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Writing is an art. It’s about providing information that is, not only informative, easy on the eyes, with the reader’s perspective as the objective. In reviewing written material, I come across the same issues over and over, and they are easy to overcome. Here are my observations and suggestions.
1. Use lists.
Lists break up thoughts and allow each item to “pop.” When used throughout a paragraph, it can make the paragraph long and cumbersome and the likelihood of passing over information can happen when reviewing later. A great example is writing about a process. It is easier for the eyes to follow down a list and make sure that a process in the series isn’t missed. Kind of like a checklist. Use a numbered list when it is important to follow a series of steps to a specific procedure. Use a bulleted list when the order in which you do things is not important.
2. Use heading formats, bold, and italics.
These will delineate thoughts and ideas, create sections of information, and allow certain words to stand out. Published works should always be italicized. Bolding is great for headers to divide sections, and also to make a word more emphatic for understanding, without using all caps and come across like yelling. Such as, “It is not required to include attachments or documents to your submission.”
3. In memos, letters, and reports, use full-justified paragraphs.
The page flows better and visually appears less choppy; your lists and headers pop more, and the page actually appears cleaner and more organized.
4. Clean up your commas.
I regularly see works where the commas are random. Commas are actually pretty easy if you have some guidelines and are the worst offenders in written material.
- Use in a series. When listing three or more things, put a comma after each one. Such as, “Chicken, fish, and salad are healthy choices.” When you say, “Chicken, fish and salad are healthy choices,” the fish and salad appear to go together. I will also see within the same document the comma used before the last item and not used in the last item in other sections of the document. I will comment about consistency in a little bit.
- Always put your comma inside the quotes. No explanation necessary here.
- When using sets of series, be sure to use a semi-colon. For example, “I have lived in Cleveland, Ohio; St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco and Sacramento, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Austin, Texas.” This clearly breaks up each one, defines each section, and eliminates confusion.
- Use commas for introductory thoughts or phrases. Such as, “such as,” “also,” “however,” “in reviewing….” Introductory clauses set up the sentence that is coming. Also, make sure that the sentence following can stand on its own and makes complete sense without the introductory sentence. Use a semi-colon or a period when both sentences each stand on their own and make sense.
5. Use em dashes when appropriate.
The only time you use one dash is in a hyphenated word, it is a hypen. Use an em dash when reinforcing a thought. Also put a space between the words on each side of the em dash so it does not appear as a long hyphenation. In Word, and most other programs, all you have to do is type two hyphens and when you hit the space bar it will automatically convert to an em dash.
6. Us the active voice when possible.
I discussed the active voice in a prior article, which you can access here. The active voice is just that, stronger and active.
7. Consistency.
Use consistency in your formatting, headers, footers, and overall look. Otherwise the piece will look unorganized and reduce the flow of clarity and readability. It creates a work that appears well-thought, organized, and professional.
These are just some very simple suggestions to the most common errors I come across. It is all in the presentation to the reader. If it is difficult to read, understand, or follow, your reader will move on. It’s all about presentation to keep the reader engaged and to clearly assist the reader in understanding the point you are trying to get across.
Please let me know your thoughts and ideas on best presenting written works. Also, what common mistakes do you come across? Also, if you like what you read here, pass this information on to your fellow professionals who could use little tips like this. And, thank you for coming by my little website.
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This is a really easy tip and, surprising, many aren’t aware that you can add, delete, and manipulate your PDFs in Adobe. You do have to have the full-blown version of Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader will not do.
Inserting a PDF into a PDF
If you have an existing PDF and want to add additional information consisting of another PDF document, without having to send over seperate and multiple files in an email, here are your steps:
- Open your first document, the one you want to add the information to.
- In the menu bar, select Document.
- In the drop down menu, select Insert Pages…
- A file directory will appear. Locate and select the PDF file you want to insert.
- An Insert Pages prompt will display.
- First choose the location. Your choices in the drop down menu will be Before or After.
- Then select the Page you want it to start. The radio buttons are First, Last, and Page __ of ## (you type in the page location in the box. It will look like this:
When you say OK, remember that the beginning of the document will be placed “Before” or “After” the very first page of the existing document you are working in, the very last page, or within the document at a specific page location. I usually select “Before” First (so it starts at the very beginning of the document), or “After” Last (so it is merely appended to the back end of the document, or “After” a specific page location (so it is placed in the middle of the document after a certain page).
