by Michelle L Devon -
Ah, punctuation!
One of the most frequently misused forms of punctuation is the exclamation point or the exclamation mark. As an editor, I have frequently told authors with whom I work that I am going to remove the exclamation point from their keyboard. Don't get me wrong here, the exclamation point has its place in writing, but it is frequently overused or misused. When the exclamation point is misused or over used, it lowers its power.
The exclamation point is most frequently used in dialog, and it is usually used to denote a strong command:
"Stop!"
An exclamation point almost always comes at the end of a sentence, but occasionally, it can come in the middle when using dialog that has text tags behind it, such as:
He said, "Stop!" before he reached out to grab the file from her hand.
An exclamation point can also be used to indicate shouting.
He yelled, "I'm so angry!"
This makes a stronger impact than without the exclamation point, and clearly indicates that the person was shouting, emphasizing the point.
Exclamation points are also used to denote a surprise or a shock or something that is in some way astonishing or amazing, even when the person is not shouting.
He said quietly, a shocked expression on his face, "I can't believe he actually jumped out of the airplane!"
When used this way, exclamation points are a very important part of punctuation. However, there are two consistently misused instances of exclamation point abuse regularly seen on the internet that should be avoided in professional fiction writing:
Multiple Exclamation Points and the Exclamation / Question Combo
Let's look at multiple exclamation points first:
The window on his car was broken. "I can't believe this happened!!!!"
Many writers believe that multiple exclamation points will indicate that the comment preceding the exclamation point was very important, very loud, or had a lot of emotion behind it.
Unfortunately, this is a sign of an amateur writer, and a big tip off to editors in the publishing field that the author is inexperienced. We see multiple exclamation points all the time in blogs and personal writings, and I even use them on my own blogs, but multiple exclamation points are not acceptable in professional writing.
A good fiction writer can convey the additional emotion or loudness of the exclamation in their writing along with ONE exclamation point, and multiple exclamation points are simply not acceptable.
That sentence above could be rewritten to say:
He was completely shocked and dismayed to discover the window on his car was broken. He screamed, "I can't believe this happened!"
Not only have you drawn a better word picture of the scene to your reader this way, but you no longer need the multiple exclamation points. Of course, you may come up with even better descriptive than the example here, but it makes the point.
The other problem exclamation point usage is the question/exclamation combo.
"What?!" he asked. "I can't believe this. How could this happen?!"
This is a NO-NO for professional fiction writing. If you need to let the reader know the person is yelling or astonished, then do it in the dialog tags and descriptive text, and then only use the question mark in the actual dialog.
"What?" he screamed. His voice rang out in clear shock and disbelief. "I can't believe this. How could this happen?"
In a novel, the only time you should use an exclamation point is in dialog, unless it is written in such a way that the novel has a narrator speaking to the reader or the novel is written in first person, present tense (sometimes past tense works too), memoir style, and this is not the traditional, common writing style and a very hard one to sell to a publisher, not impossible, but hard. Placing an exclamation point in the text of a fiction novel that is not dialog is one example of something known as 'author intrusion', where the author is trying to lead the reader to what they should be able to clearly see by the words and description.
In a professional articles or writing other than fiction, you simply should not use an exclamation point, ever!
Well, okay, that's not entirely true. When the writing is technical, professional, newsprint, non fiction, you should not use an exclamation point. However, when writing with a more casual style, such as web content or opinion pieces, an occasional exclamation point to emphasize a specific point in the writing is acceptable, but you want to limit their use, never use more than one exclamation point in the same paragraph, and never use the question mark / exclamation point combo.
When an exclamation point is overused, the meaning of the exclamation point, what its purpose is, gets lost. Save you exclamation points for casual writing or dialog and only when you really need it to make a point, and the power of the exclamation point in writing will not be lost.
Michelle L Devon is a professional writer and a professional freelance editor, providing editing and writing services through her company, Accentuate Services. For more information and additional hints and tips about writing and grammar, as well as viewing verified and researched paying freelance print and web content writing calls and jobs, please visit her free writer's forum at www.writersforum.info [http://www.accentuateservices.com/forum], and visit the Paying Writing Jobs thread.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
A Or An Before "historic"
by Judy Vorfeld -
Have you ever been confused about when to use "a" and "an" before words beginning with "h"? You're not alone. Some of the most famous people in the world don't use the rules properly. Here's what the style guides say:
Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage (2003) says that "a" is used before consonant SOUNDS, not just consonants. Use "an" when the word following it starts with a vowel or an unsounded "h."
The Gregg Reference Manual, Ninth Edition, concurs.
Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, University of Chicago Press, says: The indefinite article a, not an, is used in American English before words beginning with a pronounced h.
Examples: a hotel - an honor - a historical study - an heir.
Associated Press Stylebook 2003 says: A historic event is an important occurrence, one that stands out in history.
Many people say, "An historical occasion," but "an historical" isn't idiomatic in American English. Using "an" is common, but not universally accepted by experts. Here's how to figure out which article to use:
Before a word starting with a pronounced, breathy "h," use "a." Examples: A hotel; A happy time; A historical day; A healthy, happy baby.
You attend a history class, not an history class. Same with "historical." It was a historical occasion.
Honeymooners go to a hideaway, not an hideaway. The donkey carried a heavy burden, not an heavy burden. "Historical" is no different.
Use "an" with words beginning with an unpronounced "h." Examples: An herb garden; an hour; an honor; An heir.
Now, let's combine them: "Look! An herb garden in a historical setting. Let's stay an hour, then find a hotel."
In the UK and other countries with British influence, the "h" in "herb" is often pronounced. See what I mean about confusing? We'll almost always find exceptions to every rule. No matter. Just do your best to be a good communicator and move on!
Judy Vorfeld
Webmaster, Writer, Editor, and Photographer
http://www.editingandwritingservices.com
http://www.ossweb.com
Have you ever been confused about when to use "a" and "an" before words beginning with "h"? You're not alone. Some of the most famous people in the world don't use the rules properly. Here's what the style guides say:
Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage (2003) says that "a" is used before consonant SOUNDS, not just consonants. Use "an" when the word following it starts with a vowel or an unsounded "h."
The Gregg Reference Manual, Ninth Edition, concurs.
Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, University of Chicago Press, says: The indefinite article a, not an, is used in American English before words beginning with a pronounced h.
Examples: a hotel - an honor - a historical study - an heir.
Associated Press Stylebook 2003 says: A historic event is an important occurrence, one that stands out in history.
Many people say, "An historical occasion," but "an historical" isn't idiomatic in American English. Using "an" is common, but not universally accepted by experts. Here's how to figure out which article to use:
Before a word starting with a pronounced, breathy "h," use "a." Examples: A hotel; A happy time; A historical day; A healthy, happy baby.
You attend a history class, not an history class. Same with "historical." It was a historical occasion.
