Category: Writing

Do you capitalize newspaper headlines?

I used to manage a citizen journalism website, so I often keep my eye on logistical issues regarding the local media. One thing I’ve noticed is their inconsistency in capitalizing words in a story headline. Here are some recent examples of Lethbridge news sources that capitalize headlines:

Is wedding anniversary capitalized?

Here’s an example I saw on Facebook today: Kinda busy celebrating my 20th Wedding Anniversary with my dear husband. Notice that “Wedding Anniversary” is capitalized? I see examples of this fairly often; in fact, capitalization is one of the writing mistakes I correct most frequently. Here’s the thing: you should capitalize words in basically only 3… Continue reading Is wedding anniversary capitalized?

Is midnight 12:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.?

Have you ever tried to tell someone to meet you at midnight but weren’t sure whether to write 12:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.? Or maybe got into a heated argument regarding which to use? Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you’ve probably been wrong about it. Here’s why:

Difference between deep seeded and deep seated

Last week, I was editing a document for a client and came across the following phrase: a deep seeded confidence I hadn’t seen this usage before, but I thought it’d make a good blog post topic. The phrase should actually be “a deep seated confidence” despite “deep seeded” making sense, at least metaphorically. In this case,… Continue reading Difference between deep seeded and deep seated

How to write numbers for the web: numerals not words

Last week, while editing several dozen pages for a client, I replaced all spelled out numbers with numerals (4 instead of four, for example). I was reminded of their style guide (One downside to freelancing is trying to remember everyone’s style guides), so I changed them back. I thought the reason why I changed it in… Continue reading How to write numbers for the web: numerals not words

7 examples of sexist language to avoid in your writing

Sexist stereotyping, despite efforts spanning decades to change it, still exists, and it’s pervasive in how we communicate. Sexist stereotyping—well, stereotyping in general—is a poor way to communicate because it relies on assumptions and generalizations that often don’t apply to the situation at hand. Here are 7 ways to avoid sexism in your own writing, but this… Continue reading 7 examples of sexist language to avoid in your writing

5 tricky areas of subject–verb agreement

One of the most popular edits I have to make is subject–verb agreement. When writing, you must ensure that the subject of the sentence agrees with the verb in the sentence regarding numbering. “My sister loves hot peppers”, not “My sister love hot peppers” “They are quiet tonight”, not “They is quiet tonight” When you’re using… Continue reading 5 tricky areas of subject–verb agreement