Editor vs. the copyeditor/subeditor

1. Editor vs. the copyeditor/subeditor

2. House Style A publishing house’s preference in terms of capitalisation, hyphenation, italicisation and variant spelling. • Deputy President or deputy president? • Internet or internet? • Aids or AIDS or A.I.D.S.? • Recognise or recognize?

3. Americanisms • Color vs. colour • Favor vs. favour • Neighbor vs. neighbour • Behavior vs. behaviour • Defense vs. defence • License vs. licence • Fulfill vs. fulfil

4. This is an ugly way of writing a heading

5. This is a better way of writing a heading

6. You don’t want text with an in-ordinate and unnecessary num-ber of line breaks, as it con-fuses and frustrates the read-er’s eye.

7. You don’t want text with an inordinate and unnecessary number of line breaks, as it confuses and frustrates the reader’s eye.

8. It is preferable to have text that doesn’t redirect the reader’s eye, especially at the bottom of a right-

9. hand page.

10. Lady X refuses all offers to go on the stage or into films. Though her sister, Lady Y, is an actress. Appearing in ‘People of our Class’.

11. He just wouldn’t let the damn thing go and held on to it like a dog with a bone. Give it to me. Give It To Me. Give. It. To. Me.

12. In this essay I will discuss the function of the full stop, the full stop has been especially created to help readers understand what I am trying to say, it is confusing if I don’t end my sentences when they naturally beg to be ended and as much as the thought of ending a thought terrifies me it is a necessary and useful means of clarifying communication.

13. I lost my own father at 12 yr. age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in Hell if I speak false.

14. A thing that annoys me, is when a comma separates the subject and the verb.

15. A thing that annoys me is when a comma separates a subject from its verb.

16. The man, who had stolen the cake ran away from the butcher.

17. The man who had stolen the cake ran away from the butcher. OR The man, who had stolen the cake, ran away from the butcher.

18. In lengthier sentences, where all sorts of asides are added, it is preferable to use commas, although current grammatical fashion is quite minimalist.

19. My brother kissed Mia and Iquickly made my exit from the room.

20. My brother kissed Mia, and I quickly made my exit from the room.

21. ;

22. There are those who have prejudice against the semi-colon; personally I find it a very useful stop.

23. All the virtue and all the praise go to Socialism; all that is unvirtuous and damnable is non-Socialist.

24. Her use of three punctuation marks was wholly indiscriminate: the comma, the semi-colon and the colon.

25. The three punctuation marks that she used indiscriminately were: the comma, the semi-colon and the colon.

26. The three punctuation marks that she used indiscriminately were the comma, the semi-colon and the colon.

27. It’s = a shortened version of ‘it is’ and ‘it has’Its = the possessive versionIn all other cases, the apostrophe is used to show possession.

28. If you write that the dog looked at it’s master, the reader is going to read that the dog looked at it is master.This will not please the reader.

29. It’s not a good idea to rely only on the computer to help you with ‘its’ and ‘it’s’.It is not a good idea to rely on the computer to help you with ‘its’ and ‘it’s’

30. You may think that it’s got the potential to detect these errors, but you’d be mistaken.You may think that it has got the potential to detect these errors, but you’d be mistaken.

31. Using only its potential to understand the difference between ‘its’ and ‘it’s’ will not result in a well-punctuated text.

32. Tomato’s, potato’s and mango’s are quite happy to read tomatoes potatoes and mangos.

33. CDs, DVDs and the 1980s and 1960sNot CD’s, DVD’s and the 1980’s or 1960’s

34. Possession: • It’s a dog’s life. • Maria’s and Guinevere’s dresses looked lovely. • At Charlotte and Gideon’s wedding, we ate raw chocolate cake. • The CD’s tracks couldn’t play. (But: “There are several CDs in the car.”)

35. Plural possessives The women’s movement The geese’s eggs The men’s toilet The girls’ books The babies’ bibs Two weeks’ notice

36. Names that end in S • Keats’s death • Yeats’s poem • Evans’s lecture • Jones’s house • James’s square

37. Plurals of names that end in S Keatses Yeatses Evanses Joneses Jameses SO: We are going to Mark Jones’s house. But: It is difficult to keep up with the Joneses.

38. Exceptions • Jesus > Jesus’ • Achilles > Achilles’ • Moses > Moses’

39. Indicating omission We’d = we had They’d = they had I’d = I had They’re = they are (not their or there) Don’t = do not You’re = you are (not your) Who’s = who is

40. Whose = possessive form Who’s = who is SO: Whose house are we going to? AND: Who is coming to our house? That is the girl who’s stealing eggs. That is the girl whose eggs were stolen.

41. In one weeks’ time, the girls bridge team is going to play at the Jameses house. Sarah Pratts’ bringing the prize for the winning team, and Leila’s son is going to prepare the food. Its going to be a momentous event, and the girl whose expected to win is extremely excited.

42. In one week’s time, the girls’ bridge team is going to play at the James’s house. Sarah Pratt’s bringing the prize for the winning team, and Leila’s son is going to prepare the food. It’s going to be a momentous event, and the girl who’s expected to win is extremely excited. In several weeks’ time …

43. The SADFs involvement in Burundi came as a response to former President Mandelas concern over the Great Lakes areas conflict. Questions are being asked by the Road Directorate about the newly opened road who’s surface has already started cracking. Pressure on North Korea is mounting to scrap it’s nuclear weapon’s programme. A call has come from NGO’s and aid agencies who called for more international financial aid for country’s experiencing problems in terms of war and famine.

44. The SADF’s involvement in Burundi came as a response to former president Mandela’s concern over the Great Lakes area’s conflict. Questions are being asked by the Road Directorate about the newly opened road whose surface has already started cracking. Pressure on North Korea is mounting to scrap its nuclear weapons programme. A call has come from NGOs and aid agencies who called for more international financial aid for countries experiencing problems in terms of war and famine.

45. Human rights organisation (NOT human right’s organisation or human rights’ organisation) Nuclear weapons programme (NOT nuclear weapons’ or weapon’s programme

46. Nigeria will transfer Charles Taylor, who is living in exile in Nigeria and has been indicted for war crimes to Liberian custody. The former warlord is seen as the mastermind behind civil wars in Liberia and neighboring country Sierre Leone, where an UN backed court wants to try him for having supported rebel organisations in exchange for diamonds. Nigeria issued a statement confirming that the transfer would take place, but a governmental spokesperson declined to comment on exactly how it would be undertaken. International rights organization Human Rights Watch, welcomed Nigeria’s move. “This is a great day for justice, not only for the victim’s of Siere Leone’s brutal war but also for the fight against impunity, which has devastated so many lives in West Africa”, said Corinne Dufka, head of the groups West African section.

47. Nigeria will transfer Charles Taylor, who is living in exile in Nigeria and has been indicted for war crimes, to Liberian custody. The former warlord is seen as the mastermind behind civil wars in Liberia and neighbouring country Sierre Leone, where a UN-backed court wants to try him for having supported rebel organisations in exchange for diamonds. Nigeria issued a statement confirming that the transfer would take place, but a governmental spokesperson declined to comment on exactly how it would be undertaken. International rights organization Human Rights Watch [no comma] welcomed Nigeria’s move. “This is a great day for justice, not only for the victims of Sierre Leone’s brutal war but also for the fight against impunity, which has devastated so many lives in West Africa,” said Corinne Dufka, head of the group’s West African section.