17. Spelling matters to readers
“Our readers remind us constantly that
spelling matters.”
“Misspellings and typos in the newspaper
and online can provoke more passionate
reader indignation than just about any
other journalistic transgression.”
Kathy English, public editor, Toronto Star
18. TED talk on texting
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoF2vd
LxsVQ
19. Grammar quiz
O Class divides into two teams
O Each team member answers a question
O If that team member can’t answer, the
other team gets a chance for half a point.
O Have fun!
20. Grammar quiz
Question 1:
It’s been a particularly dry
summer in Halifax.
Meteorologists recorded less
than 10 days of rain from June
through September.
21. Grammar quiz
Answer 1: It should be “fewer than 10
days”
O Use “fewer” for count nouns:
I drink fewer cups of coffee at night than I
used to.
O Use “less” for mass nouns:
I drink less coffee at night than I used to.
O The “less than 10 items” sign at the
grocery store should read “fewer”.
22. Grammar quiz
Question 2:
The elementary school’s new
meditation program has a
calming affect on students,
principal Bob Connor says.
23. Grammar quiz
Answer 2: It should be effect, not
affect.
Affect (verb): to influence, have an
effect on.
Effect (noun or verb): a result; to
bring about, accomplish
24. Grammar quiz
Question 3:
Every time they take the
children to the neighbourhood
park, they see used syringes
laying on the grass.
25. Grammar quiz
Answer 3:
It’s lying rather than laying.
Lie doesn’t require a direct
object, but lay does:
He lies down to sleep.
He lays the book down on the
table.
27. Grammar quiz
Answer 4:
The masked man who fled
the scene of the robbery.
That usually refers to objects,
who usually refers to people.
28. Grammar quiz
Question 5:
“Sexist frosh chants aren’t just
a womens’ issue,” said Katrina
Jones, who studies at McGill
University. “The school culture
concerns all students.”
29. Grammar quiz
Answer 5: It’s apostrophe s in women’s,
children’s, people’s.
Singular and plural nouns that don’t end in s
take an apostrophe s to form the
possessive.
Plural nouns ending in s take an apostrophe
alone:
Teachers’ apples, the Joneses’ daughter
30. Grammar quiz
Question 6:
Now that the provincial election
campaign has kicked off,
candidates’ posters will be an every
day sight around Halifax.
36. Grammar quiz
Answer 8:
It should be ’80s and ’90s, not
80’s and 90’s.
The apostrophe stands for the
missing 19 in 1980 and 1990.
37. Grammar quiz
Question 9:
The couple was planning to file
a lawsuit against the
construction company that built
their leaky condo.
38. Grammar quiz
O Answer 9: The couple were
planning – couple takes a plural
verb when it is used in the sense of
two persons.
O When the word couple treats two
people as a unit, the verb is
singular:
A couple pays a $10 ticket.
39. Grammar quiz
Question 10:
A student who participated in
yesterday’s anti-war demonstration
claimed they were a victim of police
brutality.
40. Grammar quiz
Answer 10:
The word “they” is plural, and
doesn’t agree with “student”.
The correct pronoun is he or
she.
This is an example of pronoun-
antecedent disagreement
42. Grammar quiz
Answer 11:
Sentence should read “Having
battered and bruised Louisiana,
Hurricane Isaac moved onto its
next victim, Florida.
This is an example of a dangling
modifier.
44. Grammar quiz
Answer 12:
It should be whom, not who,
because whom refers to the
object, who to the subject.
Who stands for he, she or they
Whom stands for him, her or them
45. Grammar quiz
Question 13:
The Conservatives’ new policy
on immigration is one of many
that Liberals take issue with.
46. Grammar quiz
Answer 13:
Sentence ends with a preposition. It
should be re-written to something
along the lines of:
Liberals take issue with many of the
Conservatives’ new policies,
including their approach to
immigration.
47. Grammar quiz
Question 14:
Quebec public health officials fear
that the ongoing outbreak of
Legionnaires’ disease put
hospitalized seniors at risk.
48. Answer 15
Answer 14:
Keep verb tense consistent. It
should stay in the present and
be “puts” seniors at risk.
49. Grammar quiz
Question 15:
The demonstrators marched
peacefully carrying signs and
chanting protests toward city
hall.
50. Grammar quiz
Answer 15:
The sentence needs commas: The
demonstrators marched peacefully,
carrying signs and chanting protests,
toward city hall.
The commas are used to set off a
parenthetical clause.
51. Grammar quiz
Question 16:
“Their going to get a chance to
pass judgment on all three
parties and decide whom they
want in power,” said Liberal
leader Stephen McNeil
yesterday.
52. Grammar quiz
Answer 16: It’s “they’re”, not
“their”.
They’re is a contraction of they
are, their is a pronoun and there
is a noun.