Honeymooners go to a hideaway, not an hideaway. The donkey carried a heavy burden, not an heavy burden. "Historical" is no different.
Use "an" with words beginning with an unpronounced "h." Examples: An herb garden; an hour; an honor; An heir.
Now, let's combine them: "Look! An herb garden in a historical setting. Let's stay an hour, then find a hotel."
In the UK and other countries with British influence, the "h" in "herb" is often pronounced. See what I mean about confusing? We'll almost always find exceptions to every rule. No matter. Just do your best to be a good communicator and move on!
Judy Vorfeld
Webmaster, Writer, Editor, and Photographer
http://www.editingandwritingservices.com
http://www.ossweb.com
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Examples of Indefinite and Reflexive Pronouns
by Elizabeth O'brien -
Can you name some examples of indefinite and reflexive pronouns? Do you know what they are? Before we look at examples, let's have a little refresher.
Pronouns
Do you remember the eight parts of speech? Well, pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech. They are words that take the place of nouns. (Nouns name people, places, things, or ideas.) Pronouns can do all of the things that nouns can do.
There are many different types of pronouns. Let's focus on two types, shall we?
Indefinite Pronouns
These are pronouns that don't refer to a specific person or thing. The prefix "in" means "not." That will help you to remember that these pronouns are not definite.
Here are a couple of example sentences with indefinite pronouns.
Everyone laughed at the joke.
Both of the boys brought her flowers.
Notice that in both of those sentences, we're not sure which nouns the pronouns are replacing. They did not specify which nouns they replaced. They are not definite.
Examples of Indefinite Pronouns
Here is a list of indefinite pronouns:
each, everything, either, everyone, someone, anything, both, many, several, few, all, most, none, one, some, much
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves, and they always refer to the subject of the sentence.
Here are a couple of example sentences using reflexive pronouns:
The baby looked at herself in the mirror.
I bought myself a cupcake.
Notice that the pronouns herself and myself end in -self, and they both refer back to the subject of the sentence, baby and I.
Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
Here is a list of reflexive pronouns:
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Tip: Don't Confuse Reflexive Pronouns with Intensive Pronouns
Intensive pronouns are another type of pronoun that end in -self and -selves, but they are used differently than reflexive pronouns.
Remember that reflexive pronouns always refer to the subject, and they are a necessary part of the sentence. Intensive pronouns are only used to add emphasis to another noun or pronoun (not necessarily the subject), and they are not a necessary part of the sentence.
Here are two examples of intensive pronouns:
The trip itself was extremely fun, but some of the people on it were grouchy.
She asked me herself.
Do you see how we could take out both itself and herself from those sentences and they would still make sense? They aren't a necessary part of the sentence, so they are intensive pronouns.
Learn more about pronouns on my website! http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/what-is-a-pronoun.html
You'll also find lists of the English parts of speech as well as lessons and exercises to help you learn or teach proper grammar.
Check it out! http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com
Can you name some examples of indefinite and reflexive pronouns? Do you know what they are? Before we look at examples, let's have a little refresher.
Pronouns
Do you remember the eight parts of speech? Well, pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech. They are words that take the place of nouns. (Nouns name people, places, things, or ideas.) Pronouns can do all of the things that nouns can do.
There are many different types of pronouns. Let's focus on two types, shall we?
Indefinite Pronouns
These are pronouns that don't refer to a specific person or thing. The prefix "in" means "not." That will help you to remember that these pronouns are not definite.
Here are a couple of example sentences with indefinite pronouns.
Everyone laughed at the joke.
Both of the boys brought her flowers.
Notice that in both of those sentences, we're not sure which nouns the pronouns are replacing. They did not specify which nouns they replaced. They are not definite.
Examples of Indefinite Pronouns
Here is a list of indefinite pronouns:
each, everything, either, everyone, someone, anything, both, many, several, few, all, most, none, one, some, much
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves, and they always refer to the subject of the sentence.
Here are a couple of example sentences using reflexive pronouns:
The baby looked at herself in the mirror.
I bought myself a cupcake.
Notice that the pronouns herself and myself end in -self, and they both refer back to the subject of the sentence, baby and I.
Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
Here is a list of reflexive pronouns:
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Tip: Don't Confuse Reflexive Pronouns with Intensive Pronouns
Intensive pronouns are another type of pronoun that end in -self and -selves, but they are used differently than reflexive pronouns.
Remember that reflexive pronouns always refer to the subject, and they are a necessary part of the sentence. Intensive pronouns are only used to add emphasis to another noun or pronoun (not necessarily the subject), and they are not a necessary part of the sentence.
Here are two examples of intensive pronouns:
The trip itself was extremely fun, but some of the people on it were grouchy.
She asked me herself.
Do you see how we could take out both itself and herself from those sentences and they would still make sense? They aren't a necessary part of the sentence, so they are intensive pronouns.
Learn more about pronouns on my website! http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/what-is-a-pronoun.html
You'll also find lists of the English parts of speech as well as lessons and exercises to help you learn or teach proper grammar.
Check it out! http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com
Friday, June 10, 2011
In Business, Writing Well is a Necessity
by Jim Roe -
You can all relax. This is not a grammar lesson.
It is not enough to do a good job. You must also give the appearances of doing a good job. That is why writing well is so important. Writing well is not an add-on to your job skills. It is a central part of it. Your writing must communicate you doing a good job. Many who read your reports will never meet you. Yet they have powerful influences over your career. Their only vision of you is through your writings.
Since only your writings are available to them, the writing must be outstanding. You are outstanding. Your writing must reflect that.
Just what are we trying to achieve when we write? The US novelist Robert Stone said it best: "What you're trying to do when you write is to crowd the reader out of his own space and occupy it with yours, in a good cause. You're trying to take over his sensibility and deliver an experience that moves them just from mere information."
Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone with a clear logical mind can write well. You have such a mind or you would not be here. Writing well is a three-step process. And you have already mastered the first two:
Knowledge.
Without knowledge you cannot convince anyone to do anything. Our knowledge tends to be disorganized. We learnt a bit here, a bit there and a lot from some place else. It's all good stuff but gathered then stored in a random pile, so to speak.
Navigation.
You must plot a logical course leading the reader from A to B to C to your conclusion. Do not worry about the verbiage at this stage. Just have the logical sequence laid out Point form, broken sentences, whatever. Your readers will not tolerate your logic wandering. You cannot be like the man who rode his horse backwards. His friend said, "That is remarkable. You have visited all those wonderful places, yet you only ride your horse backwards! Just how do you do it?" "Oh, that's easy," he replied, "I only want to go where the horse wants to go."
Salesmanship.
This is what we consider as "Writing," putting the words on paper. The task is to guide and comfort the reader. At the end of each sentence they must have the feeling of "that makes sense, that's logical, that was easy to grasp, I'll carry on reading." Actually, it's writing and thinking. The tough part is the thinking. What is the next logical step? Think. What is the reader expecting next? Think. Is what I said what I meant? Think.
