Kim Siever’s Blog

This post is part of the Canadian Style series.

1.08 University degrees, professional designations, military decorations, honours, awards and memberships

Do not follow a person’s name with more than two abbreviations unless required for information or protocol purposes. Select the two highest honours of different types and list them in the following order of precedence:

1. Distinctions conferred directly by the Crown (VC, QC, OC, etc)
2. University degrees
3. Membership in societies and other distinctions.

Do not use periods.

1. Stop runaway sentences
2. However needs a cap and a comma
3. Get itsy bitsy its correct
4. Put apostrophes in their place
5. Trap the wandering only
6. Me me me, not I myself
7. Items on a list must be a matching set
8. Each and every one is singular
9. Get tricky subjects to agree with their verbs
10. Make sure your starter phrase refers to the very next word

See the detailed list at Quality Web Content.

1. Third conditional
2. Don’t vs doesn’t
3. Bring vs take
4. Fewer vs less
5. Semicolon use with however
6. Have vs of
7. Double negative
8. Present perfect
9. Went vs gone
10. Its vs it’s

See the detailed list at Karen’s Linguistic Issues.

This is part of the difference between series.

People often confuse these two closely related Latin abbreviations. Here is the difference.

I.e. is short for id est, which means “that is” or “in other words”.

I work 35 hours a week—i.e. I have 7-hour workdays.

E.g is short for exempli gratia, which means “for the sake of example” or “for example”.

I like red fruit—e.g. apples, tomatoes, and pomegranates.

This post is part of the Canadian Style series.

2.13 Points of the compass

Write as one word compass directions consisting of two points, but use a hyphen after the first point in those compounds consisting of three points.

• northwest
• south-southeast

1. Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.
2. Don’t split infinitives.
3. Don’t answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.”
4. Use a before words starting with consonants and an before words starting with vowels.
5. I.e. and e.g. mean the same thing.
6. Passive voice is always wrong.
7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in s.
8. Irregardless is not a word.
9. You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word however.
10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.

Taken from Grammar Girl. See the list in full detail.

Say hello to our newest addition.

Aiobheann Bree Holly Siever was born 1 March 2009 at 03:38. She weighed 3 kg (6 lbs 10 oz) and was 48 cm (19 in) long. She joins her sisters Sinéad and Aisling and her brother Regan.

1. Use short sentences.
2. Use short paragraphs.
3. Use vigorous English.
4. Be positive.

Seen at Copyblogger.