Handbook. This ranking is not available either in whole or in part on-line.
Data collection for the 2009 Poets & Writers Reader Poll is now under way, with the preliminary results–the poll is updated weekly once it is made available to the public–due to be released in early fall.

Posted by white smoke | Filed Under Grammar Correction, Writing Software, editing, english writing, proofreading software, white smoke, whitesmoke, writing, writing proofreading 

Article Writing: How To Get Published

October 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Many good writers are unable to get published because they do not know how to go about in this business of getting published. Their articles are interesting, the subjects are relevant, and any publication would be proud to print this kind of material, but still they remain unpublished. The problem is that they did not market their product properly.

A few centuries ago when the number of periodicals was small it was easy to find one that fulfilled one’s requirements, but with the thousands of publications around, it is difficult today for the beginner to get to the appropriate publication. Further, many are so ignorant about market realities that they want their articles and other writings to be published in the commonly available commercial publications immediately. They do not realize that these are professionally produced publications, and a writer can get published in them only after gaining considerable experience and expertise in specific fields. A beginner should not overestimate his size, but should rather find a publication that is more suitable for his standard and send for publication there.

There are at least five things that you should know about getting your writings published:

1-Choose the right publication
2-Send the carefully prepared manuscript with a covering letter
3-Do send query letters
4-Expect rejection
5-Advance as you gain experience

Of these, I will  explain two of the above  in greater detail:

1. Choose The Right Publication: Most countries today have a wide range of publications. Our country has several thousand English periodicals plus a higher number of periodicals in other languages. The total number exceeds 40,000 ! These contain an unbelievable range of publications right from the most primitive to the most advanced.

In this crowd you will find from general to highly subject-oriented publications. One publishes on a wide variety of subjects while the other publishes only on the different aspects of one subject. You will find that they have a diversity of levels. Some publish almost any articles written by the beginner while the other publishes even the articles of the expert with great caution. Some will accept articles submitted by outside writers, but others publish only articles written by their editorial staff, while still others publish only invited articles.

What is important to understand is that in this crowd somewhere there is a publication that suits your level. In fact there is a possibility that there are dozens of publications that publish submissions from the beginner. It is your responsibility to search the market thoroughly to discover several magazines that accept submissions from the beginner. Make a list of these publications. You will be deleting as well adding to this list throughout your writing career.

The easiest place to get published is the Letters To The Editor column. Unfortunately many writers do not recognize the power and the impact of this column. They feel that after all a letter is only a letter. While a letter is surely a letter, this need not always be so. Letters published in these columns can become a powerful medium for speaking to the people of your society. Researches and surveys have found that Letters To The Editor column is one of the most read columns in periodicals. Somehow people have a strong attraction to what others like them have to say on different issues. Therefore what gets published in this column is sure to be read by a lot of people. Think of the impact that you can create by publishing letters regularly in this column. What’s more, most editors will publish letters on any subject without editing or altering them even if the letter is critical of the publication and its stand.

Many publications publish submissions only if they agree with the policy of the periodical, but this does not usually apply to the Letters column. This gives a lot of liberty to the writer of the letter. This means that even if the subjects of your interest are such that they do not find a regular place in any publication, you can still place them in front of thousands of readers through the Letters column.

For example, suppose you read horrifying reports of ragging in professional colleges and feel disgusted at how tens of thousands of innocent young people are subjected to humiliation and torture every year, you can start a national campaign through the Letters column of newspapers. You can stir thousands of people, bringing this primitive, brutal, and beastly practice to and end.

As a beginner you should try to use the Letters column of the local newspaper and other available publications both for gaining writing experience as well as to get your name established among the readership.

2. Send The Carefully Prepared Manuscript Along With A Covering Letter: Except for the Letters to the Editor column, you should send all your manuscripts to the editor with a good covering letter. It is not sufficient to send the article alone because it does not bring you in proper contact and rapport with the editor. You must realize all editors are human beings and only a personal touch will gain proper attention from them. This is becoming more and more true in this generation where the number of writings that call for the attention of the editors is increasing at an explosive rate.

The covering letter must be a brief and polite one that calls the attention of the editor to your writing. If this is your first ever submission to him, then introduce yourself briefly in this letter. Give some information about your background and also any publications that you already have. Also, if you have been reading his publication for some time, include some helpful and honest comments and observations about that publication. A typical letter might look something like the following:

Date:
The Editor
Daily Trumpet
Street Of The Infamous,
BookCity-120099

Dear Sir,

It is my privilege to send an article titled “Thirty Ways To Get Published” for consideration for publication in your periodical. This is my first ever submission to your publication.

