Yes great content writing
Common content writing errors in business documentation.
Content writing is the coalface of your business and online presence. There are some errors in content writing that keep presenting themselves. It is useful to keep reminding ourselves of these – after all it makes good writing sense. [Read more…]
In the old days, we stuck them anyway to show we really knew how to use a comma. Get as many in as you could seemed to be the motto.
These days we like our work to look cleaner and slick.
A comma is like the orchestra of our words. They put expression and meaning where you really want them.
Consider:
Slow, children crossing – means slow down, children are crossing the road.
Slow children crossing – means that slow dawdling children are crossing the road.
Getting it right can be tricky at the best of times. Try reading your words out loud to get your meaning, and think where you are pausing.
Use the comma:
Correct: We placed the books, pencils, paper, and the new tray on the desk ready for work.
Incorrect : We placed, the books, pencils, paper, and the new tray on the desk ready for work.
Correct: I love that rich chocolate cake.
Incorrect: I love that rich, chocolate cake
In February 2012, we agreed to finally go on an overseas holiday.
Correct: The agreement was, however unpopular, unanimous.
The word ‘however unpopular’ is not really needed, it is added only for additional information.
The sentence is really’The agreement was unanimous’.
Incorrect: The agreement was however unpopular unanimous. What are you saying?
Correct: Let’s eat, Johnny.
Thank goodness we put that comma in otherwise we would have been eating Johnny.
Incorrect: ‘Lets eat Johnny’. He wasn’t that tasty anyway.
Correct: In 2012, 50,000 people attended the Sydney Festival.
The crowd that attended the footie final last Sunday numbered 20,000, far more than last year.
On February 12, 2012, Brad and Angie decided to get a divorce.
Correct: Whatever she did, did nothing to help the situation.
Incorrect: Whatever she did did nothing to help the situation
Spellcheck would probable pick that up and tell you to delete one of the ‘did’s’ which would leave you with’ Whatever she did nothing to help the situation’. Doesn’t make sense.
A plan was announced.
Not ‘A plan, was announced’.
They announced a plan for the whole school.
Not ‘They announced, a plan for the whole school’.
Which one of these do you prefer.
Eat here, and get gas.
Eat here and get gas.
I prefer the first one, but who knows, you may prefer the second. Happy eating.
Your professional online editing service
They are helpful tools when you are writing for business, academia or for personal use.
Computerised tools help to get your document to publishing standard although there are some things you need to be aware of.
The basic tools of producing a high standard document are perfect grammar, punctuation and spelling – there are no substitutes.
The rules for professional editing and proofreading are no different to editing hard copy.
People do notice poor writing skills. It is not sufficient to rely on computerised spell check and grammar programs for your online proofreading and editing support.
One of the difficulties with relying on spell check is that some words sound the same but have different meanings, e.g. their/there, advice/advice. It does help to set your spell checker to your preferred spelling e.g. UK English, US English, Australian English.
The computer’s grammar resources are equally inadequate as they comment on active and passive voice, complex sentences and repeated words without consideration for context, meaning or required tone and sometimes, they change a sentence to pure nonsense.
There are however, considerable advantages to editing and proofreading online.
Track changes and comments are most useful tools for editing and proofreading online. The system needs to be switched on and switched off when no longer needed and the editor may insert, delete or make comment without disrupting the whole document. The corrected text can be read and the changes can be accepted individually or as a whole.
Global corrections identified through good editing and proofreading can be changed throughout the document by the Find and Replace mechanism. This means that if you identified that ‘copy editing and proofreading’ should be ‘editing and proofreading’, you can change this throughout the document with a few clicks of the mouse.
Typography makes online editing and proofreading so much easier and in the control of the professional proofreader and editor. Typefaces, font sizes and spacing are just some of the advantages of using online proofreading and editing resources.
No online proofreading and copyediting would be complete without checking spacing. Spacing is perhaps the most difficult when editing online. Get used to working with the paragraph marks and other formatting marks turned on. This will assist with consistency and visual presentation. Good online editing will identify inaccuracies in the document and each space has to be painstakingly reviewed.
Good formatting can showcase a document beyond its potential and is normally associated with online proofreading. Online editing using formatting tools gives the editor or writer the opportunity to present the document consistently and professionally.
Online editing allows text to be manipulated easily by selecting and cutting script, and then pasting in the appropriate position. This is far superior to hardcopy editing where the editor marks the document and another person makes the changes on the document.
Finally, the referencing systems and bibliographies. Electronic functions make these tasks easier.
Always print out a document for final proofreading, just to be sure. The eyes do play tricks.
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