Editing tune-up - Appendixes

The little red writing book - Brandon Royal 2007

Editing tune-up
Appendixes

Rarely does our educational system, or writing skills courses in the particular, include a segment on editing. Editing is to writing what an oil change and tune-up, washing, waxing, vacuuming, and chamoising are to automobile care. Not only does it influence how we feel about the final product, but it directly impacts how others perceive our work. Editing is its own skill set. It’s an integral writing component that demands a separate, dedicated review.

A vs. AN

Use “a” before a word in which the first letter of that word is a consonant or has the sound of a consonant. Note that some vowels have the sound of a consonant when pronounced as individual letters.

Example: a fortune (the letter “f” is a consonant)

Example: a B.S. degree (the letter “B” is a consonant)

Example: a u-turn (the letter “u” is pronounced “yoo”)

Use “an” before a word in which the first letter of that word is a vowel or has the sound of a vowel. Note that some consonants sound like vowels when pronounced as individual letters.

Example: an ox (the letter “o” is a vowel)

Example: an M.S. degree (the letter “M” is pronounced “em”)

Example: an honor (the letter “h” is silent so “an” is matched with the letter “o” — a vowel)

ABBREVIATIONS (LATIN)

The abbreviations “e.g.” (meaning “for example”) and “i.e.” (meaning “that is”) are constructed with two periods, one after each of the two letters, with a comma always following the second period. The forms “eg.” or “ie.” are not correct.

Below are three ways to present information using “for example.”

Correct: A number of visually vibrant colors (e.g., orange, pink, and purple) are not colors that would normally be used to paint the walls of your home.

Correct: A number of visually vibrant colors, e.g., orange, pink, and purple, are not colors that would normally be used to paint the walls of your home.

Correct: A number of visually vibrant colors, for example, orange, pink, and purple, are not colors that would normally be used to paint the walls of your home.

Below are three ways to present information using “that is.”

Correct: The world’s two most populous continents (i.e., Asia and Africa) account for 75 percent of the world’s population.

Correct: The world’s two most populous continents, i.e., Asia and Africa, account for 75 percent of the world’s population.

Correct: The world’s two most populous continents, that is, Asia and Africa, account for 75 percent of the world’s population.

The Latin abbreviations as listed in the following chart should be used with caution. Their use depends on whether the intended audience is likely to be familiar with their meaning. This compilation is not so much an endorsement for their use as it is a convenient list in case readers find them in various works.

Latin Abbreviations and Their Meaning

Exhibit A

Note: The abbreviation “etc.” stands for “et cetera” and translates as “and so forth.” Never write “and etc.” because “and” is redundant and otherwise reads “and and so forth.” See Appendix IV — American English vs. British English for additional coverage of abbreviations.

APOSTROPHES FOR OMITTED LETTERS

In printed documents, when apostrophes are used to represent omitted letters, they are always “nines” not “sixes.” This means they curl backwards not forwards.

Example: rock ’n’ roll (not rock ’n’ roll)

Example: jivin’ (not jivin’)

Example: ’tis (not ’tis)

BREVITY

As a general rule, less is more. Consider options that express the same ideas in fewer words without changing the meaning of a sentence.

Less effective: A movie director’s skill, training, and technical ability cannot make up for a poor script.

More effective: A movie director’s skill cannot make up for a poor script.

Often you can cut “of” or “of the.”

Original: employees of the company

Better: company employees

Don’t use “due to the fact that” or “owing to the fact that.” Use “because” or “since.”

Original: Owing to the fact that questionnaires are incomplete, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions.

Better: Because questionnaires are incomplete, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions.

Original: We want to hire the second candidate due to the fact that he is humorous and has many good ideas.

Better: We want to hire the second candidate since he is humorous and has many good ideas.