Do not expect to write and not have to rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite. If you think, you can write without having to fine-tune it, your readers will surely be in trouble. Many readers will not bother to finish reading it. How many times have you started to read an article and quit reading it? Not because the subject was boring but because the story wandered, was confusing or difficult to read.
Searching out the errors, roadblocks, and poor sentence structure makes for hard, time-consuming work. It is so easy to be ambiguous. It is so easy to say it poorly. My favorite example of ambiguity is a manager's memo requesting "a listing of all employees broken down by sex."
For some, writing is a chore, for others, fun. I cannot change that. Writing well will not change that. You are who you are. For myself, I find writing well hard work and time consuming but very enjoyable.
Authority
You are paid to be an authority. You are paid to make decisions.
If you are not an authority on what you are about to write, put the pen down until you are. It's that simple. With all simple things, there is a trick. We do not have to be an authority on everything. Just an authority on what we are about to write. I do not mean known a lot. I mean be a true authority on the very narrow topic.
If you are using a chemical, know everything about it. Who discovered it? What, why, and when is important. Know the history of the subject. Know all of today's applications. It's a narrow topic so it is not difficult. Putting some history in your report demonstrates your knowledge. It strengthens you implied claim of being an authority
Consider this brief statement:
"Mercury was first confirmed as a poison when the strange behavior of felt hat makers was investigated. It was discovered that they were being poisoned with the mercury used in felt manufacturing. The nervous Mad Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a fairly accurate portrayal of a person suffering from the nerve damage caused by mercury exposure."
By implication, what does this brief statement tell the reader?
Just to know this you must be an authority. The hazard label is well deserved and not simply a hazard promoted by some activist. And most importantly: Reader, don't hassle me on what I am saying. I'll fight back if you challenge me.
Every subject has interesting historical facts. Search them out. You may be surprised what you will learn during your search. Typically, you can be an authority in a relatively short time. Remember, we are only talking about very narrow subjects. For example, I am an authority on mathematical sales forecasting. I studied it well. As a frustrated mathematician, it fascinated me. To me, exponential smoothing, seasonal variations, and probabilities are all great stuff.
I went to the library to study its beginnings of mathematical sales forecasting, it's history, and lore. A mathematician named Browne and a few others developed mathematical forecasting while in the US Air force during the Second World War. They developed the mathematics for the automatic aiming of guns to shoot down airplanes.
After the war they were unemployed. So they applied their principles to sales forecasting. I can still remember a magazine drawing of a gun, the bullets and airplane's path with the military formulas beside each. Beside the military formula the same formula was rewritten using business terms: past sales (airplane's path) etc. If you know how shooting down an airplane can help you forecast sales, please let me know.
As I said, I'm an authority: Mathematical sales forecasting is garbage. But it sells well.
Nomex® is an excellent electrical insulation. In the '60's I used it as electrical insulation in transformer design. Did you know the US government funded its development in the early fifty's specifically for space suits? That was years before we ever heard of Sputnik (1957). I was an authority on Nomex. A very narrow field, but I was an authority.
You do not need to know every regulation in the book. But be an authority on the ones that apply to you. Knowing when it was written, by whom and why was it promoted to be included in the regulations can be used to demonstrate your knowledge.
It's easy and it's fun for both you and the reader.
Fun: if you do not enjoy your subject, you cannot write well. Your writing must display both your knowledge and interest in the subject. Your reader must understand you enjoy making decisions, and do it willingly.
You are paid to be an authority. You are paid to make decisions. Nothing less. Your writing skills must be up to your abilities. When finished reading your report there must be no qualifiers. Say what must be done. Eliminate all those words that put doubt in the reader's mind. Words such as "rather," "perhaps," "may be necessary." It is necessary or it is not. These words put doubt in their mind about you. They are called "weasel" words.
You fail if the reader must sort out your options and make a decision. Every sentence must be positive. Your reader wants to read solid recommendations. Authority falters if you are not positive. No "perhaps we should." Say, "we must." Make the decision. Be bold in your statements. Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.
Passive Voice
Passive Voice is a grammatical term for an action statement that makes verbs become bland. Use verbs that convey an image. Smash, discharge, break, poison, gives positive images of the action.
Passive Voice is also an action statement without a person in them. In technical writing it is difficult to put a personal touch to a chemical reaction. We accept passive voice in technical writing. That is what makes technical writing boring. You can brighten it through your writing.
"The regulation is new" sounds weak. "The new regulation" has energy. "The motor was defective." is insipid. "The motor failed." conjures up a vision. Not "Transfer the fluid to the tower." Say " Pump the fluid" Pump is an action word. Using vision words brightens your writing.
Know Your Audience.
Know your audience. That's nonsense. We have trouble enough knowing ourselves, let alone others. I've been married for forty-two years. My wife is still a wonderful mystery to me. Write for yourself. Say what you want to say. But say it well. If the reader does not like it, tough. These are my thoughts, my feelings, and my recommendations. Take them or leave them. I am not compromising my standards for you or anyone else.
Above all, revel in the joy of being you.
Word Processors
Word processors are a great invention. Don't leave home without one. They are great for checking punctuation. Not bad for checking grammar. Not great, but pretty good. Spell checkers are great but dangerous to rely on. Word processors can point out our misuse of words. Take, for example, the word "approximate," a common engineering term. Odds are you would agree that it means: An inexact value adequate for a given purpose
Those educated in the liberal arts and business, such as many of our senior executives, know the correct definition of "approximate." It means "almost exactly." The correct term for our use of "approximate" is "about." The error we make is assuming "approximate" has the same meaning as the mathematical term "approximation."
Know what words mean.
Another example: the difference between "Committed" and "Involved." A chicken was involved in the preparation of your breakfast. The pig was committed.
Most grammar checkers object to using "but" and recommend "however." But "But" is correct. "However" is vague, boring. You run the risk of falling asleep before you finish saying it. "But" conjures up the vision of a smack in the head. It is a wake-up word. Use it.
Shorter words are more prone to promote an image and have energy. Short words are short because they were created to make a point. Mark Twain said it best in a speech in 1908 and I quote:
"An average English word is four letters and a half. By hard, honest labor I've dug all the large words out of my vocabulary and shaved it down 'till the average is three and a half. ... I never write "metropolis" for seven cents,- he was paid seven cents a word - because I can get the same money for "city." I never write "policeman," because I can get the same price for "cop." ... I never write "valetudinarian" at all, for not even hunger and wretchedness can humble me to the point where I will do a word like that for seven cents; I wouldn't do it for fifteen (cents)."
Spell checkers are great but use with caution. They only check to see if you spelt the word correctly. It does not determine if you used the correct word. And it is ever so easy to accidentally drop a letter. There is a difference between "public place" and "pubic place."
