Writing Matters

Thirteen Overused and Abused Expressions I’d Like to Outlaw

I recently came across an article about 115 forbidden words and expressions compiled by Randy Michaels, CEO of the Tribune Co.  The company owns the Chicago radio station WGN, and Michaels forbid radio anchors and reporters from using these words.  Among forbidden words and expressions are some that make me cringe as well.

• 5 a.m. in the morning
• at this point in time
• close proximity
• fatal death
• in harm’s way
• icon
• completely destroyed, completely abolished, completely finished or any other completely redundant use

Following up on Michaels' directive, WGN’s news director Charlie Meyerson circulated the list to on-air talent. He directed his staff to report co-worker infractions, noting the precise time and date on "bingo” cards.

That got me thinking about overused and misused words and expressions that I’d like to outlaw. Here are my baker's dozen.  Some of them have been around for a long time and are worn out. Others have worn out their welcome in just a short time. (None are on the WGN list.)

1. Special. You’d have thought that Dana Carey’s SNL parodies of “isn’t that special,” in the 1980s, would have put this on the endangered list. But despite The Church Lady, it's now applied to almost every person, gift, event, activity, organization, and promotion. The result: special is no longer special.
2. Awesome. The Grand Canyon and Taj Mahal are awesome.  Most everything else is not.
3. Absolutely. Perhaps the most overused expression in the English language. Explains CNN'S John Blake: "It's a verbal virus that's spreading unchecked on TV, radio and in print. Want to sound certain? Want to remove all doubt? Want to be a commentator on TV? Absolutely."
4. Issues. A nicer way of saying problems: I have issues with this plan. He has commitment issues. She has health issues. Why not just say problems?
5. Cool. This is a relic from the 1950s. Beatniks were cool.
6. Guys. You guys. Those guys. This expression jumped genders and now refers to any group of people. I particularly hate it when my waiter says, “I’ll be serving you guys.”
7. Throw under the bus. Shorthand for sacrificing a person for political gain. Among those who were or weren’t thrown under the bus by President Obama were Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and Obama’s grandmother. Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod was thrown under the bus for an out-of-context remark then pulled out from under the bus when it became known that she was a civil rights activist. On the Republican side, Scooter Libby was thrown under the bus by Vice President Dick Cheney.
8. Not so much. Edgy satirist Lenny Bruce used this phrase in the 1960s. But the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart popularized it. When asked which Democrat he saw stepping forward to lead the party: "I like this guy John Kennedy. Since him, not so much."
9. My bad. This one grated on me from the time I first heard it, and it continues to feel like chalk on a squeaky board.  (Talk about outdated expressions! Marking pen on a white board?) While historians trace this back to Shakespeare, it came into the mainstream with the 1995 movie Clueless. Cher (Alicia Silverstone) swerves to avoid hitting a bicyclist. “Whoops, my bad.”
10. It is what it is. This bit of Zen philosophy has come to mean whatever you want it to mean. Among the meanings: screw it, that’s the way it is, nothing we can do about it, and que sera, sera. It normally puts the brakes on discussion. What can you say in response?
11. Not that I’m. . .  (prejudiced, racist, homophobic, sexist). This almost always precedes a statement that shows prejudice. Explains Rational Wiki, "These words are spoken in the mistaken belief that simply saying 'I'm not prejudiced' is enough to exempt the speaker from responsibility for the offensive comment they are about to make." 
12. Get it. He gets it. She doesn’t get it. These phrases express exasperation at someone's failure to understand something. It owes its popularity to the great communicator Ronald Reagan. In a 1980s presidential debate, then candidate Reagan chided his opponent, President Jimmy Carter: "You just don't get it, do you?"
13. Shellacking. Okay, this is a preemptive strike. President Obama used it to describe the Democrats' heavy losses in the 2010 mid-term election. But I’ve heard it enough times since then to merit its inclusion in the list.

Alas, I’m not the head of a large media conglomerate. I don’t have the power to enforce or humiliate those who use my outlawed expressions. Compliance is voluntary; I can only plead.

What's on your list of overused and abused expressions? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail. I'll compile the list and post it.