BULLETS vs. HYPHENS OR ASTERISKS

Bullets are most commonly used with résumés and flyers, but they are also welcomed companions in nonfiction, especially when used with lists or tables. It is not considered good practice in formal writing to use hyphens (-) or asterisks (*) in place of bullets. Standard protocol requires use of round bullets, square bullets, or perhaps webdings, wingdings, or dingbats — these “dings” represent ornamental bullets or tiny graphical characters.

Examples, enlarged for viewing purposes, include:

Big CircleSmall CircleHollow CircleBig SquareSmall SquareBig DiamondSmall DiamondHollow DiamondRight ArrowDown ArrowShaded SquareShaded ArrowBlack and White Arrow

BULLETED LISTS

Displaying information vertically is often done with bulleted lists or numbered lists. The following provides a succinct summary on how to punctuate bulleted (or numbered) information. There are five basic scenarios. The topic chosen is one dear to us all — books!

Scenario 1A

Four words that describe why books are cool:

• durability

• accessibility

• portability

• affordability

Treatment: Here, a complete sentence introduces a bulleted list and the original sentence is appropriately followed by a colon. No periods follow any line of bulleted information because none is a complete sentence. Capitalization of these words is optional; however, for the sake of consistency, each of these words should begin with a capital letter or each word should be placed in lowercase (no capital letters).

Scenario 1B

Four reasons why printed books are great:

1. Durability

2. Accessibility

3. Portability

4. Affordability

Treatment: Numbered lists are punctuated identically to bulleted lists. The one exception is that the first word that follows each number must be capitalized. Note that numbered lists are not recommended unless there is a reason for their use, including the need to impose order or hierarchy.

Scenario 2

Why will printed books never become obsolete?

• They're durable.

• They're accessible.

• They're portable.

• They're affordable.

Treatment: The complete sentence that introduces the list above is appropriately followed, in context, by a question mark, not a colon. Since each line of bulleted information is a complete sentence, each begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.

Scenario 3

People love printed books because they're

• durable

• accessible

• portable

• affordable

Treatment: No colon is used after the word “they’re” because it does not introduce a complete sentence. No periods follow any of the bulleted information because none is a complete sentence. Capitalization of the first word following each bullet is optional.

Scenario 4

Printed book are here to stay because

• They're highly durable.

• They're easily accessible.

• They're wonderfully portable.

• They're eminently affordable.

Treatment: The bulleted information above is not introduced by a complete sentence and no colon is used after the word “because.” The beginning word of each bullet point is capitalized and a period ends each complete sentence.

Scenario 5

People love printed books because they're

• highly durable;

• easily accessible;

• wonderfully portable;

• eminently affordable.

Treatment: Because the bulleted information reads as a single sentence, it is possible to use a semicolon to separate bulleted information and use a period on the last line. However, if bulleted information is short, as in the examples above, it may be better to enumerate the list in run-in text rather than displaying information vertically. For example:

People love printed books because they’re (1) highly durable, (2) easily accessible, (3) wonderfully portable, and (4) eminently affordable.

A note on using periods: Periods are often used with bulleted information, as is the case with résumés or slide presentations. Inconsistency arises when periods are used arbitrarily, appearing at the end of one bulleted point but not another. Again, the “hard” rule is to put a period at the end of any bulleted information that forms a complete sentence and omit any period at the end of any bulleted information that does not form a complete sentence. However, an arguably more practical rule of thumb with respect to résumés or slide presentations would be to omit a period after any short bulleted information (say six or fewer words) and include periods after any bulleted information that extends more than a line in length (regardless of whether or not it forms a complete sentence). The rationale for erring on the side of including periods is that a period helps create closure for the eye, thereby enhancing readability.

COLON

A colon (a punctuation mark that consists of two vertical dots) is commonly used to introduce a list or series of items and is often used after, or immediately after, the words “follow(s),” “following,” “include(s),” or “including.” A colon is not used after the words namely, for example, for instance, or such as. When introducing a list or series of items, a colon is also not used after forms of the verb “to be” (i.e., is, are, am, was, were, have been, had been, being) or after “short” prepositions (e.g., at, by, in, of, on, to, up, for, off, out, with).

