----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BETTER WRITING SKILLS NEWSLETTER, May 2009 By Tim North of Scribe Consulting www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the May 2009 Better Writing Skills newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE 1. Do we leave a space in "10 a.m."? 2. More on bulleted lists 3. Can "latter" be used with more than two choices? 4. Just for fun Your comments and questions are always welcome. Just send e-mail to: info@scribe.com.au Cheers, Tim North (Perth, Western Australia) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Do we leave a space in "10 a.m."? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My first correspondent this month, Aaron, wrote in to say: I just bought your Editing and Proofreading book and I'm very happy with it. [Thanks for the plug, Aaron!] I do however have one question left unanswered – when writing times, do you leave a space after the number, i.e. *10 a.m.*? Well, usage varies in this regard. Some people leave a space; others don't. Similarly, some people write "a.m." where others omit the full stops and write "am" or "AM". For example, you'll see all of these styles in common use: 10 a.m. 10 am 10am I wouldn't be bold enough to say that one style is correct and the others are wrong. Rather, what is most important is to pick a style and use it consistently. Having said that, the style manuals that I respect *do* leave a space between a number and the symbol that follows. That is, they (and I) prefer forms such as "10 a.m." or "10 am". My feeling here is that the space adds clarity. Style manuals are divided, though, over writing "a.m." with or without the full stops. It was once most common to include them; it is now less common. Once again, pick a style and stick to it. Hope this helps. By the way, if you'd like to have a look at the downloadable book that Aaron mentioned, you'll find more about it here: http://www.scribe.com.au/ebooks.html -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. More on bulleted lists ----------------------------------------------------------------- In last month's newsletter, we talked about how to punctuate bulleted lists. If you missed it, you can find recent back issues here: http://www.scribe.com.au/newsletter.html This article prompted Kathryn to write: Our company creates materials and exams that meet continuing education credit requirements for tax professionals. I have been creating a style guide for editing and formatting our exam materials, and I wanted to know if there is an existing reference that treats this issue. Specifically, I am having trouble convincing the other editors that the answer options need to have periods if they complete the question sentence, and we are all over the place when it comes to deciding if "All of the above" and "None of the above" should have a period. (I think they shouldn't.) I'm not aware of a published guide to such materials. I'm sure, though, that many universities will have developed their own style guides for such material. A bit of web trawling may reveal a few. My personal style (as an academic of many years) is as follows: If every answer is a complete sentence then each one gets a full stop and a capital. If not, I omit both. For example, I would happily include both of the following examples in an exam: What is three plus four? (a) six (b) seven (c) eight (d) none of the above What is three plus four? (a) Three plus four is six. (b) Three plus four is seven. (c) Three plus four is eight. (d) None of the above. You can see that in the second example, I've treated "None of the above" as if it was a sentence. I know it isn't, but being consistent with the other answers seems like the lesser of the available evils. Let me stress that the examples above are not definitive. There is no widespread agreement on how to do this. Once again, it's arguably most important just to pick a style and stick to it. (Consistency looks professional.) Hope this helps. -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.scribe.com.au/newsletter.html Thanks for helping to make this newsletter so successful! ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Can "latter" be used with more than two choices? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My next correspondent, Denise, wrote in to say: I always thought "latter" could only be used if two alternatives were presented. Is this still correct if ... there are four alternatives? Denise is quite right. Many dictionaries define "latter" (which rhymes with "matter") as "the second mentioned of two". If there are three or more choices, traditional usage would suggest employing a different term. Having said this, I suspect that this is a subtlety that is being forgotten and may disappear in a few generations. Hope this helps. -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Just for fun ----------------------------------------------------------------- This month you might like to have a look at the blog "Editorium Update: Tips for Publishing Professionals Using Microsoft Word". Although it's no longer being updated, there are eight years of tips here that advanced users of Microsoft Word should find helpful. http://blog.editorium.com/ Enjoy. -- (c) 2009 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like more help with your writing? ----------------------------------------------------------------- On my 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.scribe.com.au/ebooks.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- REPRODUCING THIS MATERIAL You're welcome to reproduce the articles from this newsletter that are copyrighted by Tim North, but please don't modify or sell them. Also, please provide a clickable link back to: http://www.scribe.com.au FUTURE MAILINGS You can prevent (or receive) future mailings by visiting this page: http://www.scribe.com.au/newsletter.html This is a GENUINE service, and you will not receive any unsolicited e-mail as a result. You have my word on it. -----------------------------------------------------------------