Editor's Corner

Hello! I send emails to Symitar writers and writers in other JHA companies twice a week. The emails are called Nifty Nuggets, and they and provide writing tips in bite-sized portions. I’ll be sharing some nuggets of information with you while I guest-host the Editor’s Corner.

Today’s topic is about clear writing. Clear writing makes it easier for readers to understand the information and processes in technical documentation. Here are some tips from an article called “20 Strategies for Writing in Plain Language” from Daily Writing Tips:

· Identify and understand your readers and their needs: Who are they, and what is their likely reading level? What do they already know about the subject, and what do you want them to know? What do you need to write to convey this information? [JS – You need to know your audience so you can write effectively.]

· Write short sentences; keep the subject, verb, and object close. Place words carefully, and avoid double negatives. [JS – Lengthy sentences make writing difficult to read and understand. Readers should not lose their breath when reading sentences aloud. Trim sentence length by breaking long sentences into two or more separate sentences.]

· Write short paragraphs consisting of one topic, each starting with a topic sentence and linked to other paragraphs with transitional words and phrases such as next or “once you have submitted your application.” [JS – Transitions connect your paragraphs into logically coherent information. Whether they are single words, quick phrases, or full sentences, transitions help readers understand how the information works together. Transitions make
your writing clear and understandable for the reader.]

· Write to the reader, using second-person pronouns rather than third-person pronouns: “You must provide written proof”; “We will respond within seven business days.” This approach encourages you to write in active voice. Define the pronouns so that readers are clear about the categories of people or other entities—audience, information providers, and third parties — referred to as you, we, and they. [JS – Sometimes passive voice is acceptable; however, try to write in active voice as much as possible. Using active voice makes your writing clearer because
you identify the subject performing the action.]

· Don’t shy away from technical terms your audience knows, but avoid jargon. [JS – Avoid using jargon in your writing unless it is appropriate for the audience and no other words fit the situation.]

· Omit unnecessary words: Watch for verbose phrases. [JS – Avoid redundancies and wordy phrases in your writing because they distract, confuse, and bore readers. Make your writing more concise and less time-consuming for the
reader by getting to the point in as few words as possible.]

Jackie Solano | Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.542.6711 | Extension: 766711

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Good morning and happy Monday. Let’s get this week started!

On Friday, we talked about synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms. And I threatened that we would carry on today with an explanation of why homonyms can be hard to wrap your head around. It’s because there are so many similar but different terms that categorize the group of words we refer to as homonyms. Today I’m going to discuss homophones, homographs, and heteronyms. No one expects you to memorize this information (except maybe your fifth grade teacher), but it will illustrate how complicated the English language is. We have so many different ways to spell the same sounds and different ways to pronounce words that are spelled alike. I feel a need to apologize to all of you English language learners!

Okay, think all the way back to Friday and remember that homonyms are words that have different meanings, but they have the same pronunciation. Homonyms may or may not be spelled the same. I gave these examples:

· bark (the noise a dog makes / the exterior covering of a tree) [dbb – This word is pronounced the same way for both meanings.]

· pair / pare / pear (two / trim / fruit) [dbb – This group of words also fits into the homophone
grouping below, which is where the confusion begins!]

Homophones are listed below. These words have the same pronunciation, but they always have different spellings and different meanings. Some common examples are:

· pair / pare / pear

· accept / except

· coarse / course

· vein / vain / vane

And then there are homographs, which are words that are always spelled the same, but they have different meanings, and they may or may not have the same pronunciation. [dbb – Thank goodness for examples because this is getting confusing; and we expect fifth graders to memorize this!]:

· lie (untruth) / lie (lie down) [dbb – These first two bullets show words that have different meanings, but they have the same pronunciation and the same spelling.]

· bolt (to run) / bolt (a metal bar) / bolt (a roll of cloth)

· tear (moisture from your eye / tear (rip) [dbb – The next three bullets show words that are spelled the same but they have different pronunciations. These words also fit into the
heteronyms grouping below. Oh, those poor fifth graders.]