Incorrect: We sampled several popular cheeses, namely: Gruyere, Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, and Stilton.

(Remove the colon placed after the word “namely.”)

Incorrect: My favorite video game publishers are: Nintendo, Activision, and Ubisoft.

(Remove the colon placed after the verb “are.”)

Incorrect: Graphic designers should be proficient at: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Adobe Acrobat.

(Remove the colon placed after the preposition “at.”)

However, if what follows a colon is not a list or series of items, the writer is free to use the colon after any word that he or she deems fit.

Correct: The point is: People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

(A colon follows the verb “is.”)

Correct Warren Buffett went on: “Only four things really count when making an investment — a business you understand, favorable long-term economics, able and trustworthy management, and a sensible price tag. That’s investment. Everything else is speculation.”

(A colon follows the preposition “on.”)

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

Compound adjectives (also called compound modifiers) occur when two (or more) words act as a unit to modify a single noun. As illustrated in the following chart, use a hyphen to join the compound adjective when it comes before the noun it modifies, but not when it comes after the noun.

Compound Adjectives

Exhibit B

Note that in situations where compound adjectives are formed using multiple words and/or words that are already hyphenated, it is common practice to use an en dash (—) to separate them. See entry under Dashes.

Example: Los Angeles—Buenos Aires

Example: quasi-public—quasi-private health care bill

Sometimes compound adjectives consist of a string of “manufactured” words.

Example: a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants entrepreneur

Example: a tell-it-like-it-is kind of spokesperson

There are four potentially confusing situations where compound adjectives are either not formed or not hyphenated. The first occurs where a noun is being modified by an adjective and an adjective is being modified by an adverb.

Example: very big poster

In the previous example, “big” functions as an adjective describing the noun “poster,” and “very” functions as an adverb describing the adjective “big.”

The second situation occurs when adjectives describe a compound noun: that is, two words that function as a single noun.

Example: cold roast beef

Here the word “cold” functions as an adjective to describe the compound noun “roast beef.” We would not write “cold-roast beef” because “cold-roast” does not jointly modify “beef.”

Example: little used book

Here the word “little” functions as an adjective to describe the compound noun “used book.” The meaning here is that the book is not new and also little. However, it would also be correct to write “little-used book” if our intended meaning was that the book was not often referred to.

A third situation occurs when a compound noun describes another noun.

Example: high school student

Example: cost accounting issues

“High school” is considered a compound noun that describes “student.” Compound nouns are not hyphenated. “Cost accounting,” which describes “issues,” is also a non-hyphenated compound noun.

A fourth situation occurs when compounds are formed with adverbs ending in “ly.” Adverbs ending in “ly” are not hyphenated, even when functioning as compound modifiers.

Example: a highly motivated employee

Example: a newly published magazine

Example: a publicly traded company

Example: a frequently made error

Note: “Family-owned” and “family-run” are hyphenated (when functioning as compound adjectives) because “family,” although ending in “ly,” is not an adverb.

DASHES

Note first the difference between a hyphen and a dash. A dash is longer than a hyphen (-) and should not be used when what is needed is a dash. There are two types of dashes. The first is called “em dash” (“ — ”), which is the longer of the two dashes. The second is called “en dash” (“—”), which is the shorter of the two dashes. The en dash (—) is most popular in everyday writing, while the em dash (—) is the standard convention for formal published documents. Incidentally, the en dash is so-called because it is the width of the capital letter “N”; the em dash is so-called because it is the width of the capital letter “M.” These two types of dashes can be found in Microsoft Word® under the pull-down menu Insert, Symbols, Special Characters.

Three common conventions arise relating to the use of the dash: (1) an en dash (“ — ”) with spaces on both sides of the dash, (2) an em dash (“ — ”) with no spaces on either side of the dash, and (3) an em dash (“ — ”) with spaces on both sides of the dash. The first two conventions are the most popular for written (non-published) documents. The third option is popular on websites.