I have been fond of guiding my friends to write, and I have published a lot of guidelines on this subject in my college and school magazines.

I have been reading the Daily Trumpet now for almost six months. Your editorials are very timely, to the point, and enlightening for the new as well as the old readers. Please continue to give us this good material.

I am enclosing a Stamped Self Addressed Envelope, for returning the article in case you find it is not useful for you.

Yours sincerely,

I. M. Helper

I have not shown the date and return address on the sample letter above, but you must include them too. Including the Stamped Self Addressed Envelope or SASE is necessary because most publications do not return the rejected manuscript unless you enclose SASE with each submission.

NEVER send the same manuscript at the same time to more than one publisher. If more than one editor decides to accept it, you will be faced with several unpleasant possibilities. The first is to inform one publisher that you are withdrawing this writing from his publication even though he wants to publish it. He might accept your request for withdrawal, but never expect him to show interest in your writings in future. After all, who would want to waste time on something about which he is not sure whether he will get it or not.

Modern-day Editors Have A Very Demanding Live, And Writers Who Make It Tough For Them Will Automatically Get Rejected  !!

The second possibility is even more damaging. If two or more publications accept the writing and publish it without first informing you (and this happens many a times), you will run into a messy copyright problem. What’s worse, you loose your credibility with all those publications. Never play with these things. You have to remain in the field of writing for a long period.

If you were commissioned to write on a topic, then always include a copy of that letter with your manuscript and covering letter. Busy editors can always forget that they had commissioned someone to write, and it is not always easy for them to locate the copy of the letter that they wrote to you. Further, in a large publication your submission need not always go to the person who originally commissioned you to write it. A copy of the original letter will, however, place your writing in its proper perspective.

Posted by white smoke | Filed Under Grammar Correction, Grammar Software, Writing Software, editing, english writing, proofreading software, punctuation, white smoke, whitesmoke, writing, writing proofreading 

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software – Editing & Fixing Your Grammar

October 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software is an important tool for both English native speakers and ESL students alike. We can spend hours on writing, rewriting, checking and proofreading our different writing tasks trying to maintain it correct and professional. Looking for new ways that will help you to enrich and correct your English writing without any extra effort? Read this article.

Some background

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software provides advanced grammar and proofreading capabilities that aren’t available with our conventional word processors. The way they ‘fix’ your writing is interesting yet complicated; basically these solutions compare your sentences to their own ‘proper versions’ of similar sentences. These sophisticated software solutions usually provide the following: proofreading for correct grammar, correcting spelling mistakes, and checking on proper punctuation.

Important advantages

Let’s summarize the main benefits and advantages:

- Helping us to avoid embarrassing grammar mistakes.

- Providing extra capabilities which do not exist in conventional word processors.

- Enriching our English vocabulary.

Looking closer on this technology, we could easily find other advantages that were not mentioned in this review, as this technology is constantly moving forward, bringing us fresh improvements that help us on improving our Writing performance.

Conclusion

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software and other NLP technologies (Natural Language Processing) will undoubtedly gain more and more popularity as we all understand the importance of maintaining a high-quality writing level. It is important to keep in mind that this technology is not 100% perfect; however, it provides help for our most common writing problems. Developing this complex technology is challenging, however, we can expect this solution to further develop itself, simply because writing is one of the most important tools that helps us communicating with others.

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software provides advanced grammar and proofreading capabilities that aren’t available with our conventional word processors. Smart proofreading and grammar correction solutions rely on sophisticated engines and dynamic databases. They process your writing, compare it, and finally fix it. If we research these nlp (natural language processing) programs we will notice that most of them provide the following: instant correction for basic grammar mistakes, spelling and typos, and punctuation errors.

What are the main benefits?

Let’s quickly see what is in it for us:

* Improving our writing style.
* Improving and enriching our speech, enabling us to speak correct and better English.
* Enriching our English vocabulary.

If we examine it closer we would probably find additional benefits that aren’t mentioned here, as this innovative technology keeps improving, bringing us fresh solutions that help us on improving our English writing.

Summary

White Smoke Writing Proofreading Software can help us correct and polish most of our daily writing assignments – Emails, documents, job applications, and more. Everyone agrees that it cannot completely eliminate our writing problems; however, it can significantly help us on improving our writing skills. Although it is already available, we can expect this tool to further develop itself, simply because writing is one of the most important tools that help us fulfill our daily assignments.

