Editor's Corner

Avoid using unclear references whenever you use a pronoun (you, they, it, etc.) or an article (this, that, etc.) to make sure the reference is clear. In general, use specific descriptions instead of pronouns or articles unless the reference is absolutely clear. Some people make the mistake of using unclear references to avoid repetition; however, no puppy should ever have to suffer.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

As I was watching one of my guilty pleasures Sunday (Game of Thrones), I actually learned some new terms that I thought I’d share with you. As the Sworn Brothers of the Night’s Watch prepared their arrows for the attack of the Wildings, you hear the commands “Nock! Draw! Loose!”

I found it very interesting that archery has its own version of ready-aim-fire, but not one of the words is the same. Here (with some added punctuation from me) are the definitions, from Wikipedia’s Glossary of Archery Terms:

· nock: The act of setting an arrow in a bow

· draw: The act of pulling an arrow against a bow string in readiness for shooting

· loose: The act of shooting an arrow from a bow (a.k.a. “release”)

And along that same note, for those of you with the last name of Archer or Bowman, you can guess what at least one of your former ancestors did. But if your last name is Fletcher, did you know that one of the people in your family was someone who made arrows?

Interesting stuff!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Here are the last of the capitalization guidelines from the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
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together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
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immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

After yesterday’s Editor’s Corner on academic degrees, I received a question on some different types of degree (Celsius and Fahrenheit). Wouldn’t you know, there are rules on capitalizing the different terms of measurement that are derived from proper names. The standard rule from the Chicago Manual of Style is to lowercase the full name of the unit of measure (if it is based on a person’s name), but to use an uppercase letter to abbreviate the measurement.

Of course there is an exception to that exceptional rule: when a term follows the word “degree” it is capitalized. For example, “It was a hot day in Athens—the thermometer reached 42 degrees Celsius.”

I’ve compiled a table below based on information from Wikipedia and the Chicago Manual of Style. It includes different measurements named after people, what the units measure, and a little information about what those folks did for a living. Enjoy!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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What do poppies and questions about graduation have in common? They both seem to pop up in late May or June!

Not much of a riddle, but I do get tons of questions this time of year about the proper grammar for discussing graduation and the appropriate way to punctuate different types of degrees.

Donna covered the graduation question a couple months ago here: https://episystechpubs.com/2014/06/09/pet-peeves-graduation/

As far as degree types, here are some general rules:

· Use lowercase letters for the degree unless you are writing the formal name for a particular degree:

o I think she has a master’s degree of some kind.

o Jane has a Master of Educational Technology Degree from San Diego State University.

Note: Universities and other institutions often capitalize academic degrees, but when speaking of degrees in general prose, it is most appropriate to lowercase them.

· The Chicago Manual of Style recommends omitting the periods between abbreviations. For example:

o BA = bachelor of arts

o BFA = bachelor of fine arts

o DDS = doctor of dental surgery

o JD = juris doctor (doctor of law)

o MBA = master of business administration

o MD = medicinae doctor (doctor of medicine)

o Etc.

· Don’t let the apostrophe throw you off. Here are the correct versions of some of the most common degrees:

o associate degree

o bachelor’s degree

o doctoral degree

o master’s degree

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
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is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Pet peeves, everyone has them.

Grammatical pet peeves, persnickety people with too much time on their hands have them.

Untrue! Unfair! I do not have too much time on my hands—and neither (I’m sure) do the readers who asked me to cover today’s topic: the phrase “graduated high school.”

Incorrect sentence: My son graduated high school in 2009.

What’s wrong with that sentence, you ask? It’s missing its preposition: from. (A preposition is a word that relates a noun or pronoun to other words.)

Correct sentence: My son graduated from high school in 2009.

Without the trusty preposition, from, it’s the high school that is actually graduating—and my son is the all-powerful being that made it happen. I think he’s pretty awesome, but come on!

According to the Quick & Dirty Tips website, more than half of us use this incorrect phrase. That’s kind of disheartening.

Of course, that number does not reflect subscribers of the Editor’s Corner, since we are nearly perfect in every way. J

When I searched the term “nearly perfect in every way” expecting to find something about Mary Poppins, I found this picture of Macy (a pet, but not a pet peeve), who was rescued days before a scheduled euthanasia.

Macy graduated from doggy prison and now she has a family who loves her. Happy Monday!

Donna Bradley Burcher | Technical Editor | Symitar®

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

Good morning and happy Friday!

Transitions, if written well, connect your paragraphs into logically coherent information.

Whether they are single words, quick phrases, or full sentences, transitions also help readers understand how the information works together.

Documentation without transitions resembles a traffic collision because it doesn’t flow . Think of transitions as a way to merge your information. Transitions will give your writing clarity and make it much more effective to the reader.

Writing effective transitions isn’t as difficult as it may sound. You just need to highlight the connections between corresponding paragraphs.

Here’s an example:

I loved reading Roald Dahl books as a child. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the first book I read and I was fascinated with the characters. Dahl’s stories kept me entertained for hours. He had a gift for storytelling.

Because Dahl’s books brought pure delight to my childhood, I decided to buy my children his books. We read his books together every night before bedtime.

When you read your document, look at each paragraph to make sure it connects to the beginning of the next paragraph. If there is no connection, you may need to improve the transition or reorganize the paragraphs.

Have a great weekend!

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

About a year ago, I sent out a list of gender-neutral job titles (Editor’s Corner – July 19, 2013). While researching a question from one of you about non-neutral titles, I ended up at the same resource I used before. Today I’m going to give you another taste of the gender neutral version of some titles and terms. I have to say that the neutral terms take some of the pizzazz out of the original term; but when you want to be safe from offending someone, you should consider the terms on this list. Here are a few terms I selected for you from Writing Help Central. I can’t imagine the folks in our Human Resources battle with these titles and terms too often.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Here are some additional tidbits about capitalization, most of which is from the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

First, I must apologize for an error I made the other day when typing. When I provided Grammar Girl’s information on the correct way to begin an email or letter, I left out the period on the second example. The examples should read:

Dear John, (correct)

Hi, John. (correct)

Hi John, (common usage but not technically correct)

And now, for some Q&A from the Chicago Manual of Style:

Question:

I have a disagreement with a coworker about how to alphabetize street names with foreign words in them. I live in San Diego, so there are a lot of Spanish street names. I, for example, would file Via Hacienda under V. She argues that because Via means “street,” it should be under H instead. She reasons that if it were House Street, we would file it under H. My argument is that since we are not speaking Spanish, we should follow standard English alphabetizing rules.

Answer:

You are right; there could be any number of foreign-language terms among the street names in San Diego, and unless all readers knew all the languages, the list would be useless. You can see that the city government of San Francisco puts Via Bufano under V.

In other words, if you are multilingual, fantastic! But don’t alphabetize according to translations to English, alphabetize street names according to the spelling on the sign.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory