Proofreading Perfection

Time to go back to basics. I've said it before and I'll say it again - proofreading is critical to any written text. As stated on my website for 'Word Write for Success', we provide proofreading and editing for document excellence. Some might ask why a document's excellence is important. Since we're in the throes of considering house renovations, I'll use a parallel.

As we renovate, we could have a bash at doing some of the work ourselves. We've watched a few home renovation shows on television - the Lifestyle Channel makes it all look quite easy. However, in our hearts we know that a room painted by a professional painter or a bathroom finished by a professional tiler is going to have a finish that we could never achieve, despite our best efforts. The assurance a professional offers will save us loads of time, stress, mess and worry. It will also save us from being in the expensive and frustrating situation of doing a botched job of the renos ourselves, only to have to call the professional in at the end of it all to fix the mistakes we've made.

Proofreading is a professional skill. Just as a painter, electrician or plumber possess a specific skill set which they bring to a job, so the proofreader will approach a proofreading job with the ultimate goal of providing an excellent finished product - your perfect document. So, the next time you have a document which you care about getting right, seek a professional's advice.

As an end of financial year special, we are offering all new customers 25% discount on your first document proofread by us. Contact 'Word Write for Success' at info@wordwriteforsuccess.com.au or go to our website - www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au

Burn the Floor!

This afternoon, my daughter and I went to see the amazing dance show by Jason Gilkerson, 'Burn the Floor', on at the Gold Coast Arts Centre at present. It was awesome, incredible, energetic and captivating. Each couple had been chosen from around the world, with countries represented including Russia, New Zealand and England, to name a few. A special surprise was seeing Henry from 'So You Think You Can Dance - Season 1' representing Australia. He is something else! Not only were the dancers fabulous, but they were accompanied by the two most skilled drummers I have ever seen - I can still feel the beat pumping! Then, there were the two singers, who were, once again, just wonderful.

I think you can gather that we were both blown away and so glad we were able to see the show. The only disappointment of the afternoon was that the theatre was not booked out. The performers deserved a full audience and testament to this was the resounding standing ovation they received at the finale. Talk about passion! The floor was on fire!

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Mean Girls Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to the quiz from yesterday's post:

1. How old is the main character, Cady? 16 years old
2. What colour t-shirt is she wearing on her first day at school? red
3. What is the date on the day that Aaron asks her to tell him the date? October 3rd
4. What will occur if Cady joins the Mathletes? Social suicide
5. Name three of the groups identified during the film. Plastics, Hot Asians, Asian Nerds, Preps, JV Jocks, Sexually Active Band Geeks, Burnouts
6. What colour is Damien's suit at the Christmas concert? white
7. Complete the phrase, 'Seeing a teacher outside school is like'..... 'seeing a dog walk on its hind legs
8. How has Gretchen's father made his fortune? Toaster Strudel
9. What is the name of the book Regina has compiled? The Burn Book
10.What is the answer to the sudden death question at the Mathletes championship? The limit does not exist

How did you go?

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Are you a 'mean' girl?

Today I've watched 'Mean Girls' for what must be the fourth or fifth time. It's an excellent film for all teenagers, girls and boys alike. Based on the book, 'Queen Bees and Wannabes', by Rosalind Wiseman, the film explores the adolescent world of cliques, gossip, peer pressure and boyfriends.

If you have already seen it, here are some questions for you to check how closely you were paying attention as you watched (and if you haven't seen it, you should - then trying answering the following):

1. How old is the main character, Cady?
2. What colour t-shirt is she wearing on her first day at school?
3. What is the date on the day that Aaron asks her to tell him the date?
4. What will occur if Cady joins the Mathletes?
5. Name three of the groups identified during the film.
6. What colour is Damien's suit at the Christmas concert?
7. Complete the phrase, 'Seeing a teacher outside school is like.....'
8. How has Gretchen's father made his fortune?
9. What is the name of the book Regina has compiled?
10. What is the answer to the sudden death question at the Mathletes championship?