Posted by white smoke | Filed Under Accurate Spell Checker, Correct Grammar Software, Error Explanations, Grammar Correction, Grammar Software, Intelligent Style Checker, Writing Software, editing, editing proofreading, english writing, grammar checker, proofreading, proofreading software, white smoke, white smoke review, whitesmoke, whitesmoke review, writing, writing proofreading 

A Guide to Business English Writing

October 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment


Successful business writing means taking some extra care with grammar and spelling, clearly stating your main point, writing clearly, and giving some thought to your audience.

The Impact of Business Writing

Readers will judge you to some extent based on your writing. Take extra care with grammar and spelling. Sending a message with grammar errors is like showing up for a meeting with your shirt untucked. It gives an impression of sloppiness.

Business English should be reasonably formal. Do not, however, let your writing become stilted. Keep a somewhat conversational tone, without being unprofessional. Be careful with humor, which is easier to miss or misunderstand in writing without the benefit of body language.

Don’t use “smilies” :) or the casual abbreviations that have become popular in e-mails, like LOL or TTFN.

Be particularly careful with the names of companies and people. You don’t want subordinates, colleagues, or clients to get the impression that you don’t care about them.

Bad writing will do more than give a bad impression. A poorly-written document will fail to achieve whatever objective you had when you wrote it. If you write a long, rambling document with dense blocks of text, many readers will skim it briefly and discard it. If people don’t read your letters and e-mails, then writing them is a waste of your time.

Write Clearly

To write clearly, keep the following points in mind:

  • Use simple, clear words
  • Get to the point
  • Format the document appropriately

Use Simple, Clear Words

Most of us can speak fairly clearly, but somehow when we write, an unhelpful complexity often creeps in. People use words in writing that they would never use in conversation. Often we use written words that are less clear, because they seem more official or more formal. The result is stilted, stuffy, unnatural writing that is more difficult to read than it needs to be.

Here is a list of fancy words and their simpler equivalents. Try to use the words in the second column instead of the words in the first column.

commence begin
prior to before
furnish give
proceed go, continue, walk, drive
anticipate expect
implement start
utilize use

Try reading your documents out loud. They should not sound clumsy, awkward, or pretentious. You should write more or less the way you speak, although with more strict attention paid to grammar.

Get to the Point

There are two questions you must answer before you begin to write. What is your message? What are you trying to achieve? Answering these two questions will make the writing process easier, and the quality of the writing higher.

In your document, you should immediately state the main point or key piece of information. Don’t make your readers dig through a long letter or e-mail, trying to figure out why you wrote it. State your conclusions or key message up front. Add further details after you’ve gotten to the point.

Avoid unnecessary words. Don’t bury your message in pointless phrases. Trim meandering sentences that add nothing to your message. Consider the following example, with two versions of the same paragraph.

In the event that the purchaser is not fully satisfied, the company warranties and guarantees that the purchaser shall be eligible for a full and complete refund, subject to the following conditions: that the product is returned in a reasonable condition; that a receipt is presented at the time of returning the product; that the receipt shall correspond in every way to the product being returned. Customers not fully satisfied with the product must bring both the product and the corresponding receipt to the service desk on the second floor.

You must have a receipt to get a refund. See the service desk on the second floor.

The first paragraph has no useful information that is not found in the second paragraph. It is harder to understand, and that is all.

Format the Document Appropriately

Make your documents reader-friendly. The main point should appear close to the top of the document, and it should be easy to find. The document should not resemble a marathon, or a maze where you’ve cleverly hidden your information.

Avoid extremely long sentences or very long paragraphs. It is intimidating to search for information in a large, dense mass of text. Use whitespace to break up the document and to emphasize key points.

Use headings to make it easy for readers to find information, and to keep track of where they are in the document. Use bulleted and numbered lists so that key facts are easy to find.

Here is a basic model for clear, accessible documents:

  • start with your main point
  • organize your writing into blocks of information
  • label those blocks with headings

Consider Your Audience

Keep the reader in mind as you write. Think about your reader’s vocabulary and education level, and write appropriately. Only use abbreviations or jargon that your audience will understand.

Ask yourself what your readers are interested in and need to know. What is in it for the reader? Don’t write out every fact that you know. Put in the information that the reader needs.

Sometimes, considering your audience means deciding not to send out a document. Many workers feel inundated with e-mails, especially corporate communications sent to too many recipients. Many people learn to delete e-mails with only a cursory glance.

If you send out too much information, you can create a situation where less and less information is actually being received. If your co-workers expect to receive irrelevant and long-winded e-mails, they may not recognize an important message. Be selective about the messages you send, to avoid training people to delete your messages unread.

Give all e-mails an appropriate and descriptive subject line. It is the first step in making your message clear.

Good business English means more effective communication. It is simple, clear, and straightforward. It is easier to read, and when you get used to it, easier to write.