--Marilynne Rudick 

People-First Language: The Missing Page In Your Stylebook?

Today, I was an invited speaker at the National Association of Government Communicators' annual Communications School conference in Bethesda, Maryland. Before my session, I attended a wonderful presentation: "A Market You Can’t Miss: People with Disabilities" by Juliette Rizzo (Director, Exhibits and Agency-wide Outreach, U.S. Department of Education) and Valerie Suber (Public Information Director, Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities). Valerie distributed a handout on People-First Language, "a way of communicating that reflects respect for people with disabilities by choosing words that portray them accurately."

Though I wasn't able to find Valerie's handout at her Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities site, I did find an excellent guide, which presents many of the same concepts, at the Arc of Washington State site. This handout, The Missing Page In Your Stylebook: People-First Language, offers tips for reporting on people with disabilities, such as:

• "Do not define individuals by their disabilities. Put People First, not their disability."
• "Do not portray successful people with disabilities as superhuman. This raises false expectations that all people with disabilities should be high achievers."
• "Do not sensationalize a disability by using such language as 'afflicted with, 'crippled,' 'suffers from,' 'confined to a wheelchair,' 'wheelchair-bound,' etc."

The handout also offers a list of People-First Language Preferred Expressions:

Say/Write ...	Instead of ...
Has paraplegia	Paraplegic
Child with autism	Autistic
Adult with Down Syndrome	Mongoloid
Non-disabled	Normal
Nonverbal	Mute
Person who has ...	Suffers from ...

I am eager to learn how you and your organization strive to use People-First Language. Let me know or post a comment here.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

Brutal Proofreading: Your Errors Read Aloud

The most fun response to my post Proofreading Tips for Finding Errors in Your Own Writing came from fellow writing instructor and consultant Rosemary Camilleri:

“Your Mac users may not know it but they have a ‘Speech’ feature built into Mac OX 10.4, 10.5, and following. It's called Text to Speech. Their computer will read any text aloud.

Furthermore, the Mac will read text at the speed you choose, in the voice you choose (Alex? Bruce? Vicki? Victoria? Agnes? Princess? Bubbles? Bells? Boing? Bad News? Hysterical? Zarvox?).

This feature is great: I turn it on so that, as I proofread, I hear the honest truth about what I typed (computers have no mercy).”

As luck had it, I recently bought an iMac, so I took Text to Speech out for a spin, running a few paragraphs through a variety of voices: deep-and-droning Ralph, robotic Vicki, muffled Whisper, the back-from-the-dead Bahh, and the melodious Cellos. I settled on easy-listening Alex.

Rosemary was right about using Text to Speech as a proofreading tool. My ear did hear the grammar and spelling errors, a left-out word, or the wrong word. And because Alex was reading, my eyes saw punctuation and capitalization errors as I followed along. 

Want to try it out? Here are instructions for a Mac:

1. Click on the “Apple icon” in the upper-right hand corner of the screen.
2. Select “System Preferences.”
3. Select the “Speech” icon under Systems.
4. Select “Text to Speech” from the pop-up.
5. Select a “System Voice” from the drop-down list.
6. Click the “Speak selected text when the key is pressed” box.
7. Click “Set Key”
8. Enter a “Key Combination” to activate Text to Speech.

To have your computer read in the voice you’ve selected, highlight the text and press your chosen key combination. (Mine is Control+V). Sit back and listen.

I checked out the Text to Speech feature on my Windows XP computer. It has an accessibility feature that can be configured to read text, but it seemed complicated to set up and use. I don’t know whether Windows 7 has a Text to Speech feature similar to Mac. (Any Windows 7 people out there? Let me know!)

This was proofreading made fun. I found that I was making spelling errors on purpose, so I could see if Alex caught them.

Last word: All of the voices mispronounced my name. (Mar i lynn e Rud ick instead of Marilyn Ru dick). You can imagine how they mangled Leslie O’Flahavan!

-- Marilynne Rudick

Treasure Trove of Writing Resources

My Proofreading Tips for Finding Errors in Your Own Writing post keeps generating feedback. Most recently, Cate Newton sent me a link to the writing resource page  she compiled for the Guide to Online Schools website. 