· bass (fish) / bass (the lowest male singing voice)

· desert (dry climate) / desert (leave alone)

And, finally, there are heteronyms, which are words that have different meanings and a different pronunciation, but they are always spelled the same:

· tear (rip) / tear (moisture from your eye)

· bass (fish) / bass (the lowest male singing voice)

· desert (dry climate) / desert (leave alone)

· dove (bird) / dove (past tense of dive)

· invalid (not valid) / invalid (one suffering from a disability)

Okay, I’m going to have to take a nap now. This English language has worn me out. Have a great day!

Donna Bradley Burcher | Technical Editor, Adv. | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

Per the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training, avoid abbreviating words and phrases. Spell out the word instead. Here are some examples:

When you use an abbreviation, spell out the first instance in each topic.

Incorrect:

Your CU can customize the ELA.

Correct:

Your credit union can customize the Enhanced Loan Application (ELA).

Jackie Solano | Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.542.6711 | Extension: 766711

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I’m starting the weekend a day early with Thursday mondegreens. Before I do, however, I want to tell you a secret. I am sharing the next couple of weeks in Editor’s Corner with three of my favorite women: Donna Bradley Burcher, Jackie Solano, and Laura Bowers. It’s a little crowded in the corner, so it’s a good thing we get along.

Please welcome my co-editors as they continue to pass along grammar tidbits, vocabulary vittles, and language lumps to you for your reading and learning pleasure.

Today’s mondegreens are from The Ants Are My Friends, by Martin Toseland.

Next time we meet, I hope to have a lot of interesting information to share and tales to tell!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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I don’t know if any of you learned the song “I Can Sing a Rainbow” as kids, but my brother and I learned a jacked-up version of it in Catholic school and it did NOT help us remember the order of colors in a prism later on. The song talks about pink, for goodness sake—and leaves indigo out altogether! But I digress.

Today’s little nugget of wisdom, from Daily Writing Tips, is about some colorful words we have borrowed from Greek.

Black
We get the combining form melano from the Greek word meaning dark or black.

· melancholy: a gloomy mental state; according to ancient physiology, a humor called “black bile” was secreted by the kidneys and the spleen, and was thought to cause melancholia.

· melanoma: a skin tumor containing a dark pigment.

· melanin: any dark brown or black pigments of animal or plant structures, for example, hair, or the surface of a raw potato when exposed to air.

White
The element leuk in certain medical terms is from the Greek word for white.

· leukemia: a chronic disease characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells.

· leukocyte: a white blood cell.

Red
The Greek word for red gives us the combining form erythro, which is used in the specialized terminology of medicine, chemistry, and mineralogy.

· erythrophyll: the red coloring matter of leaves in autumn.

· erythroretin: a resinous constituent of rhubarb root.

· erythroscope: an optical contrivance, by which the green of foliage is caused to appear red, while all other green objects retain their natural color.

· erythrocyte: a red blood corpuscle.

Blue
Cyan is the Greek word for dark blue, but what artists call “cyan blue” is a color midway between green and blue.

· cyanide: an extremely poisonous crystalline solid. It got its name because it was first obtained by heating the dye pigment known as Prussian blue.

· cyanin: the blue coloring matter of certain flowers (e.g., violets and cornflowers).

· cyanosis: blueness of the skin owing to the circulation of imperfectly oxygenated blood.

Green
The Greek word from which we get the combining form chlor described a pale green.

· chlorophyll: the coloring matter of the leaves and other green parts of plants.

· chlorine: a yellowish-green heavy gas.

Finally, the Greek word for color gives us the combining form chromo, which creates nouns and adjectives that denote colored objects, coloring processes, and coloring agents:

· chromatic: full of color.

· polychrome: art executed in many colors.

· chromium: a metallic element remarkable for the brilliant colors—red, yellow, or green—of its compounds.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Regarding my post earlier today, my sincerest apologies for confusing United States Representative, Paul Ryan, with an imaginary senator, John Ryan. Perhaps his boyish good looks and widow’s peak got me all a-twitter and I not only botched his title, but his name.

US Representative (Wisconsin) Paul Ryan

My apologies also to Tom Clancy fans, who envision John Patrick “Jack” Ryan as one of these leading men (none of whom have a widow’s peak):

Your humble servant,

Editrix the Errorist

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As I visited with my parents the other day and caught them up on things, I mentioned that my friend, co-worker, and Nifty Nuggets writer, Jackie, calls me “Eddie.”

