Those little black squiggles cause endless confusion. To prevent your brain from frying, here’s some help on how to use commas to get your business messages across more clearly. For help with copywriting, proofreading or editing any of your business documents, contact Proof Communications on 02 8036 5532 or 0411 123 216 or head to the contact page.
Writers who feel compelled to use Capital Letters for no Apparent Reason make Everything seem Important or Formal, creating confusion for readers. Avoid incensing your audience by following these simple rules. Proper Nouns Proper nouns, which could refer to a place, person, event, or thing, are always capitalised in English. To name but a few, proper nouns include people’s names, names of businesses or organisations, place names, nationalities, cities and rivers, and months of the year. Interestingly, the four seasons…
When you come across a park sign that says, ‘No dog balls, bicycles, skateboards allowed in the park’ you get a pretty clear picture of why punctuation is so important. Not only does it mean less embarrassment for our four-legged friends, punctuation gives rhythm and reason to your writing so that readers can relax and get into the whole point of whatever it is you’re writing about. But clear punctuation is only one part of the equation when it comes…
Did you know that Australian author Peter Carey won the 2001 Booker Prize for True History of the Kelly Gang – a work that contained not a single comma? Amazing, huh? Of course, one might wonder why he bothered, but still. And, whilst you may not be writing anything within coo-ee of such a magnum opus yourself, it’s still a good idea to know how useful those little black squiggles can be in getting your business messages across more clearly.…
The oft-used email subject line ‘Sorry, use this version instead’ can have a myriad of stories behind it, but most often it’s to email an updated version of a document that was emailed only a short time ago. The reason? Usually, because many people are involved in contributing to the document’s content, which results in a myriad of changes. Even with version control, it’s extremely easy for a document’s quality to diminish during the writing and editing process. Annual reports,…
According to a recent Google Doodle, this year marks the 187th since the birth of the man widely considered to be the father of modern football, Ebenezer Cobb Morley. Riveting stuff indeed. But even more noteworthy than that particularly fascinating sporting nugget is that 2018 also marks exactly 15 years since Lynne Truss published her widely acclaimed book, ‘Eats, Shoots & Leaves’, the zero-tolerance approach to punctuation. Why is this important? Because within its pages lies the information you need…
Editing and proofreading your own work is tough. We’re too close to it to proofread it perfectly. A fresh pair of eyes is the answer. If you don’t have anybody to help you, then rest between the time you write and the time you proofread—at least overnight. By doing this, you’ll gain some distance from your writing and you’ll have your own fresh pair of eyes with which to view your content. When you’re ready, here’s how to do it.…
During a recent radio interview a prominent Sydney barrister was several times heard to use the phrase ‘it was more better’, highlighting that even the most seemingly educated of people aren’t immune from make embarrassing grammatical or spelling mistakes. Here are some common ones to avoid. I could care less Really? Then feel free to do so until you can’t any more, at which point you can then use the correct expression – ‘I couldn’t care less’. It’s a far…
When you’re typing or texting at speed, it’s easy to spell a word incorrectly. But mistakes can completely change the context of your message and often make you sound just plain silly. Make sure you sound like you know what you’re talking about by using these words correctly. Compliment/complement When two words sound identical, it can make it difficult to know which the right one to use is. A ‘compliment’ is an expression of admiration such as, ‘You look just…
When it comes to finding a partner, some prefer to meet someone the old fashioned way. Through alcohol and poor judgement. For others, online dating sites are the way to go. But it turns out there are things way more unacceptable to potential mates than spurious claims of having actually enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love, declaring you’re a “glass half-full kinda guy” or employing the excessive use of LOL. And one of the biggest deal breakers of all? Poor spelling and…