Cate wrote: “We are trying to build up useful resources for students of all ages…. We’ve compiled a list of the most useful grammar, proofreading and writing style guides on the Internet into one, easy-to-navigate article.”

Her writing resources are indeed a treasure trove. Among the gems on her list:

BBC Proofreading
Proofreading tips, practice exercises, and quizzes to test your skills. I aced the Level C (Superstar) proofreading test. But I admit that the question prompts and the multiple-choice format helped me catch errors I might have missed. 

The Online Grammar Guide 
The comprehensive guide to English grammar created by Jack Lynch, associate professor at Rutgers University, provides an alphabetic listing of grammar and word choice issues. Lynch offers this consoling take on the difference between that and which.

“Many of the best writers in the language couldn't tell you the difference between them, while many of the worst think they know. If the subtle difference between the two confuses you, use whatever sounds right. Other matters are more worthy of your attention.” He then offers a clear and pithy explanation of the difference. 

The University of Ottawa 
An online grammar course that covers the parts of speech, punctuation, pronouns, verbs, modifiers, clauses, sentences and spelling. This course lets you brush up on English grammar in the privacy of your office or cubicle. 

The Ultimate Style Guide Resources for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE
A list of good Internet style guide links. If The Chicago Manual of Style is your style bible, you’ll love the CMS Crib Sheet that summarizes the manual’s most important topics and rules.

School House Rock 
And finally, if you need a break from the rigors of correct usage, head over to Grammar Rock for animated music videos that teach the rules and make you smile. Busy Prepositions makes sense of the confusing rules for prepositions. You’ll spend the day humming the tune (guaranteed!). 

--Marilynne Rudick

Need to hire a freelaner? I've got just the wirter for you.

We receive job queries from freelance writers all the time. Usually these queries are direct, clear, energetic, and graceful. They make me think "Wow. I want to hire this person for my next project."

But when I received this e-mail in my [email protected] inbox yesterday, I was speechless.

Subject: Info, I am freelane writer John

Hi info, I am John Doe [not his real name], a former news repoter and seasoned book author I've published 12 books. And now I am a freelane writer professional online wirting for a wide range. I an online everyday and want to be your writer. Please add me on your writer list and assign me work.

Best Regards

John Doe

Do you think he wonders why his "Hi info" e-mails don't lead to freelance work? Needless to say, I won't be asking him for a writing sample.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

There’s [Grammar] Hell to Pay If You Break These Rules

Grammar rules die hard. I learned that after my post Five Grammar Rules That Beg To Be Broken. I heard from a number of readers who, invoking the ghosts of eighth grade English teachers past, refused to break the rules. Despite my advice, they will not split infinitives or end a sentence with a preposition—ever.

The English language is changing. But some of the rules that we learned are still hard and fast.  Here’s my top five grammar and usage rules that should not be broken. Breaking these rules will land you in grammar hell, where you’ll have to diagram sentences and speak to your eighth grade English teacher in complete sentences—for eternity. 

1. Possession Is 9/10th of The Apostrophe Rule
The apostrophe doesn’t do heavy lifting. Its two main jobs are standing in for missing letters in a contraction and showing possession or ownership. Despite its slim task roster, it’s subject to more than its fair share of abuse. In its job of indicating possession, an apostrophe between the noun and the s shows singular possession. For example, “the doctor’s office” indicates that the office belongs to one doctor. Placing the apostrophe after the s with a plural noun, “the doctors’ office,” shows that the office belongs to more than one doctor.

Some misguided people feel compelled to put the apostrophe between any noun and an s. “The doctor’s have a large office.” This is incorrect. Remember, the apostrophe indicates that the noun is possessive, not plural.

2. Its or It’s? Small Words Big Difference
Confusing it’s and its is probably the grammar error I see most frequently.

• It’s is a contraction for it is. “It’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.” 
• Its is a possessive pronoun. “Remove the pizza from its box before reheating." As one of the oddities of the English language, despite indicating possession (See #1), its does not have an apostrophe.

