|
|
Bette Frick
The Text Doctor LLC | |
|
| Join the Doctor's
Mailing List
|  |
| Please forward to a friend or colleague | | |
| Free grammar and punctuation training in 2012 |
Watch this monthly newsletter for these future lessons: - Parallelism
- Another perspective on punctuating vertical lists
- Misplaced phrases
- Redundant phrases
|
| Quote of the Month |
We should not write so that it is possible for the reader to understand us, but so that it is impossible for him to misunderstand us.
Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus), rhetorician (c. 35-100 A.D.)
|
| Yes, I have my own editor | |
Special thanks to my faithful editor, Liz Willis, who improves my newsletter every month.
|
|
Quiz on the placement of punctuation in vertical lists
|
How would you punctuate and capitalize this list? (Assume that each item in the list is bulleted.)
Here's how you can protect against disasters when planning your presentation:
carry extra cables and an extra battery pack for your laptop
label your laptop with your tech support number and your account number
carry duct tape to secure cables and cords to avoid tripping
Take the quiz.
|
|
|
| The Text Doctor's Diagnosis
March 2012
| | |
Greetings!
I was so busy editing that I forgot to remind you about National Grammar Day, earlier this month. If that wasn't bad enough, I forgot all about National Words Matter week.
(I wonder if multiple grammar events in March represent grammar geeks' desire to compete with March Madness?)
At least help me celebrate the sixth anniversary of this newsletter, sent monthly (more or less) to 772 readers. Feel free to read past issues in the archive, and thank you for your continued readership.
|
| Look at me! I'm an LLC, or how italics cost me $25 |
My attorney made me do it; he said I had to become an LLC (limited liability company) and told me I could do it online myself.
But here's what happened: The very first field in the online application asked for my entity name. Easy! "The Text Doctor." Somehow I missed the fine print in italics that told me to put LLC after my entity name. In spite of my omission, the state gave me the LLC anyway.
But then my bank caught the mistake and refused to accept my LLC unless I went back and amended my original filing. Darned if that didn't cost me another $25!
It turns out that italics can create readability issues for anyone. You can see the problem with italics in a delightful interactive course about typography from the National Learning Network.
I've always taught learners to avoid using italics in extended text. Now I'm living proof that italics, especially small and onscreen, are less readable than regular (roman) text.
|
| This month's punctuation lesson: Punctuating vertical lists | | |
The term vertical list refers to list items (bulleted or numbered) that appear vertically on a page. (I was recently chided by a student who claimed that the term vertical list was English-teacher jargon. Perhaps, but I use the term to distinguish these lists from paragraph lists.)
Vertical lists make certain points stand out; they also allow the reader to skim, scan, or search the information presented.
Style guides differ on how to punctuate lists. I'll show you my style in this article. If you decide to use a different style (or if your chosen style guide or company style guide differs), be sure to be consistent throughout your document.
Suggested punctuation and capitalization for vertical lists
Use sentence-style capitalization for list items (capitalize the first letter of the first word only) to make the item stand out more. Of course, you will capitalize proper nouns in the list items.
Do not punctuate list items that are phrases (not sentences). For example: We need these enhancements to the website: - Search by category
- Sort by title/summary
- Delete by message
Punctuate list items with a period if the items are sentences. For example:
An explosion consists primarily of these phases: - The current builds up and the wire explodes.
- The current flows during the dwell period.
- Post-dwell conduction begins with re-ignition.
In case you are wondering how to punctuate lists that are a mixture of sentences and phrases, all I can say for now is: DON'T! Wait until next month, when I'll show you how to keep a list parallel. Ready for your quiz? |
Results from February's quiz on the placement of punctuation
| |
Thank you to the 52 readers who voted in the quiz on placing punctuation when it appears next to other punctuation. American style requires placing the period inside the closing quotation mark; here's the answer to last month's quiz question:
Ask the help desk for a "mainframe password reset."
A bare majority (63.4%) of you agrees with American style, with 36.5% placing the period outside the quotation mark (British style). One creative reader removed the quotation marks:
Ask the help desk for a mainframe password reset.
That certainly solved the problem of what to do with the period next to the quotation mark, but the solution may not work in other sentences.
|
Readers rant
| |
Last month I asked readers to send me their pet peeves. I will share your responses here and in future issues.
Stephanie says: "The phrase these ones drives me crazy! I think it sounds terrible, but I'm curious to know whether it's grammatically correct."
The phrase these ones may be grammatically correct, but it is redundant, Stephanie. Streamline the sentence by using only the word "these" to refer to a plural noun or pronoun: Instead of "Let's use these ones," write "Let's use these."
Thanks for that rant, Stephanie! I'll share more readers' rants every month along with my opinion (of course!), so be sure to post your rants in my survey.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One of my reasons for forming an LLC is that I am now licensing my training materials, including workbooks, PowerPoint slides, and e-learning courses, so that clients can use my materials to deliver their internal training. Visit my licensing page to learn more, or e-mail me. Sincerely,
Elizabeth (Bette) Frick, PhD, ELS
The Text Doctor LLC
|
|
|
