Tag: grammar

Hyphen Help

On By R. PettyIn Grammar and Punctuation, Writing for Web and Tips4 Comments

GrammarTips

Good grammar and punctuation can make or break a post. It can make or break a chance for a job interview, promotion, or even getting a date. Good grammar and punctuation show attention to detail and how much you care about your work.

I spend a lot of time explaining grammar rules. It’s especially important for professional writers and editors to know the rules, so they can improve their projects and offer good feedback. For this first grammar tip post, I chose hyphens because I’m asked more questions about them that any other type of punctuation.

Hyphen (-)

Hyphens, like commas, are tricky and have several rules. A hyphen is used to combine words to form one idea. Here is a breakdown of the rules for compound words. A later post about single words, like co-owner, will follow soon.

* An important hyphen tip is to first look up the word in the dictionary. If you can’t find it, then read these rules to see what fits.

Common terms used in this post:

Compound = two words combined to create one idea

Noun = A person, place, thing, or idea

Verb = A word that shows movement or action

Adjective = Words that describe a noun or pronoun

Adverb = Words that modify everything else (verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.)

 

1. Is the compound noun one word or two? If you can’t find it in the dictionary, make it two words.

Examples: eye shadow, ballpark, hot dog

2. Verbs are two words, nouns and adjectives are one.

Examples: clean up (verb) vs. cleanup (noun)

3. Compound verbs either have a hyphen or are one word.

Examples: downsize, upshift, to air-condition the house

4. Hyphenate two or more adjectives when they come before a noun. However, if you can use the word ‘and’ in between the adjectives, use a comma.

Examples with hyphens: family-friendly, reddish-brown, funny-looking

Examples with commas: tall, smelly (tall and smelly); cute, sexy (cute and sexy)

5. When compound adverbs that do not end in -ly come before a noun, use a hyphen.

Examples: well-known, much-needed, top-notch

6. Hyphenate numbers twenty-one (21) through ninety-nine (99)

7. Hyphenate all spelled out fractions.

Examples: one-third, one-half, seven-eighths

 

If you have special tips or want to share more examples, do so in the comments section below!

Source: The Blue Book of Punctuation and Grammar

Writing for Web: Grammar

On By R. PettyIn Writing for Web and Tips1 Comment

Grammar is not sexy. It is not exciting or glamorous. But grammar is important.

I’m a proofreader. I hear more times than I can remember, “I couldn’t do what you do, I couldn’t read all day, or Ugh. How do you do it?”

I love what I do, that’s how. I am a proud grammar Nazi, word nerd, or whatever other name you call me. I read your articles, stories, texts, ads, and statuses, and catch the errors. I am not perfect, but I am your best friend.

This chapter discusses why grammar is important, and I agree with Felder 100 percent. You don’t have to know every rule, but you should know if you’re good at grammar or not. If you are, hone your skills. If you are not, make friends with someone who is. You will grow to love them. We’re not monsters, just rule-driven perfectionists.

So why does it matter?

Because you want people to take you seriously. You want readers to stay on your page and come back. Without good grammar and spelling, your readers will think you’re a joke. You will become one of the people who is a YouTube hit due to their crappy writing. And, anyone who knows better will make fun of you.

Not all grammarians are bad. I don’t proofread texts or personal emails, and when I do proofread, it is to make it better. That’s our end goal: try to make it perfect. With that said, here are a few tips to help you:

1. When in doubt, look it up. It takes three seconds to search something. Webster, grammarbook.com, and Grammar Girl are great tools.

2. Read it aloud, slowly. You will be amazed at how many changes you make. In fact, you are reading my third or fourth version of this post!

3. Don’t be shy. Have everything proofread: posts, resumes, cover letters, anything that someone else will read. The other reader doesn’t have to be a proofreader, but it is always better to have an extra set of eyes on something.

4. About commas and apostrophes: If you are unsure about using one, don’t. It is more forgiving to overlook a missing one than to draw attention to a misused one.

5. Decide when you can break the rules. Sometimes it’s okay to end a sentence with a ‘to’ or ‘with’. Break the rules when you feel it’s necessary for Web or creative writing, but try to follow them in professional letters and resumes.

6. Use spell check. Pay attention to those red squiggly lines.

7. Respect proofreaders; don’t begrudge them. They work hard to know the rules and only want to help.

If you keep these tips in mind, you will improve your writing. The world is moving toward incoherent speech more and more, and if we do not fight it, we will sound like the people in the videos below. Enjoy the laughs, because they are hilarious, but know that could be you if you’re not careful.

And my personal favorite:

Writing for Web – Chapter 2: Sound Like You, Only Better – Part One

On By R. PettyIn Writing for Web and Tips2 Comments

Chapter 2 catered to the grammar geek in me. I sometimes hear people say spelling and good grammar don’t matter anymore. With the world of short handing for texts and readers skimming everything, why do I find spelling and grammar important? For preservation. Imagine a world where we answered by saying l.o.l. instead of laughing, or instead of the special “I love you” you heard I less than three you. It’s just not the same.

Felder states in her Best Practices for Web chapter that you should sound like you, only better. Writers know their voice and tone, and new writers may not have found it yet. Felder helps you observe others and your own style, so you can hear your voice and improve it. See below for an exercise that I urge all writers to do; it only takes a few minutes.

Assignment 2: Get a story or article you wrote, and mark all the ‘to be’ verbs. Get rid of them, and edit the phrases or rewrite the sentences.

Verbs to mark: to be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been, be

Examples from my article about Arts and Entertainment in East Mississippi:

Before

Meridian Little Theater is far from small in the hearts of Mississippians. This theater dates from 1932 and seats 400 attendees. This venue has grown to be the largest community theater in the state. With the help of nearly 1,000 volunteers, MLT is able to produce more than 50 performances a year.

After

The Meridian Little Theatre holds a big place in the hearts of Mississippians. This theater dates from 1932 and seats 400 attendees. As the largest community theater in the state, and with the help of nearly 1,000 volunteers, MLT produces more than 50 performances a year.

Before

The Meridian Museum of Art is located in the city’s only remaining Carnegie Library. Built in 1912-1913, the museum houses all that is art in the area. Along with supporting regional artists with exhibits and groups, the museum offers art education and outreach to the community.

After

The Meridian Museum of Art houses art in the area. Built in 1912-1913, the museum resides in Meridian’s only remaining Carnegie Library. Along with supporting regional artists with exhibits and groups, the museum offers art education and outreach to the community.

As you can see, the assignment truly made a difference. The writing becomes clearer, and overall I managed to cut about 40 words from this article.

Also in chapter 2, Felder gives you various tips on writing about writing succinctly, using conversational tone, and what to avoid such as idioms and trendy phrases. She also reworks the famous, “show, don’t tell” advice by insisting we do both – we show and tell.

I found these tips useful and will implement them immediately. For fun, see if you can find a ‘to be’ verb in my review, and feel free share your editing tips below.

For extra fun: This week my co-author recommended this inspirational video — creative types will enjoy this pick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kc3JqVIIJA