Example: To search for wealth or wisdom — that’s a classic dilemma.

(Spaces on both sides of the en dash.)

Example: To search for wealth or wisdom—that’s a classic dilemma.

(No space on either side of the em dash.)

Example: To search for wealth or wisdom — that’s a classic dilemma.

(Space on both sides of the em dash.)

HYPHEN

Use a hyphen with compound numbers between twenty-one through ninety-nine and with fractions.

Example: Sixty-five students constitute a majority.

Example: A two-thirds vote is necessary to pass.

In general, use a hyphen to separate component parts of a word in order to avoid confusion with other words especially in the case of a double vowel.

Example: Our goal must be to re-establish dialogue, then to re-evaluate our mission.

Example: Samantha’s hobby business is turning shell-like ornaments into jewelry.

Use a hyphen to separate a series of words having a common base that is not repeated.

Example: small- to medium-sized companies

(This of course is the shortened version of “small-sized to medium-sized companies.”)

Example: short-, mid-, and long-term goals

(This is the shortened version of “short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals.”)

In general, use hyphens with the prefixes ex- and self- and in forming compound words with vice- and elect-.

Example: Our current vice-chancellor, an ex-commander, is a self-made man.

Note: “Vice president” (American English) is not hyphenated, but “vice-presidential duties” is.

NOMINALIZATIONS

A guiding rule of style is that we should prefer verbs (and adjectives) to nouns. Verbs are considered more powerful than nouns. In other words, a general rule in grammar is that we shouldn’t change verbs (or adjectives) into nouns. The technical name for this no-no is “nominalization”; we shouldn’t nominalize.

Avoid changing verbs into nouns:

More effective: reduce costs

Less effective: reduction of costs

More effective: develop a five-year plan

Less effective: development of a five-year plan

More effective: rely on the data

Less effective: reliability of the data

In the above three examples, the more effective versions represent verbs, not nouns. So “reduction of costs” is best written “reduce costs,” “development of a five-year plan” is best written “develop a five-year plan,” and “reliability of the data” is best written “rely on the data.”

Avoid changing adjectives into nouns:

More effective: precise instruments

Less effective: precision of the instruments

More effective: creative individuals

Less effective: creativity of individuals

More effective: reasonable working hours

Less effective: reasonableness of the working hours

In the latter three examples above, the more effective versions represent adjectives, not nouns. So “precision of instruments” is best written “precise instruments,” “creativity of individuals” is best written “creative individuals,” and “reasonableness of the working hours” is best written “reasonable working hours.”

NUMBERS

The numbers one through one hundred, as well as any number beginning a sentence, are spelled out. Numbers above 100 are written as numerals (e.g., 101).

Original: Our professor has lived in 3 countries and speaks 4 languages.

Correct Our professor has lived in three countries and speaks four languages.

PAGE NUMBERING

A time-honored convention in publishing is that odd-numbered pages are “right-hand” pages and all pages are counted, whether or not a page number is printed on a page. In the case of a nonfiction book, this means that page 1 is the title page (no page number is printed), page 2 is the copyright page (no page is number printed), page 3 is the table of contents (the page number may or may not be printed), page 5 is the introduction (the page number is printed), and so forth.

In the case of a business report, page 1 is the title page (no page number is printed), page 3 is often the executive summary (the page number may or may not be printed), page 5 is the table of contents (the page number may or may not be printed), page 7 is the introduction (the page number is printed), and so forth.

Obviously the exact types of information included in a book, report, or academic research paper will vary, but three page-formatting conventions will always be adhered to. First, odd-numbered pages will always be right-hand or front pages and even-numbered pages will always be left-hand or backside pages. Second, all pages will count toward the total number of pages. Third, all new sections begin as odd-numbered, right-hand pages (with few exceptions). This means that if one section ends on an odd-numbered page, then the next page will be “skipped” so that the next section can begin on an odd-numbered page. The page that was skipped (an even numbered, left-hand page) remains blank, and although no page number is printed on it, it tallies in the page count as would an actual, fully printed page. Following these three conventions helps ensure that long documents look professionally laid out.

