Overcoming Bad Writing Habits 9

[BJCooperIT]

We once discussed the importance of spelling and grammar here at TT. I cannot locate that thread, but in general we all agreed that our professional images suffer from bad habits in our writing. We also agreed that spell checking and proofreading are important.

The purpose of this thread is to provide tips to help make us aware of and overcome common mistakes. A few months ago I discovered that there was a word which I was mispronouncing. This was not a new word, indeed it is commonly used. I was embarrassed when I realized that I have been making this mistake all my life. That set me to thinking, what other "mistakes" do I make of which I am unaware? I always struggle with punctuation and know that I could use a few pointers there.

Since this site is dedicated to helping other professionals, I would like this thread to provide tips that may be helpful. If you read a something you already know, then good for you. If you benefit from it, even better! Hopefully, each one of us can find some little bad habit we can overcome.

I used

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

as a reference. Here are 3 common mistakes that are on the top of my hit parade:

THAN vs. THEN
THAN: "...taken as the point of departure in a comparison expressive of inequality... easier said than done"
THEN: "next in order of time... first came the clowns, then came the elephants"
I remember this by thinking "than" compares 2 items

TO vs. TOO
TO: "used as a function word to indicate movement or an action or condition suggestive of movement... drove to the city"
TOO: ": BESIDES, ALSO... sell the house and furniture too"
I remember this by thinking if it is excessive, there are too many O's

DANGLING PREPOSITONS
Remember prepositions? at, to, for, with, in, on...
I had an English teacher who would automatically give a failing grade to any paper in which she found a sentence that ended with a preposition. This would include something like "What did you go to the store for?". I am forever rewriting sentences to avoid this mistake.

How about it? Give us your recommendations.

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8.1.7 - Windows 2000

 

[rosieb]

sleipnir214
I'm just surprised no-one challenged this one before. It's simply a pet hate. But...

<facetious>
1. If you stipulate my authority, you can hardly revoke it when it suits you. Middle English has its attractions.

2. Personal authority - absolutely none.
(though my predujuces were gleaned from many years of working for a (UK) publisher, whose editor was locally reknowned for his linguistic style).

Passion - Yes, I just hate it - and I don't even know why. For some reason this particular useage just makes me froth at the mouth.

3. You win! But, dictionaries now record what is used as opposed to what should be used. But does the fact that a dictionary records a word make it acceptable? Other threads here have excoriated the use of text messaging abbreviations as unprofessional. If a dictionary accepts them, are they suddenly acceptable?

4. One of my main arguments against "to author" is that it is imprecise, it implies "to be written by" but in effect can mean "to have the name on, but with minimal input". The person who "authored" a work may not actually have written it. Ergo, does it really have a meaning?

<who am I to argue?>
Would that stop you?

<\facetiousness>

Is consensus always right?

I feel that, by refusing to accept this useage, I strike a (tiny) blow for real literacy.

Rosie

 

[CajunCenturion]

But does the fact that a dictionary records a word make it acceptable? Other threads here have excoriated the use of text messaging abbreviations as unprofessional. If a dictionary accepts them, are they suddenly acceptable?

Absolutely not. Many dictionaries also include a number of four letter words which I doubt anyone consider acceptable in certain circumstances. There is an entire thread thread717-780028 dedicated to the unacceptability of such words in a professional environment. The dictionary defines the word, not its acceptable usage circumstances.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Onyxpurr]

CajunCenturion

Ah! But if it's in a dictionary, that doesn't mean you have to use it or like it. However, they are still widely recognized (if not used) words.

Just because something is in a dictionary, don't feel you have to use it. This is why we have a thesaurus!

(By the way, I refuse to recognize the new pronunciation of harassment <hairesment>. Hmm now that I think of it, maybe people didn't like the old pronunciation because it sounded too much like you were trying to swear <her-ass-ment>)

 

[CajunCenturion]

Onyxpurr - Did we disagree on something?

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[sleipnir214]

AnanthaP

<facetious>
You're right. I should have used "cited". But shouldn't you have used "citation"?
</factetious>

rosieb:

One of my main arguments against "to author" is that it is imprecise, it implies "to be written by" but in effect can mean "to have the name on, but with minimal input". The person who "authored" a work may not actually have written it.

