A Lesson in Punctuation
As a university English instructor I am used to cringing over public errors in punctuation and grammar. We are a nation of relative illiterates when compared with our grandmothers and grandfathers, who took pride in such things. I cannot pick up a magazine or newspaper without having to endure a handful of mistakes mechanical and typographical.
What is more disturbing is seeing this trend in books. Absent traditional editors, book publication is now reliant on the author's proofreading skills, and, as we all know, a person cannot adequately proofread his or her own work. It is a glitch in our make-up and a fallacy to believe otherwise. And I couldn't be more weary of finding them on bookclub sites--which I now, as a 21st century author, am expected to frequent--and on literary journal sites, although some are admittedly more exacting about these details than others (Bookslut comes to mind.)
What is most worrisome, however, is the world of e-books, which apparently has no editing oversight at all. I will spare authors the embarrassment by not naming names, but I would humbly offer the following:
1. Quotation marks: except in certain situations involving question marks, colons, and semi-colons, ALL punctuation occurs INSIDE the quotation marks. Look it up.
2. Fewer than/less than: if you can count it, use fewer than; if you can measure it, use less than. Example: those signs in the grocery store should say, "15 items or fewer." If your local store doesn't have it right, complain. Enough folks complained that the Albertson's chain out west finally got it right.
3. Apostrophes: it's is a contraction of it is; its is the possessive form of it meaning "belonging to it." They are not interchangeable
A good online resource is The Purdue Owl (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/sec...).
A good book is: CORRECTING COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH by George Kennedy and Nancy McKee.
And, in keeping with my classroom policy, if you find errors in my work, please let me know.
What is more disturbing is seeing this trend in books. Absent traditional editors, book publication is now reliant on the author's proofreading skills, and, as we all know, a person cannot adequately proofread his or her own work. It is a glitch in our make-up and a fallacy to believe otherwise. And I couldn't be more weary of finding them on bookclub sites--which I now, as a 21st century author, am expected to frequent--and on literary journal sites, although some are admittedly more exacting about these details than others (Bookslut comes to mind.)
What is most worrisome, however, is the world of e-books, which apparently has no editing oversight at all. I will spare authors the embarrassment by not naming names, but I would humbly offer the following:
1. Quotation marks: except in certain situations involving question marks, colons, and semi-colons, ALL punctuation occurs INSIDE the quotation marks. Look it up.
2. Fewer than/less than: if you can count it, use fewer than; if you can measure it, use less than. Example: those signs in the grocery store should say, "15 items or fewer." If your local store doesn't have it right, complain. Enough folks complained that the Albertson's chain out west finally got it right.
3. Apostrophes: it's is a contraction of it is; its is the possessive form of it meaning "belonging to it." They are not interchangeable
A good online resource is The Purdue Owl (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/sec...).
A good book is: CORRECTING COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH by George Kennedy and Nancy McKee.
And, in keeping with my classroom policy, if you find errors in my work, please let me know.
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