Monday, July 20, 2009
Dear friends
This month we came across a rather interesting and pertinent article. We have taken out an extract below. If you would like to read the full article, please click on the link below.
DON'T (EVER EVER EVER EVER) TRUST MS WORD SPELLCHECK!
If you use Microsoft Word’s grammar checker, beware. This program is seriously flawed; however, in all fairness, most grammar check programs are flawed. Writing is just too complex for computers to analyse (so far), but maybe that’s a good thing. Writing is an art and creativity can’t be (and should never be) measured in formulas and algorithms.
However, unlike fine art, writing does have rules and those can be measured. Unfortunately, anything more than just a basic, simple sentence is too complicated for a grammar checker; therefore, you get a lot of erroneous suggestions. And Word’s suggestions are more often wrong than right. In addition to the incorrect responses, Word also has a tough time making up its mind on some entries. For example, with some words, the grammar checker suggests a hyphen; then after you add the hyphen, it flags (underlines in red) the word again and recommends removing the hyphen!
Word’s grammar checker also can’t seem to tell the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive clauses (in laymen’s terms, “that” defines the necessary parts of a sentence; i.e., the restrictive clause; and “which” defines the additional, but not necessarily essential parts of a sentence, the non-restrictive clause). Word just assumes that this rule is always true. Regardless of the sentence and how these words are used, Word insists on commas after “which” and no commas after “that,” most of the time.
Even though Word’s grammar checker is flawed, it’s still a good feature to leave turned on because, if for no other reason, it alerts you to errors that may need attention. However, do not blindly accept all of Word’s recommendations. If your editing skills are not your best feature, use Word’s grammar checker to find the errors, then seek the help of an expert to determine if Word’s suggestions are correct or not.
Read the full article at http://bit.ly/24f5RC. With thanks to Examiner.com for this information.
And to illustrate the point:
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
Source unknown
This month we came across a rather interesting and pertinent article. We have taken out an extract below. If you would like to read the full article, please click on the link below.
DON'T (EVER EVER EVER EVER) TRUST MS WORD SPELLCHECK!
If you use Microsoft Word’s grammar checker, beware. This program is seriously flawed; however, in all fairness, most grammar check programs are flawed. Writing is just too complex for computers to analyse (so far), but maybe that’s a good thing. Writing is an art and creativity can’t be (and should never be) measured in formulas and algorithms.
However, unlike fine art, writing does have rules and those can be measured. Unfortunately, anything more than just a basic, simple sentence is too complicated for a grammar checker; therefore, you get a lot of erroneous suggestions. And Word’s suggestions are more often wrong than right. In addition to the incorrect responses, Word also has a tough time making up its mind on some entries. For example, with some words, the grammar checker suggests a hyphen; then after you add the hyphen, it flags (underlines in red) the word again and recommends removing the hyphen!
Word’s grammar checker also can’t seem to tell the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive clauses (in laymen’s terms, “that” defines the necessary parts of a sentence; i.e., the restrictive clause; and “which” defines the additional, but not necessarily essential parts of a sentence, the non-restrictive clause). Word just assumes that this rule is always true. Regardless of the sentence and how these words are used, Word insists on commas after “which” and no commas after “that,” most of the time.
Even though Word’s grammar checker is flawed, it’s still a good feature to leave turned on because, if for no other reason, it alerts you to errors that may need attention. However, do not blindly accept all of Word’s recommendations. If your editing skills are not your best feature, use Word’s grammar checker to find the errors, then seek the help of an expert to determine if Word’s suggestions are correct or not.
Read the full article at http://bit.ly/24f5RC. With thanks to Examiner.com for this information.
And to illustrate the point:
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
Source unknown
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Excellence is in the detail
LONDON: A survey of CV blunders reveals that job applicants are blowing their chances with gaffes such as listing their interests as “cooking dogs”.
Experts found that 94% of job hunters risked missing out on vacancies through CV blunders such as poor spelling, grammar or presentation on their CVs.
Failure to use the comma led to embarrassing disclosures such as: “My interests include cooking dogs and interesting people.”
In some cases, applicants' attempts to impress potential employers failed through the odd missed word, with phrases such as: “I was responsible for dissatisfied customers.”
For others, the omission of a single letter consigned their CV to the dustbin: “I am a pubic relations officer.”
From a sample of 450 CVs, researchers found that 81% were laden with spelling and grammatical errors, while nearly half were poorly laid out.
A mere six per cent were error-free, the study by career advisers Personal Career Management (PCM) concluded.
Mistakes were not confined to applicants for menial roles either - many of the CVs riddled with errors were drafted by CEOs, professionals and recent graduates, researchers said.
Corinne Mills, managing director of PCM, said: “Many of the people whose CVs end up in the waste paper bin are perfectly capable of doing the job. However, a poor CV means they will not get the opportunity to prove it.
“Why would anyone want to employ a lawyer or a secretary who makes spelling mistakes or errors? If they can't pay attention to their own CV, why would you trust them to work on any of your documents?” – ananova.com
Experts found that 94% of job hunters risked missing out on vacancies through CV blunders such as poor spelling, grammar or presentation on their CVs.
Failure to use the comma led to embarrassing disclosures such as: “My interests include cooking dogs and interesting people.”
In some cases, applicants' attempts to impress potential employers failed through the odd missed word, with phrases such as: “I was responsible for dissatisfied customers.”
