I'm finally back to a relatively normal schedule after attending a couple of weddings and taking a vacation.
I'm sure all of you have been anxiously waiting for a new post, so let's get right to it.
After an intense consultation with copy editors Stephanie Selensky and Mark Merck - actually, a couple of e-mails - we've decided to change the Forum style on day care and health care to conform with AP style. Day care and health care will be two words, no hyphen, in all cases. Until now, Forum style has been to hyphenate when they modify.
See if you can find the flubs in the following sentences. These sentences were in stories that came to the copy desk before the stories were edited.
1. It's a more than six-fold increase.
2. Fargo City Commissioners voted 5-0 Monday to approve two flood-control plans.
3. Work is underway on the interchange.
4. The project carries a price tag of $25 to $30 million.
5. Dirks served in the army from 1983 to 1987.
6. The media often gladly covers these staged events.
1. It's a more than sixfold increase.
AP Stylebook says: -fold No hyphen: twofold, fourfold
2. Fargo city commissioners voted 5-0 Monday to approve two flood-control plans.
3. Work is under way on the interchange.
4. The project carries a price tag of $25 million to $30 million.
5. Dirks served in the Army from 1983 to 1987.
AP Stylebook says: 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.
6. The media often gladly cover these staged events.
AP Stylebook says: In the sense of mass communication, such as magazines, newspapers, the news services, radio and television, the word is plural: The news media area resisiting attempts to limit their freedom.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
More juicy morsels
I have more juicy morsels for you to digest in this week's post. See if you can find the flub in each sentence.
1. Other events will include a barbeque dinner, beer garden, camping, treasure hunts and more.
2. Rob Beer is opening a south-side store.
3. Rob Beer was arrested for violating anti-trust laws.
4. Rob Beer will take care of the company's Web cast and on-line auctions.
5. Board Chair Rob Beer called the vote ridiculous.
6. Rob Beer says plans are underway for a labotomy.
7. The semi-finalists are Rob Beer, Neil Mulka, Lonna Whiting, Stephanie Selensky and Heidi
Tetzman.
8. Youth can create their own kites or bring their own to fly.
1. Other events will include a barbecue dinner, beer garden, camping, treasure hunts and more.
2. Rob Beer is opening a southside store.
3. Rob Beer was arrested for violating antitrust laws.
4. Rob Beer will take care of the company's webcast and online auctions.
5. Board Chairman Rob Beer called the vote ridiculous.
6. Rob Beer says plans are under way for a lobotomy.
7. The semifinalists are Rob Beer, Neil Mulka, Lonna Whiting, Stephanie Selensky and Heidi
Tetzman.
8. Youths can create their own kites or bring their own to fly.
1. Other events will include a barbeque dinner, beer garden, camping, treasure hunts and more.
2. Rob Beer is opening a south-side store.
3. Rob Beer was arrested for violating anti-trust laws.
4. Rob Beer will take care of the company's Web cast and on-line auctions.
5. Board Chair Rob Beer called the vote ridiculous.
6. Rob Beer says plans are underway for a labotomy.
7. The semi-finalists are Rob Beer, Neil Mulka, Lonna Whiting, Stephanie Selensky and Heidi
Tetzman.
8. Youth can create their own kites or bring their own to fly.
1. Other events will include a barbecue dinner, beer garden, camping, treasure hunts and more.
2. Rob Beer is opening a southside store.
3. Rob Beer was arrested for violating antitrust laws.
4. Rob Beer will take care of the company's webcast and online auctions.
5. Board Chairman Rob Beer called the vote ridiculous.
6. Rob Beer says plans are under way for a lobotomy.
7. The semifinalists are Rob Beer, Neil Mulka, Lonna Whiting, Stephanie Selensky and Heidi
Tetzman.
8. Youths can create their own kites or bring their own to fly.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Quizzically speaking
See if you can find the flubs in these sentences that recently appeared in stories edited by Forum copy editors:
1. The annual payroll will be between $2.5 and $3 million.
2. It cost between $3,000 to $5,000.
3. Monday's West Fargo school board meeting will probably have the atmospherics of an orderly divorce proceeding.
4. After graduating high school, Larson worked in low-paying jobs around Fargo-Moorhead.
5. His soft taps with a rawhide mallet reshape an injured brass saxophone.
6. "I think we got some really good applicants out of it," said Chair Chad Holland.