If you want to see how the full document is laid out. On the left side, there are six icons (four left-side top and two left-side bottom). Right-click on the very first icon that looks like two pages and a vertical display of a thumbnail preview of your pages will appear.
Multiple Program Documents
If you are finding difficulty in getting different program information into one document (i.e., inserting Excel information into a Word document), just convert your documents into PDF and insert the pages with the tip I just explained. I have worked with a lot of administrative staff that just hate being bothered with the hassle of manipulating different program information into one consolidated document. This usually consists of Inserting an Object, or other techniques.
Manipulate Your PDF
You want to move your PDF pages into a different order. This is really simple. All you have to do is bring up your vertical thumbnail view I mentioned earlier, click-and-drag the page to its new location. The vertical slider will move up and down till you get where you want to drop your page.
Deleting PDF Pages
The easiest way to do this is to just mouse-click on the thumbnail page or by pressing down on the the Ctrl button, you can select as many pages as you want. Once you have made your selection, hit the Delete key. You will be prompted if you are sure you want to delete the page(s). Just click OK. Super easy!
Extraction
Lets say you have a large PDF document that you want to save specific pages as another file. Follow the same procedure as above to Insert Pages…, but instead select Extract Pages… Select the specific pages you want saved as a document, and don’t forget to select the radio button that says Extract Pages As Separate Files, and click OK. It will look like this:
A “Browser For Folder” prompt will appear, select the directory location for the separated pages to be saved and click OK. This process does not delete the pages from your existing document. It’s like saving a copy of those pages, and eliminating extraneous pages, to a separate file of only the information you want to dessiminate. I hope that makes sense.
Anyway, there are a lot of things you can do with PDFs in Adobe Acrobat, but these are just a few really useful and easy tips for putting together, consolidating, manipulating, or refining a PDF document.
If you like this tip, please share and let your friends know where they can get some useful tips and information. I enjoy getting your feedback and please let me know if you have a question about something that is driving you crazy and you really believe there has got to be an easier solution. I’ll see what I can do.
This is a referral post. More self-improvement for your writing.
One of the many things I do for work is review memos, reports, presentations, really anything that must form a coherent sentence and structure a thought. A big misunderstanding is the use of commas. Sometimes the rules may be flexible, but the idea is to be consistent. For example, using commas in a series. If you use it to separate every item, then make sure you use that style throughout. I prefer using the comma to separate every item because there are times when some things go together and the comma ensures that each thing is distinct in being presented. Just my preference.
I am attaching the link here for you to get some insight into the use and misuse of the comma. I couldn’t have put it better.
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/10/dumblittleman-guide-to-comma-use.html
Proofreading
1. Repeated words. Your spellchecker will usually flag these.
2. Substitutions and omissions. Missing words reduce the flow of your sentence or change the meaning of your statement. Pay attention that your “auto correction” does not transpose or change the intended word. Also, for example, you typed “word,” but meant to type “work.” Working with numbers and figures, you typed “$1250,” but meant “$12.50.” In legal documents, this can have serious ramifications.
3. Key data errors. Incorrect digits in phone numbers, zip codes, acronyms, and misspelling of names, cities, and addresses.
4. Transposing letters, numbers, and words. Such as “Kelly,” when the person’s correct spelling is “Kelley.” I always have to tell people how to spell my name because it is unusual, “Layne” instead of “Lane.” An example of a transposed word that means something else entirely, such as “trial” instead of “trail.”
5. Errors in spacing and inconsistency in formatting. If you indent one paragraph, indent them all. I prefer the double-space between sentences. You don’t have to with computers, but it still gives that bit of definition between sentence/thoughts. It also creates that little bit of white space so the paragraphs don’t “look” crammed. Also, make sure that you don’t have a double-space between words within a paragraph. When on full justification, that is when you will see it become distinctly noticeable. Which reminds me, check your justification that all paragraphs conform to the same style (full, left, right, and center), as well as tab settings (left, center, right, decimal bar) along with their leader style.