3. “It’s Me, Not I”
For some reason, me has gotten a bad rap. People think that using I is classier or more correct. The truth is me is high class enough when used correctly. So when is that? Me is correct when it is the object of the sentence or object of the preposition—not the subject. “John went to the ballgame with me” is correct because in this sentence John is the subject and me is the object of the preposition. 

The confusion between I and me crops up when there is a compound object. “John went to the ballgame with Susan and me.” You don’t need to grapple with parts of speech to figure this out. Let your ear be the judge. Take away Susan and you are left with “John went to the ballgame with me.” “John went to the ballgame with I” sounds—and is—incorrect.

4. Subject-Verb Disagreement
Errors in subject-verb agreement are also common. The rule is simple enough. A singular subject requires a singular verb. A plural subject requires a plural verb. The problem occurs when writers incorrectly identify the subject.

• Incorrect: “A good set of tools make repairs easier.” This is incorrect because set (singular) not tools (plural) is the subject.
• Correct: “A good set of tools makes repairs easier."

(For those who have difficult identifying the subject of the sentence, try diagramming!)

5. Punctuation with Quotes: Insider’s Rules
A common conundrum: when you have quotation marks combined with other punctuation—comma, period, question mark—do these other punctuation marks go inside or outside the quotation marks? 

In American usage (Chicago Manual of Style Online), periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks. Other punctuation marks—colons, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points—all go outside the quotation marks unless a question mark or an exclamation point is part of the quoted matter.

• The boss asked all employees, “Will you take a cut in pay?” In this example, the question mark goes before the quotation marks because it is part of the quoted matter.
• Did you hear that the boss asked all employees, "Will you take a cut in pay”? In this example, the question mark goes outside of the quotation marks because it applies to the whole sentence, not just the quotation.

Does breaking any of these rules spell surefire disaster for your business or career? That depends. Lands’ End has made a small fortune despite a misplaced apostrophe.  President George W. Bush was not impeached for his subject-verb disagreement: “Is our children learning?"  And Barack Obama—President, Harvard Law Review editor, and book author—has incorrectly used I instead of me repeatedly:  “a very personal decision for Michelle and I.”

So, you may escape cataclysmic ruin in this life and even prosper if you break these rules. But then there’s the afterlife in grammar hell!

--Marilynne Rudick

Will They (Tweeters) Change Grammar?

It’s not news that language evolves. Nor is it news that the Internet has accelerated the evolution. So no wonder grammar has become a hot topic among Twitter users.

The conversation is focused on a grammatical oddity: we have a gender-neutral plural pronoun they but not a gender-neutral singular pronoun.  If you are talking about more than one person you’d write: “They all keep in touch by texting.” But if you are referring to just one person, you’ve got to be gender-specific: "He (or she) keeps in touch by texting."

Perhaps it is Twitter’s limit of 140 characters per tweet that has pushed this debate to the forefront. Why spend nine characters writing he or she when you can do it with four (they). Twitterers are asking: "Why can’t we have a gender-neutral singular pronoun?" Among the nominees: s/he, he/she, shhe.  Or why can’t we use they as a singular and plural pronoun? “Anyone who thinks they qualify for the bonus should contact their supervisor."

Of course grammar traditionalists say we already have a gender-neutral singular pronoun: he.  But since the 1970s, we’ve been making language gender neutral. Chairperson has replaced chairman, mail carrier has replaced mailman, flight attendant has replaced stewardess. And: “Each applicant will have his or her loan documents reviewed.”

Some grammarians have thrown in the towel on the they-as-singular-pronoun debate: R.W. Burchfield, editor of The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, writes that it’s only a matter of time before this practice becomes standard English. The Chicago Manual of Style straddles the fence. “Though some writers are comfortable with the occasional use of they as a singular pronoun, some are not, and it is better to do the necessary work to recast a sentence or, other options having been exhausted, use he or she.” 