1. The annual payroll will be between $2.5 million and $3 million.
2. It cost between $3,000 and $5,000.
3. Monday's West Fargo School Board meeting will probably have the atmospherics of an orderly divorce proceeding.
4. After graduating from high school, Larson worked in low-paying jobs around Fargo-Moorhead.
5. His soft taps with a rawhide mallet reshape a damaged brass saxophone.
6. "I think we got some really good applicants out of it," said Chairman Chad Holland.
That's it for this week.
1. The annual payroll will be between $2.5 and $3 million.
2. It cost between $3,000 to $5,000.
3. Monday's West Fargo school board meeting will probably have the atmospherics of an orderly divorce proceeding.
4. After graduating high school, Larson worked in low-paying jobs around Fargo-Moorhead.
5. His soft taps with a rawhide mallet reshape an injured brass saxophone.
6. "I think we got some really good applicants out of it," said Chair Chad Holland.
1. The annual payroll will be between $2.5 million and $3 million.
2. It cost between $3,000 and $5,000.
3. Monday's West Fargo School Board meeting will probably have the atmospherics of an orderly divorce proceeding.
4. After graduating from high school, Larson worked in low-paying jobs around Fargo-Moorhead.
5. His soft taps with a rawhide mallet reshape a damaged brass saxophone.
6. "I think we got some really good applicants out of it," said Chairman Chad Holland.
That's it for this week.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Quiz time
Go ahead! See if you can find the flubs in each sentence.
1. Rob Beer developed a spreadsheet comparing various budget proposals.
2. The state of Minnesota currently faces a nearly $1 billion deficit.
3. Langseth owns a dairy farm in Glyndon, Minn.
4. Seventy to 89 percent felt they had an additional eight of the abilities.
5. Erdle's body was sent to the North Dakota Medical Examiner's Office in Bismarck for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
6. He was recently released from the state penitentiary in Bismarck.
7. That includes the pulpit and alter, which were created from trees.
1. Rob Beer developed a spreadsheet comparing budget proposals.
"Various" is unnecessary.
2. The state of Minnesota faces a nearly $1 billion deficit.
"Currently" is unnecessary.
3. Langseth owns a dairy farm in Glyndon.
"Minn." is unnecessary because the story is about Minnesota state Rep. Keith Langseth of Glyndon.
4. Seventy percent to 89 percent felt they had an additional eight of the abilities.
5. Erdle's body was sent to the North Dakota Medical Examiner's Office in Bismarck for an autopsy.
"... to determine the cause of death" is redundant because "that's what autopsies always do," says Forum copy desk honcho Stephanie Selensky. The definition of autopsy: An examination and dissection of a dead body to discover the cause of death, damage done by diease, etc.
6. He was recently released from the State Penitentiary in Bismarck.
Forum style is to capitalize State Penitentiary, State Bank, State Hospital and State Mill.
1. Rob Beer developed a spreadsheet comparing various budget proposals.
2. The state of Minnesota currently faces a nearly $1 billion deficit.
3. Langseth owns a dairy farm in Glyndon, Minn.
4. Seventy to 89 percent felt they had an additional eight of the abilities.
5. Erdle's body was sent to the North Dakota Medical Examiner's Office in Bismarck for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
6. He was recently released from the state penitentiary in Bismarck.
7. That includes the pulpit and alter, which were created from trees.
1. Rob Beer developed a spreadsheet comparing budget proposals.
"Various" is unnecessary.
2. The state of Minnesota faces a nearly $1 billion deficit.
"Currently" is unnecessary.
3. Langseth owns a dairy farm in Glyndon.
"Minn." is unnecessary because the story is about Minnesota state Rep. Keith Langseth of Glyndon.
4. Seventy percent to 89 percent felt they had an additional eight of the abilities.
5. Erdle's body was sent to the North Dakota Medical Examiner's Office in Bismarck for an autopsy.
"... to determine the cause of death" is redundant because "that's what autopsies always do," says Forum copy desk honcho Stephanie Selensky. The definition of autopsy: An examination and dissection of a dead body to discover the cause of death, damage done by diease, etc.
6. He was recently released from the State Penitentiary in Bismarck.
Forum style is to capitalize State Penitentiary, State Bank, State Hospital and State Mill.
7. That includes the pulpit and altar, which were created from trees.
Monday, May 5, 2008
More flubs
We have another quiz this week for your enjoyment. See if you can find the flubs.