Check tomorrow's post for the answers to these all-important questions.

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Why plan? Why not?

Today, I was supervising a group of students completing a piece of writing under supervised conditions. There were 28 students in the room. The task was to take 30 minutes - 5 minutes of planning, 20 minutes of writing and 5 minutes of editing.

Once the students began the 5 minute planning stage, I circulated around the room and observed the following: 27 students were busily doing as they had been told, making their plans in the designated space on the test. Then there was the one student who had merrily gone on his way, dispensing with the planning stage and moving straight into the writing phase.

It started me thinking. I wonder whether that particular student plans on travelling in the future, not necessarily on an overseas trip, but even a trip within Australia. Will he make a plan or will he just dive straight in and hope for the best? Will he take each day of the trip as it comes or will he know where he will be staying tomorrow night and how he will get there? Come to think of it, if he's not a planner by nature, he probably hadn't planned where he was meeting his friends for lunch today, let alone some nebulous future trip.

Perhaps the world can be divided into the planners and the doers. The planners step themselves through the process hypothetically. They devise a logical order and they consider what options are available. In this way, they have a 'road map' of sorts, irrespective of the task at hand. The task could be as simple as a piece of writing or it could be as mammoth as a wedding. In setting themselves up with a plan, they ensure greater predictability of the desired outcome.

In contrast, the doers are willing to take a chance, run a risk or leave all in the lap of the gods when it comes to outcomes. They throw caution to the wind and leap in with both eyes shut. I have no statistics to support this assertion, but my gut reaction is that these doers have the potential to be equally as successful in achieving a positive outcome. It might not be THE outcome (as defined by a planner type), but it is an outcome which has been reached by a more passionate, impulsive and, dare I say it, instinctive pathway.

So, which are you? If you answer 'yes' to the following, you are definitely a planner rather than a doer:

* do you have a GPS installed in your car?
* when you go to the supermarket, do you have a list?
* prior to your last road trip, did you consult Google maps?
* do you have a calendar which lists all of your family and friends' birthdays?
* if you had to write a letter of complaint or an essay, would you start by listing dot points?
* before a social occasion, do you mentally prepare possible conversation starters?
* when cooking from a recipe, do you take out all required ingredients prior to beginning?
* do you have a cupboard in your home with gifts on hand for as yet unspecified recipients?
* could you tell me what you will be doing in two weeks' time on Saturday morning?

Okay, which are you? Don't be embarrassed! We can't all be the same and who's to say whether it's better to be a planner or a doer. Maybe the results of the test my students sat today will provide me with further insight. Then again, maybe not...

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Monday Mutter

Here I go -
* leftover washing from the weekend still needs folding (at least my ironing lady doesn't pick up until tomorrow!)
* didn't arrive home until dark (good excuse for takeaway though!)
* still cold (but not as cold as last week)
* lots of paperwork to read, sign, return, rsvp to (but no bills - touch wood!)
* only half a glass of wine left in the bottle (better than none at all)
* tired (but not too tired to keep reading my book)

Who am I kidding? If I categorise this as a bad Monday, I haven't got much to complain about, have I?

I hope you had a good Monday!

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Laugh out loud

I'm reading a really funny book at the moment. In fact, this post is by necessity going to be quite short, so that I can get back to it as quickly as possible.

Writers who can make you laugh out loud as you read their book have a very special talent. British comedian, Peter Kay, has achieved this for me with his appropriately titled book, 'The Sound of Laughter'. His stories are so down-to-earth, often self-deprecating and about everyday life. It reached a point a couple of nights ago where I was laughing so much as I was reading that I started to wheeze. It was at about this point also that my husband stopped enjoying my mirth and threatened to send me into another room to continue reading.

It's been quite a while since I've been so entertained by a book. Another writer who had this effect on me was Nick Earls with '48 Shades of Brown'. I can remember my husband coming to check on me when he heard strange noises coming from our bedroom - it was me trying not to laugh too loudly so as not to wake our sleeping children.

