Common Errors
Discover a wealth of insights on common writing errors and how to avoid them. These articles break down frequent mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and style, offering practical tips to elevate the quality of your writing. Perfect for anyone striving for clarity and precision in their communication.
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How to Proofread Negative Prefixes in English
How to Proofread Negative Prefixes in English
Published Aug 07, 2018
Last Updated Nov 25, 2024English is a magpie language. It picks up shiny words wherever it can, and it doesn’t care how disorganised its rules become in the process. Or should that be ‘unorganised’? Take prefixes, for instance. We have de-, dis-, un-, and in-, all of which signify that something isn’t the case. And they’re not the only […]
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Capitalisation: Compass Points and Titles
Capitalisation: Compass Points and Titles
Published Jul 02, 2018
Last Updated Aug 07, 2023In our time training proofreaders, we’ve noticed that the subtleties of capitalisation can sometimes confuse even the best students. So, today, we’re going to look at two tricky capitalisation issues that might trip you up: compass points and titles. Compass Points and Directions It is a common misconception that the four compass directions should always […]
Top 3 Justifications for Sentence Fragments
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All Together Or Altogether?
Published Feb 21, 2018
Last Updated Nov 19, 2024The classic movie Airplane! plays on the similarity between the terms all together and altogether. In that film, the protagonist discovers that pressing the autopilot button is counterproductive. But when he explains this and uses the word altogether to mean entirely, his companions respond by echoing his words all together. And, lo, we immediately see […]
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Transatlantic Differences: 3 Tips on UK vs. US Punctuation
Published Feb 06, 2018
Last Updated Nov 26, 2024America and the UK have been cultural cousins for some time. For better or for worse, they therefore bear some striking resemblances, such as sharing a language. But there are some important differences in how each country uses English. The differences between UK and US spelling (e.g. organise vs. organize) and word usage (e.g. trousers […]
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How to Fix Subject–Verb Agreement Errors
Published Jan 09, 2018
Last Updated Nov 25, 2024Do you ever feel like the only voice of reason in a world where all the words hate each other? We do. Sometimes, arranging a sentence so that it reads naturally is a daunting task. This is particularly true of ensuring that verbs agree when dealing with things like compound subjects and collective nouns. So […]
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Hyphens, En Dashes and Em Dashes
Published Nov 07, 2017
Last Updated May 16, 2023As the supermarkets begin to stock their shelves with exploding hat-and-joke containers, stuffing-flavour crisps and puddings nobody likes, Michael Bublé comes out of his long hibernation. Listen. He is warming up his voice. ‘A kiss is just a kiss,’ he sings. ‘A sigh is just a sigh.’ But is a dash just a dash? Is […]
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Top 5 Grammar Myths: Exposing the Truth
Published Oct 25, 2017
Last Updated Nov 25, 2024There comes a time in every proofreader’s life when they’re faced with the unsettling fact that some of the ‘rules’ they have always used are either misleading or downright wrong. This can be a hard pill to swallow, but it’s better to get it over and done with. So grab a cup of strong, sweet […]
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How to Proofread Negative Prefixes in English
How to Proofread Negative Prefixes in English
Published Aug 07, 2018
Last Updated Nov 25, 2024English is a magpie language. It picks up shiny words wherever it can, and it doesn’t care how disorganised its rules become in the process. Or should that be ‘unorganised’? Take prefixes, for instance. We have de-, dis-, un-, and in-, all of which signify that something isn’t the case. And they’re not the only […]
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Capitalisation: Compass Points and Titles
Capitalisation: Compass Points and Titles
Published Jul 02, 2018
Last Updated Aug 07, 2023In our time training proofreaders, we’ve noticed that the subtleties of capitalisation can sometimes confuse even the best students. So, today, we’re going to look at two tricky capitalisation issues that might trip you up: compass points and titles. Compass Points and Directions It is a common misconception that the four compass directions should always […]
