----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BETTER WRITING SKILLS NEWSLETTER, August 2008 By Tim North of Scribe Consulting (http://www.scribe.com.au) http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the August 2008 Better Writing Skills newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE 1. "Program" or "programme"? 2. "Lookup" or "look up", and "backup" or "back up"? 3. More on "shall" versus "will" 4. Another way to avoid saying "he or she" 5. Just for fun Your comments and questions are always welcome. Just send e-mail to: info@BetterWritingSkills.com Cheers, Tim North Perth, Western Australia ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. "Program" or "programme"? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My first correspondent this month, Allison, wrote in with the following question: Just a quick one, Is "Program" or "Programme" correct? I've seen it in a newsletter but I can't seem to find it on the web? Well, "programme" is an increasingly rare British spelling; "program" an ever-more-common US spelling. The reason that the US spelling has become dominant is that the computer revolution has made the word "program" a very common one, and phrases like "computer program" were always spelled with one "m", not two. The one-m spelling has become so prevalent that it has now become dominant even for those meanings of the word that have nothing to do with computers. It's interesting to note that the Macquarie Dictionary (a respected Australian dictionary) doesn't even have a principal entry for "programme" anymore! It merely lists it as an alternative (and thus less common) spelling of "program". Hope this helps. -- (c) 2008 Tim North: http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. "Lookup" or "look up", and "backup" or "back up"? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My next correspondent, Mervat, writes: I often use 'Lookup' as a noun but it's not there in the dictionary. As a verb, I write it as 'look up'. This same applies to 'Backup'. Is this correct? I think your usage is fine, Mervat. I would use both as nouns (things) like so: I have done a lookup and found no useful results. I have saved a backup to DVD. As verbs (actions), I would write: I need to look up that information later. I'll back up this DVD. Having said this, these usages are certainly not universal. They strike me as reasonable and consistent, though. Mervat went on to ask: Can 'Obsolete' be used as a verb... for example, please obsolete this document ... to mean change its status to 'Obsolete'. Can it? Yes. Some folk do use it this way. Should it? Probably not as it's not a common usage. I'd suggest trying a clearer alternative like: Please mark this as obsolete. Hope this helps. -- (c) 2008 Tim North: http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you know someone who'd like this newsletter? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a friend or colleague who'd find the Better Writing Skills newsletter interesting? If so, please feel free to send a copy of this issue to them. Alternatively, please tell them they can browse back issues here: http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com/newsletter.html Thanks for helping to make this newsletter so successful! ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. More on "shall" versus "will" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Back in the June issue, I wrote "I've been told that many lawyers use 'shall' and 'will' differently." This month, Lex wrote in to say: As some of the posts at proz.com implied, these terms do have very specific meanings when writing requirements. Requirements use "shall", which means "is required to" Statements of fact use "will". Other words used when writing requirements: "Should" means "is recommended but optional to" "May" means "is permitted to" "Can" means "is able to" Two useful references I found are: http://standards.ieee.org/guides/style/section5.html http://www.itmweb.com/essay543.htm Hope this contribution has been useful. It certainly has, Lex. Thanks. -- (c) 2008 Tim North: http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Another way to avoid saying "he or she" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Last month I listed several ways of avoiding using "he" to refer to both males and females. In reply, Tony wrote in with the following comment: The vexing issue of gender is neatly avoided down south with the frequent use of "you all" or more commonly "y'all" to mean one, and when you mean more than one it becomes "y'all y'all". Kinda neat eh? Neat indeed. I like "y'all" as a way of avoiding gender. For example: When y'all is finished, y'all may leave the room. I may just move to Alabama. :-) -- (c) 2008 Tim North: http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Just for fun ----------------------------------------------------------------- Many thanks to Elizabeth for sending in a wonderful poem that begins like so: The English Lesson (author unknown) We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes. Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice, But the plural of house is houses, not hice. You'll find the full poem here: http://www.humbleapostrophe.com/english.html Thanks, Elizabeth. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like more help with your writing? ----------------------------------------------------------------- On my Better Writing Skills web site, you'll find my range of jargon-free, downloadable e-books that will help you to become a better writer. These e-books will help you with business proposals, report writing, term papers, technical writing, grant writing, creative writing and more: http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com/ebooks.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- REPRODUCING THIS MATERIAL You are welcome to reproduce the articles that are copyrighted by Tim North, but please don't modify or sell them. 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