Thursday, June 4, 2009

Where can I get a dead T-shirt?

We have some repeat flubs and some new flubs in this batch of sentences. See if you can find that flubs that were caught before they made it into The Forum.

1. The School Board is confident they've got their message out.

2. The floodplain would go up three feet at the Wilkin County border.

3. Activities will include face painting, T-shirt dying and a free picnic.

4. Cass County has begun spraying for noxious weeds in road right-of-ways.

5. The school board and school district are considering hiring a Texas-based company.

1. The School Board is confident it got its message out.
School Board is singular. It's one entity. The sentence would be correct if it stated: School Board members are confident they got their message out.

2. The flood plain would go up 3 feet at the Wilkin County border.

3. Activities will include face painting, tie-dyeing and a free picnic.

4. Cass County has begun spraying for noxious weeds in road rights of way.
AP Stylebook states: right of way, rights of way

5. The School Board and School District are considering hiring a Texas-based company.
The following rules also apply to School Boards and School Districts. AP Stylebook states:
governmental bodies Follow these guidelines:
FULL NAME: Capitalize the full proper names of governmental agencies, departments, and offices: The U.S. Department of State, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Boston City Council, the Chicago Fire Department.
WITHOUT JURISDICTION: Retain capitalization in referring to a specific body if the dateline or context makes the name of the nation, state, county, city, etc. unnecessary: The Department of State (in a story from Washington), the Department of Human Resources or the state Department of Human Resources (in a story from Georgia), the City Council (in a story from Boston), the Fire Department or the city Fire Department (in a story from Chicago).
Lowercase further condensations of the name: the department, the council, etc.
FLIP-FLOPPED NAMES: Retain capital names for the name of a governmental body if its formal name is flopped to delete the word of: the State Department, the Human Resources Department.
city council Capitalize when part of a proper name: the Boston City Council.
Retain capitalization if the reference is to a specific council but the context does not require the city name:
BOSTON (AP) – The City Council ...
Lowercase in other uses: the council, the Boston and New York city councils, a city council.
Use the proper name if the body is not known as a city council: the Miami City Commission, the City Commission, the commission; the Louisville Board of Aldermen, the Board of Aldermen, the board.
Use city council in a generic sense for plural references: the Boston, Louisville and Miami city councils.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Another batch of flubs

Have fun with these five sentences. See if you can find the flubs that were caught before they made it into The Forum.

1. Moorhead police responded to 1015 36th Street South at 10:13 p.m. Thursday night.

2. Everyone who attended the press conference wore buttons promoting the referendum.

3. Commission Chair Jerry Waller said Overbo was up front about his arrest.

4. The Jensens bought out Prairie Public in the late 1980's.

5. Precipitation totals were at the top five percent of historical averages.

1. Moorhead police responded to 1015 36th St. S. at 10:13 p.m. Thursday.
AP Stylebook states: Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues.
All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) always are spelled out. Capitalize them when part of a formal name without a number; lowercase when used alone or with two or more names.
Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address: 222 E. 42nd St., 562 W. 43rd St., 600 K St. NW. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East 42nd Street, West 43rd Street, K Street Northwest. No periods in quadrant abbreviations – NW, SE – unless customary locally.
It's redundant to write 10:13 p.m. Thursday night.

2. Everyone who attended the news conference wore buttons promoting the referendum.
AP Stylebook states: press conference News conference is preferred.

3. Commission Chairman Jerry Waller said Overbo was upfront about his arrest.

4. The Jensens bought out Prairie Public in the late 1980s.
AP Stylebook states: years Use figures, without commas: 1975. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with a comma: Feb. 14, 1987, is the target date. Use an s without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries: the 1890s, the 1800s.

5. Precipitation totals were at the top 5 percent of historical averages.
AP Stylebook states: percent One word. It takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an of construction: The teacher said 60 percent was a failing grade. He said 50 percent of the membership was there.
It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows an of construction: He said 50 percent of the members were there.
Use figures for percent and percentages: 1 percent, 2.5 percent (use decimals, not fractions), 10 percent, 4 percentage points.
For a range, 12 to 15 percent, or between 12 and 15 percent.
For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero: The cost of living rose 0.6 percent.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

If you've got the time, I've got the flubs

See if you can find the flubs in these five sentences that were caught before they appeared in The Forum.

