Thursday, August 21, 2014
Bad Grammar is Criminal
Weird Al Word Crimes
You gotta love Weird Al.
Especially if you're the kind of person who cringes at the grammar in Facebook posts, Tweets, and sometimes, newspaper headlines. Shame on you, journalist who can't use an apostrophe! Weird Al calls this a crime. Check out all of Al's offenses here:
/http://time.com/2988041/let-weird-al-teach-you-about-grammar-in-his-new-blurred-lines-parody/
Mr. Yankovich has done all of us nitpicky English language users a favor and saved us from getting blocked by our Facebook friends. It's just not socially acceptable to call someone out over typing your instead of you're, no matter how much it irritates you. Save the grammar critique for your kid's fifth grade Language Arts homework.
My favorite line: "Don't use numbers 4 wordz, unless you're Prince."
Wonder if Prince and Weird Al are Facebook friends?
Friday, July 11, 2014
Put It In Perspective
"There is no reality, only perception."
This from Dr. Phil. And whether you worship him or completely dislike him, he has a point.
You could say it in a different way, in the manner of Deepak Chopra: "When you shift your perspective, your reality shifts."
This is why proofreading is so hard. Revising your own writing is no easy task- unless you change your perspective.
Print out the pages of your writing and try this unusual tip: turn the pages around and read them upside down. This is a great way to catch errors in spacing, fonts, and punctuation. You may even catch misspelled words from upside down, and here is why...
Because our brains are so good at filling in gaps, you should be able to read this:
Our brains are on top of things and if we are fast readers, we are in big trouble. It's tough to catch your own mistakes. So turn the page upside down and your brains says, "Whoa! Gotta slow down."
As for revising your work for sentence structure and what I call rhythm- how the language sounds out loud- better turn the page rightside-up again. Here is where teaming up with a writing buddy or a critique group can help. You will get feedback from many perspectives.
"We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are." Talmud.
This from Dr. Phil. And whether you worship him or completely dislike him, he has a point.
You could say it in a different way, in the manner of Deepak Chopra: "When you shift your perspective, your reality shifts."
This is why proofreading is so hard. Revising your own writing is no easy task- unless you change your perspective.
Print out the pages of your writing and try this unusual tip: turn the pages around and read them upside down. This is a great way to catch errors in spacing, fonts, and punctuation. You may even catch misspelled words from upside down, and here is why...
Because our brains are so good at filling in gaps, you should be able to read this:
The olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pcale.
Our brains are on top of things and if we are fast readers, we are in big trouble. It's tough to catch your own mistakes. So turn the page upside down and your brains says, "Whoa! Gotta slow down."
As for revising your work for sentence structure and what I call rhythm- how the language sounds out loud- better turn the page rightside-up again. Here is where teaming up with a writing buddy or a critique group can help. You will get feedback from many perspectives.
"We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are." Talmud.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Dashes for Drama
Choices. We have so many choices when punctuating sentences. It's easy to get confused when writing style varies so much: emails, texts, literary fiction, and newspapers all appear to have different rules. Most of us stick in a comma because it's safe, but we find ourselves dropping commas everywhere. Like every five words.
Check out what happens when we get adventurous and use a colon or even a dash- that most dramatic fellow.
The three sentences have the same meaning, but the feel of them is different. The reader waits longer when the writer uses a dash. That creates suspense, and suspense makes reading more interesting.
According to The Lively Art of Writing, "Punctuation is not really a matter of style, it is a matter of necessity." (Go ahead and make fun of the name of the book. What the heck is lively about grammar and punctuation?)
The author doesn't offer much opinion on colons and dashes. She does suggest that any punctuation indicates a pause- the same pause you would use if you were speaking.
Strunk and White define the rules precisely in The Elements of Style:
"A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses." The author suggests using a dash when more common punctuation seems inadequate.
As side note, both of these books are worth a look and are inexpensive. The Elements of Style is an easier read and the authors are hilariously superior about all things grammatically incorrect.
So be bold and try the dash- another tool to liven up your writing.
Check out what happens when we get adventurous and use a colon or even a dash- that most dramatic fellow.
Sydney refused to give up three vices. They were chocolate, wine, and mud-wrestling.
Sydney refused to give up her vices: chocolate, wine, and mud-wrestling.
Sydney refused to give up her vices- chocolate, wine, and mud-wrestling.
The three sentences have the same meaning, but the feel of them is different. The reader waits longer when the writer uses a dash. That creates suspense, and suspense makes reading more interesting.
According to The Lively Art of Writing, "Punctuation is not really a matter of style, it is a matter of necessity." (Go ahead and make fun of the name of the book. What the heck is lively about grammar and punctuation?)
The author doesn't offer much opinion on colons and dashes. She does suggest that any punctuation indicates a pause- the same pause you would use if you were speaking.
Strunk and White define the rules precisely in The Elements of Style:
"A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses." The author suggests using a dash when more common punctuation seems inadequate.
As side note, both of these books are worth a look and are inexpensive. The Elements of Style is an easier read and the authors are hilariously superior about all things grammatically incorrect.
So be bold and try the dash- another tool to liven up your writing.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Sign sign, Everywhere a sign...
Check your work. Check your work.
How many times have you heard that from a teacher, a parent, Uncle Joe?
Here is an example of what happens when you forget to proofread:
The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority sent a college prep book to every junior in the state with Kentucky misspelled as Kentucy on the bind of the book.
This happens all the time, often inducing laughter. Loud laughter. Here are some of the more humorous examples:
We all make mistakes, get in a hurry, and let our words become too familiar to our own eyes. Spell check is a great technology perk and anyone can use it to scan over a short email. But careful! Spell check wouldn't catch this error:
Reading is important for everyone, especially children. As a culture of literacy develops in our lives, we sift out words that don't belong or sound wrong. So read something. Magazines and newspapers and even comic books count. Your spelling and word usage will improve, that's a promise.
If you cringe at the grammar in text messages, give your sloppy texter a break. Autocorrect has a mind of its own.
How many times have you heard that from a teacher, a parent, Uncle Joe?
Here is an example of what happens when you forget to proofread:
The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority sent a college prep book to every junior in the state with Kentucky misspelled as Kentucy on the bind of the book.
This happens all the time, often inducing laughter. Loud laughter. Here are some of the more humorous examples:
We all make mistakes, get in a hurry, and let our words become too familiar to our own eyes. Spell check is a great technology perk and anyone can use it to scan over a short email. But careful! Spell check wouldn't catch this error:
In regards to currant issues, we only read The New York Times.
Reading is important for everyone, especially children. As a culture of literacy develops in our lives, we sift out words that don't belong or sound wrong. So read something. Magazines and newspapers and even comic books count. Your spelling and word usage will improve, that's a promise.
If you cringe at the grammar in text messages, give your sloppy texter a break. Autocorrect has a mind of its own.
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