As an editor, the most frequent request I get from staff is to cut text or make text fit into a smaller space. Sometimes this is easy. Sometimes it's more like my cat Teddy trying to force himself into this little paper bag. Let's say you have two and a half pages of text that [...]
As with most fields, my primary field, international development, uses many standards and jargon that do not follow traditional rules of grammar, language, and spelling (and I'm a traditionalist). Some are harmless, such as capitalizing the "g" in "Government" when referring to a specific country (e.g., Government of South Sudan, Government of Nigeria); others are less [...]
Hi there, grammar-loving friends! I'm sorry for taking such a long break from my blog and website; it's been a super busy year. I moved, found a rewarding full-time job, adopted a wonderful cat named Topher, and ended up with a constantly full plate seemingly overnight. But, I'm back! And, excited to put some focus [...]
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for my website and blog . Here's an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 840 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 14 trips to carry that many people. Click here to [...]
As an editor, this is the #1 question I get. Is it OK to use split infinitives? Lots of sources provide conflicting opinions. Many, like Oxford English Dictionary's Language Matters, say "yes." But, I say "no." Sure, split infinitives have become a part of American English convention. But, that does not mean using them is correct or the [...]
Utter Editing by Rachel Elrom 