Some grammar simplified

Yesterday in a doctor's office, I read about some pain management techniques that the brochure said would "subside" my discomfort. Later, I heard a colleague describing how his company had "migrated" all its computers to a new operating system.

But here's a flash. Both migrate and subside are intransitive verbs. In other words, they never have a object. And in even more other words, things subside or migrate all by themselves; you can't subside or migrate them.

So the good doctor's techniques would not subside my pain, but would cause it to subside.

The second example, migrating computers from place to place, is more problematic because the verb itself, besides being intransitive, is just not a good description of the process. It might be better to say something such as, "Our computers are now running all new programs," or "We replaced our operating system with something that's more useful for our purposes."

Those examples are simpler, make more sense, and don't require tortured grammar. And, as Martha would say, those are all good things.

Getting the writing right

As I mentioned yesterday, proofreading and fact checking are as much a part of the writing process as getting the words down in the first place. And if you don't believe that, it can cost you dearly.

Several years ago, I struggled through a stack of résumés and writing samples from people who were applying for a communications job with my small company. I wouldn't have hired a one of them because of the many careless mistakes I found throughout the documents. Remember, I'd asked for these samples because I wanted to hire someone, that is, give him or her a job. For money. If those who applied were serious about wanting the position, the work products they submitted should have been the best of which they were capable. The results made me fear for the entire state of business communication.

One mentioned her great success in pubic relations. Public is a word you should check and re-check because omission of the letter "L" is common, never caught by spell check, and always embarrassing. I was advertising for a writer, after all, not a lap dancer.

Another discussed how enthusiastic he was about the possibility of working for my company—The Stevens/St. John Company—but unfortunately he called it the John Stevens Company.

The third misspelled her own name. I'm not making this up.

Unfortunately, these aren't isolated cases. Business writing in general continues to be atrocious. Writing is a precise business. Nuance matters. Style matters. Usage and grammar matter. Ditto for facts and data. But when I see what comes from independent communications professionals, communications departments, and even executive suites, I shudder.

However, now we're in a tight labor market. There are many, many communicators on the street. A minority of them are talented, skilled, and willing to pay attention to doing it right. They will get the few jobs that are available. Those who don't want to be bothered will be pounding the pavement until the economy picks up again. If you want to be in the first group, get down to business.

5 big proofreading mistakes

Whether you're writing for publication or business--or both--don't send out your first draft. Even the most seasoned writers make mistakes. I've found them on my own blog posts--and hit myself in the forehead for them. Many errors can be eliminated by careful proofreading. Here are some things to do to begin the correction process.

• Read headlines and subheads. You'll be surprised at how many mistakes you might find there. I once sent out an $11K print job with a headline that had the word "Suprise" in it--in bright teal type. Of course, I meant "Surprise."
• Watch for word substitutions. For example, look out for their if you mean they're, then if you mean than, or who's if you mean whose.
• Root out wrong word choices, such as laying for lying, insure for ensure, or compliment for complement. All of these are commonly misused.
• Check your punctuation, particularly apostrophes and plurals. It's men's room, not mens' room. It's children's clothing, not childrens'. Be careful when it comes to the word it's. It's means it is or it has (It's my party, or It's been a long time ...); its means belonging to it (Its special features include ...). There is no such word as its'. Don't even think about it.
• Use your dictionary to make sure your spelling is correct. Just today, I received an e-mail with a great example of this simple rule. A restaurant posted a sign saying it was closed because the kitchen was out of meet. Oh, come on.

To get it right, you have to proofread several times. Different proofreaders have different styles, but some read once for headlines, subheads, and pull quotes only; once for street addresses, phone numbers, e-mail and web addresses, and other factual data; once more for numbers, figures, and page numbers; again for missing or repeated words or letters, and spacing errors; again for spelling; and finally for sense. Although that may seem like far too much work, proofreading goes quickly when you read for one thing at a time rather than trying to catch every kind of error during a more global look-see.

Paying attention will make your writing more polished and professional.