Here are a few style errors I've been seeing repeated lately. Most of us probably know these cold, but just to make sure:
1. Abbreviate the direction part of a street name only when it's used with a specific numbered address. (Wrong: "The car crashed on W. Grand Avenue." Right: "The car crashed on West Grand Avenue, then careened out of control for a block until it came to a stop in the front lawn of a home at 1000 N. Thomas St."
2. Put the "only" where it belongs, to be clear about the meaning. (Example: "The man was only walking his dog" could mean that the man was doing nothing else but walking his dog, or that he was walking only the dog he owned and no one else's.) Sorry, I tried to think of a more hilarious example but couldn't. Anyone?
3. People are "who" and inanimate objects are "that," as in, "He was the one who dropped the pizza, " not "He was the one that dropped the pizza."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
And again I forgot to sign my post.
The "Style reminders" were from me.
But while I'm at it, here are a few from MNH photographer Dan Young:
— "Fewer" refers to individual items, "less" refers to bulk or unspecified quantities. ("I drank fewer than 12 sodas this week." But, "I drank less than a 12-pack of soda this week."
— Avoid "area" when you've specified the location. It's unnecessary to say "the central Wisconsin area" instead of "central Wisconsin." Same with "downtown area." It's OK to write the "Wausau area" when you mean the Wausau metropolitan area, but we should be careful that it's clear in the context what we mean. Often we assume readers know immediately how big is the "Wausau area" and what municipalities it encompasses. Many don't.
Post a Comment