Editing
1. Spelling. You will be looking for compound words (hyphenated), plural and possessive endings. If you allow word division in your document, where part of a word runs to the next line with a hyphen breaking it, check the accuracy of the break.
2. Check for accuracy, omission, or extra punctuation marks. Should a question mark have been used instead of a period? Are commas being used consistently in all sentences that list a series (e.g., “period, comma, and colon” or “period, comma and colon”). Did you mean to use a colon instead of a semi-colon? Is a period missing before another complete sentence?
3. Check for errors in capitalization, number, and abbreviation style. Remember one through ten are spelled out. Unless your document relays a lot of numeric data, consistency take precedence. It is all about a consistent look and feel. If the month precedes the day, do not use “th,” “rd,” and “st.” If the day comes first, then you can apply those. Pay attention to the rules that apply to numbers.
4. Grammar and usage. Examples are “have” or “has” and “who” or “whom.” Did you mean “everyone” or “every one?” Brush up on these, sometimes they can be confusing.
5. Inconsistencies in wording. An example would be, “Mary and Fred had a great time at the seminar. We will have to let Jeff know so she should attend the next one.” The inconsistency would be if you recall Jeff having attended. Bring that to attention when making the edits. Also, pay attention to wording that translates a meaning that you did not intend (e.g., “The food was great at Rio City Café except Sunday.” Does that mean the food isn’t good on Sunday? or are they just closed?).
6. Inconsistencies in format. Look for consistency in titles, text, headings, displayed extracts, and numbered and bulleted lists. This includes font, font size, placement, etc.
7. Organization and writing style. The material may be correct in grammar, style, and usage, but it could still be unclear, repetitive wording, clumsy sentence structure, weak organization, or the tone is not appropriate for the purpose of the material.
8. Finally, look at the document through the intended recipient’s perspective. Does it accomplish its objective? Does it answer the four questions, who, what, when, where, and why? Is it meant to be persuasive or informational? Determine the objective and see if it fills that, or does it leave questions. NOTE: You may need someone else to look at it with fresh eyes as an objective, third party to determine this if you have spent a lot of time with it.
I would have preferred to separate these so it is not way too much information to digest, but proofing and editing seem to go together. I hope you find this information helpful. It will definitely help in making you the “go to” person when it comes to reviewing documentation. It is also nice to have a sort of “cheat sheet” of reminders of the various things to look out for proofing and editing documents.
This information was researched using the assistant’s “bible,” The Gregg Reference Manual, 10th Edition.
Please be kind if you find yourself proofing and editing this post. I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
Part of my job is proofreading documents for grammar, punctuation, and style for signature and final execution. Using a standard format and layout for internal and external memos and correspondence not only creates a consistent look and feel to the presentation of the company or department, but is easier to scan through because you know what to look for.
With technology, it is easy to let the computer do the work for us with its grammar and spellchecker, or just get lazy. A reminder when cash registers evolved to displaying to the cashier how much money to give to the customer. It’s still good idea to know the math. Some types of errors only become obvious when in print.
Take a look at the overall document layout for spacing, font, font size, justification, margins, etc. Then proceed through the text for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity of the message. Does this make sense? Are there some sentences that just seem to keep going on and on?
When returning edits to the originator, it’s easier to use the standard proofreader’s marks so you don’t find yourself explaining various markups each time. As with any written material, proofreaders’ marks are a form of communication.
When I used to work at a law firm in St. Paul, Minnesota, we called the little black binder clips “bull dogs” and the expanding reddish-brown folders “red ropes.” When I went to work in other offices, if I had to make an office supply request to the person in charge of that task, they had absolutely no idea what I was talking about when I referenced these items with my terminology.
Once edits to content are complete, take a final look for headers, footers, attachments, cc’s, the signature line, and pagination (eliminating widow/orphans and making sure at least two lines of text to a paragraph accompany the signature line).
Here is a great online Proofreaders’ Marks PDF resource link by McGraw-Hill that you can save and print.
The proofreading process can be different and more complex depending on the industry or documentation that includes technical, medical, legal, and research. This pretty basic information is a great starting off point. If you have any suggestions or tips for what helps you in your proofing and editing tasks, please share your technique. Learning a process that can simplify a job is always worth its weight in gold.
