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BlogPaws 2010 West - Writing Essentials Cheat Sheet - Yvonne DiVita

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Yvonne DiVita, co-founder of BlogPaws, shared her Writing Essentials Cheat Sheet at the BlogPaws 2010 West pet blogging and social media conference in Denver on September 9-11, 2010.

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Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita WRITING ESSENTIALS CHEAT SHEET References: Strunk and White, The Elements of Style Chicago Manual of Style APA Style Manual http://grammar.about.com/od/rhetoricstyle/u/RhetoricStyle.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Tony1/Beginners%27_guide_to_the_Manual_of_Style#Quotations.2A Good opening to a blog post: On Twitter, Moms Want Marketers to Interact, Inform, and Make Them Laugh http://blog.lucidmarketing.com/2010/06/on-twitter-moms-want-marketers-to-interact-inform-and-make-them-laugh/ Companies wanting to connect with moms should start brushing up on their pithy one-liners moms are hooked on Twitter. More than half (54%) of moms who use Twitter check their feeds 10 or more times daily; only 13% check once a day or less, according to a study by Lucid Marketing and Lisa Finn. Good use of bulleted points and short paragraphs: http://she-conomy.com/2010/08/25/attention-male-marketers-women-can-be-bought/ Strunk and White Example: Keep complete thoughts together: http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html Wrong: A dog, if you fail to discipline him, becomes a household pest. Right: Unless disciplined, a dog becomes a household pest. Wrong: Cast iron, when treated in a Bessemer converter, is changed into steel. Right: By treatment in a Bessemer converter, cast iron is changed into steel. 1
Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita WORDS THAT OFTEN CAUSE CONFUSION Accept Except Accept: to receive: Yes, Ill accept the mail today. Except: to take or leave out: Everyone is attending, except Paul. Complement compliment Complement: noun: something that completes; verb to complete: The color of that skirt complements the color of the jacket; together they make a very nice outfit. Compliment: noun: praise; verb to praise: The clerk complimented Mary on her well-behaved dog. Its its Its: of or belonging to; The weather changes its mind every fifteen minutes, around here! Its: contraction for it is; I dont know if its me or if its you, but someone isnt listening! Lie lay LIE-to lie down (a person or animal. hint: people can tell lies); ex: I have a headache, so I'm going to lie down for a while. (also lying, lay, has/have lain--The dog has lain in the shade all day; yesterday, the dog lay there for twelve hours). LAY-to lay an object down. ex: "Lay down that shotgun, Pappy!" The sheriff demanded of the crazed moonshiner. ex: The town lay at the foot of the mountain. (also laying, laid, has/have laid At that point, Pappy laid the shotgun on the ground). Above example taken from: http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conford.html Passed past Passed: verb, past tense of to pass, to have moved; The day passed slowly. Past: belonging to an earlier time or place; Its all in the past now. Dont bring up past issues, stay on point. 2
Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita Stationary stationery Stationary: standing still, not moving; Ramona remained stationary, despite hearing Mother call her to dinner. Stationery: writing paper; The stationery was blue and purple, Marys favorite colors. Than then Than: comparison; She is taller than her sister. Then: at that time, or next; Go to the corner, first, and then turn left. Theirtheyrethere Their: possessive of they; It was their belief that dogs and cats do dream. Theyre: contraction they are; Theyre all in this together! There: a place; Im going there, are you? Throughthrewthoroughthoughthru Through: into or out of; She went through the door on the left. Thru: slang for Through Threw: past tense of throw; Peggy threw the watermelon at Susan, right passed her head! Thorough: Complete; The Dr. was thorough in his approach. Though: however, nonetheless; Though small, the puppy could pack a wallop! To...too..two To: toward; She went to the park. Too: also or excessively; Edward said the test was too hard. Elisabeth works in HR. Penny does, too. Two: the number after one before three; If youre going to the store, can you get me two candy bars? Whowhich Who: pronoun, refers to a person or persons; Who said that? Tell me who. Which: pronoun, not used to refer to persons; Which one is it the blue one or the red one? 3
Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita Whowhom Who: see above Whom: used as an object; Never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. John Donne (this one is pretty tricky; I usually just recreate the sentence to make sense without using whom or who its the lazy persons way.) Like and As Like: is a preposition; it shows similar characteristics, or relationships; Its not like him to miss a board meeting. As: primarily used in as though or such as or as if; The boy behaved as if hed never been to an ice cream parlor before! (many people use like instead of as if though the word like is fast becoming the standard, I prefer the as if usage when when used as a comparison; like is more palatable in sentences such as, Looks like its getting ready to snow. Or, Smells like spring, doesnt it? The BEST site to find all of your grammar and spelling answers is here: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html 4
Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita PUNCTUATION RULES AND QUOTATION MARKS A sentence may end with a period (.), a question mark (?), or an exclamation point (!). http://grammar.about.com/od/punctuationandmechanics/tp/quotemarks.htm Double quotation marks enclose a direct quotation. Dialogue should be in double quotes. No good deed, wrote Clare Booth Luce, will go unpunished. The period goes INSIDE the quotation marks. A semicolon or colon that appears at the end of a quotation goes outside of the quotation marks. Use double quotation marks for titles of songs, essays, stories, poems and articles. See below. Use italics for book titles, record albums, big things that stand on their own. Do not underline. Do not add two spaces after sentences. Titles and Names to Italicize Titles to Put Into Quotation Marks A novel Poem A ship Short story A play A skit A film A commercial A painting An individual episode in a TV series (like "The A sculpture or statue Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld) A drawing A cartoon episode, like "Trouble With Dogs" A CD A chapter A TV Series An article A cartoon series A newspaper story An encyclopedia A newspaper A pamphlet A magazine 5