PARAGRAPH STYLES

Two basic formats may be followed when laying out a written document: “block-paragraph” format and “indented-paragraph” format. The block-paragraph format typifies the layout of the modern business letter. Each paragraph is followed by a single line space (one blank line). Paragraphs are blocked, meaning that every line aligns with the left-hand margin with no indentation. Often, paragraphs are fully justified, which means there are no “ragged edges” on the right-hand side of any paragraph.

The indented-paragraph format is the layout followed in a novel. The first line of each paragraph is indented and there is no line space used between paragraphs within a given chapter. Note, however, that the first line of opening paragraphs, those that begin a new chapter, are not indented (they are left justified).

Whereas the indented-paragraph format (with indented paragraphs) usually has the effect of making writing look more personable — more like a story — the block-paragraph format (typically with fully justified paragraphs) lends a more formal appearance.

PASSIVE VOICE vs. ACTIVE VOICE

As a general rule of style, write in the active voice, not in the passive voice (all things being equal).

Less effective: Sally was loved by Harry.

More effective: Harry loved Sally.

Less effective: In pre-modern times, medical surgery was often performed by inexperienced and ill-equipped practitioners.

More effective: In pre-modern times, inexperienced and ill-equipped practitioners often performed medical surgery.

In a normal subject-verb-object sentence, the doer of the action appears at the front of the sentence while the receiver of the action appears at the back of the sentence. Passive sentences are less direct because they reverse the normal subject-verb-object sentence order; the receiver of the action becomes the subject of the sentence and the doer of the action becomes the object of the sentence. Passive sentences may also fail to mention the doer of the action.

Less effective: Errors were found in the report.

More effective: The report contained errors.

or

The reviewer found errors in the report.

Less effective: Red Cross volunteers should be generously praised for their efforts.

More effective: Citizens should generously praise Red Cross volunteers for their efforts.

or

We should generously praise Red Cross volunteers for their efforts.

How can we recognize a passive sentence? Here’s a quick list of six words that signal a passive sentence: be, by, was, were, been, and being. For the record, “by” is a preposition, not a verb form, but it frequently appears in sentences that are passive.

PLURAL NOUNS

Watch for situations involving the personal pronouns “they” and “our” that require that they be matched with plural nouns, not singular nouns. This occurs when a noun is not identical for all members of a group. “Our dream” and “our dreams” pose different meanings.

Incorrect: Candidates should bring their résumé to their job interview.

Correct: Candidates should bring their résumés to their job interviews.

Incorrect: When it comes to computers, some people don’t have a technical bone in their body.

Correct: When it comes to computers, some people don’t have a technical bone in their bodies.

POSSESSIVES

Confusion can arise regarding how to create possessives with respect to nouns. There are four basic situations. These involve (1) creating possessives with respect to single nouns not ending in “s”; (2) creating possessives with respect to single nouns ending in “s”; (3) creating possessives for plural nouns not ending in “s”; and (4) creating possessives for plurals ending in “s.”

For single nouns not ending in the letter “s,” we simply add an apostrophe and the letter “s” (i.e., ’s).

Example: Jeff’s bike

Example: The child’s baseball glove

For single nouns ending in the letter “s,” we have a choice of either adding an apostrophe and the letter “s” (i.e., ’s) or simply an apostrophe.

Example: Professor Russ’s lecture

Example: Professor Russ’ lecture

For plural nouns not ending in the letter “s,” we simply add an apostrophe and the letter “s” (i.e., ’s).

Example: men’s shoes

Example: children’s department

For plural nouns ending in the letter “s,” we simply add an apostrophe. Note that most plural nouns do end in the letter “s.”