I’m not about to weigh in on this grammar controversy. (If you think the health care debate is nasty…) Instead, I’m offering three character-light options for editing this sentence: Each applicant will have his loan documents reviewed by the committee. (71 characters)

Three Twitter-Friendly Work-Arounds for the Singular/Plural Pronoun Problem

1. Use a plural nounn.
   Applicants will have their loan documents reviewed by the committee. (68 characters)
2. Eliminate pronouns when possible.
   Each applicant will have loan documents reviewed by the committee. (66 characters)
3. Use second person pronouns you or your.
   The committee will review your loan documents. (a slim 46 characters!)

What’s your opinion on the they-as-singular-pronoun debate? Please post your comments.

-- Marilynne Rudick

 

 

 

76 Online Opportunities to Build Your Punctuation Skills

Who says resolutions have to be made in January? If you've vowed to become a better writer or editor, use some of your downtime this summer to complete these free online grammar, punctuation, or usage exercises offered by the writing labs at various colleges. You'll spruce up your skills with hands-on practice and instant feedback.

NOTE: I've used the exact title of each online exercise, so there's some inconsistency (but not mine) in capitalization, etc.

From Purdue University's Online Writing Lab's Interactive Exercises Index:

• Accept and Except Practice
• Affect and Effect Practice
• I/E Spelling Rules: Exercise 1
• I/E Spelling Rules: Exercise 2
• I/E Spelling Rules: Exercise 3
• I/E Spelling Rules: Exercise 4
• Using Commas: Exercise 1
• Using Commas: Exercise 2
• Using Commas: Exercise 3
• Using Commas: Exercise 4
• Using Commas: Exercise 5
• Words that Sound Alike: Exercise 1

From Capital Community College's Guide to Grammar and Writing, a List of Interactive Quizzes:

• Commas with Coordinating Conjunctions 
• Commas with Introductory Elements
  
• Commas: Fill-in-the-blanks
• Comma Usage
• Punctuation: Fill-in-the-blanks
• Punctuation
• Punctuation II
• Punctuation III
• Punctuation IV
• Punctuation V
• Apostrophes
• Colons
• Quotation Marks
• Basic Mechanics
• Compound Nouns and Modifiers
• Capitalization Quiz
• Plurals and Possessives
• Irregular Plurals and Non-Count Nouns
• Possessives & Irregular Plurals
• Practice: -s Word Endings
  

From Empire State College's "Writer's Complex," a list of online exercises:

• Exercise 1: Apostrophes
• Exercise 2: Capital Letters
• Exercise 3: Commas & Semi-Colons
• Exercise 4: Colon, Dash, Parenthesis
• Exercise 5: Italics & Underlining
• Exercise 6: Misused/Misspelled Words
• Exercise 7: Quotation Marks

From D'Youville College's Online Writing Lab, a list of punctuation practices:

• Exercise 1 contractions
• Exercise 2 - contractions
• Exercise 3 - possession
• Exercise 4 - possession
• Exercise 1 - introductory or transitional word
• Exercise 2 - introductory or transitional clause
• Exercise 3 - subordinate or dependent clause
• Exercise 4 - coordinate conjunction in a compound sentence
• Exercise 5 - to set off an appositive
• Exercise 6 - parenthetical expression
• Exercise 1 - joining independent clauses
• Exercise 2 - separating serial items
• Exercise 1 - colons
• Exercise 2 - colons

From University of Otowa's Writing Centre:

• Review: Identifying Punctuation Errors
• Review: Adding Punctuation 

From Towson University's Online Writing Support site, a list of punctuation exercises:

• Apostrophes
• Apostrophes - exercise 2
• Apostrophes - exercise 3
• Commas
• Commas - exercise 2
• Commas - exercise 3
• Commas - exercise 4
• Commas with dates and addresses
• Commas with dates and addresses - exercise 2
• Commas with nonessential elements / interrupters
• Commas with nonessential elements / interrupters - exercise 2
• Commas with nonessential elements / interrupters - exercise 3
• Commas with introductory elements
• Commas with introductory elements - exercise 2
• Semicolons
• Semicolons - exercise 2
• Semicolons - exercise 3
• Quotation Marks with direct quotes
• Quotation Marks with direct quotes - exercise 2  (advanced)
• Italics and Quotation Marks with titles
• Italics and Quotation Marks with special words

Oh my. That's a lot of practice. I dare you to misuse a comma now!