I've said it before, I'm not a book snob, and this post proves it. If you want to read a really clever book, this one isn't it. However, if you feel like a laugh, try to get your hands on a copy of 'The Sound of Laughter'.

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Powerpoint Tips - Use of Font

To maximise the impact of your powerpoint, rather than distract viewers from the messages you wish to convey, be careful with your font choices.

Here are some guidelines when it comes to use of font:

* Restrict the number of the font types you use. Just because your computer offers you a plethora of choice doesn't mean that you should incorporate them all in your presentation. Choose one font and stick with it throughout.

* Be selective in your choice of font type. Fonts which have the best impact are clear and easy to read. A powerpoint presentation which uses Chiller font throughout could convey an unintended creepy mood, while Curlz could convey a lack of seriousness. The best fonts are the standards - Arial, Times New Roman, Bookman Old Style and, my personal favourite, Goudy Old Style.

* Bold your titles and headings. If you bold all of your text, you will defeat the purpose of bolding, which is to make points stand out from the rest.

* Italicise for key points or highlighting.

* Don't capitalise everything. A WHOLE SENTENCE WRITTEN IN CAPITALS IS QUITE DIFFICULT TO READ.

* Stick with white, yellow, blue or orange for your font colour. See my earlier post for more detail about the use of colour in your powerpoint, particularly in relation to use of coloured text contrasting appropriately with your chosen background.

* Font size should be no smaller than 22 (depending on your font type choice). Headings will be somewhat larger. eg. If your text size is 22, make your heading no smaller than 28; if your text size is 24, go for 30 for your heading.

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Word of the Week - CAMARADERIE

Today's word – CAMARADERIE

Pronunciation – kamma-RAH-da-ree

Word type - noun

Definition – friendship or comradeship; goodwill, rapport, loyalty or feeling of warmth between members of a group

Word origin- first used in English in 1840, derived from French, 1840, from 'camarade', and prior to that, Spanish from the Latin word 'camara', with the Late Latin meaning 'chamber' or 'room'.

'Camarada' was derived from this to refer to 'barrack mates', which grew to be generally known as 'companion'. The word 'comrade' was first used in English in the 16th century, and had a political sense. Its association with Communism in the late 19th century was as an alternative term of address to 'mister' for use by socialists and communists. It is therefore not surprising to note the usage of 'camaraderie' originated during the French Revolution.

Sample sentence -
There was a clear camaraderie between the friends when they met for their monthly bookclub meeting.

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Cut your editing time in half!

Introducing....the 'Replace' function. Let me share a little-known but massively useful tip for editing of your documents.

Consider this scenario:

You've written your document draft and spent time proofreading (better still, you've sent it to a professional proofreader such as me at 'Word Write for Success' - http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/). The feedback is that there are several instances of the same error throughout your document.

You could spend a painstaking amount of time trawling through your document for all of the instances of the error, or, you could save yourself massive amounts of time, simply by use of the 'Replace' function in Microsoft Word.

For example, in a document I recently read, reference was made repeatedly to 'Australian rules' rather than 'Australian Rules' (capital 'R' for 'Rules). The document was over 2000 words in length and the client, a student, was concerned about how long it was going to take him to locate all of the instances of this particular punctuation error.

How the 'Replace' function works:

Using the example of 'rules' needing to be replaced by 'Rules', follow these steps:

1. Go to the 'Editing' tab on your toolbar (found on far right in Microsoft 2007 version).
2. Click on 'Replace'.
3. In the box beside 'Find what', type in word exactly as it appears as an error in your document, in the case of the example, 'rules'.
4. Tab to the box below labelled 'Replace with' and type in the correction you wish to make, in this case, 'Rules'.
5. You have the option to replace it just once, by clicking on 'Replace', however, if it is an error which requires correction throughout the document, click on 'Replace All'.
6. A dialog box will then appear telling you how many times it has made the replacement throughout your document. This is when you sit back and imagine how long it would have taken you to find each instance of the error manually (and thank me for helping you save all that precious time!).