Example: ladies’ hats

Example: The boys’ baseball bats

In this latter example, “boys’ baseball bats” indicates that a number of boys have a number of (different) baseball bats. If we were to write “boys’ baseball bat,” it would indicate that a number of boys all own or share the same baseball bat. If we wrote “the boy’s baseball bat,” only one boy would own the baseball bat. In writing “the boy’s baseball bats,” we state that one boy possesses several baseball bats.

PRINT OUT TO EDIT

Do not perform final edits on screen. Print documents out and edit from a hard copy.

QUALIFIERS

Whenever possible, clean out qualifiers, including: a bit, a little, fairly, highly, just, kind of, most, mostly, pretty, quite, rather, really, slightly, so, still, somewhat, sort of, very, and truly.

Original: Our salespeople are just not authorized to give discounts.

Better: Our salespeople are not authorized to give discounts.

Original: That’s quite a big improvement.

Better: That’s a big improvement.

Original: Working in Reykjavik was a most unique experience.

Better: Working in Reykjavik was a unique experience.

Note: Unique means “one of a kind.” Something cannot be somewhat unique, rather unique, quite unique, very unique, or most unique, but it can be rare, odd, or unusual.

QUOTATIONS

The following four patterns are most commonly encountered when dealing with quotations.

Example: My grandmother said, “An old picture is like a precious coin.”

Example: “An old picture is like a precious coin,” my grandmother said.

(A comma is generally used to separate the quote from regular text.)

Example: “An old picture,” my grandmother said, “is like a precious coin.”

(Above is what is known as an interrupted or split quote. The lower case “i” in the word “is” indicates that the quote is still continuing.)

Example: “They’re like precious coins,” my grandmother said. “Cherish all your old pictures.”

(Above are two complete but separate quotes. Note the word “cherish” is capitalized because it begins a new quote.)

With respect to American English, there is a punctuation “tall tale” that suggests using double quotation marks when quoting an entire sentence, but using single quotation marks for individual words and phrases. There is, however, no authoritative support for this practice. The only possible use for single quotation marks in American English is for a quote within a quote. For more on the use of double or single quotation marks, see Appendix IV — American English vs. British English.

QUOTATION MARKS

There are two different styles of quotation marks: straight quotes and curly quotes. Straight quotes are also known as computer quotes or typewriter quotes. Curly quotes are commonly referred to as smart quotes or typographer’s quotes.

For the purpose of written (printed) documents, we want to make sure we always use curly quotes and avoid straight quotes:

Correct: I didn’t say, “I’m not happy.” (curly quotes)

Incorrect: I didn't say, "I'm not happy." (straight quotes)

We want to avoid commingling straight quotes with curly quotes in any given document. Remember, we use “sixes” (“ or ’) and “nines” (’ or ”) for printed documents, but not straight quotes. Straight quotes find their way into a word processing document as text is copied and pasted from e-mail attachments. A good tip for getting rid of straight quotes in any word document is to use the Find/Replace feature, which is included with any word processing application.

REDUNDANCIES

Delete redundancies. Examples: Instead of writing “continued on,” write “continued.” Rather than writing “join together,” write “join.” Instead of writing “serious disaster,” write “disaster.” Rather than writing “tall skyscrapers,” write “skyscrapers.” Instead of writing “past history,” write “history.”

SPACE: BREAK UP LONG PARAGRAPHS

Avoid long paragraphs in succession. Break them up whenever possible. This applies to e-mails as well. Often it is best to begin an e-mail with a one- or two-sentence opener before expounding on details in subsequent paragraphs.

SPACE: NEVER TWO SPACES AFTER PERIODS

Avoid placing two spaces after a period (ending a sentence). Use one space. Computers automatically “build in” proper spacing. Leaving two spaces is a carryover from the days of the typewriter.

