I have a new 10-sentence multiple-choice quiz for you to try. I was reminded by something I read recently that… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Copy Editing
“Lowly” copy editor? Surely you jest
A post by Yoni Goldstein at the National Post of Canada asserts, I hope with irony, that the copy editor… Read more »
We beg you to stop “begging the question”
I read this sentence in a story recently: The churches say they have no money for upkeep, and the world-renowned… Read more »
Check the facts: 10 tips for copy editors
Checking facts is part of some copy editors’ jobs. When I have trained copy editors on newspaper desks, I tell… Read more »
Lessons in grammar never go to waste
A lesson I learned years ago helped me spot the error in this suggested headline from a writer: The ice… Read more »
Writers care about grammar, too
A reporter recently sent me this question: Which of the following is correct: “Ten percent of Americans plan to give….”… Read more »
Working outside newspapers
I hope it’s clear that even though I am clinging to my job as a daily newspaper copy editor, this… Read more »
Misplaced modifiers amuse and confuse us
If you are a copy editor, you probably recognize the problem in the following sentences, and they probably give you… Read more »
Why I am still a copy editor
Perhaps the title of this post should be “Why am I still a copy editor?” Certainly, the occupation I chose… Read more »
How to make a word geek happy
I have now in my possession the Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, on CD-ROM, Version 3.1. When it landed in… Read more »
A new quiz at the Triangle Grammar Guide
This quiz offers five sentences with common mistakes in word choice or grammar. Click here to begin. A teacher told… Read more »
Today’s tip: Neither … nor
When singular subjects are joined with neither … nor, use a singular verb. In this sentence from today’s paper: Neither… Read more »
They who?
This sentence from an Associated Press story on Page 1A Wednesday illustrates a pronoun antecedent problem. The government still could… Read more »
When a sea change happens
Today’s story Conflict hits home in N.C. politics contains a quote with an interesting idiom: sea change. Here is the… Read more »
Disinterested parties
Many writers and editors distinguish between disinterested and uninterested. To be disinterested means to be impartial, the Associated Press Stylebook… Read more »
The whole comprises the parts
Some usage guides use this way of steering writers away from “is comprised of”: “Comprise is best used in the… Read more »