Most have a feature that estimates the reading skill require to understand it. It evaluates word size and sentence length. Ignore it. I am not interested in knowing if a grade eight reader can read it. The question is, can they understand it? That requires writing well.
A complex subject is, by definition, complex. Perhaps a grade eighter cannot understand it, no matter how well you write. Many everyday activities are so complex they defy writing clearly. For example, write me instructions on how to tie my shoelaces. You can write with clarity, you can write with brevity. But you cannot avoid the subject's complexity. If you could, then the subject was never complex.
But that does not mean you should accept the complexity. One must always try to simplify. You must reduce the subject to its simplest terms. Reduce it to a logical sequence of clearly thought-out sentences. This will help make it clear to your readers and yourself. You will learn if you knew as much about the subject as you had hoped. Writing out your knowledge in logical sentences will highlight your missing knowledge and faulty logic.
Few subjects are more complex than Einstein's Theory of Relativity. It is not an easy subject to understand. Yet his 1916 book, The Theory of Relativity is a marvel of logic. He understands the reader's knowledge of his theory is nonexistent. He leads the reader, step by step, going gently over the rough spots to help the reader. True, I get lost after the first half dozen chapters. But that is my weakness, not his carefully laid out logic.
Word processors compare our writing to famous authors, notably Ernest Hemingway. He only used short sentences and small words. It makes for easy reading. And to write a book for popular consumption - that is the way to success. We do not write books. We write technical reports and memos, usually on complex subjects.
A famous example of clarity, brevity and complexity is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He gave it at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, honoring those who died in the Battle of Gettysburg. His brief speech was followed by the most famous speaker of the time, Edward Everett. Everett, clergyman, orator, educator, and diplomat whose many offices included US Representative from Massachusetts was the main speaker. He spoke for two hours. The newspapers praised Everett's speech and barely mentioned Lincoln's.
Yet Everett was so impressed with Lincoln's speech that he wrote him a letter the next day saying, "I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."
As brief as the Gettysburg Address was- 270 words - it is a classical model of eloquence. It is famous not because it is American; it is famous because it is one of the most moving expressions of the democratic spirit.
Grammar checkers estimate it requires a grade thirteen education to comprehend it, five times as complex as Ernest Hemingway writings. It rates the sentence structure very complex, requiring well above the average vocabulary to understand it. Lincoln said what he wanted, was true to himself. He wrote for himself. He did not demean his subject by diluting it for the masses.
Ernest Hemingway commented on the speech by saying: "It wasn't by accident that the Gettysburg Address was so short. The laws of prose writing are as immutable as those of flight, of mathematics, of physics.
Word Quality.
I have talked about the importance of using short words and using vision words. Another word quality is how it sounds to the ear. While most of our writing is never read aloud, it is still heard in our mind.
Certain words are beautiful to say. Some are ugly. A few sound awkward. "Got" is an ugly word. I wince every time I use it. As short as it is, it offers no vision. But its crime is that it sounds like you are clearing your throat. It is such a waste of a short word.
"Filthy" is a beautiful word. Try it. It flows ever so nicely off your tongue. What a beautiful sounding name for a woman. "I would like you to meet my friend, Miss Filthy Smith."
"Orange" completely disrupts the flow of a sentence. "If you have an orange house, burn it." You have to stop in mid-sentence just to say it. Having selected the correct words one must construct the sentence that sounds right. Read you work aloud. Your ear will identify the phrases and sentences that do not sound right. While the thought may be correct, somehow the sentence may sound awkward. Here is a classic example "These are the times that try men's souls." Thomas Paine, author of the 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, calling for American Independence through revolution, wrote it. "These are the times that try men's souls."
Try rearranging the words to see if it can be made to sound better:
How trying it is to live in times like these! This sounds like someone is ready to give up.
These are trying times for men's souls. That makes it sound like wearying experience.
Soul wise, these are trying times. Let's do our best to survive. That is just plain bad.
All used the same words but only Paine expresses determination.
Reading your writing out loud is a valuable tool.
If you cannot repair a problem sentence structure then feel free to use my patented "Roe's Cure-all for Problem Sentences": get rid of it. It probably was not essential anyway.
Just as we tend to avoid large crowds, we surely avoid large paragraphs. Make them short. Looking forward to reading a long paragraph is not pleasant. It is viewed as a challenge. Most will say: "Why bother? I have enough challenges in my life - why voluntarily add one more?"
The Information Age
Appreciate the difference between information and knowledge. If you are writing to give information, you are wasting your time and the reader's. We are being buried in useless information. The Internet and mass publications flood us with information. Corporations sends out reams of information to us via email, faxes, computer reports, and pamphlets. 99.9% of it is useless to me. I do not seek information. I seek knowledge that I can convert to understanding and then, hopefully, to wisdom.
Business spends far too much time measuring and reporting what can be reported while deliberately ignoring what should be reported and investigated. Why? They dare not publish internal documents criticizing the company for fear of the shareholders or the government gets access to it.
Style
Lastly, writing style. Forget writing style. Write for yourself with clarity. That is a great style. I wish I could tell you how to write well but I can't. All I can do is to explain some of my thoughts on writing well. The rest is up to you and your ambitions.
As Vice-President of Manufacturing I presented this article to an environmental, health, and safety conference to about sixty of the corporations EH&S engineers. If they are to succeed their writing must reflect their abilities. Unfortunately few make the effort to master writing well.
You can all relax. This is not a grammar lesson.
It is not enough to do a good job. You must also give the appearances of doing a good job. That is why writing well is so important. Writing well is not an add-on to your job skills. It is a central part of it. Your writing must communicate you doing a good job. Many who read your reports will never meet you. Yet they have powerful influences over your career. Their only vision of you is through your writings.
Since only your writings are available to them, the writing must be outstanding. You are outstanding. Your writing must reflect that.
Just what are we trying to achieve when we write? The US novelist Robert Stone said it best: "What you're trying to do when you write is to crowd the reader out of his own space and occupy it with yours, in a good cause. You're trying to take over his sensibility and deliver an experience that moves them just from mere information."
Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone with a clear logical mind can write well. You have such a mind or you would not be here. Writing well is a three-step process. And you have already mastered the first two:
Knowledge.
Without knowledge you cannot convince anyone to do anything. Our knowledge tends to be disorganized. We learnt a bit here, a bit there and a lot from some place else. It's all good stuff but gathered then stored in a random pile, so to speak.
Navigation.
You must plot a logical course leading the reader from A to B to C to your conclusion. Do not worry about the verbiage at this stage. Just have the logical sequence laid out Point form, broken sentences, whatever. Your readers will not tolerate your logic wandering. You cannot be like the man who rode his horse backwards. His friend said, "That is remarkable. You have visited all those wonderful places, yet you only ride your horse backwards! Just how do you do it?" "Oh, that's easy," he replied, "I only want to go where the horse wants to go."
Salesmanship.