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BlogPaws 2010 West - Writing Essentials Cheat Sheet - Yvonne DiVita

  • 1. Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita WRITING ESSENTIALS CHEAT SHEET References: Strunk and White, The Elements of Style Chicago Manual of Style APA Style Manual http://grammar.about.com/od/rhetoricstyle/u/RhetoricStyle.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Tony1/Beginners%27_guide_to_the_Manual_of_Style#Quotations.2A Good opening to a blog post: On Twitter, Moms Want Marketers to Interact, Inform, and Make Them Laugh http://blog.lucidmarketing.com/2010/06/on-twitter-moms-want-marketers-to-interact-inform-and-make-them-laugh/ Companies wanting to connect with moms should start brushing up on their pithy one-liners moms are hooked on Twitter. More than half (54%) of moms who use Twitter check their feeds 10 or more times daily; only 13% check once a day or less, according to a study by Lucid Marketing and Lisa Finn. Good use of bulleted points and short paragraphs: http://she-conomy.com/2010/08/25/attention-male-marketers-women-can-be-bought/ Strunk and White Example: Keep complete thoughts together: http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html Wrong: A dog, if you fail to discipline him, becomes a household pest. Right: Unless disciplined, a dog becomes a household pest. Wrong: Cast iron, when treated in a Bessemer converter, is changed into steel. Right: By treatment in a Bessemer converter, cast iron is changed into steel. 1
  • 2. Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita WORDS THAT OFTEN CAUSE CONFUSION Accept Except Accept: to receive: Yes, Ill accept the mail today. Except: to take or leave out: Everyone is attending, except Paul. Complement compliment Complement: noun: something that completes; verb to complete: The color of that skirt complements the color of the jacket; together they make a very nice outfit. Compliment: noun: praise; verb to praise: The clerk complimented Mary on her well-behaved dog. Its its Its: of or belonging to; The weather changes its mind every fifteen minutes, around here! Its: contraction for it is; I dont know if its me or if its you, but someone isnt listening! Lie lay LIE-to lie down (a person or animal. hint: people can tell lies); ex: I have a headache, so I'm going to lie down for a while. (also lying, lay, has/have lain--The dog has lain in the shade all day; yesterday, the dog lay there for twelve hours). LAY-to lay an object down. ex: "Lay down that shotgun, Pappy!" The sheriff demanded of the crazed moonshiner. ex: The town lay at the foot of the mountain. (also laying, laid, has/have laid At that point, Pappy laid the shotgun on the ground). Above example taken from: http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conford.html Passed past Passed: verb, past tense of to pass, to have moved; The day passed slowly. Past: belonging to an earlier time or place; Its all in the past now. Dont bring up past issues, stay on point. 2
  • 3. Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita Stationary stationery Stationary: standing still, not moving; Ramona remained stationary, despite hearing Mother call her to dinner. Stationery: writing paper; The stationery was blue and purple, Marys favorite colors. Than then Than: comparison; She is taller than her sister. Then: at that time, or next; Go to the corner, first, and then turn left. Theirtheyrethere Their: possessive of they; It was their belief that dogs and cats do dream. Theyre: contraction they are; Theyre all in this together! There: a place; Im going there, are you? Throughthrewthoroughthoughthru Through: into or out of; She went through the door on the left. Thru: slang for Through Threw: past tense of throw; Peggy threw the watermelon at Susan, right passed her head! Thorough: Complete; The Dr. was thorough in his approach. Though: however, nonetheless; Though small, the puppy could pack a wallop! To...too..two To: toward; She went to the park. Too: also or excessively; Edward said the test was too hard. Elisabeth works in HR. Penny does, too. Two: the number after one before three; If youre going to the store, can you get me two candy bars? Whowhich Who: pronoun, refers to a person or persons; Who said that? Tell me who. Which: pronoun, not used to refer to persons; Which one is it the blue one or the red one? 3
  • 4. Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita Whowhom Who: see above Whom: used as an object; Never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. John Donne (this one is pretty tricky; I usually just recreate the sentence to make sense without using whom or who its the lazy persons way.) Like and As Like: is a preposition; it shows similar characteristics, or relationships; Its not like him to miss a board meeting. As: primarily used in as though or such as or as if; The boy behaved as if hed never been to an ice cream parlor before! (many people use like instead of as if though the word like is fast becoming the standard, I prefer the as if usage when when used as a comparison; like is more palatable in sentences such as, Looks like its getting ready to snow. Or, Smells like spring, doesnt it? The BEST site to find all of your grammar and spelling answers is here: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html 4
  • 5. Denver, CO September 9-11, 2010 Yvonne DiVita PUNCTUATION RULES AND QUOTATION MARKS A sentence may end with a period (.), a question mark (?), or an exclamation point (!). http://grammar.about.com/od/punctuationandmechanics/tp/quotemarks.htm Double quotation marks enclose a direct quotation. Dialogue should be in double quotes. No good deed, wrote Clare Booth Luce, will go unpunished. The period goes INSIDE the quotation marks. A semicolon or colon that appears at the end of a quotation goes outside of the quotation marks. Use double quotation marks for titles of songs, essays, stories, poems and articles. See below. Use italics for book titles, record albums, big things that stand on their own. Do not underline. Do not add two spaces after sentences. Titles and Names to Italicize Titles to Put Into Quotation Marks A novel Poem A ship Short story A play A skit A film A commercial A painting An individual episode in a TV series (like "The A sculpture or statue Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld) A drawing A cartoon episode, like "Trouble With Dogs" A CD A chapter A TV Series An article A cartoon series A newspaper story An encyclopedia A newspaper A pamphlet A magazine 5