“Oh how cute,” my dad said, “Eddie the editor.”

“That is cute,” I said, “But actually she calls me Eddie, as in ‘Eddie Munster,’ because when my hair was short you could see my widow’s peak.”

Eddie Munster

In case you aren’t familiar with the term widow’s peak, it is when the hairline on your forehead comes to a “V” in the middle—like Eddie Munster, Count Dracula, and other famously “peaked” individuals.

Marilyn Monroe, with the most glamorous of widow’s peaks

US Senator John Ryan, sporting a prominent widow’s peak

So after comparing hairlines and discussing other terms, like the widow’s walk on a house, we came back to pondering where the term widow’s peak comes from. This one’s for you, Dad!

According to Wikipedia:

The term stems from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead—suggestive of the peak of a widow’s hood—is an omen of early widowhood. The use of peak in relation to hair dates from 1833. The expression widow’s peak dates from 1849. The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front.

Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century. A mourning cap or “Mary Stuart Cap” is a cap which features a very distinctive triangular fold of cloth in the middle of the forehead, creating an artificial widow’s peak.

Mary Stuart (Mary, Queen of Scots) in a “widow’s cap”

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Avoid redundancies and wordy phrases when writing because they distract, confuse, and bore readers. Make your writing less time-consuming and more concise for the reader by getting to the point in as few words as possible.

Jackie Solano | Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.542.6711 | Extension: 766711

Yesterday at the coffee cart, I was asked a question about questions. With a little research, I found this article which talks about some anomalies when it comes to questions. The article was written by Mignon Fogarty’s guest, Bonnie Trenga Mills. For Ms. Mills’ complete article and citations, please see the original article here: Grammar Girl.

Rhetorical Questions

You’ve probably heard rhetorical questions more often than you realize. You start a sentence with a negative word when you mean something positive. So “Wasn’t that movie great?” means that you think the movie was great. It seems counterintuitive, but that’s the way English works. It’s called a rhetorical question, and it can end in either a question mark or an exclamation point, and in dialogue you can sometimes even have a speaker’s rhetorical question end in a period.

Another example of a rhetorical question is “Isn’t she leaving?” That question means you think the woman is leaving, but you want to confirm. Rhetorical questions like this take a negative form. If you make the “Isn’t she leaving?” question positive, it becomes just a regular question: “Is she leaving?” If you ask "Is she leaving?" you don’t know the answer; whereas with the rhetorical question “Isn’t she leaving?” you are assuming she is leaving.

Rhetorical questions have popped up in pop music. Stevie Wonder, for example, wrote a famous song called “Isn’t She Lovely,” whose lyrics begin:

“Isn’t she lovely,

Isn’t she wonderful,

Isn’t she precious,”

Mr. Wonder definitely thinks the girl is lovely, wonderful, and precious. No question about that.

These kinds of rhetorical questions seem to be quite conversational. You wouldn’t want to write, “Aren’t I the perfect person for this job?” in a job cover letter, nor would you want to say, “Isn’t it obvious that you should hire me?” in an interview. There are better ways to sound more qualified and more professional.

Tag Questions

The second kind of question we’re talking about today is called a tag question. “Tag questions, a peculiarity of English, are usually spoken rather than written,” states the website English Online. The rhetorical question “Isn’t she leaving?” means about the same thing as “She is leaving, isn’t she?” Students who are learning English often find this kind of construction puzzling because the speaker uses a negative form to mean something positive. As the Interesting Thing of the Daywebsite wisely explains, “The simplest way to make a tag question in English is to repeat the verb, negate it, and then repeat the subject. For example, ‘He is smart’ becomes ‘He is smart, isn’t he?" Note how the word "isn’t" is negating the verb "is" from the first part of the sentence: "He IS smart, ISN’T he?"

"If the verb is already negative, you just make it positive. ‘It won’t rain’ becomes ‘It won’t rain, will it?’" So, if we wanted to change Aaron’s rhetorical question “Isn’t it funny?” into a tag question, we would say, “It’s funny, isn’t it?” Both sentences mean “I think it’s funny.”

One clue that tag questions are best left to informal situations is that you often hear them used with contractions, which themselves are a bit informal. It would sound weird to ask "It will not rain, will it?" It sounds much more normal with a contraction: "It won’t rain, will it?"