This is what we consider as "Writing," putting the words on paper. The task is to guide and comfort the reader. At the end of each sentence they must have the feeling of "that makes sense, that's logical, that was easy to grasp, I'll carry on reading." Actually, it's writing and thinking. The tough part is the thinking. What is the next logical step? Think. What is the reader expecting next? Think. Is what I said what I meant? Think.
Do not expect to write and not have to rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite. If you think, you can write without having to fine-tune it, your readers will surely be in trouble. Many readers will not bother to finish reading it. How many times have you started to read an article and quit reading it? Not because the subject was boring but because the story wandered, was confusing or difficult to read.
Searching out the errors, roadblocks, and poor sentence structure makes for hard, time-consuming work. It is so easy to be ambiguous. It is so easy to say it poorly. My favorite example of ambiguity is a manager's memo requesting "a listing of all employees broken down by sex."
For some, writing is a chore, for others, fun. I cannot change that. Writing well will not change that. You are who you are. For myself, I find writing well hard work and time consuming but very enjoyable.
Authority
You are paid to be an authority. You are paid to make decisions.
If you are not an authority on what you are about to write, put the pen down until you are. It's that simple. With all simple things, there is a trick. We do not have to be an authority on everything. Just an authority on what we are about to write. I do not mean known a lot. I mean be a true authority on the very narrow topic.
If you are using a chemical, know everything about it. Who discovered it? What, why, and when is important. Know the history of the subject. Know all of today's applications. It's a narrow topic so it is not difficult. Putting some history in your report demonstrates your knowledge. It strengthens you implied claim of being an authority
Consider this brief statement:
"Mercury was first confirmed as a poison when the strange behavior of felt hat makers was investigated. It was discovered that they were being poisoned with the mercury used in felt manufacturing. The nervous Mad Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a fairly accurate portrayal of a person suffering from the nerve damage caused by mercury exposure."
By implication, what does this brief statement tell the reader?
Just to know this you must be an authority. The hazard label is well deserved and not simply a hazard promoted by some activist. And most importantly: Reader, don't hassle me on what I am saying. I'll fight back if you challenge me.
Every subject has interesting historical facts. Search them out. You may be surprised what you will learn during your search. Typically, you can be an authority in a relatively short time. Remember, we are only talking about very narrow subjects. For example, I am an authority on mathematical sales forecasting. I studied it well. As a frustrated mathematician, it fascinated me. To me, exponential smoothing, seasonal variations, and probabilities are all great stuff.
I went to the library to study its beginnings of mathematical sales forecasting, it's history, and lore. A mathematician named Browne and a few others developed mathematical forecasting while in the US Air force during the Second World War. They developed the mathematics for the automatic aiming of guns to shoot down airplanes.
After the war they were unemployed. So they applied their principles to sales forecasting. I can still remember a magazine drawing of a gun, the bullets and airplane's path with the military formulas beside each. Beside the military formula the same formula was rewritten using business terms: past sales (airplane's path) etc. If you know how shooting down an airplane can help you forecast sales, please let me know.
As I said, I'm an authority: Mathematical sales forecasting is garbage. But it sells well.
Nomex® is an excellent electrical insulation. In the '60's I used it as electrical insulation in transformer design. Did you know the US government funded its development in the early fifty's specifically for space suits? That was years before we ever heard of Sputnik (1957). I was an authority on Nomex. A very narrow field, but I was an authority.
You do not need to know every regulation in the book. But be an authority on the ones that apply to you. Knowing when it was written, by whom and why was it promoted to be included in the regulations can be used to demonstrate your knowledge.
It's easy and it's fun for both you and the reader.
Fun: if you do not enjoy your subject, you cannot write well. Your writing must display both your knowledge and interest in the subject. Your reader must understand you enjoy making decisions, and do it willingly.
You are paid to be an authority. You are paid to make decisions. Nothing less. Your writing skills must be up to your abilities. When finished reading your report there must be no qualifiers. Say what must be done. Eliminate all those words that put doubt in the reader's mind. Words such as "rather," "perhaps," "may be necessary." It is necessary or it is not. These words put doubt in their mind about you. They are called "weasel" words.
You fail if the reader must sort out your options and make a decision. Every sentence must be positive. Your reader wants to read solid recommendations. Authority falters if you are not positive. No "perhaps we should." Say, "we must." Make the decision. Be bold in your statements. Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.
Passive Voice
Passive Voice is a grammatical term for an action statement that makes verbs become bland. Use verbs that convey an image. Smash, discharge, break, poison, gives positive images of the action.
Passive Voice is also an action statement without a person in them. In technical writing it is difficult to put a personal touch to a chemical reaction. We accept passive voice in technical writing. That is what makes technical writing boring. You can brighten it through your writing.
"The regulation is new" sounds weak. "The new regulation" has energy. "The motor was defective." is insipid. "The motor failed." conjures up a vision. Not "Transfer the fluid to the tower." Say " Pump the fluid" Pump is an action word. Using vision words brightens your writing.
Know Your Audience.
Know your audience. That's nonsense. We have trouble enough knowing ourselves, let alone others. I've been married for forty-two years. My wife is still a wonderful mystery to me. Write for yourself. Say what you want to say. But say it well. If the reader does not like it, tough. These are my thoughts, my feelings, and my recommendations. Take them or leave them. I am not compromising my standards for you or anyone else.
Above all, revel in the joy of being you.
Word Processors
Word processors are a great invention. Don't leave home without one. They are great for checking punctuation. Not bad for checking grammar. Not great, but pretty good. Spell checkers are great but dangerous to rely on. Word processors can point out our misuse of words. Take, for example, the word "approximate," a common engineering term. Odds are you would agree that it means: An inexact value adequate for a given purpose
Those educated in the liberal arts and business, such as many of our senior executives, know the correct definition of "approximate." It means "almost exactly." The correct term for our use of "approximate" is "about." The error we make is assuming "approximate" has the same meaning as the mathematical term "approximation."
Know what words mean.
Another example: the difference between "Committed" and "Involved." A chicken was involved in the preparation of your breakfast. The pig was committed.
Most grammar checkers object to using "but" and recommend "however." But "But" is correct. "However" is vague, boring. You run the risk of falling asleep before you finish saying it. "But" conjures up the vision of a smack in the head. It is a wake-up word. Use it.
Shorter words are more prone to promote an image and have energy. Short words are short because they were created to make a point. Mark Twain said it best in a speech in 1908 and I quote:
"An average English word is four letters and a half. By hard, honest labor I've dug all the large words out of my vocabulary and shaved it down 'till the average is three and a half. ... I never write "metropolis" for seven cents,- he was paid seven cents a word - because I can get the same money for "city." I never write "policeman," because I can get the same price for "cop." ... I never write "valetudinarian" at all, for not even hunger and wretchedness can humble me to the point where I will do a word like that for seven cents; I wouldn't do it for fifteen (cents)."