1. "I never knew Rob Beer was such a know-it-all when it came to using a cell phone," said Johanna Hoff, Qwest media spokesperson.
2. A passerby witnessed the lightning strike.
3. The south side elementary campus will get gymnasium and kitchen improvements.
4. She discovered her three-wheel cycle was stolen from her yard at 1345 Fourth Ave. S.
5. Financial advisors often suggest rebalancing your 401k quarterly.
6. Only nine percent of the 186 respondents said the playing field is equal for men and women.
7. It would normally have been 70 or 72 percent.
1. "I never knew Rob Beer was such a know-it-all when it came to using a cell phone," said Johanna Hoff, Qwest media spokeswoman.
2. A passer-by witnessed the lightning strike.
3. The southside elementary campus will get gymnasium and kitchen improvements.
4. She discovered her three-wheel cycle was stolen from her yard at 1345 4th Ave. S.
5. Financial advisers often suggest rebalancing your 401k quarterly.
6. Only 9 percent of the 186 respondents said the playing field is equal for men and women.
7. It would normally have been 70 percent or 72 percent.
1. "I never knew Rob Beer was such a know-it-all when it came to using a cell phone," said Johanna Hoff, Qwest media spokesperson.
2. A passerby witnessed the lightning strike.
3. The south side elementary campus will get gymnasium and kitchen improvements.
4. She discovered her three-wheel cycle was stolen from her yard at 1345 Fourth Ave. S.
5. Financial advisors often suggest rebalancing your 401k quarterly.
6. Only nine percent of the 186 respondents said the playing field is equal for men and women.
7. It would normally have been 70 or 72 percent.
1. "I never knew Rob Beer was such a know-it-all when it came to using a cell phone," said Johanna Hoff, Qwest media spokeswoman.
2. A passer-by witnessed the lightning strike.
3. The southside elementary campus will get gymnasium and kitchen improvements.
4. She discovered her three-wheel cycle was stolen from her yard at 1345 4th Ave. S.
5. Financial advisers often suggest rebalancing your 401k quarterly.
6. Only 9 percent of the 186 respondents said the playing field is equal for men and women.
7. It would normally have been 70 percent or 72 percent.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Find the flubs
We'll be continuing with the quiz format this week.
See if you can find the flubs in these sentences. The way we think they should be written follows.
1. Please keep Jay and I posted on your progress.
2. The program serves nearly 14,000 students from 65 different countries.
3. Hannah Kampf is a salesperson for AEG Live.
4. They needed a place for the band to workout.
5. Outback is donating the food for the event.
6. Centers of Excellence is a state-wide initiative.
7. He has a reputation for being non-partisan.
1. Please keep Jay and me posted on your progress.
An easy way to remember. You wouldn't write, "Please keep I posted on your progress." You'd write, "Please keep me posted on your progress."
2. The program serves nearly 14,000 students from 65 countries.
Isn't it understood that the 65 countries are different? Different is unnecessary.
3. Hannah Kampf is a saleswoman for AEG Live.
AP style for saleswoman is the same as style for spokeswoman. Make it saleswoman or salesman, but not salesperson. Use a representative if you do not know the sex of the individual.
4. They needed a place for the band to work out.
5. Outback is donating the food.
The story was about a fundraiser at the Outback restaurant. If Outback is donating the food, it's understood that it's for the event. That means "for the event" is unnecessary.
6. Centers of Excellence is a statewide initiative.
AP Stylebook: -wide No hyphen. Some examples: citywide, nationwide, statewide, worldwide, continentwide, countrywide, industrywide.
7. He has a reputation for being nonpartisan.
AP Stylebook: non- The rules of prefixes apply, but in general no hyphen when forming a coompound 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.
See if you can find the flubs in these sentences. The way we think they should be written follows.
1. Please keep Jay and I posted on your progress.
2. The program serves nearly 14,000 students from 65 different countries.
3. Hannah Kampf is a salesperson for AEG Live.
4. They needed a place for the band to workout.
5. Outback is donating the food for the event.
6. Centers of Excellence is a state-wide initiative.
7. He has a reputation for being non-partisan.
1. Please keep Jay and me posted on your progress.
An easy way to remember. You wouldn't write, "Please keep I posted on your progress." You'd write, "Please keep me posted on your progress."
2. The program serves nearly 14,000 students from 65 countries.
Isn't it understood that the 65 countries are different? Different is unnecessary.
