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Common Grammar Mistakes
When do I capitalize?
Correct this sentence
Format this!/AP Style
Copy Editor's Pet Peeves
100
this spelling mistake refers to the city from which the state/country is governed as "capit_l"
What is: o? (correct: a) Grammar Rule: Capital describes wealth, a city that serves as the seat of government, an asset or advantage, a capital letter. Capitol describes the building in which a legislative assembly meets.
100
school subjects are ___ with exception of ___ college majors are ___
What is lowercase, English and other languages; uppercase
100
She was much more helpful then the other doctor that I talked to.
What is She was much friendlier than the other doctor to whom I spoke.
100
you only need one of these after a period
What is a space?
100
when you do not put all five components of this in the upper left hand corner to orient your reader
What is forgetting a slug line? Reminder: Name, Section, Topic, Due Date, Word Count
200
this common grammar mistake involves the use of the conjunction 'that' to describe people instead of objects
What is referring to people as "that" instead of "who?" (example: The students who reported the highest scores...)
200
titles are ___ (ex: PRINCIPAL DAVID SONDHEIM)
What is lowercase?
200
He moved to the U.S. just over a year ago.
What is He moved to the United States more than a year ago. AP Rule: Only abbreviate the United States when it's used as an adjective. Example: He has U.S. citizenship. AP Rule: Use "over" to describe spacial location. (Example: The cow jumped over the moon.) Use "more than" to refer to numbers.
200
a common formatting issue with headlines
What is the headline does not reach the end of the page? (headline not long enough)
200
Example: The average math hw assignment takes 45 minutes, according to a recent Bark survey.
What is turning in a first draft without editing it yourself!?
300
this common grammar mistake occurs when ending a sentence with a word that describes the relationship between other words in the sentence
What is ending a sentence with a preposition?
300
According to AP style, do you capitalize the first letter of the word following a colon? A semicolon?
What is only if it begins a complete sentence; no? Example: Here's a fact: My friend stephanie is awesome. I'll tell you who's awesome: my friend Stephanie.
300
According to a recent Bark survey, 20% of students took drugs at the Back to School dance.
What is According to a recent Bark survey, 20 percent of students took drugs at the Back to School Dance.
300
this word is used to describe distance, while a very similar word is used to describe an extension of time or degree
What is farther and further?
300
we bother to put a lot of time into this activity, and hate it when you do this...
What is ignoring our suggestions without arguing with us first? Note: If you disagree with a comment, please reply with your justification.
400
name as many prepositions as you can
What is: in, on, at, around, above, near, underneath, alongside, of, for, about, across, against, along, among, around, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, from, inside, into, like, near, off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within
400
the capitalization of the upper half of California
What is Northern California? Grammar Rule: Capitalize directions when they designate definite regions or are integral to a proper name.
400
Meticulous and punctual, David's work ethic is admirable.
What is "Meticulous and punctual, David has an admirable work ethic."
400
this common mistake applies to words ending in "ward"
What is adding an "s" to the end of toward, downward, upward, etc.
400
This style of procrastination prevents not only the reporter from getting their story glossy, but the copy editors from editing, and the page editors from laying out their pages
What is not making your edits until the night before paste-up?
500
a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence (a modifier clarifies or gives more information about a concept in the sentence) example: "Sipping cocktails on the balcony, the moon looked magnificent."
What is a dangling modifier?
500
When referring to medicine, brand names are ___ and generic names are ___
What is uppercase; lowercase?
500
The bright orange Velcro of her shoes complimented the green of her shirt quite nicely, it was clear she had a future in fashion.
What is The bright orange fabric fastener on her shoes complemented the green of her shirt. It was clear she had a future in fashion. AP Rule: Use fabric fastener, not Velcro, since Velcro is a trademark for nylon material AP Rule: ComplEment denotes completeness, while complIment is used for praise Grammar Rule: Don't comma splice!
500
this common page layout mistake occurs in between the byline and the text of a story
What is an off-centered double bar line? (should be placed half between text and byline)
500
This action involves the reporter shoving their story in the copy editor's face while the copy editor is busy trying to do something else
What is demanding that the copy editor immediately glossy your story?