Happy replacing!

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Powerpoint Tips - Backgrounds

Here are some more helpful tips when it comes to choosing a background for your powerpoint presentation.

* Although I've already said this on an earlier blog post, a dark background with light colour text is best, especially if you are projecting in a darkened room.
* Graduated backgrounds look good - eg. starting at the top as mid-blue and gradually becoming darker blue - but only graduate one colour. Avoid using two contrasting colours for a graduated background.
* Using a photograph as the whole slide background is risky, especially if you also want to place text on the slide. It's better to have a plain colour background and place the photograph side by side or above or below the text.
* Finally, decide upon a background for your presentation and maintain that background for the entire presentation.

Next time, we'll look at font use on powerpoint presentations.

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Getting the Hang of Writing - Cohesion

Writing that 'hangs' together effectively uses cohesion. There are two kinds of cohesion - grammatical and logical. Today's post is focused upon the world of grammatical cohesion.

Grammatical cohesion refers to all of the parts of the sentence being in agreement. This includes noun-pronoun agreement and noun-verb agreement, as well as other 'ties'.

RULES - Noun-verb agreement:

• If the noun is singular, the verb is plural (present tense verb).
• If the noun is plural, the verb is singular (present tense verb).
• Verb does not change from singular to plural (past/future tense verb).

Examples:

My mother like to receive a bunch of flowers for her birthday. WRONG

My mother likes to receive a bunch of flowers for her birthday. RIGHT

The boys like to kick the football. RIGHT

The boys likes to kick the football. WRONG

My mother walked down the street. RIGHT

The boys walked down the street. RIGHT

RULES - Noun-pronoun Agreement

• A singular noun must be combined with a singular pronoun
• A plural noun must be combined with a plural pronoun
• A pronoun must agree with the gender of the noun it replaces

Examples:

Mrs Brewster took her coat off as soon as she walked into her home. RIGHT

Mrs Brewster took his coat off as soon as he walked into his home. WRONG

The girls opened their presents after the speeches. RIGHT

The girls opened her presents after the speeches. WRONG

We'll talk about logical cohesion some other time.

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A Hairy Error!

Most Saturdays, I like to read the real estate liftout of our local paper. I had to have a giggle when my proofreading eye spotted this one advertisement yesterday morning, which read:

Located on the border of Hope Island and Paradise Point, in a close nit community is this spacious, warm and welcoming home....

After I stopped laughing, I also couldn't help but feel an imaginary itching of my scalp. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer a close knit community to one which shares around its headlice! I wonder how many enquiries they received?

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Car Conversations

Last night, a friend recounted to me a conversation she'd had with her son earlier that day. Actually, it was more of a 'deep and meaningful' discussion related to the big ticket items in life - love, family and work - rather than a run-of-the-mill conversation. Her son wanted to talk to her about some really big decisions he had made. I wonder if you are surprised to hear where he chose to begin the conversation? Yes, it was while they were travelling together in their family car.

This made me stop and think about how many conversations I have had with my husband, my children and other car passengers over the years and the nature of these conversations. Because our family lived out west for a number of years, we have spent quite a number of hours travelling together over long distances and we always looked forward to these opportunities to 'be' with one another. Then, there were the times 'pre-children' where my husband and I carpooled each day, which meant a 30 minute trip morning and afternoon together, a chance to debrief and regroup in a way, and a clear delineation between our home and our working lives.

Sometimes the conversation topics have been mundane, even inane, while there have been other times when the matter being discussed has been significant, even life-altering, similar to the conversation between my friend and her son yesterday. Each day, I spend time in the car with my children driving them to and from school, and we talk about all manner of topics, from lunch box contents through to the classroom 'scandals' of the day. They're at an age now where they will also enquire as to how my day has been and I really enjoy my own chance to share stories of special or funny moments with them. I must also admit that it's true that I have deliberately chosen at times to raise topics for discussion while I have a 'captive audience'.