For others, the omission of a single letter consigned their CV to the dustbin: “I am a pubic relations officer.”
From a sample of 450 CVs, researchers found that 81% were laden with spelling and grammatical errors, while nearly half were poorly laid out.
A mere six per cent were error-free, the study by career advisers Personal Career Management (PCM) concluded.
Mistakes were not confined to applicants for menial roles either - many of the CVs riddled with errors were drafted by CEOs, professionals and recent graduates, researchers said.
Corinne Mills, managing director of PCM, said: “Many of the people whose CVs end up in the waste paper bin are perfectly capable of doing the job. However, a poor CV means they will not get the opportunity to prove it.
“Why would anyone want to employ a lawyer or a secretary who makes spelling mistakes or errors? If they can't pay attention to their own CV, why would you trust them to work on any of your documents?” – ananova.com
A little birdie told me ...
Wordsmiths' 5-minute guide to Twitter
So what on earth is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time. In effect, it's a micro-bloging platform on the web. Twitter works in much the same way as Instant Messaging, Skype or the dozens of other tools out there, except that your message (or Tweet) goes to everyone who has chosen to follow you (your followers).
Keep it short and tweet
There are only 140 characters per Tweet, so posts must be short, snappy and to the point.
Every company should have a social media presence
Digital presence is an important part of any company's marketing strategy. Having an effective digital presence strategy translates into a dynamic business tool. In today’s fast-paced real-time environment, it is an essential part of online reputation management and establishing your brand identity in the digital world.
What's the big idea?
People follow you if you talk about stuff that interests them. The idea is to Tweet about the things that interest your followers and, importantly, the people who you WANT to follow you (customers and influencers). Although you have a commercial agenda, everything you do on Twitter needs to serve your followers. Discuss only what they’re interested in hearing, and only as often as they want to hear it. Some people Tweet dozens of times every day, others tweet only once or twice a week.
So what does the future look like?
Twitter will help your company to do the following:
- Gauge market perception – Monitor what people are saying about your brand and others
- Conduct research – Find out who your customers and potential customers are and what turns them on
- Communicate with your target publics – Educate and inform about special offers, new technologies, promotions, upgrades, improvements, etc
- Provide customer support
- Entrench your brand, and
- Ultimately, expand your customer base.
Who's tweeting?
Check out any of the following local Twitter sites:
www.twitter.com/iBurst
www.twitter.com/HomeopathySA
www.twitter.com/fhmsouthafrica
www.twitter.com/bmw_sa
http://twitter.com/akianastasiou
http://twitter.com/media24
And some international ones ...
www.twitter.com/james_blunt
www.twitter.com/coldplay
www.twitter.com/marthastewart
www.twitter.com/richardbranson
For advice on setting up and managing your Twitter presence, contact Wordsmiths South Africa on (011) 467 8630
So what on earth is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time. In effect, it's a micro-bloging platform on the web. Twitter works in much the same way as Instant Messaging, Skype or the dozens of other tools out there, except that your message (or Tweet) goes to everyone who has chosen to follow you (your followers).
Keep it short and tweet
There are only 140 characters per Tweet, so posts must be short, snappy and to the point.
Every company should have a social media presence
Digital presence is an important part of any company's marketing strategy. Having an effective digital presence strategy translates into a dynamic business tool. In today’s fast-paced real-time environment, it is an essential part of online reputation management and establishing your brand identity in the digital world.
What's the big idea?
People follow you if you talk about stuff that interests them. The idea is to Tweet about the things that interest your followers and, importantly, the people who you WANT to follow you (customers and influencers). Although you have a commercial agenda, everything you do on Twitter needs to serve your followers. Discuss only what they’re interested in hearing, and only as often as they want to hear it. Some people Tweet dozens of times every day, others tweet only once or twice a week.
So what does the future look like?
Twitter will help your company to do the following:
- Gauge market perception – Monitor what people are saying about your brand and others
- Conduct research – Find out who your customers and potential customers are and what turns them on
- Communicate with your target publics – Educate and inform about special offers, new technologies, promotions, upgrades, improvements, etc
- Provide customer support
- Entrench your brand, and
- Ultimately, expand your customer base.
Who's tweeting?
Check out any of the following local Twitter sites:
www.twitter.com/iBurst
www.twitter.com/HomeopathySA
www.twitter.com/fhmsouthafrica
www.twitter.com/bmw_sa
http://twitter.com/akianastasiou
http://twitter.com/media24
And some international ones ...
www.twitter.com/james_blunt
www.twitter.com/coldplay
www.twitter.com/marthastewart
www.twitter.com/richardbranson
For advice on setting up and managing your Twitter presence, contact Wordsmiths South Africa on (011) 467 8630
Saturday, May 23, 2009
An indispensable online reference for all who work with words.
A resource for wordsmiths everywhere, the renowned Chicago Manual of Style Online incorporates the popular Chicago Style Q&A, which thousands have found as entertaining as it is informative. The Q&A content is fully searchable along with the content of The Chicago Manual of Style.
Go to http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
Go to http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
New books: The Subversive Copy Editor
Visit:
http://rwbooks.blogspot.com/2009/05/subversive-copy-editor.html
http://rwbooks.blogspot.com/2009/05/subversive-copy-editor.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