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

Five Grammar "Rules" That Beg To Be Broken

For those of us who were actually taught grammar in school, we have stored in our long-term memory a list of unbreakable grammar rules. Usually they start with never. Often we remember the rule, but we don’t actually remember why it’s a rule. And guess what: some of the nevers never were grammar rules. They are grammar myths passed down from English teacher to English teacher to your boss.

Here are my top five grammar “rules” begging to be broken.

1.   Never end a sentence with a preposition. Because grammar rules exist to enhance clarity, it’s hard to see why this rule persists. Here’s an example of a clear sentence that ends in the preposition from and the tortured sentence that results from trying to avoid ending the sentence with a preposition:

• I have no idea of where this rule came from.
• I have no idea from where this rule came.
  [Example is from Michelle Pierce’s Copyblogger post]
  

2.   Never start a sentence with a conjunction: and, but, so, nor, or. This rule is strictly a grammar myth. The Chicago Manual of Style states that there is no historical or grammatical foundation for this rule. On the other hand, Chicago points out that there’s no guarantee that starting a sentence with a conjunction improves the sentence. “But the alternative—enforcing a baseless restriction—probably doesn’t help.”

3.    Never split an infinitive.  First off, what’s an infinitive? An infinitive is a form of a verb preceded by the word to: to go, to run, to shop. Splitting an infinitive means inserting a word or phrase between to and the verb.  Nobody quite knows the origin of this rule against splitting an infinitive. (Latin? Old English?)  But nearly everyone agrees it’s obsolete. Here's an example of a split and an un-split infinitive.

• Split infinitive:  I decided to quickly look for a new job. 
• Un-split infinitive: I decided to look for a new job quickly.

4.    Never use the passive voice. Although almost everyone knows this rule, many people don’t really know what passive voice is. (It is not the same as past tense.) It’s okay—even preferable—to use the passive voice when you want to emphasize the action rather than the actor. Mistakes were made by John emphasizes the mistakes rather than the actor—John—who made the mistakes. Sometimes the actor is excluded entirely: Mistakes were made. Using the active voice, John made mistakes, clearly points the finger at John. 

5.    Never write a one-sentence paragraph. Most paragraphs contain more than one sentence. That’s because it usually takes more than one sentence to completely express an idea. But sometimes one sentence does the job. There is no need for additional window dressing. A one-sentence paragraph stands out like a neon sign. For example:

If you do not pay this fine within ten days, a warrant may be issued for your arrest.

Do you have a nominee for a grammar rule to break? Post a comment or e-mail it to me, and I'll include it in subsequent posts. And coming soon: Rules of Grammar You Can’t Break.

--Marilynne Rudick

Is it me, or is Word's Grammar Checker BROKEN?

I'd just drafted a rather terse "when am I gonna get paid?" e-mail to a client who owed me money. I was all ready to hit Send when I reminded myself, "Always run a spelling and grammar check," even if you're writing in a state of righteous (unpaid) indignation.

So I ran Word's spelling and grammar checker, and here's the confused mess of feedback I got in return:

Both of Word's helpful suggestions were wrong:

• Please let me know if you'd like me to submit these invoice...
• Please let me know if you'd like me to submit this invoices...

What was going on?  The Microsoft Office Word Help article on the grammar checker explained:

The grammar checker is a "natural language" grammar checker that flags possible problems by performing a comprehensive analysis of the text. The grammar checker may not look for all types of problems; it's designed to focus on those that are most typical or frequent.

So, maybe choosing a pronoun (this, these) that agrees in number with the noun it modifies (invoice, invoices) was just too exotic for Word's grammar checker? I pity anyone who actually needs the grammar help this tool should offer, including the multilingual people I teach in my Business Writing Workshop for ESL Professionals.

Has Word's grammar checker ever steered you wrong? If so, let me know. It'll be fun to gang up on this unreliable tool!

-- Leslie O'Flahavan