1. The committee is seeking public comment at 7 p.m. tonight.

2. He suggested the city consider moving the Second Ward polling site.

3. Five people work at the company full-time.

4. City Commissioners voted 5-0 Monday to waive the fees.

5. Back yards are lakes; front yards are ponds.

1. The committee is seeking public comment at 7 tonight.
AP Stylebook states: times Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
Avoid such redundancies as 10 a.m. this morning, 10 p.m. tonight or 10 p.m. Monday night. Use 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. Monday, etc., as required by the norms in time element.

2. He suggested the city consider moving the 2nd Ward polling site.
AP Stylebook states: political divisions Use Arabic figures and capitalize the accompanying word when used with the figures: 1st Ward, 10th Ward, 3rd Precinct, 22nd Precinct, the ward, the precinct.

3. Five people work at the company full time.
AP Stylebook states:full time, full-time Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: He works full time. She has a full-time job.

4. City commissioners voted 5-0 Monday to waive the fees.

5. Back yards are lakes; front yards are ponds.
AP Stylebook states: backyard One word in all uses.
The same goes for frontyard.

Friday, May 15, 2009

A stunning development

Two posts in one week? You're lucky!

These five sentences have flubs that were caught before they made it into The Forum. See if you can find them.

1. The West Fargo School Board held their first open forum Wednesday night.

2. Falcon Research Group is a non-profit organization in Bow., Wash.

3. Lambeth is a long-time birder and retired University of North Dakota professor.

4. Alien broke ground on its 50,000 square-foot plant in October, 2005.

5. Paul Young's basement is ruined, victimized by six feet of water that poured in when Red River flood waters inundated Oakport Township.

1. The West Fargo School Board held its first open forum Wednesday night.

2. Falcon Research Group is a nonprofit organization in Bow., Wash.
AP Stylebook states: non- The rules of prefixes apply, but in general no hyphen when forming a compound that does not have special meaning and can be understood if not is used before the base word. Use a hyphen, however, before proper nouns or in awkward combinations, such as non-nuclear.

3. Lambeth is a longtime birder and retired University of North Dakota professor.
AP Stylebook states: long time, longtime They have known each other a long time. They are longtime partners.

4. Alien broke ground on its 50,000-square-foot plant in October 2005.

5. Paul Young's basement is ruined, victimized by 6 feet of water that poured in when Red River floodwaters inundated Oakport Township.
AP Stylebook states: dimensions Use figures and spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., to indicate depth, height, length and width. Hyphenate adjectival forms before nouns.
EXAMPLES: He is 5 feet 6 inches tall, the 5-foot-6-inch man, the 5-foot man, the basketball team signed a 7-footer.
The car is 17 feet long, 6 feet wide and 5 feet high. The rug is 9 feet by 12 feet, the 9-by-12 rug.
The storm left 5 inches of snow.
The building has 6,000 square feet of floor space.

Floodwaters is one word in the AP Stylebook.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Finding flubs is a full-time job

We're back with another batch of sentences with flubs that were caught before they made it into The Forum. See if you can find them.

1. The 4.3-acre parcel is at the corner of 7th Avenue and 15th Street North.

2. FEMA [first reference] will cover 75 percent of flood damages.

3. The popular 401k retirement plan is becoming less attractive for many American workers.

4. "We get emails quite often with suggestions."

5. Five people work at the business full-time.

1. The 4.3-acre parcel is at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 15th Street North.

2. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover 75 percent of flood damage.
AP Stylebook states: Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA is acceptable on second reference.
AP Stylebook states: damage, damages Damage is destruction: Authorities said damage from the storm would total more than $1 billion.
Damages are awarded by a court as compensation for injury, loss, etc.: The woman received $25,000 in damages.

3. The popular 401(k) retirement plan is becoming less attractive for many American workers.

4. "We get e-mails quite often with suggestions."
AP Stylebook states: e-mail Acceptable in all references for electronic mail. Many e-mail or Internet addresses use symbols such as the at symbol (@), or the tilde (~) that cannot be transmitted correctly by some computers. When needed, spell them out and provide an explanatory editor's note.
(Also e-book, e-commerce, e-business.)

5. Five people work at the business full time.
AP Stylebook states: full time, full-time Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: He works full time. She has a full-time job.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

On to West Nile virus

After a bit of an absence, I hope to start posting more regularly now that the flood season has ended.

See if you can find the flubs that were caught before they made it into The Forum:

1. The new tax credit is an incredible deal for first-time home buyers.

2. R.D. Offutt Company took first place out of 15 teams.

3. It started out small and has grown into a week-long event.

4. The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined prosecutors failed to prove Bala had committed any crimes.

