Proofreading advice: create your own style sheet

December 16, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 13 Comments

If you are a student, you should have a style guide supplied by your department or institution. That doesn’t mean it isn’t helpful to supplement it with your own (more limited) list.

All writers, particularly authors, should think about putting together their own style sheet. (Publishers and large organisations are likely to already have a house style guide but you might want to keep a list of any things it doesn’t cover.)

Keep a record of the style decisions you make and then tidy it up into a neat list.

The style decisions you make should include the following:

Word endings: ‘ize’ or ‘ise’?
Numbers: numerals or words?
Commas: serial or not serial?
Dashes: spaced en rules or closed-up em rules?
Quote marks: single or double?

There will be lots more, and many are not as simple as choosing one option for all circumstances – just make sure your decisions make sense.

You should also keep track of words you have hyphenated and any alternative spellings you have chosen.

If you are formatting your own work, extend your style sheet by creating a design specification. This should include decisions such as how headings of equal importance should look and what size the margins should be.

It may seem like a lot of effort, but a style sheet should help you spot where you have been inconsistent. Spotting inconsistencies is a key part of the proofreading process. If you aren’t sure where to start, there is a sample style sheet available on my Resources page.

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‘Slay’ and ‘sleigh’

December 14, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 2 Comments

It is getting closer to the time when Father Christmas delivers presents! As he dashes around the world every Christmas Eve, his method of transport is a sleigh.

Santa’s Slay is a film I don’t think I ever need to see.

Slay

to kill something in a violent way
to delight, impress or amuse someone very much
a tool used in weaving

Sleigh

a sledge drawn by animals, usually horses (or reindeer!)
(sleighing) ride on a sleigh

Here’s ‘Jingle Bells’, with the well-known sleigh-related lyrics:

Feeling Christmassy yet?

Xmas

December 11, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 5 Comments

Xmas gets a bad rap. It is often seen as a symptom of the commercialisation of Christmas and is accused of ‘removing Christ from Christmas’.

Given the history of the word, that interpretation seems unfair. I don’t think it is as elegant as Christmas but it is an abbreviation that stays true to its meaning.

The use of Xmas is not a recent phenomenon. Fowler’s states it was first recorded in the 18th century; it appeared in a slightly different form even earlier.

The X represents the first letter (chi) of the Greek word for Christ – Χριστóς (Khristos, meaning ‘the anointed one’).

The use of X and XP to represent Christ has a long religious history. (You might recognise XP from the Chi-Rho monogram or symbol.) It’s worth reading about, particularly in regard to the influence of the Roman emperor Constantine I.

In spoken English, Xmas is usually (or should be) pronounced as ‘Christmas’ rather than as ‘ex-mass’.

Proofreading advice: read out loud

December 9, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 9 Comments

You’ve taken a break and printed off your work. Now you need to decide how you are going to divide the text into manageable chunks.

It will depend on the length and style of the project, but you might find proofreading a chapter and then taking a small break is a good way to maintain focus.

Before you start reading to spot errors, read the text through at least once with clarity and sense in mind.

Don’t be afraid to read out loud. Errors are often obvious when you say them. As you read, it may be useful to imagine someone else listening to you. Would the listener be able to understand what you are trying to convey? Would they be able to follow your argument or narrative?

It’s best to revise any areas you think aren’t clear or don’t work before you begin proofreading for spelling, grammar and punctuation.

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‘Mincemeat’ or ‘minced meat’?

December 7, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 5 Comments

We are progressing rapidly through December, and that means it is now acceptable to eat lots of mince pies.

Mince pies contain mincemeat, and you probably wouldn’t want to put brandy cream on a pie containing minced meat.

Minced meat: Meat that has been cut up into very small pieces (usually by a machine).

Mincemeat: A mixture of dried fruit, sugar and spices. It may also contain alcohol (often brandy) and suet.

Mincemeat did once contain actual meat, and there is an interesting article on the history of the filling of mince pies here. Some dictionaries do give mincemeat as another word for minced meat, so be sure to check the context it is being used in.

Defenestration

December 4, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 12 Comments

Defenestration is the action of throwing someone (or something) out of a window. It can also be used to describe the process or action of removing someone from a position of authority or power.

You can defenestrate someone or be defenestrated.

Defenestration is early 17th century in origin, stemming from de- meaning ‘down from’ and the Latin fenestra meaning ‘window’.

The word is thought to have been coined around the time of the Defenestration of Prague in 1618. The incident at Prague Castle saw two Catholic governors and their scribe thrown from windows by Protestant citizens. The defenestration helped to start the Thirty Years War.

Proofreading advice: print it off

December 2, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 18 Comments

When you are ready to start proofreading your writing, print it off. You will be surprised by how much easier it is to spot errors on paper than on a screen.

Make sure the text is black and that colours are only used when appropriate. (Refer to your style guide if you aren’t sure what is appropriate.) When you mark corrections using a colour pen, the corrections will stand out best against black text and on white paper.

Physical distance makes it easier to spot errors in format, style and layout. Hold the pages out in front of you, pin or stick them to a board, or ask someone to hold them up for you. Don’t forget to check the pages against each other for any inconsistencies.

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‘Team’ and ‘teem’

November 30, 2015November 30, 2015Hannah McCall 3 Comments

Team:

a group of players forming one of the sides in a sporting contest or competitive game
a real or notional group which supports or favours a thing or person
two or more people working together
two or more animals working together
harness together (animals, typically horses) to pull a vehicle
‘team up’ – to join with someone in order to work together to achieve a common goal
‘team with’ – to match or coordinate something with something else (typically clothes)

Teem:

‘teem with’ – to have a great number of, to be full of, or swarming with
(of water, typically rain) to pour down or fall heavily

Thank you to Jeff Curry for suggesting this post.

Rub-a-dub

November 27, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall Leave a comment

You might be familiar with a nursery rhyme about three men in a tub. Or the BBC’s version about socks (if my socks had that many holes, I would just get rid of them).

Rub-a-dub was originally a word for the sound made by beating a drum or for a drumming sound.

It is often used to describe a rhythmic sound or motion, such as rubbing or scrubbing to make something clean.

Rub-a-dub is also rhyming slang for pub.

Proofreading advice: take a break

November 25, 2015March 16, 2016Hannah McCall 18 Comments

I’m tinkering with a guide to help students who wish to proofread their own work, and I thought I would share some of the advice on my blog.

You’ve finished writing. You’ve made your edits. The next step is to proofread.

Don’t.

https://pixabay.com/en/snow-winter-cold-white-landscape-616319/

If it looks like this outside, you know where you should be.

Save your work. Put down your pen. Switch off the computer. Take a break.

The best thing to do, I think, is to go outside. Take a walk and get some fresh air. If you can’t go out, do something else to take your mind off the work. Bake a cake, knit a small hat, clean the bathroom. Do whatever you like doing to relax.

If you have enough time, leave your work for a day or more.

This should create distance, and distance should help you spot errors. When your words are not fresh in your mind, you can look at your writing from a different perspective.

That’s when it’s time to start proofreading.

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