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Let’s visit the terms editing, proofreading, and formatting. Focus on editing first, checking the content for cohesiveness, clarity, paragraph structure, and overall structure. When you’re satisfied with the content, focus on proofreading, looking for consistency in formatting, margins, text styles, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Finally, focus on formatting, ensuring consistency in the document’s appearance. Within …

In verb conjugation, a regular verb follows a simple, predictable pattern, such as print (present tense), printed (simple past), and printed (past particle): I print, you printed, and they have printed. An irregular verb is one that forms its simple past tense and past participle with a non-standard pattern. Ring is one such verb. Ring conjugates as …

When you write about or to a governmental agency, do you wonder when to capitalize? Here are some simple rules to help you. Rule: When you use the complete names of departments, capitalize. You may also capitalize a shortened form of a department. Do not capitalize when these words are used as adjectives or generically. …

Dictionaries don’t all agree on the definitions of these words and neither do style manuals. So we will attempt to shed more light on the distinctions. Abbreviations According to Dictionary.com, an abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as Dr. for Doctor, U.S. for United …

Prior to computers, people were taught to underline titles of books and plays and to surround chapters, articles, songs, and other shorter works in quotation marks. However, here is what The Chicago Manual of Style says: When quoted in text or listed in a bibliography, titles of books, journals, plays, and other freestanding works are …

Sometimes I receive a humorous e-mail that is an excellent example of the importance of good grammar and communication. Then I have to pass it along to you. I promise to write something more serious next week but hope you smile when you read these. Apparently, these are real notes written by parents. (Spellings have …

[Note that our discussion of this topic also has been updated as it applies to use in 2024.] Sic is a Latin term meaning "thus." It is used to indicate that something incorrectly written is intentionally being left as it was in the original. Sic is usually italicized and always surrounded by brackets to indicate …

Do you wonder when to add -ly to a word? For example, should you say, “He speaks slow” or “He speaks slowly.” Let’s find out. Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They may come before the word they describe: “That is a cute puppy.” Adjectives may also follow the word they describe: “That puppy is cute.” …

Ellipsis marks (three dots) are used to show the omission of a word, phrase, line, or paragraph(s), from a quoted passage. The plural of this word is ellipses. The Three-dot Method There are many methods for using ellipses. The three-dot method is the simplest and is appropriate for most general works and many scholarly ones. …

Proper use of certain English adjective and adverb forms of a word can be elusive because of what they describe. One such pair is bad and badly. The word bad is an adjective that modifies nouns and pronouns: She was in a bad accident. The word badly is an adverb that conveys the manner or degree of …