Take Ten
Grammar 101
An author and professor offers a few tips for the casual writer.
A copy-editing session at the recent UNITY 2004 Conference in Washington, D.C., dropped this wonderful list in our laps. This can be helpful for anyone in their daily writings, and, of course, youth editors instructing teens on the rules of the editorial road.
10 Inconsistent Usage: “Attorney” and “lawyer” are interchangeable, Associated Press says, but some newspapers maintain the distinction that an attorney represents someone and a lawyer might not. So her “attorney” is better than her “lawyer.”
9 That/Which: Example 1: There are some provisions in
the bill that would be more suitable for loans, said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Example 2: The unfinished centerpiece of the Athens Games got its first test Thursday, hosting the Greek track and field championships as bulldozers and cranes continued preparing the site for the Summer Olympics which begin in one month.
8 Antecedent Issues: Redwood City, Calif.–A relative of Laci Peterson testified yesterday he was so disturbed by her husband’s behavior in the days after her disappearance that he followed Scott Peterson at least twice. Who’s on first? Try it this way: A relative of Laci Peterson testified yesterday that he was so disturbed by Scott Peterson’s behavior in the days after Laci’s disappearance that he followed Scott at least twice. (There are other ways to fix this.)
7 Redundancy and Unnecessary Words: Revenue dropped to $72.6 million last year, down from $80.7 million in 2002. That’s a decline of $8.1 million. (Drop the last sentence. We can do the math.)
6 Parallelism: The president points to her work with Boeing to save jobs, a poverty summit she organized and vetoing (it should be “her veto of”) a tax increase.
5 Agreement: Example 1: Although their (should be “its”) tactics remain the same, the group has evolved over the years. Example 2: Starbucks will give half of their (should be “its”) profits to charity.
4 Commas: Don’t need them, or needs a semicolon: Example 1: Dawson said his client told church officials
he had been molested, (should be no comma) and started counseling paid for by the diocese. Example 2: “It is just tightness in the gasoline market, (needs a semicolon) the demand is growing faster than the supply.”
3 Commas Missing Where Needed: Example 1: Workers represented by the Service Employees International Union will gain health benefits in April 2006(,) and coverage will be extended to their families in April 2008. Example 2: The law was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001(,) terrorist attacks.
2 The Wrong Word: Affect vs. effect. Forego vs. forgo. Dispersed vs. disbursed. Convinced (of) vs. persuade (to).
1 Modifiers (dangling and otherwise). Incorrect: Near the end of his presidency, PBS aired a lengthy documentary on “The Real Life of Ronald Reagan.”
John Russial is an associate professor at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, the author of Strategic Copy Editing and a former Sunday copy chief The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 12 years.