5. The species of mosquito responsible for West Nile Virus favors warmer weather.

1. The new tax credit is an incredible deal for first-time homebuyers.

2. R.D. Offutt Co. took first place out of 15 teams.
AP Stylebook states: company, companies Use Co. or Cos. when a business uses either word at the end of its proper name: Ford Motor Co., American Broadcasting Cos.
If company or companies appears alone in second reference, spell the word out.
The forms for possessives: Ford Motor Co.'s profits, American Broadcasting Cos.' profits.

3. It started out small and has grown into a weeklong event.
AP Stylebook states: daylong, weeklong, yearlong, hourlong, monthlong, and on and on.

4. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined prosecutors failed to prove Bala had committed any crimes.
AP Stylebook states: U.S. Court of Appeals On first reference to the full name, use U.S. Court of Appeals or a full name: 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals without a circuit number is a misnomer and should not be used.

5. The species of mosquito responsible for West Nile virus favors warmer weather.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Let's get jump-started by midafternoon

I know if you're one of the Forum reporters reading this blog, you're anxious to find out if you made the spotlight. See if you can find the flubs in these sentences that were caught before they made it into The Forum.

1. He served in the army more than 40 years ago.

2. A spokesperson for the committee said experienced musicians were involved in the show.

3. About 20 vehicles were jumpstarted by mid-afternoon.

4. Pacific Sound installs home theatres and stereos.

5. "This is really a multi-purpose facility."

1. He served in the Army more than 40 years ago.
AP Stylebook states: army Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces: the U.S. Army, the Army, Army regulations. Do not use the abbreviation USA. Use lowercase for the forces of other nations: the French army. This approach has been adopted for consistency, because many foreign nations do not use army as the proper name.

2. A spokesman/spokeswoman for the committee said experienced musicians were involved in the show.
AP Stylebook states: spokesman, spokeswoman But not spokesperson. Use a representative if you do not know the sex of the individual.

3. About 20 vehicles were jump-started by midafternoon.
AP Stylebook states: mid- No hyphen unless a capitalized word follows: mid-America, midsemester, mid-Atlantic, midterm. But use a hyphen when mid- precedes a figure: mid-30s.

4. Pacific Sound installs home theaters and stereos.
AP Stylebook states: theater Use this spelling unless the proper name is Theatre: Shubert Theatre.

5. "This is really a multipurpose facility."
AP Stylebook states: multi- The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples: multicolored, multimillion, multilateral, multimillionaire.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

From breast-feeding to halfway houses

Fine the flubs in these sentences that were caught before they made their way into The Forum.

1. She won the award for her tireless efforts promoting breastfeeding.

2. The new headquarters will use 17,000-square-feet in an existing building.

3. Engineering fees are estimated to run about $423,000.

4. He has spent 6-plus months in a half-way house.

5. She was surprised nobody had launched a coop locally.

1. She won the award for her tireless efforts promoting breast-feeding.
AP Stylebook states: breast-feed, breast-feeding, breast-fed

2. The new headquarters will use 17,000 square feet in an existing building.

3. Engineering fees are estimated to be $423,000.
"Estimated" and "to run about" are redundant.

4. He has spent six-plus months in a halfway house.

5. She was surprised nobody had launched a co-op locally.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Millions and billions...and other flubs

See if you can find the flubs in these five sentences that were found by copy editors before they appeared in the Forum.

1. Americans should watch for disagreements between Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration.

2. The intent is to honor the contributions of long-time local leaders in shaping and serving the Chamber, community and region.

3. Another multi-million dollar sports facility appears to be on the horizon for southwest Fargo.

4. A Fargo financial advisor faces new charges after the execution of a search warrant at his business.

5. The United States has the potential to create more than four million jobs in coming decades.

1. Americans should watch for disagreements between congressional Democrats and the Obama administration.

2. The intent is to honor the contributions of longtime local leaders in shaping and serving the chamber, community and region.

3. Another multimillion-dollar sports facility appears to be on the horizon for southwest Fargo.

4. A Fargo financial adviser faces new charges after the execution of a search warrant at his business.
AP Stylebook says: adviser Not advisor.

5. The United States has the potential to create more than 4 million jobs in coming decades.

AP Stylebook says: millions, billions Use figures with million or billion in all except casual uses: I’d like to make a billion dollars. But: The nation has 1 million citizens. I need $7 billion.
Do not go beyond two decimal places. 7.51 million people, $256 billion, 7,542,500 people, $2,565,750,000. Decimals are preferred where practical: 1.5 million. Not: 1 1/2 million.
Do not mix millions and billions in the same figure: 2.6 billion. Not: 2 billion 600 million.
Do not drop the word million or billion in the first figure of a range: He is worth from $2 million to $4 million. Not: $2 to $4 million, unless you really mean $2.
Note that a hyphen is not used to join the figures and the word million or billion, even in this type of phrase: The president submitted a $300 billion budget.