SPACING WITHIN TABLES

The most common editing error when presenting tables involves adequate spacing. A practitioner’s rule is to leave, within any table cell, approximately one line space above the beginning line of type and below the ending line of type. In other words, don’t let the lines of the table suffocate the type. Another important thing, if using bullet points within tables, is to make sure hanging indents line up. That is, text that flows from line to another should line up below its respective bullet point.

STANDARD vs. NONSTANDARD WORDS AND PHRASES

Because language changes over time, complete agreement never exists as to what grammatical words and phrases are considered standard. From one grammar handbook to another and from one dictionary to another, slight variations arise. These differences are due in large part to the differences between colloquial and formal written language. For example, in colloquial written English, the words “all right” and “alright” as well as “different from” and “different than” are used interchangeably. Lexicographers continue to have difficulty deciding whether to prescribe language or describe it. Should they prescribe and dictate what are the correct forms of language, or should they describe and record language as it is used by a majority of people? The chart that follows provides common misusages to watch for.

Standard vs. Nonstandard Usages

Exhibit C

SENTENCE OPENERS

Can we begin sentences with the conjunctions “and” or “but”? There is a grammar folk tale that says we shouldn’t begin sentences with either of these two words, but, in fact, it is both common and accepted practice in standard written English to do so. Most writers and journalists have embraced the additional variety gained from opening sentences in this manner. It is also acceptable to begin sentences with “because.” In the same way that the words “as” and “since” are often used to begin sentences, the word “because,” when likewise functioning as a subordinating conjunction, may also be used to begin sentences.

SLASHES

A slash (also known as a virgule) is commonly used to separate alternatives. No space should be used on either side of the slash; the slash remains “sandwiched between letters.”

Incorrect: At a minimum, a résumé or CV should contain a person’s job responsibilities and / or job accomplishments.

Correct: At a minimum, a résumé or CV should contain a person’s job responsibilities and/or job accomplishments.

TITLES AND CAPITALIZATION

With respect to book, magazines, songs, etc., confusion often exists as to when titles are italicized and when they are placed in quotation marks. Note that underlining is no longer used to identify titles (gone are the days of the typewriter). The general rule is that longer works or full works are placed in italics. Partial works or short works are placed in quotation marks, and are not italicized. This means that the titles of books, magazines, newspapers, movies, TV programs, radio programs, plays, and names of albums are italicized. However, the titles of articles, essays, short stories, poems, chapters in a book, episodes in a TV series, and songs are placed in quotation marks.

Three rules are always observed with regard to the capitalization of titles: Always capitalize the first and last words of a title and never use a period after the last word. Beyond this, the rules for capitalization of titles are somewhat arbitrary. The broad rule is to capitalize all "important" words and not to capitalize small, "unimportant" words. "Important" words include all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Exceptions may include the verbs “is,” “am,” and “are” and the word “as,” regardless of what part of speech it represents. “Unimportant” words — prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections — may or may not be capitalized. Two-letter prepositions (e.g., at, by, in, of, on, to, up) are seldom capitalized and the articles (i.e., a, an, the) are virtually never capitalized (unless, of course, they’re the first word of a title). The coordinating conjunctions "and," "but," "or," "nor," and "for" are seldom capitalized; the coordinating conjunctions "yet" and "so" are almost always capitalized.

Note: Some confusion may arise with regard to the words “capitalization” and “full caps.” Capitalization denotes placing only the first letter of a word in caps (e.g., Great). Full caps refers to placing every letter of a word in caps. (e.g., GREAT).

WEAK OPENERS

Limit the frequent use of sentences which begin with it is, there is, there are, and there were. These constructions create weak openers. A sound practice is to never begin the first sentence of a paragraph (i.e., the opening sentence) with this type of construction.

Original: It is obvious that dogs make better pets than hamsters.

Better: Dogs make better pets than hamsters.

Original: There is an excellent chance that a better diet will make you feel better.

Better: A better diet will make you feel better.

Appendix III - Punctuation Highlights

The difference between the right

word and almost the right word is

the difference between lightning

and a lightning bug.


—Mark Twain