----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BETTER WRITING SKILLS NEWSLETTER, February 2013 By Tim North of Scribe Consulting www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the first Better Writing Skills newsletter for 2013. IN THIS ISSUE 1. Hyphens and commas and numbers! Oh my! 2. Hyphens are sometimes used in adjectives 3. Commas are used between adjectives 4. Numbers are sometimes written as words 5. Just for fun Your comments and questions are always welcome. Just send email to: info@scribe.com.au Cheers, Tim North (Perth, Western Australia) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Hyphens and commas and numbers! Oh my! ----------------------------------------------------------------- My first correspondent for 2013, Peter, wrote in to ask if he was overusing hyphens: I've started to notice that I'm using hyphens more and more in my writing, and I'm beginning to wonder whether I may be overusing them. I recently wrote about 'a 5-pointed star-shaped biscuit'. I don't feel that Peter's overusing hyphens. Hyphens are generally used as a courtesy that helps readers to easily group your words together. As such, this example demonstrates good writing skills. The only minor changes I'd make are to add a comma between the adjectives and change '5' to 'five': ... a five-pointed, star-shaped biscuit. The following articles look at the three issues raised in this example: hyphens, commas and numbers. -- (c) 2013 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Hyphens are sometimes used in adjectives ----------------------------------------------------------------- Look at these examples: ... a five-pointed, star-shaped biscuit. A new approach is needed. A customer-focussed approach is needed. We will discuss safety issues. We will discuss public-safety issues. Notice that all of the two-word adjectives (describing words) were hyphenated. Using hyphens in these cases makes the sentences easier to read by helping us to group words together correctly. Note also that in these examples the hyphenated words occurred immediately *before* a noun (a person, place or thing). Compare the following two sentences: ... a five-pointed, star-shaped biscuit. The biscuit was five pointed and star shaped. In the first sentence, the adjectives ('five-pointed' and 'star shaped') occurred before a noun ('biscuit'), so they were hyphenated. In the second sentence, the same words *don't* need to be hyphenated because they occurred *after* the noun. In summary, when an adjective of two or more words occurs before a noun, it's usually hyphenated. -- (c) 2013 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Commas are used between adjectives ----------------------------------------------------------------- When two or more adjectives (describing words) are listed one after the other, they're generally separated by commas. For example: Fetch me the blue, leather-bound report. The dark, dank stairway led to a cold, musty attic. The old, tattered, dusty book was read by the old, tattered, dusty man. Hence: ... a five-pointed, star-shaped biscuit. -- (c) 2013 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! ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Numbers are sometimes written as words ----------------------------------------------------------------- Numbers can be written using digits (5) or using words (five). The choice depends on which writing style we're employing: literary style or business style. In literary works, such as novels and poetry, all numbers (no matter how large or small) are written using words. For example: Smith stared at her -- all six foot two of her. Smith shivered. It was down to eleven degrees. Smith sighed. He'd be sixty soon. Smith staggered. He'd just won two million dollars! In business and technical writing, numbers are sometimes written using words and sometimes using digits. For example: Our sales increased in quarter four. Bob, page two is missing. Police found 27 grams of cocaine. We received 215 letters this month. So, in business and technical works, *when* should we write numbers using words? Here are three conventions that are commonly followed: Some writers spell out zero to nine as words and write 10 or more with digits. Some writers spell out zero to ten as words and write 11 or more with digits. Some writers spell out zero to ninety-nine as words and write 100 or more with digits. (This is less common today than the choices above.) The publication or person that you're writing for may prefer one of these styles. If so, follow it. If not, just chose one and be consistent. -- (c) 2013 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Just for fun ---------------------------------------------------------------- An article entitled "A Guide to the Meaning and Usefulness of Punctuation Marks" doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but stay with me. Timothy McSweeney has a wonderfully dry ode on this subject on his web site: http://goo.gl/6esS3 [mcsweeneys.net] It contains such droll witticisms as: Comma. An extremely long pause pertaining to deep sleep, sometimes fatal. Hyphen. An incredibly popular mark, particularly amongst hipsters and domesticated fowl. This is the sexiest punctuation mark. Question mark. Do not, under any circumstances, question Mark. Mark doesn't know anything. Of course it's very possible that I just need to get out more. Enjoy. Cheers, Tim. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. I also run in-house writing-training courses for government and industry. http://www.scribe.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 my web site. 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