In Letter-perfect Grammar and Proofreading, you'll learn...
- How to avoid embarrassing word usage mistakes
- How to use proper punctuation and capitalization
- How to catch errors with laser-like precision
- How to spell like a champ
- And much more!
In just one day, you’ll brush up on important rules of grammar and learn the latest, most professional methods for letter-perfect proofreading. Become the resident expert on business English who can quote any grammar, punctuation, spelling, word usage or capitalization rule (in case anyone asks) and dazzle your boss with your laser-like ability to spot errors—before the job goes out! Get this important training today.
WORKSHOP AGENDA
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Add to your repertoire of proofreading skills+
- How to concentrate—even when surrounded by distractions
- The 1st commandment of proofreading: Thou shalt not change the author’s meaning
- How to proofread faster … and still not miss a mistake
- Identifying typos—tricks of the trade
- 10 most frequently made proofreading mistakes
- Proofreading a foreign language when you’re not fluent: A firm rule to follow
- Sniffing out sins of omission—like left-out characters and words
- Understanding the thin line between “editing” and “proofreading”
- Why proofreaders who do this are far more successful than those who don’t
- Proofreading isn’t always a solo sport—when to call in reinforcements
- The real secret to proofreading your own work
- The divide-and-conquer approach … how to use it to overcome proofreading monotony
- Proofreading marks that will make your job a whole lot easier
Keep the “Punctuation Police” out of your hair+
- Parentheses and dashes have different jobs—do you know what they are?
- Right—and wrong—ways to use the semicolon and colon
- Ellipses: The real purpose of those three little dots (or should it be four?)
- The art of using quotation marks
- Worried about how and where to use the slash? Relax—here’s the answer
- Apostrophes—when to use them, when to lose them
- How to avoid the common trap of comma overkill
Properly use tricky words commonly misspelled, confused—and misused+
- Words most commonly misspelled—your go-to guide
- The most troublesome words in business and how to get them right. For starters: Further/farther; effect/affect; all right/alright; almost/most; who/whom; among/between; around/about; in/into
- Who … which … or that? You’ll never wonder again!
- Not sure how to spell a word? Five things you can do
- The “Bible” on capitalization
- When to spell out numbers and when to use figures
- Your/you’re, too/to/two, there/their/they’re—know without a doubt which to use when
- Eliminating unacceptable sexist words and phrases
Know the unbreakable rules of grammar—and those you can forget about+
- A lightning-quick tour of basic grammar rules
- Subject/verb agreement—the golden rule
- Three cures for sentences that run on and on and on and on and on and …
- Detecting mixed construction and parallelism violations in sentences
- Making nouns and pronouns agree—can it really be this easy?
- Avoiding mismatches between singular and plural words
- Parts of speech … where they fit into the big scheme of things
- Avoiding the use—and overuse—of the passive voice … and awkward, mushy sentences
- I, me or myself: What’s grammatically legal—and what’s not
Proofreading and your computer+
- The principles of on-screen proofreading—mastered!
- How technology is changing the job of proofreading
- What your spell-checker can and CAN’T do
- Your grammar-checker—the best time to employ it
- The cursor—your on-line proofreading best friend
- The major difference between hard-copy and on-screen proofreading
- E-mail do’s and don’ts