Summary

In summary, rhetorical questions and tag questions are normal parts of everyday speech, but they are informal. It’s therefore best to avoid them in formal situations.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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As I mentioned yesterday, today is National Punctuation Day. I have a special treat for you from the quintessential grammarian and verbivore, Richard Lederer. This article is from his blog and was also published in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Now is the time to stamp out apostrophe catastrophes

Believe it or not, each year Sept. 24 is National Punctuation Day. Now you might think that celebrating those little and lowly dots, lines and curves is about as significant as celebrating a leaky faucet or scoring a perfect 100 on an IQ test. But correct punctuation is perhaps the most useful aid to making your writing reader-friendly. [KC – Since this is from the newspaper where they use the
AP Style Guide, there is no serial comma in the first sentence. I think it is much clearer with it, however: “…celebrating those little and lowly dots, lines, and curves is…”]

Of all the marks of punctuation, the most off-putting is the apostrophe. In fact, this little squiggle is so off-putting that people put apostrophes off when they should be putting them on paper and often put them on when they should put them off.

A famous “New Yorker” cartoon depicts a policeman pulling over to the side of the road a truck labeled, “Me and Wallys Produce.” The cop says to the driver, “Sorry, but I’m going to have to issue you a summons for reckless grammar and driving without an apostrophe.”

Turns out that many of us are guilty of driving without an apostrophe or carrying too many of them in our sentences:

· The Midas Muffler Company once advertised, “It Pay’s to Midasize.”

· The erudite Harvard Club of Boston was crimson-faced to discover that one of its restrooms was labeled “Mens’ Room.”

· Many a marketplace displays labels that read, “Potato’s,” “Pear’s” and (gasp!) “Peach’es.” I call these gratuitous squiggles Prepostrophes.

· In a weekly swap-shop guide appeared this grisly (not grizzly or gristly) ad: “Wanted: Piano to replace daughters lost in fire.”

· An investment firm boasts, “We get our customer’s top dollar.”

One of the most daunting challenges of punctuation is to employ the apostrophe to make a noun possessive. To convert a singular noun to a possessive, simply add an apostrophe and an s: Wally’s Produce, the policeman’s badge.

Grammarians and publications differ on forming the possessive of singular words ending in sibilants — s, z, c, x. I recommend that you add the s after an apostrophe if you would pronounce that s: the boss’s daughter, Dickens’s novels, (Dickens’ novels is also acceptable) Aristophanes’ plays. [KC: The
Chicago Manual of Style differs in its rules for the apostrophe “s” after names ending in “s.” It recommends using the apostrophe “s,” even if it is not pronounced.]

Possessive forms of personal pronouns, such as yours, hers, his and ours, do not take apostrophes. It’s used as a possessive pronoun is so ubiquitous that it has become the most common spelling/punctuation atrocity in our language. Please, please, please remember that it’s is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” It’s is not a possessive.

Which dog has the upper paw?:

a) A clever dog knows its master.

b) A clever dog knows it’s master.

It’s the second dog, of course. It knows that it is master.

For a plural word that ends with a letter other than s, form the possessive as if the word were singular: the people’s choice, the men’s room.

Now, what about words and names that are pluralized by adding s or es? Simply add an apostrophe only: the readers’ opinions, the Smiths’ dog, the foxes’ teeth.

This brings us to those names we see in front of houses and on mailboxes everywhere — “The Smith’s,” “The Gump’s,” and even (sigh) “The Jone’s.” These are distressing signs of our times. Which Smith, we ask, and who, pray tell, is Jone? Here we have an atrocity of both case and number in one felonious swoop.

Who lives in the house? The Smiths. The Gumps. The Joneses. That’s what the signs should say. It’s really nobody else’s business whether the Smiths, the Gumps and the Joneses own their domiciles. All we need know is that the Smiths, the Gumps and the Joneses live there.

If you must announce possession of your domicile, place the apostrophe after, not before, the plural names: “The Smiths’,” “The Gumps’,” “The Joneses’.” Your attention to this matter will help stanch the creep of apostrophe catastrophes across our land.

Maybe great taste deserves a reward, but bad punctuation doesn’t!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory