The Proofreading Pulse

The glorious and intimidating thing about the English language is its bounty of options. Whatever we want to say, there are multiple ways to say it. It is our choices that render our language straightforward or confusing, memorable or boring, elegant or awkward.

In today’s post, I’ll provide examples of reference listings including DOIs and URLs in APA, MLA, and the Chicago Manual of Style. I’ll point out some differences among these styles, and I’ll provide some information about what to do with electronic sources found using a database.

This time in our plagiarism avoidance master class, we’ll discuss some even murkier areas dealing with the difference between copyright violations and plagiarism and how to refer to common sources.

Poetry is simply a way of thinking about language, a theory that words can be arranged for beauty as well as for meaning. There is no reason why even modest explanatory prose cannot be a pleasure to read. And it is beauty that gives prose its pleasure, distinguishing memorable writing from that which is merely functional.

As a living language, English is in a constant state of flux. This is quite clear when two words work their way into becoming one word. While there's no actual rule about this, there are some patterns.

Periodicals often have their own in-house style guides laying out exceptions. Such house rules can be a source of confusion and anxiety for clients and proofreaders alike.

We live our lives behind one set of eyes, but we can tell a lot about what the people around us are feeling and thinking even when they don’t say a word.

But because we take inspiration from everything around us—from nature, from conversations, from street signs, from the things we watch and read—it can be hard to give appropriate credit to all those many sources.

You may never have heard the term subjunctive case before, or don’t remember it from Spanish class if you have, but knowing this rule and following it will make your speech and writing much better with just a little effort.

You can write a passage of ornate prose, passive voice willy-nilly, telling without showing, and as long as the meaning is clear, it’s good writing, at least, for everyday purposes.

In this blog, we’ll dig deeper into matters of formatting in Christian publishing, paying particular attention to the complicated issue of capitalization.

People seem to think it’s snooty to say, “Donna and I,” but when they grow up, they also become aware that “Me and Donna” is wrong. So, faced with the choice of “I” (snooty) and “me” (wrong), some opt for the worst choice of all: “myself.”

If you access electronic sources, whether journal articles, webpages, datasets, online videos, or others, one piece of information you’ll need will be the source’s URL or DOI. What’s the difference? And which should you include in your reference list? Let’s take a look.

If you’re looking to get your Christian writing published professionally, though, it’s not enough to be an excellent writer moved by the Holy Spirit; you’ll also need to demonstrate that you can stick to professional publishing guidelines and standards.

even when used properly, figures of speech and idioms, what we might generally call “poetic language,” can be inappropriate for academic writing.

I think it’s safe to say that the majority of adults who live in Western societies hold a job with regular hours and some degree of financial security. Whether they earn a salary or an hourly wage, they go to work in the same place and receive a certain, predetermined income. Others, however, find themselves in circumstances where keeping a regular schedule is difficult, if not impossible.

We’re talking about the recipe on the page, the step-by-step instructions for making the food, which requires being specific enough to reassure cooks they’re doing the right thing without distracting them with information they don’t need in the kitchen.

I never intended to become an independent contract proofreader, working from a lounge chair in a tropical forest on the Pacific coast of Mexico. But I love words and water, so that’s what happened.

It’s a good time to talk about formal vs. informal texting and texting vs. writing emails.