Do you know what it’s called when two words sound alike, but have different spellings and meanings? One example is a particular pet peeve of mine. I often see this on social media: “She wasn’t phased at all by seeing the dog up in the tree.” Oops. (Also, argh!) That word should have been fazed.
“The new law will affect schools throughout the county.” Wait. Should that have been “effect”? As a professional editor, I’ve learned to pause and scrutinize “affect” and “effect” every time I see them. The two words are easy to confuse: Not only do they look and sound similar, but each can be both nouns and
“Don’t use a big word when a minuscule alternative will suffice.” It’s an old joke, but one that makes an important point: Big words are like fine jewels—you may take them out for special occasions, but they’re not for everyday use. No matter what you’re writing, you want your words to be read and understood.
Spell-checking features are often lifesavers, but they are not all-knowing. An editor learns quickly to read every there/their/they’re and you/your/you’re carefully to make sure the correct version of the word is used for the particular context. As you get to know your clients, you should also build a list of their most easily mistaken words.
Chicago defines a common noun as: “the generic name of one item in a class or group,” noting it isn’t capitalized unless it appears in a title or starts a sentence.[1] Chicago defines a proper noun as: “the specific name of a person, place, or thing … or the title of a work.” It is
Spell-checking features are often lifesavers, but they are not all-knowing. An editor learns quickly to read every there/their/they’re and you/your/you’re carefully to make sure the correct version of the word is used for the particular context. As you get to know your clients, you should also build a list of their most easily mistaken words.
All three words can mean to make sure of something, but they are not fully interchangeable. Do you know which verb goes in which space?
“Look at this!” Everyone in the darkened room gasped. We were at an editing conference, and the keynote speaker, a noted journalism expert, had placed a scan of a magazine cover on the display screen. A large, red circle drew attention to the mistake: “February” had been misspelled as “Febraury,” and the typo had gone
Can yuu raed htis? You probably can—because your brain is really good at autocorrecting. But that can be a problem when you’re trying to ferret out errors in copy. When you’re reading, you often infer the complete word you expect to see, not the letters that are actually on the page. It’s even harder when
TalentMEDIA—the publishing and communications arm of Vector Talent Resources—is excited to announce that we will be stepping out on our own as a new company, TalentMEDIA Services! In January 2017, we joined Vector when CEO Marc Berman decided to expand the company’s high-end staffing and placement offerings by acquiring the staffing and outsourcing components of
We are now well into a new year and things are starting to look a little more positive. January finally came after what seemed like the longest 2020 ever. Now February has come and gone. We celebrated Valentine’s day with our loved ones and probably treasured them a little more this year. Now it’s March,
With social distancing and face-covering guidelines still in place, summer vacations are likely going to look a little different. But one thing will remain the same: At some point we all need a break. Whether it’s a staycation to enjoy some local hiking trails or a socially distanced trip to the beach, however you decide
Wow! It’s hard to believe that the 2019 holiday season is already here. No matter what holiday you celebrate, the one thing that most people love are cookies. They can be anything from an easy chocolate chip recipe you found on the package of chocolate chips, a homemade recipe passed down from generations, one you
It’s nearly mid-June, and by now you’re probably counting down the days until your summer vacation. Whether you are having a “staycation” at home or getting away—to the beach, the park, or some exotic, faraway locale—somehow your job still has to get done. A recent Glassdoor article noted that two in three employees report working while
Is it just me, or was January a year long, February a week long, and now March just feels like a blur of wanting it to be spring already? So far, 2019 has felt like a growing to-do list that never has items checked off. If I’m being really honest, though, of course things are
Each year, I’m curious to see which color Pantone picks as its Color of the Year. Colors surround us; they can even influence some of our day-to-day choices without us realizing. Each year, a few colors, for whatever reason—maybe because of popular fashion, TV commercials, or home products—become more popular than others. The 2019 Pantone
Everyone loves a vacation. But as we all know, sometimes the work-related stress that results from time off almost makes it not worth it—desperate messages from colleagues and clients, the mountain of emails to go through upon your return, and of course playing catchup; not to mention the stress put on your coworkers. But it
As a project manager, I often spend my days making sure that projects meet their deadlines. In order for that to happen, I have to make sure everyone involved in that project meets the due dates I’ve assigned to them. That’s the biggest challenge of all. I’m beginning to think that the rise of the
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