Monday, February 9, 2009

From home schooling to geothermal

Here are five more examples of flubs that were caught by copy editors before they made it into The Forum. See if you can find them.

1. North Dakota home schoolers deal with some of the tougher regulations.

2. Jury selection is underway.

3. The Republican's goal is to become the U.S. Senator from North Dakota.

4. She was a communications supervisor for the Minnesota State Patrol in Rochester, Minn.

5. Geo-thermal is a huge issue now.

1. North Dakota home-schoolers deal with some of the tougher regulations.
AP style is: home schooling, home-schooled, home-schooler.

2. Jury selection is under way.

3. The Republican's goal is to become the U.S. senator from North Dakota.

4. She was a communications supervisor for the Minnesota State Patrol in Rochester.

5. Geothermal is a huge issue now.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Five sentences for you to dissect

Writing tight is always a good thing, so I'm going to list five instead of 10 examples of style flubs with each post. Don't worry about me doing this because I'm running out of examples. I've got plenty. It means it won't take you as long to go through the examples and I'll be posting more frequently.

See if you can find the flubs in these sentences that were caught before they got into The Forum.

1. The former taxi driver was convicted of strangling two young women to death in 1968.

2. Kraft and his wife Sari are partners in the business with Sari's parents.

3. The human brain is not fully developed until people are between the ages of 18 to 23.

4. She is the new owner of the business at 702 University Drive North.

5. Voters are asked for their Zip Code, and the tool takes them to a list where they'll find their address.

1. The former taxi driver was convicted of strangling two young women in 1968.
The definition of strangle in Webster's New World Dictionary: to kill by squeezing the throat as with the hands, a noose, etc., so as to shut off the breath. It would be redundant to write "strangle to death."

2. Kraft and his wife, Sari, are partners in the business with Sari's parents.
Setting the wife's name off with commas lets reader know for sure that Sari is Kraft's only wife.

3. The human brain is not fully developed until people are between the ages of 18 and 23.

4. She is the new owner of the business at 702 N. University Drive.

5. Voters are asked for their ZIP code, and the tool takes them to a list where they'll find their address.
AP Stylebook says: ZIP code Use all-caps ZIP for Zoning Improvement Plan, but always lowercase the word code. Run the five digits together without a comma, and do not put a comma between the state name and the ZIP code: New York, NY 10020.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

See if you can find the style mistakes

Find the flubs in these sentences that were corrected by copy editors before they made their way into The Forum.

1. The 14-year-old wants to help other New Americans in the area.

2. The Chamber's board of directors made the decision late last week.

3. The student to computer ratio in Weset Fargo is 3:1.

4. When Palin takes the stage tonight, it will be a welcome site for Dueker.

5. Crews will fill the piles with six to nine feet of geofoam.

6. He argued the case should be dismissed because his client's Constitutional rights were violated.

7. More than 400 sixth- through twelfth-graders took their violins, violas and cellos.

8. She abruptly closed her daycare in north Fargo last month.

9. The transmission line will be between 9.5 to 11.5 miles long.

10. It will extend from the wind park to the existing Otter Tail Power Company transmission line southeast of Glyndon, Minn.

1. The 14-year-old wants to help other new Americans in the area.

2. The chamber's board of directors made the decision late last week.

3. The student to computer ratio in Weset Fargo is 3-to-1.
AP Stylebook says: ratios Use figures and hyphens: the ratio was 2-to-1, a ratio of 2-to-1, a 2-1 ratio. As illustrated, the word to should be omitted when the numbers precede the word ratio.

4. When Palin takes the stage tonight, it will be a welcome sight for Dueker.

5. Crews will fill the piles with 6 to 9 feet of geofoam.

6. He argued the case should be dismissed because his client's constitutional rights were violated.
AP Stylebook says: Lowercase constitutional in all uses.

7. More than 400 sixth- through 12th-graders took their violins, violas and cellos.

8. She abruptly closed her day care in north Fargo last month.

9. The transmission line will be between 9.5 and 11.5 milies long.

10. It will extend from the wind park to the existing Otter Tail Power Co. transmission line southeast of Glyndon, Minn.