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The Essentials of Writing in English

October 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment


Good writing in English has several key components. Good writing is clear and unambiguous, with descriptive words that are easy to understand, proper grammar and punctuation, and careful use of pronouns and modifiers. Good writing is concise. Unnecessary words and repetitious phrases are removed. Good writing is focused, with every sentence contributing to the purpose of the document.

Good Writing Is Clear and Unambiguous

There are many ways for writing to be unclear. Esoteric or unusual words will confuse many readers. Poorly chosen words can make your writing less clear. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes make writing harder to understand. Pronouns are inherently ambiguous, and pose a constant threat to clarity. Misplaced or clumsy modifiers can also distort the meaning of a sentence.

Obscure Vocabulary

Eschew obfuscation. Very few readers will understand this gem of advice. However, if you say, “avoid making things unclear,” almost any reader will be able to understand.

Try not to use obscure or unusual words which many readers will not be able to understand. This includes needlessly fancy words like “pulchritude” or “anthrogogue,” and technical and scientific terms. Be wary of abbreviations. Most people know what a CD is, but they may be less familiar with an MRI or an SOP. Not every reader will be familiar with the casual abbreviations often seen in e-mail, like “LOL” or “OMG.”

Be careful with slang expressions, especially words whose meaning has changed over the years. Readers over the age of 30 are likely to consider the word “pimp” an insult, while younger readers might consider it a compliment.

Descriptive Words

Use the best word for the situation. Usually a more descriptive word is better than a less descriptive word. Instead of “dog,” write “collie” or “poodle.” Instead of “vehicle,” use “pickup truck” or “sedan.”

Resist the temptation to use vague words because they sound official or serious. Never write that someone was “proceeding down the street.” If they were driving, say so. If they were walking, say that they were walking. Don’t make your readers guess.

Grammar

Grammar is a subject too complex to be summarized here. Poor grammar may do nothing worse than irritate your readers. Sometimes, however, poor grammar can make your writing confusing or impossible to understand.

Be careful with spelling, and especially with homonyms (words which sound the same but are spelled differently). You may have correctly spelled a word that you didn’t mean to use. “Joe is a little horse” is a very different statement from “Joe is a little hoarse.”

Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. “My brother’s money” belongs to my brother, but “my brothers’ money” belongs to my brothers. A misplaced comma can turn one modifier into two different modifiers. “He arrived for his appointment, late yesterday afternoon,” suggests that he arrived on time for an appointment in the late afternoon. “He arrived for his appointment late, yesterday afternoon,” suggests that he was late for his appointment.

Failure to understand the parts of speech can also cause confusion. If, instead of “I feel bad,” you write, “I feel badly,” it sounds as if you are not very good at feeling.

Pronouns

Every pronoun risks confusing your readers. Consider the following example:

Andy and Bob tried to install a new carpet in the hall, but he said it was too wide.

Who did the talking? Was the carpet too wide for the hall, or was the hall too wide for the carpet? Your guess is as good as mine.

Every time you write “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” or any other pronoun, you need to double-check for any chance of misunderstanding.

Modifiers

A modifier is a word or phrase that describes or modifies something in a sentence. The modifier should be placed as close as possible to whatever it is modifying. Consider the following examples:

Tom had some chicken that he thought was greasy, with his friend.

Tom had some chicken with his friend, that he thought was greasy.

In the first example it sounds like Tom thought the chicken was greasy. In the second example it sounds like he thought his friend was greasy.

Good Writing Is Concise

Brevity, according to Shakespeare, is the soul of wit. Most of us write documents that are somewhat bloated and repetitive. If you can learn to remove unnecessary words, phrases, and sentences, your writing will improve dramatically. Here are some examples of trimming the fat:

Right now, gasoline is expensive.
Gasoline is expensive.

Mr. Smith, who is my lawyer, wrote this document.
Mr. Smith, my lawyer, wrote this document.

I was not aware of the fact that the car was stolen.
I was not aware that the car was stolen.
I did not know that the car was stolen.

The truth is, I don’t like your hat.
I don’t like your hat.

Egg whites are low in fat. Egg whites are also high in protein. Egg whites are more healthy than whole eggs.
Egg whites, low in fat and high in protein, are healthier than whole eggs.

Good Writing Is Focused

A well-written document should have a point. If you are not sure what you are trying to say or what it is that you are trying to accomplish with your writing, then your writing will be vague and meandering. Take the time before you begin to decide what your essential message is. If you don’t know what you’re trying to say, you’ll have a hard time trying to say it.