Spell checkers are great but use with caution. They only check to see if you spelt the word correctly. It does not determine if you used the correct word. And it is ever so easy to accidentally drop a letter. There is a difference between "public place" and "pubic place."
Most have a feature that estimates the reading skill require to understand it. It evaluates word size and sentence length. Ignore it. I am not interested in knowing if a grade eight reader can read it. The question is, can they understand it? That requires writing well.
A complex subject is, by definition, complex. Perhaps a grade eighter cannot understand it, no matter how well you write. Many everyday activities are so complex they defy writing clearly. For example, write me instructions on how to tie my shoelaces. You can write with clarity, you can write with brevity. But you cannot avoid the subject's complexity. If you could, then the subject was never complex.
But that does not mean you should accept the complexity. One must always try to simplify. You must reduce the subject to its simplest terms. Reduce it to a logical sequence of clearly thought-out sentences. This will help make it clear to your readers and yourself. You will learn if you knew as much about the subject as you had hoped. Writing out your knowledge in logical sentences will highlight your missing knowledge and faulty logic.
Few subjects are more complex than Einstein's Theory of Relativity. It is not an easy subject to understand. Yet his 1916 book, The Theory of Relativity is a marvel of logic. He understands the reader's knowledge of his theory is nonexistent. He leads the reader, step by step, going gently over the rough spots to help the reader. True, I get lost after the first half dozen chapters. But that is my weakness, not his carefully laid out logic.
Word processors compare our writing to famous authors, notably Ernest Hemingway. He only used short sentences and small words. It makes for easy reading. And to write a book for popular consumption - that is the way to success. We do not write books. We write technical reports and memos, usually on complex subjects.
A famous example of clarity, brevity and complexity is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He gave it at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, honoring those who died in the Battle of Gettysburg. His brief speech was followed by the most famous speaker of the time, Edward Everett. Everett, clergyman, orator, educator, and diplomat whose many offices included US Representative from Massachusetts was the main speaker. He spoke for two hours. The newspapers praised Everett's speech and barely mentioned Lincoln's.
Yet Everett was so impressed with Lincoln's speech that he wrote him a letter the next day saying, "I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."
As brief as the Gettysburg Address was- 270 words - it is a classical model of eloquence. It is famous not because it is American; it is famous because it is one of the most moving expressions of the democratic spirit.
Grammar checkers estimate it requires a grade thirteen education to comprehend it, five times as complex as Ernest Hemingway writings. It rates the sentence structure very complex, requiring well above the average vocabulary to understand it. Lincoln said what he wanted, was true to himself. He wrote for himself. He did not demean his subject by diluting it for the masses.
Ernest Hemingway commented on the speech by saying: "It wasn't by accident that the Gettysburg Address was so short. The laws of prose writing are as immutable as those of flight, of mathematics, of physics.
Word Quality.
I have talked about the importance of using short words and using vision words. Another word quality is how it sounds to the ear. While most of our writing is never read aloud, it is still heard in our mind.
Certain words are beautiful to say. Some are ugly. A few sound awkward. "Got" is an ugly word. I wince every time I use it. As short as it is, it offers no vision. But its crime is that it sounds like you are clearing your throat. It is such a waste of a short word.
"Filthy" is a beautiful word. Try it. It flows ever so nicely off your tongue. What a beautiful sounding name for a woman. "I would like you to meet my friend, Miss Filthy Smith."
"Orange" completely disrupts the flow of a sentence. "If you have an orange house, burn it." You have to stop in mid-sentence just to say it. Having selected the correct words one must construct the sentence that sounds right. Read you work aloud. Your ear will identify the phrases and sentences that do not sound right. While the thought may be correct, somehow the sentence may sound awkward. Here is a classic example "These are the times that try men's souls." Thomas Paine, author of the 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, calling for American Independence through revolution, wrote it. "These are the times that try men's souls."
Try rearranging the words to see if it can be made to sound better:
How trying it is to live in times like these! This sounds like someone is ready to give up.
These are trying times for men's souls. That makes it sound like wearying experience.
Soul wise, these are trying times. Let's do our best to survive. That is just plain bad.
All used the same words but only Paine expresses determination.
Reading your writing out loud is a valuable tool.
If you cannot repair a problem sentence structure then feel free to use my patented "Roe's Cure-all for Problem Sentences": get rid of it. It probably was not essential anyway.
Just as we tend to avoid large crowds, we surely avoid large paragraphs. Make them short. Looking forward to reading a long paragraph is not pleasant. It is viewed as a challenge. Most will say: "Why bother? I have enough challenges in my life - why voluntarily add one more?"
The Information Age
Appreciate the difference between information and knowledge. If you are writing to give information, you are wasting your time and the reader's. We are being buried in useless information. The Internet and mass publications flood us with information. Corporations sends out reams of information to us via email, faxes, computer reports, and pamphlets. 99.9% of it is useless to me. I do not seek information. I seek knowledge that I can convert to understanding and then, hopefully, to wisdom.
Business spends far too much time measuring and reporting what can be reported while deliberately ignoring what should be reported and investigated. Why? They dare not publish internal documents criticizing the company for fear of the shareholders or the government gets access to it.
Style
Lastly, writing style. Forget writing style. Write for yourself with clarity. That is a great style. I wish I could tell you how to write well but I can't. All I can do is to explain some of my thoughts on writing well. The rest is up to you and your ambitions.
As Vice-President of Manufacturing I presented this article to an environmental, health, and safety conference to about sixty of the corporations EH&S engineers. If they are to succeed their writing must reflect their abilities. Unfortunately few make the effort to master writing well.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Writing Business Memos - 5 Simple Keys to Successful Memos
by Lynda Goldman -
Do you struggle to write business memos? Are you unsure of the different styles of business memos, or what is appropriate? The biggest problem with writing a memo is knowing what to write, and knowing the correct format.
Here are 5 simple keys to success:
1. Internal communication: Memos are used for internal communication, and are sent to colleagues and co-workers. They can be directed to a few specific people, but often address a group, team or department. Memos are best for announcing information such as policy changes, persuading people to take action such as attending a meeting, or presenting goals or expectations.
2. Specific format: Memos are less formal than letters, but they have a specific format. They are generally short, with one to four sentences. A longer format might have several paragraphs but should never be longer than one page. If you need to communicate more information it is better to write a report.
Use the standard format that your company provides, or check some guides for standard formats. You don't need a salutation or a closing statement.
3. Action-oriented: These documents that make things happen within an organization. They manage day-to-day arrangements such as requests, procedures and agreements. For example, they are frequently used to confirm a conversation or agreement, request information, or to announce a change in work procedure.
4. Single point: The topic should be narrow and apparent immediately. A good memo summarizes facts, analyzes pertinent issues, or makes a recommendation and supports it. The goal is to be brief, and to make your point quickly, clearly and effectively. Be factual, and use a positive or neutral tone.
