[2011] Do you proof your TUG posts before you submit?

[MichaelColey]

I open the Word doc and immediately change the size and type of the font.

If I wrote the article in Verdana, I change it to a serif font like Times, then bump it up two sizes.

I may even switch the text to blue, green, or red.

This tricks my brain into reading the piece as if for the first time. Inevitably, I notice a typo, factual error, overused word, or awkward sentence.

Excellent suggestion. I have a friend who is a professional editor who made a very similar suggestion on Facebook just last week.

Of course that doesn't help much when you're writing a TUG post here, though.

 

[Quiet Pine]

the grammatical error of saying, "It's the same for Rick and me"

That's correct! I cringe when people say, "for he and I." I spent years as a copywriter & copy editor, and still have a little editor in my head that catches mistakes--including my own.

Alan is spot on about Strunk and White. It was one of the first books required when I was a freshman at Cornell. I now have two copies. The paperback is only 1/4" thick. Thanks to S&W, I've been Omitting Needless Words for 50+ years.

Another recommendation is Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. It's about punctuation and it's entertaining--and that's not an oxymoron.

As for editing--I do read over what I've written and check grammar and spelling.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Me & Julio Down By The School Yard.

I cringe when people say, "for he and I."

The cringeworthy habit comes from well-meaning 3rd grade teachers (& parents of 3rd graders) who keep correcting kids when they say, "Can me & Jimmy go out & play?"

"No, no," they say. "May Jimmy & I go out & play."

The main part of the lesson that sticks through adulthood, apparently, is "and I."

However that may be, click here for Me & Julio Down By The School Yard.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

25¢

Alan is spot on about Strunk and White. It was one of the first books required when I was a freshman at Cornell. I now have two copies. The paperback is only 1/4" thick. Thanks to S&W, I've been Omitting Needless Words for 50+ years.

Not everybody who buys Strunk & White in college keeps it after graduation.

The slim paperbacks turn up now & then at yard sales, etc. When I see'm for a dime or a quarter or so, I snap'm up. That way I have a small supply on hand to give people who ask me about writing & editing, etc. The Little Book answers most questions along those lines lots better than anything I could tell people.

Meanwhile, not everybody associates S&W with revising & rewriting. Click here for what comes up when I type S&W in a Google Images search box.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[theo]

Tiring grey matter?

<snip> As for editing--I do read over what I've written and check grammar and spelling.

Not so easy with TUG posts, however. While I try to proof my posts here before actual submission, my (apparently addled) brain often does not even see the errors I've made. More often than not, I only "catch" them later, perhaps in the context of seeing a reply and edit at that time (if not already too late).

I'm just going to write it off to "aging synapses", I guess...

 

[AwayWeGo]

Writing Is Easy. Thinking Is Hard.

Click here for a brief comment on the subject, including a link to a slightly less brief article along the same lines.

The slightly longer short article contains a link to a higher education essay on the subject, plus a quotation from Less Than Words Can Say, by The Underground Grammarian.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Fern Modena]

I am a touch typist, so if I make a mistake I generally either feel it or see it right away and correct it. I don't miss them often as I type. BUT, I have two fingers on my left hand which have very little use/feeling now, and they often forget what they are doing. So once in a while that slips me up, though not too often. Besides, this is the internet, so take it with a grain of salt.

I have a pretty good grasp of grammar, word usage and punctuation. I was on the school newspaper for a few years, and also took business English. I know when to use me, and when to use I. I also know the difference between most homonyms (words which sound the same but mean different things). But again, I read others posts, and know what they mean, regardless of what they write. I'd hate to stifle creativity.

Fern

 

[geekette]

Thank you, Fern!

once upon a time I was a professional writer, but that is a very long time ago, and it was business writing, so not always straight grammar rules.

Since then, I write like I talk. Make up my own abbreviations. Sometimes make typos. I care far less about an internet typo than a resume one, so, it's rare for me to 'proofread' anything. My review would have more to do with clarity of meaning and diplomacy.

Bottom line for me is that I COULD adhere to whatever style guide but I see no reason to make chit chatting on the internet into formal communications. I have no reason to be grammatically correct and am not concerned what others may think of my writing style nor how it may affect their opinion of my education and intelligence.

Like Fern, I prefer to read for content vs correctness. If a person can get their point across, that's good enuf for me. I do not grade posters nor judge them by their writing style. It's not my place.

I'm sure most of my posts would have red pen all over them, maybe some make people cringe, but I ain't got no reason to care no more bout that there stuff.

 

[ace2000]

Why don't we all make TUG a better place and correct each other's spelling and grammar errors when we see them?

Most people really do want to have their mistakes corrected, that is until their mistakes are corrected...

 

[pjrose]

Thank you, Fern!
. . . I ain't got no reason to care no more bout that there stuff.

Yo Geekey, y'all headed down ter Slimey Slough enytime soon awhile yet?

 

[ampaholic]

Most people really do want to have their mistakes corrected, that is until their mistakes are corrected...

Humm, I suppose that's why some drivers "drive" with their horn and middle finger always on parade?

 

[AwayWeGo]

That's About The Size Of It.

I suppose that's why some drivers "drive" with their horn and middle finger always on parade?

-- hotlinked --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​