It’s Very Confusing February 5, 2009
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentUse of “it’s” and “its” drives most people insane because it’s seems to be the exception to the possessive rule.
Let’s say that Susan’s shirt identifies the clothing item belongs to Susan and Michael’s bike indicates that the bike belongs to Mike, then shouldn’t it’s pencil mean the pencil belongs to it? Well, it doesn’t. It’s stands for the contraction “it is.”
- It’s (with an apostrophe) means IT IS.
- Its (with no apostrophe) means BELONGS TO.
Tip: Any time you see the apostrophe, speak ”it is” out loud to yourself and you will always get this right.
Two mistakes that make you look like a moron! April 3, 2008
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a comment1. Your vs. You’re
This one drives me nuts, and it’s become extremely common throughout the Internet. To avoid this error, simply take a second and think about what you’re trying to say.
To be clear, “Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your bike” or “your computer.” “You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re messing up your essay by using your when you really mean you are.”
2. Their vs. There
Everyone seems to trip up on this one from time to time, sometimes as a typo. Be sure to watch for it when you go over your paper.
“There” is used several ways, including as a reference to a place (“I went there”) or as a pronoun (“there is no food”). “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “their groceries” or “their thoughts.” Always do the “that’s ours!” test. Are you talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, “their” will get you there.
Resume Tip: Capture Their Attention Quickly December 6, 2007
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhen writing a resume, you have just 10-15 seconds to capture the attention of the reader, who is typically the hiring authority or the recruiter who reviews your resume.
Don’t force them to look at boring material or fight with long, hard-to-read paragraphs to get to the heart of your experience. This is a critical issue area demanding an ability to ‘quick read,’ and must be addressed in today’s job market in which there is so much competition.
Create a summary section for your resume November 26, 2007
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentToday’s resumes contain a brief, yet in-depth, summary section which spell out your skills and abilities. This section allows the reader to quickly glance at your overall qualifications before they go further into your job descriptions and education.
The best summary sections are about four to seven lines maximum. Another approach is a table listing your core competencies. This facilitates the 15-second rule of eyeball scanning by the hiring authority.
Also, don’t use words like ‘nice,’ ‘people skills,’ ‘a people person,’ and other trite clichés.
Read my paper. March 28, 2007
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentIf you need someone to read your paper, edit your paper, proof your paper, or just give feedback on your paper, use readmypaper.com. It literally means “read my paper.” Or, you could say, read my resume, or read my website.
We also provide proofreading services for resumes, websites, books, brochures or any other type of professional service. Give us a try. It’s easy. Just start by going to www.readmypaper.com.
Tip #7 Have someone else proofread your work. September 25, 2006
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentYou may look at a document 25 times and think you have caught every mistake. It’s possible you did. But there is a good chance you let something slip.
Sometimes, staring at the same piece of work for too long causes you to see right past the errors. That’s why it’s important to let a fresh set of eyes look at your work.
If you can’t find someone to look at it, at least walk away from the work for awhile. Go take a walk around the block, make a phone call, or watch a 30-minute sitcom on TV. When you return, you will see the paper in a whole new light.
Or, you can always send your work to the staff at ReadMyPaper.com for affordable proofreading services.
Tip #6 The period and comma go inside the quotation marks. September 15, 2006
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentYesterday, a friend told me, ”You are pretty good at fixing mistakes.”
“Well, I have a lot of experience,” I replied.
As you can see in this example, the period and comma go inside the quote. While it may differ in other countries, Universal American usage places commas and periods inside the quotation marks, regardless of logic.
There is an exception: If the item inside the quotation marks is simply a letter or a number. In that case, the period or comma will go outside the closing quotation marks. Here are a few examples:
- The treasure was marked on the map using an “X”.
- The teacher read Susan’s paper and gave her a “C”, making the girl furious.
Visit ReadMyPaper.com for help in making sure your work is flawless.
Tip #5 Don’t Over-Capitalize September 14, 2006
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentPick up any book or newspaper and most of the words are written in lowercase. So why do so many of us capitalize every other word. OR HOW ABOUT THOSE CASES WHERE PEOPLE CAPITALIZE EVERY LETTER?
Over-capitalization makes a sentence hard to read and clutters the author’s work. It interrupts the flow of the sentence and makes the reader stumble through the document.
It’s hard to provide a complete list of rules here. But here are a few:
- Capitalize the first letter of the first word of each sentence.
- Capitalize the first letter of names of people, organizations, and places.
- Capitalize the first letter of adjectives that are made from the names of people and places.
- Capitalize initials.
- Capitalize the first letter of directions only when they are used to designate actual places, not when they point in a direction.
- Capitalize the first letter of the names of months and the days of the week.
- Capitalize the official title of a person (including abbreviations), but only when you use it with the person’s name.
- Capitalize the first letter of important words in a title of a book, magazine, story, essay, etc.
Need help editing your document or paper? Visit ReadMyPaper.com for affordable proofreading services.
Tip #4 Spell Check doesn’t catch everything. September 11, 2006
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentMany people rely on Spell Check to catch mistakes. As you know, this program does not catch every error, especially grammatical problems or the wrong use of a word.
A common word that is misused is lose, written as loose. Spell Check would not tell you that loose is wrong, because it is a word. Another good example is using the wrong form of to, too, or two. My personal favorite is know vs. now.
Sometimes, the author won’t even catch the mistake after re-reading the document several times. That is why it is helpful to have someone review your paper. Visit ReadMyPaper.com for help in making sure these mistakes haven’t crept into your work.
Tip #3 Who vs. That August 30, 2006
Posted by greg in : Uncategorized , add a commentI was proofreading copy the other day when I came across this sentence: I’m recruiting serious, highly-motivated individuals that with my guidance and mentoring will become my partners in the company which we will own together.
Can you tell what’s wrong? The writer uses the word that to refer to individuals. An individual is a who.
Here’s the rule: When referring to people, only use who and its related forms of whose and whom. Reserve that or which for non-human things: “a man who won an award” (not that or which); “a car that ran smoothly” (not who).
Need help editing your document or paper? Visit ReadMyPaper.com for affordable proofreading services.