55. Grammar quiz
Answer 18:
The expression is “to pique
interest”. There’s a difference
between peak, peek and pique.
56. Grammar quiz
Question 19:
The dog owner received a $30
fine for letting his German
shepherd off it’s leash near the
playground at the Halifax
Commons.
61. Grammar quiz
Question 18:
A childhood whale-watching trip
peaked Jane Smith’s interest in
marine biology, leading her to
pursue the subject at Dalhousie
University.
62. • grammar
• spelling
• word usage
• CP style
• structure
• fact-checking
• news
judgment/bala
nce
• look at story
from reader’s
point of view
What is copy editing?
64. Copy editors are … you!
O Copy desks are shrinking
O Many stories go online raw
O Questionable social media and other
online sources
O As corrections increase, credibility
decreases
O Onus is on reporters to get it right
O Apply same standards to blogging,
Twitter, Facebook
65. What is CP style?
CP style is a set of journalism standards
established by The Canadian Press,
Canada’s national news agency.
Canadian Press provides national wire
stories to many news agencies.
Many media outlets follow the CP Stylebook
for consistency in reporting and editing.
67. 10 examples of CP style
1. Trade names
It’s iPad, Velcro, Jell-O, Jimmy Choo shoes
Upper case in general; consult official website in
specific cases.
2. Titles
It’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but Montreal
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.
Formal, integral titles are capped; occupational
titles are not
68. CP style
3. Don’t use a serial comma!
Correct: We ate apples, oranges and bananas.
Incorrect: We ate apples, oranges, and bananas.
4. Acronyms
Use familiar ones (NATO, NHL, WHO, CBC), but not
obscure ones, like the Nova Scotia Knitters’ League
(NSKL)
5. Numbers
Spell out numbers below 10 and use figures for 10 and
up. Example: The bus crash left two people dead
and 12 injured.
69. CP style
6. In Canada, words end in “our”, not “or”.
For example: colour, labour, behaviour
7. Per cent
When referring to statistics we write “per cent”, not
percent or %.
Example: The government plans a five per cent
increase in education spending this year.
8. When a sentence starts with a number, write it
out.
Example: Five thousand homes lost electricity when
the storm hit yesterday.
70. CP style
9. Periods are used in geographical and time
acronyms, but not in other acronyms.
Example: CBC radio, CTV news
Geographical: Chester, N.S., Montreal, Que.
Time: 10 a.m., 11 p.m.
10. Street names
Full names are capped: Wall Street, Bay Street.
Addresses are abbreviated: 15 Barrington St.
Since many of you probably started texting long before I did, you may be wondering whether spelling still matters. The article covers two sides: some say language and grammar just as important as ever; others say not as important. What are your thoughts? How do you feel about grammar and language use in general? Anyone have pet peeves about others’ grammar mistakes? Do you think that since anyone can publish online, good use of language can set you apart?
Hand and cheese sandwich
Piggy’s vs.Piggies
South of the Boarder – here’s a classic case of a homophone mixup. How should border be spelled? This picture was taken in L.A.
If anyone here is planning on getting a tattoo, remember to bring a dictionary. If there is a word that has personal significance for you, learn how to spell it. The sad part about this is that neither the tattoo artist nor the client caught the mistake.
So let’s look at some examples of typos and other mistakes in journalism and see how silly it makes us look.
See the problem with this headline? Unfortunately, spell check can’t always help us!
This one’s priceless. You can’t make this stuff up.
This is where the Chronicle Herald misspelled its own name when announcing some awards.
Here we have more classic apostrophe abuse, plus the capitalization of every word.
Another major category of mistakes is the use of unnecessary quotations. In researching this class, I discovered that there is an entire blog and book dedicated to the abuse of quotation marks. Imagine saying this sentence with air quotes – there is an implication of something very wrong with those boxes.
Here’s another example of misused quotes. It seems that the sign writer wants to emphasize the phrase is not by highlighting it with quotes. Have they heard of underlining?
Fried boloney sandwiches. “They’re delicious!” Says who? The people trying to sell them. No need to quote yourself. Sign writers like to use quotes to imply that this is a testimonial about the offered service or product.
Don’t think that misspelling and word usage is only of importance if you’re going into print or online work. This one goes out to all the broadcast people in here. This incident took place after an interview about Vancouver Island, where, according to the interviewee, people used to “canoodle”.
One of the signs that spelling does still matter is readers’ reaction to misspelling. Here are some quotes from Kathy English, the Toronto Star’s public editor.
I don’t believe texting will kill the English language, and I’ll show you a video that helps put texting in perspective. This is part of a TED talk by linguist and writer John McWhorter. TED stands for Technology, Education and Design – speakers are chosen on various topics; their speeches posted online.
