by Sharon Ernst | Mar 4, 2024 | Proofreading and Editing
With the recent request that I give more advice on the proper use of commas, I decided to do the occasional Comma Challenge since I see so many errors in my day-to-day life. Here’s the first. How does it work? I’m glad you asked! Below you’ll see seven sentences with comma errors. Your job? Find the mistake. Then check with the answers below, where I’ve made the correction and given the reason for it. Have fun! The Comma Errors Seriously, this project is really fun and easy, you should try it. If you’ve been thinking of trying a...
by Sharon Ernst | Jan 5, 2024 | Proofreading and Editing
Originally published July 14, 2017. Updated January 5, 2024. Proofreading! It is guaranteed to improve your writing at work! I’m serious! If you only changed one habit this year to be a better, faster writer, get into the habit of proofreading everything you write, and I mean everything. “But, Sharon,” you’re probably thinking. “That makes no sense because that will slow me down, not make me faster.” OK, yes, but no, because when you catch your mistakes, you avoid confusion which saves time,...
by Sharon Ernst | Dec 7, 2021 | Proofreading and Editing
(Originally Published September 2017) This week’s blog post is brought to you by one of my kids—because I just found out I didn’t teach her how to use semicolons. OK, maybe it was the school’s job when she was younger, but really, I work with words for a living. I teach business writing skills (for example, via my proofreading class). I know my punctuation. And somehow I didn’t pass along this valuable information. Parenting fail! So I’m passing it along now, in a very public way. (Emma, are you paying attention?) I heart semicolons...
by Sharon Ernst | Dec 1, 2021 | Proofreading and Editing
Watching two people argue about serial commas is like watching two people argue about politics: Neither can listen to the other, but neither is necessarily right nor wrong. As a refresher, the serial comma—sometimes called the Oxford comma—is used in a series as in ham, eggs, and toast. It’s the comma after the word “eggs.” Without the serial comma, it looks like ham, eggs and toast. Will it make you a better, faster writer if you have to stop and think about whether or not to include a comma, or in any other way disobey a rule for...
by Sharon Ernst | Jun 11, 2021 | Proofreading and Editing
(Updated January 2026) Why do people struggle so with commas? It seems we either tend to over-do it or under-do it, and using commas correctly eludes us. Maybe that’s because the comma is so easy to use and so easy to leave out. It’s just a little bit of punctuation, lacking the hardness or a period after all, right? What harm can it do to guess? Well, in my opinion, it can do plenty of harm if it: Gets in the way of clarity Makes you look dumb Or does both 1 and 2 So let’s talk about an easy way to know whether or not you need to...
by Sharon Ernst | Apr 30, 2021 | Proofreading and Editing
Does punctuation matter? Yes! How you use punctuation can change the meaning of your writing—in ways you might dread! Punctuation exists for a reason: to help us communicate clearly. Consider the beginning of this blog post without punctuation: Does punctuation matter yes how you use punctuation can change the meaning of your writing in ways you might dread punctuation exists for a reason to help us communicate clearly Or consider this classic example of a sentence with two very different meanings, depending on the punctuation:...