5. Public property: A memo is not private. It becomes the property of the person who receives it. Don't write anything that you wouldn't say in person. Avoid emotionally charged issues, and anything that you don't want to have broadcasted to the public.
You are invited to use these tips to increase your communication skills.
You're also invited to receive a free report: "Breakthrough Communication Skills" packed with powerful tips for business success, at http://www.ImpressforSuccess.com when you join my Communication Capsules newsletter.
For examples of business memo formats, check out "How to Write a Persuasive Business Memo," a simple How-to Guide that gives you immediate results. http://www.goldmansmythe.com/howto.html
Do you struggle to write business memos? Are you unsure of the different styles of business memos, or what is appropriate? The biggest problem with writing a memo is knowing what to write, and knowing the correct format.
Here are 5 simple keys to success:
1. Internal communication: Memos are used for internal communication, and are sent to colleagues and co-workers. They can be directed to a few specific people, but often address a group, team or department. Memos are best for announcing information such as policy changes, persuading people to take action such as attending a meeting, or presenting goals or expectations.
2. Specific format: Memos are less formal than letters, but they have a specific format. They are generally short, with one to four sentences. A longer format might have several paragraphs but should never be longer than one page. If you need to communicate more information it is better to write a report.
Use the standard format that your company provides, or check some guides for standard formats. You don't need a salutation or a closing statement.
3. Action-oriented: These documents that make things happen within an organization. They manage day-to-day arrangements such as requests, procedures and agreements. For example, they are frequently used to confirm a conversation or agreement, request information, or to announce a change in work procedure.
4. Single point: The topic should be narrow and apparent immediately. A good memo summarizes facts, analyzes pertinent issues, or makes a recommendation and supports it. The goal is to be brief, and to make your point quickly, clearly and effectively. Be factual, and use a positive or neutral tone.
5. Public property: A memo is not private. It becomes the property of the person who receives it. Don't write anything that you wouldn't say in person. Avoid emotionally charged issues, and anything that you don't want to have broadcasted to the public.
You are invited to use these tips to increase your communication skills.
You're also invited to receive a free report: "Breakthrough Communication Skills" packed with powerful tips for business success, at http://www.ImpressforSuccess.com when you join my Communication Capsules newsletter.
For examples of business memo formats, check out "How to Write a Persuasive Business Memo," a simple How-to Guide that gives you immediate results. http://www.goldmansmythe.com/howto.html
Creative Fiction Writing Workshop: Using Quotation Marks and Other Punctuation
by Kat Jaske -
Don't let dialogue and punctuation marks outsmart you in creative fiction writing.
Dialogue between characters is one great way to engage in character development. Usage of quotes can become very complicated in your characters' dialogue, but you don't have to struggle with how to use quotes along with commas, periods, capitalization, the em dash, the ellipses, and other marks. Use the templates below for models on how to use quotation marks, and you will be a whiz at this in no time.
Your word processing program will probably use smart quotes. The quote marks curl toward the words. You may set your word processor to use straight quotes if you prefer. Be sure you are consistent and always use one or the other throughout your entire writing.
1. Using the ellipses to show the thought trails off, when the sentence is incomplete:
End with a blank, then the three dots, the quote, a blank.
"I, I, I . . ." he stuttered.
A non-quote new sentence follows: Capitalize the new sentence.
"Still she's reckless, and that temper of hers . . ." Not to mention the prickly pride.
A new paragraph follows:
"I don't know what to say, Aramis. They're your best friends, not my best friends. I've no right to tell them. But maybe . . ."
2. Using the ellipses within quotes when the sentence is complete:
A new sentence, within the same quote follows. Note there is a period before the three dots.
"He has my father's signet ring, and Papa never let that out of his possession. . . . They murdered my father in Belgium."
The quote sentence is complete and is followed by a new non-quote sentence:
"And Uncle Porthos even took me on his horse. . . ." Suddenly, the boy stopped as if realizing he had a crowd.
3. Quote starts the sentence; the "he said" is in the middle, and then the quote continues:
Don't capitalize the continued sentence.
"My father's out of the country," she began in a measured tone, "and a lone woman could hardly welcome a group of strange men to her home."
4. Quote starts the sentence, ends with a comma and quote and blank and the "he said.":
Do not capitalize the word after the closing quote unless it is a proper name or the word "I."
"He will see you now," the servant said, bowing as Athos thanked him.
Quote ends with a question mark and is followed by the "he said:"
Don't capitalize the "he said" part.
"Do we have an agreement?" the unofficial leader of the group asked.
5. Quote starts in the middle of the sentence:
Put a comma after the leading "he said." Have one blank, then the quotation mark, then the first word of the quote capitalized.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was just a possible explanation. I know it's not a very good one."
6. Use the em dash to show a pause in the quote that is all one sentence:
Use no spaces before or after the dash.
"You know what I really wish? I really wish you could find it in your heart to trust me--to not always play the gentleman. However, it'd be more than enough if you just decided to be your real self."
Use the em dash to show one sentence trails off and then a new sentence begins:
Capitalize the new sentence. Use one space after the closing quote.
"Yes, but--" She silenced him with a kiss.
"I think so, but--On second thought, it's not true," he said.
Kat Jaske (C)2006 All rights reserved
The reviewer from ForeWord Reviews.com in her five-star review of For Honor by Kat Jaske, stated that Jaske was highly skilled in character development. Kat Jaske is an English and French teacher in Las Vegas, where her high school selected her first novel, For Honor, as the featured book for the 2006 reading incentive program. Jaske's second book in the series, Gambit For Love of a Queen, and the third swashbuckling, adventure novel, Righting Time, also feature the musketeers, sword fighting, and the lady musketeer and spy, Laurel. See the author web site http://www.forhonor.com for more information.
Don't let dialogue and punctuation marks outsmart you in creative fiction writing.
Dialogue between characters is one great way to engage in character development. Usage of quotes can become very complicated in your characters' dialogue, but you don't have to struggle with how to use quotes along with commas, periods, capitalization, the em dash, the ellipses, and other marks. Use the templates below for models on how to use quotation marks, and you will be a whiz at this in no time.
Your word processing program will probably use smart quotes. The quote marks curl toward the words. You may set your word processor to use straight quotes if you prefer. Be sure you are consistent and always use one or the other throughout your entire writing.
1. Using the ellipses to show the thought trails off, when the sentence is incomplete:
End with a blank, then the three dots, the quote, a blank.
"I, I, I . . ." he stuttered.
A non-quote new sentence follows: Capitalize the new sentence.
"Still she's reckless, and that temper of hers . . ." Not to mention the prickly pride.
A new paragraph follows:
"I don't know what to say, Aramis. They're your best friends, not my best friends. I've no right to tell them. But maybe . . ."
2. Using the ellipses within quotes when the sentence is complete:
A new sentence, within the same quote follows. Note there is a period before the three dots.
"He has my father's signet ring, and Papa never let that out of his possession. . . . They murdered my father in Belgium."
The quote sentence is complete and is followed by a new non-quote sentence:
"And Uncle Porthos even took me on his horse. . . ." Suddenly, the boy stopped as if realizing he had a crowd.
3. Quote starts the sentence; the "he said" is in the middle, and then the quote continues:
Don't capitalize the continued sentence.
"My father's out of the country," she began in a measured tone, "and a lone woman could hardly welcome a group of strange men to her home."
4. Quote starts the sentence, ends with a comma and quote and blank and the "he said.":
Do not capitalize the word after the closing quote unless it is a proper name or the word "I."
"He will see you now," the servant said, bowing as Athos thanked him.
Quote ends with a question mark and is followed by the "he said:"
Don't capitalize the "he said" part.
"Do we have an agreement?" the unofficial leader of the group asked.
5. Quote starts in the middle of the sentence:
Put a comma after the leading "he said." Have one blank, then the quotation mark, then the first word of the quote capitalized.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was just a possible explanation. I know it's not a very good one."
6. Use the em dash to show a pause in the quote that is all one sentence:
Use no spaces before or after the dash.
"You know what I really wish? I really wish you could find it in your heart to trust me--to not always play the gentleman. However, it'd be more than enough if you just decided to be your real self."
Use the em dash to show one sentence trails off and then a new sentence begins:
Capitalize the new sentence. Use one space after the closing quote.
"Yes, but--" She silenced him with a kiss.
"I think so, but--On second thought, it's not true," he said.
Kat Jaske (C)2006 All rights reserved
The reviewer from ForeWord Reviews.com in her five-star review of For Honor by Kat Jaske, stated that Jaske was highly skilled in character development. Kat Jaske is an English and French teacher in Las Vegas, where her high school selected her first novel, For Honor, as the featured book for the 2006 reading incentive program. Jaske's second book in the series, Gambit For Love of a Queen, and the third swashbuckling, adventure novel, Righting Time, also feature the musketeers, sword fighting, and the lady musketeer and spy, Laurel. See the author web site http://www.forhonor.com for more information.
Title Capitalization In The English Language
by Carsten Cumbrowski -
Titles of blog posts and web pages are very important. It important to make the title appealing and interesting at the same time, because it is usually the first thing people notice when people see your post or web page in the search results of search engines, feed readers (blogs) and news aggregations.
Interesting about titles in the English language is also the fact that they follow different capitalization rules for the words used in the title compared to the capitalization rules of regular content.
A simplified but wrong rule is to capitalize every single word in the title. It does look awkward in most cases, independent of the fact that it is just wrong to do it that way.
Using gut feeling is one way a lot of people do it, but following the specific rules that state which word needs to be capitalized and which word does not is probably a better way of doing it.
Most people probably heart about these rules and had them as subject at one point in time at school. The people who had it in school can consider this information a "refresher", especially if it has been a while since you learned it.
The Rules
In titles of songs or albums and band names, blog posts or articles, the standard rule in the English language is to capitalize words that:
1. Are the first or the last word in the title
2. Are not conjunctions ("and", "but", "or", "nor"), adpositions ("to", "over"), articles ("an", "a", "the"), or the "to" in infinitives.
Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions which work together to coordinate two items. English examples include for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so, both ... and, either ... or, neither ... nor, and not (only) ... but (... also).
Subordinating conjunctions, also called subordinators, are conjunctions that introduce a dependent clause; English examples include after, although, if, unless, and because. Another way for remembering is the mnemonic "BISAWAWE": "because", "if", "so that", "after", "when", "although", "while", and "even though".
Adposition
An adposition is an element that combines syntactically with a phrase and indicates how that phrase should be interpreted in the surrounding context. "Adposition" is a general term that includes the more specific labels preposition, postposition, and circumposition, which indicate the position of the adposition with respect to its complement phrase. Adpositions are among the most frequently occurring words in languages that have them. Examples: of, to, in, for, on, with, as, by, at, from
Articles
The words: the, a and an
Infinitives
The infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to. Therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives.
Conclusion
There are always border line cases so I would not worry about it too much, but it helps with the decision if or if not a word in the title should be capitalized if your guts took time off right at the time when you are finalizing a great post or article for your blog or website.
Carsten Cumbrowski is an author of articles about numerous different subjects, but writes primarily about internet marketing. He is also a blogger who writes for ReveNews.com and SearchEngineJournal.com. More Articles by Carsten Cumbrowski can be found at his website Cumbrowski.com.
Titles of blog posts and web pages are very important. It important to make the title appealing and interesting at the same time, because it is usually the first thing people notice when people see your post or web page in the search results of search engines, feed readers (blogs) and news aggregations.
Interesting about titles in the English language is also the fact that they follow different capitalization rules for the words used in the title compared to the capitalization rules of regular content.
A simplified but wrong rule is to capitalize every single word in the title. It does look awkward in most cases, independent of the fact that it is just wrong to do it that way.
Using gut feeling is one way a lot of people do it, but following the specific rules that state which word needs to be capitalized and which word does not is probably a better way of doing it.
Most people probably heart about these rules and had them as subject at one point in time at school. The people who had it in school can consider this information a "refresher", especially if it has been a while since you learned it.
The Rules
In titles of songs or albums and band names, blog posts or articles, the standard rule in the English language is to capitalize words that:
1. Are the first or the last word in the title
2. Are not conjunctions ("and", "but", "or", "nor"), adpositions ("to", "over"), articles ("an", "a", "the"), or the "to" in infinitives.
Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions which work together to coordinate two items. English examples include for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so, both ... and, either ... or, neither ... nor, and not (only) ... but (... also).
Subordinating conjunctions, also called subordinators, are conjunctions that introduce a dependent clause; English examples include after, although, if, unless, and because. Another way for remembering is the mnemonic "BISAWAWE": "because", "if", "so that", "after", "when", "although", "while", and "even though".
Adposition
An adposition is an element that combines syntactically with a phrase and indicates how that phrase should be interpreted in the surrounding context. "Adposition" is a general term that includes the more specific labels preposition, postposition, and circumposition, which indicate the position of the adposition with respect to its complement phrase. Adpositions are among the most frequently occurring words in languages that have them. Examples: of, to, in, for, on, with, as, by, at, from
Articles
The words: the, a and an
Infinitives
The infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to. Therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives.
Conclusion
There are always border line cases so I would not worry about it too much, but it helps with the decision if or if not a word in the title should be capitalized if your guts took time off right at the time when you are finalizing a great post or article for your blog or website.
Carsten Cumbrowski is an author of articles about numerous different subjects, but writes primarily about internet marketing. He is also a blogger who writes for ReveNews.com and SearchEngineJournal.com. More Articles by Carsten Cumbrowski can be found at his website Cumbrowski.com.
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