Then perhaps you are really decrying the overuse of the word? If I am listed as the author of a book, but I used a ghost writer to actually produce the work, would it not be more correct to say that I authored it? I certainly didn't write it -- my ghost writer did.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[Onyxpurr]

CajunCenturion - Sorry about that. I guess I should stop replying to tek-tips first thing in the a.m.

I guess just generally, I'm saying that the English language varies from year to year and what may not have been a word last year, could be one (recognized by the public and Websters) this year.

And our English teachers wondered why we were so frustrated? I personally prefer VB over English. Much less complicated.

End

 

[sleipnir214]

I personally prefer VB over English. Much less complicated.

<facetious>
And you know, that's really saying something!
</facetious>




Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[rosieb]

sleipnir214

I think the word is misused, my dictionary defines it as "to be the author of", and defines "author" as "writer" or "originator".

My objection is that there are perfectly good words for the action of an author in creating a work. (I dearly wish I could find a source for its first recorded use as a verb, I suspect the 80's and a piece of "bad" writing which has slid into general use, hence its current recognition by dictionaries.)

But, I (personally) don't consider its recognition by dictionaries makes it acceptable, or professional.

I freely admit that this is a very personal prejudice.

Rosie

 

[CajunCenturion]

According to the following site:

http://www.etymonline.com/a9etym.htm

author - c.1300, autor "father," from O.Fr. auctor, from L. auctorem (nom. auctor) "enlarger, founder," lit. "one who causes to grow," agent noun from augere "to increase" (see augment). Meaning "one who sets forth written statements" is from c.1380. The -t- changed to -th- on mistaken assumption of Gk. origin. The verb is attested from 1596.

The last line of the quote is telling.

Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[rosieb]

CajunCenturion

Nice site, thanks for the link.

<Throws up hands and admits to being beaten, technically.>

(Still doesn't mean I have to like it, though. I still stand by my other comments.)

Rosie

 

[sleipnir214]

rosieb:

According to this entry at Yourdictionary.com, a majority of their usage panel agree with you.

That article also states the verb "to author" fell out of usage for a long time and has been recently rejuvenated. From which I infer that its recent usage as a transitive verb is new, but that it was also once (perhaps in Middle English?) used as a verb before, too

But the word "author", according to the link above, is derived from the Latin word auctor, which means, simply, "creator".

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think it's time to put an end to this thread.

If if anyone wishes to continue the discussion, then by all means do so, but I suggest that a new thread be started.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[ChrisHunt]

Author as a verb (nasty, ugly usage that it is) goes back a long way. This 1913 dictionary includes it:

http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=author

and cites some even older examples (Jacobean playwright Philip Massinger, for example). doesn't make me want to use it though.

At least there's some subtle difference in meaning between authoring a book and writing it, though I'm not sure which one the ghostwriter does and which the brainless celeb with his name on the cover does. There's a reason for developing a new word.

MY pet peeve is - why do so many of our American cousins say "utilize" instead of "use"?

-- Chris Hunt

http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk

http://www.napitalia.org.uk

http://www.leicesteryha.org.uk

 

[sleipnir214]

It could be that utilize and use can be but are not necessarily synonyms. This page at yourdictionary.com states that utilize is appropriate in the narrower sense of making something profitable or finding a new and practical use for something.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[Onyxpurr]

I think the new utilization of the word utilize comes from the TQM era in big business. It seems that when TQM was introduced this was one of the buzzwords used constantly.

Plus it's just another word that sounds much more professional than used. If I want to sound edumacated I'll use the word utilize as opposed to use. <grin>

If I want to plain use an object, I'll say "Let's start us ing that report." If I feel that using it would be a good idea and we would benefit from it, I might say, "Let's utilize that report and benefit from it's analysis.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think that continuing use of this thread is not the best utilization of the available bandwidth.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[ZoomDah]

What would be the right way to say
"What did you go to the store for?"

Thanks

 

[CajunCenturion]

That would be a good question to ask in the "Making an Impression" Forum - forum1256

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein