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copy editing Tag

Copy Editor’s Corner | Blogpostapostrophe

As copy editors, we work with words day in and day out, and we sometimes forget how confusing proofreading marks, punctuation, and style rules can be. Lately, a rash of people have been puzzled by a common mark, the apostrophe. Which direction does an apostrophe point? What...

A pinch of this, a dash of that

Dashes -- beloved by copy editors, often loathed by, well, everyone else. Hyphens (-) join words (good-looking, long-term). An em dash (—) is often used to add emphasis or set off thoughts mid-sentence, and can be an effective alternative to parentheses....

Comma Wars

Whether you call it a serial comma or the Oxford comma, mentioning it is bound to stir up a debate – and since Chicago Manual of Style recommends that extra comma in a series and the AP Stylebook does not, the sides often break into...

Copy Editor’s Corner | Dare to compare, correctly

What’s the difference between “compare with” and “compare to,” anyway? Let’s compare the two phrases. According to The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, “To compare to is to point out or imply resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of a different order; to compare with is mainly to point out differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order.” And The Associated Press Stylebook offers this example: “She compared her work for women’s rights to Susan B. Anthony’s campaign for women’s suffrage.” To simplify both entries from these style gods, use “compared with” to point out a difference and “compared to” to point out a similarity. It’s much likelier that you’ll use “compared with” in a piece than “compared to.”

Copy Editor’s Corner | Less vs. Fewer

When’s the last time you read an ad that was several paragraphs or even a few sentences long? The most effective advertising -- especially in magazines, websites and billboards -- is short and to the point. Ads often forego proper grammar in favor of punchy, clever...

Copy Editor’s Corner | Adverbs Badverbs

How many times has someone “corrected” you when you’ve said, “I feel bad,” telling you it should be “I feel badly”? When people are overcorrected they begin to feel a bit paranoid that they’re never right, and that it’s never okay to say “I feel bad”...