Without the distractions which exist in our modern homes - television, computers, phones and various family members and others coming and going - perhaps the car is today's equivalent of the dinner table? It's a place to be together, for a defined period of time and in familiar surrounds, cocooned from the rest of the world. When you think about it like that, it's really not surprising at all that it's such a perfect place to talk.

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Word of the Week - SLANGUAGE

Today's word – SLANGUAGE

Pronunciation – SLAN-gwij

Word type - noun

Definition – language largely comprised of very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom; speech and writing characterised by the use of vulgar or socially taboo vocabulary; specialised language particular to a group.

Word origin-
The word 'slanguage' appeared early in the 20th century in English, however, it was not until recent years that it has been used in popular culture to describe a distinctive set of language. The word, 'slang', appeared during the 17th century, when slang was first employed by criminals seeking to keep their illegal habits a secret.

Quirky facts -

* Top five teen 'slanguage' terms - man, sad, wicked, mate, bloke
* Prison 'slanguage' terms - 'doing it all' - serving a life sentence; 'sweetheart' - a successful robbery; 'fish' - a newcomer to prison
* Australian 'slanguage' from World War 1 - all referring to death - 'hung on the wire', 'pushing up daisies', 'smudged'.

Check out www.slanguage.com where you can learn how to fit in with the locals by speaking their 'lingo' no matter where in the world you are visiting.

Sample sentence -

While some may perceive slanguage negatively, it is clear that this mode of expression can be most informative about a particular group in society.

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Powerpoint Tips - Simple is Best

Here are some tips to keep your powerpoint presentation simple, yet effective:

* Label each slide with a clear heading which indicates the key focus of the slide
* Under the heading, use bullet points and phrases rather than lengthy sentence
* Include no more than six points per slide
* Consider using progressive disclosure (animation) so that your listeners focus on one point at a time
* Each point should be no more than 8-10 words in length
* Allow 15-20 seconds scan time for each slide
* Time slide changes for approximately every 40-60 seconds to maintain audience interest
* Leave a decent sized top, bottom, left and right margin or you may lose parts of your text

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Powerpoint Tips - Use of Colour

Here are some tips for using colour on your next powerpoint presentation:

* First of all, use colour with discernment, not abandon! Your powerpoint presentation is not the place to display the depth of your knowledge of every gradation of the colour wheel.

* For a guaranteed successful look, use a darker background, such as a deep blue or green, with white, yellow or orange text

* Never use red text, especially on a blue or green background. Seven percent of the male population of the world will thank you - that is, seven males in every 100 of your audience are colourblind, so they won't see anything on your screen at all if you use red text on blue or green.

* Use existing templates - someone else (an expert) has spent a long time already to save you the hassle to make sure the colours work! Trust in their expertise and reduce the time you spend on your colour decisions.

* Black and blue should never be seen in combination - not blue text on a black background, not black text on a blue background, not at all. Your presentation is at risk of looking like a bruise.

Final tip (a little quirky, I admit):

* If you wouldn't wear the colour combination you have chosen for your powerpoint out in public, don't attempt to use it for your powerpoint colour choice.

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My Real Writing

For some time now, I've been writing about writing. Today, I want to show you what my 'real' writing looks like, hence the visual. Let me know what you think.

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Monday Mutter

I know I set this up last Monday and you may be expecting an appropriately brief and miserable post today, but the fact is, I'm feeling really good (for a Monday!). Here are my reasons:

* I had a lovely weekend, including a whole day out on Sunday at the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival
* My work is not swamping me in the same way it was this time last week
* I have had two good walks in the past three days
* I made 'Winter Chicken' soup for dinner and everyone asked for seconds
* My son's headcold is almost better

All in all, there hasn't been too much to mutter about today. If only every Monday could be so bearable!

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