3. Hannah Kampf is a saleswoman for AEG Live.
AP style for saleswoman is the same as style for spokeswoman. Make it saleswoman or salesman, but not salesperson. Use a representative if you do not know the sex of the individual.
4. They needed a place for the band to work out.
5. Outback is donating the food.
The story was about a fundraiser at the Outback restaurant. If Outback is donating the food, it's understood that it's for the event. That means "for the event" is unnecessary.
6. Centers of Excellence is a statewide initiative.
AP Stylebook: -wide No hyphen. Some examples: citywide, nationwide, statewide, worldwide, continentwide, countrywide, industrywide.
7. He has a reputation for being nonpartisan.
AP Stylebook: non- The rules of prefixes apply, but in general no hyphen when forming a coompound 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.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Trying something new
Thank you to everyone who responded to the question I asked in last week's post.
One of the suggestions was posting a weekly quiz, so that's what I'm going to start this week. It won't be much different from what I have been doing, but anything to shake things up, right?
Here's how it works. I'll be offering a sentence based on stories Forum copy editors have read. You're "job" is to figure out how it can be improved. Besides the original sentence, I'll also show how to fix the problem.
So let's get started.
Here are the sentences that need to be fixed:
1. The North Dakota State Fire Marshall was unable to say what started the fire.
2. At a meeting frought with references to race.
3. She turned to the internet to help her overcome grief.
4. It was the last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead to remain open.
5. The company employed six full and part-time workers.
6. A resolution was approved authorizing street improvements on 8th Avenue from Highway 75 to 28th Street.
7. The council decided to purchase several right-of-ways.
Here's how the problems should be fixed:
1. The North Dakota State Fire Marshal was unable to say what started the fire.
Marshal as in fire marshal, field marshal, U.S. marshal and marshaling forces has one l. AP Stylebook: Marshal is the spelling for both the verb and the noun. Marshall is used in proper names: George C. Marshall, John Marshall, Marshall Islands.
2. At a meeting fraught with references to race.
Fraught is spelled with an a, and not an o.
3. She turned to the Internet to help her overcome grief.
Internet should be capitalized.
4. It was the last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead.
Because the story is about the Blimpie's in Moorhead closing and mentioned it was the last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead, it's redundant to write, "last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead to remain open."
5. The company employed six full- and part-time workers.
Full-time and part-time should both be hyphenated as modifiers.
6. A resolution was approved authorizing street improvements on Eighth Avenue from Highway 75 to 28th Street.
Spell out streets and avenues under 10 when they aren't part of an address.
7. The council decided to purchase several rights of way.
AP Stylebook: right of way, rights of way.
One of the suggestions was posting a weekly quiz, so that's what I'm going to start this week. It won't be much different from what I have been doing, but anything to shake things up, right?
Here's how it works. I'll be offering a sentence based on stories Forum copy editors have read. You're "job" is to figure out how it can be improved. Besides the original sentence, I'll also show how to fix the problem.
So let's get started.
Here are the sentences that need to be fixed:
1. The North Dakota State Fire Marshall was unable to say what started the fire.
2. At a meeting frought with references to race.
3. She turned to the internet to help her overcome grief.
4. It was the last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead to remain open.
5. The company employed six full and part-time workers.
6. A resolution was approved authorizing street improvements on 8th Avenue from Highway 75 to 28th Street.
7. The council decided to purchase several right-of-ways.
Here's how the problems should be fixed:
1. The North Dakota State Fire Marshal was unable to say what started the fire.
Marshal as in fire marshal, field marshal, U.S. marshal and marshaling forces has one l. AP Stylebook: Marshal is the spelling for both the verb and the noun. Marshall is used in proper names: George C. Marshall, John Marshall, Marshall Islands.
2. At a meeting fraught with references to race.
Fraught is spelled with an a, and not an o.
3. She turned to the Internet to help her overcome grief.
Internet should be capitalized.
4. It was the last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead.
Because the story is about the Blimpie's in Moorhead closing and mentioned it was the last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead, it's redundant to write, "last Blimpie's in Fargo-Moorhead to remain open."
5. The company employed six full- and part-time workers.
Full-time and part-time should both be hyphenated as modifiers.
6. A resolution was approved authorizing street improvements on Eighth Avenue from Highway 75 to 28th Street.
Spell out streets and avenues under 10 when they aren't part of an address.
7. The council decided to purchase several rights of way.
AP Stylebook: right of way, rights of way.
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