After the document is finished, go back over it, keeping your theme or purpose in mind. Anything that doesn’t contribute to your central message or goal should probably be removed.

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The Guide to Proofreading and Editing

October 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Editing is not the same thing as proofreading. Editing works on a larger scale. When you edit, you look at the overall document and what it is trying to say. You may add or remove entire paragraphs, or drastically change the way the document is organized. You might ask the following questions: What is the purpose of the document? Is that purpose achieved? Does the organization of the document make sense? Is it clear and easy to understand?

Proofreading works on a much smaller scale. When you are satisfied with the basic structure of the document, confident that it says what you wanted to say, then you proofread to check the small details. Look at each sentence by itself. Is the sentence grammatically correct? Is it punctuated properly? Look at each word. Is it the best word you could have chosen? Is it spelled correctly? Did you use the correct word, or did you use a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently?

Editing

Editing is primarily concerned with four things: content, structure, clarity, and style.

Content

What is the purpose of your document? What is it that you need to communicate? As you edit the paper, ask yourself if you have included all of the information that needs to be there. Does the document say what it needs to say?

Have you clearly communicated all of the necessary facts? How about opinions? If you were trying to convince someone of something, does the document show what your opinion is, and why your choice is better?

Is your content accurate? Is it clear which parts are fact, and which parts are opinion? Have you included anything irrelevant or confusing that should be left out? Is there anything offensive, or anything that your readers could misunderstand and find offensive?

Structure

How is the document organized? Different kinds of documents should be organized in different ways. A business letter has a very different structure from the memo or an essay.

Often you will start with an introduction, followed by a description of your main points, followed by a conclusion. This basic structure can work for anything from a long paragraph to a textbook. The introduction could be a sentence, a paragraph, a page, or a chapter, depending on what you are writing.

As you edit, check that your topics are in a logical order. Now that you can see the whole document, you may want to reorganize it.

Clarity

This is a tricky area. The document will seem clear to you. You wrote it, so you know exactly what everything means. You must learn to watch for things that your readers could misunderstand.

Are you using slang, technical terms, jargon, or obscure words? Do you refer to people, places, or things, without explaining who or what they are?

Check your pronouns. If you use “he,” “they,” or “it,” is there any chance of creating confusion?

Look at each sentence by itself. Have you written any sentences that can’t stand on their own?

Have you used any ambiguous words? Did you say “proceeding down the street” instead of “walking,” “driving,” or “sliding?” Did you say “vehicle,” leaving people to wonder if it was a car, truck, or bus?

Style

Editing for style will not help people to understand your writing. It will, however, make it more likely that people will keep reading to the end of the document. A poor writing style is like chewing with your mouth open. It doesn’t make you harder to understand, but it gives a bad impression and makes it less likely that people will pay attention to what you write.

Editing for style means removing things that are clumsy, repetitive, or unnecessary. It means putting variety in your sentences and paragraphs, and making your writing pleasant to read.

As you edit, watch for a repetition of words or phrases. Maybe you use the word “nevertheless” several times in every paragraph. Take it out. It’s distracting.

Watch for unnecessary words. Instead of “right now, sales are down,” just say “sales are down.” Instead of “due to the fact that,” just say “because.”

Whenever possible, use the active voice rather than the passive voice. Instead of “a decision was made by the committee,” say “the committee made a decision.”

Proofreading

You probably need more proofreading than you realize. Your brain will correct things for you unconsciously as you read. If you go through the document a couple of times and don’t see any errors, you should not assume that the errors aren’t there.

You may want to make several passes through the document, looking for a different kind of error each time. Check your grammar. Check your punctuation. Make sure you haven’t used an adjective to modify a verb (“He is quick. He moves quickly.” Not, “He moves quick.”) Check your spelling, and give extra care to homonyms (words that sound the same but are spelled differently). “You paid to much” is an example of using the wrong homonym.

If you are going to proofread for someone else, you will have to learn standard proofreading marks. These are symbols used by professional editors to indicate when text should be omitted, inserted, capitalized, transposed, and so on.

Tips

Don’t try to edit or proofread right after you finish writing the document. You need distance to get perspective. Leave it alone for a while, and come back with a fresh eye.

Consider asking someone else to look at the document. Things that seem perfectly clear to you may not be clear to other readers. Often, one person will catch errors that another person will miss.

Read the document out loud. This will help you notice clumsy phrasing or passages that don’t quite make sense.

For meticulous proofreading, try reading the document backward. This gives you a new perspective and helps you to focus on one word at a time and one sentence at a time.

Watch for errors that you commonly make. Consider keeping a list of your own most common mistakes. This will help you keep from repeating them.

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