Category Archives: grammar

Why Proofreading Is Important

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Some people think because they’ve written something and read along as they write, that’s good enough. Some people think they don’t have the time to proofread something that the author should have checked. Some people think they aren’t smart enough to proofread someone else’s work. And believe it or not, some people don’t think proofreading is important. Here is my take on that.

why proofreading is important

The author’s reputation is at stake.

While an author could be a great writer, could have great content, and could tell a great story, if it is hard for people to read, they won’t. Not everyone is as interested in good grammar (or is a psycho–take your pick) as I am, but I do know people who can’t get through to the message the writer is trying to convey because of grammar errors. Once we see a few mistakes, we are obsessed with finding them all–all to the detriment of actually reading the substance of the message and, thus, the author’s reputation, in our minds, is not good.

Accuracy is important.

Particularly in the legal field and in legal documents, accuracy is important. Many a time errors have made a difference in how a legal document was enforced, how property in an estate was distributed, and how a lawyer’s reputation with the court was tarnished. Opposing counsel love nothing more than to bring substantial errors in filed documents to the court’s attention. Particularly when quotations are incorrect. If opposing counsel files a document showing that your attorney filed something as a quotation which was not an exact quotation, your attorney not only has the embarrassment of having opposing counsel bring that up, but it becomes part of the public record (unless the file is sealed), and regardless of how open the judge would like to be, it has to change their perception of your attorney, your firm, and your client. Although the misstatement of the quotation could have totally been a error in retyping the quoted language, because no one checked it and fixed it, it could have a huge impact on your case.

Your writing delivers its message.

Where there are errors in your writing, people sometimes have a hard time understanding your message. If people don’t understand your message, why are you writing?

People good at proofreading like to help.

Most of the people I know who are good at proofreading would love to help you. Not only does it give us the “first look” at your writing, but for most proofreaders, our mission is to help others and, perhaps, to teach others. If you know someone who is good at proofreading and you need some done, go ahead and ask. The worst thing that can happen is that they say “no” and then you’re at the same place you started. Just two caveats: don’t take advantage and don’t take them for granted. You can’t call hysterical and ask them to proofread something right now and you need it back immediately. They MAY help you that one time, but probably never again. Exercise grace.

You learn–hopefully!

If you pay attention to edits others make to your work, or you pay attention to proofreading lessons you could learn online (especially at a great website and blog like proofthatblog.com!), or you make an effort to be better, you learn something you didn’t know yesterday. That’s all anyone can ask for–to learn something new every day.

Your work product reflects YOU.

If you are the author, your writing reflects you. People who don’t know you get their impression of you from your writing. They could believe that you don’t care enough about your work to make sure it is accurate. If you are supposed to be finalizing documents for someone else in your office and don’t take the time to proofread it and to make sure it is accurate and looks good, then the person who receives it is getting a bad impression of your entire firm and everyone in it–even though only one person wrote the letter or document–some people associate your firm with dumb mistakes. This association could be worse if the mistake was not just dumb, but was more of a major error in a document filed with the court. It seems that with the amount of time spent authoring and editing something, you would want to be proud of your work. Otherwise, why would you waste your valuable time doing it?

All in all, you’ve spent the time and energy to write something you obviously want someone else to read, whether it is a blog post or an important legal document. You should be proud of your work so make it pretty, make it accurate, and make it grammatically correct.

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Use It Correctly Or Not At All

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Use It CorrectlyHere are some words that seem to have a propensity for being used incorrectly–particularly in the legal setting. Hopefully, this list will help you be that person who does know how to use them correctly.

  • Addictive v. Addicting – This is a very difficult one. Addictive is an adjective. It is a word that answers the question what kind, how many, or which one. In this case, addictive would typically answer the question “what kind,” as in what kind of drug (addictive drug) or what kind of video game (addictive game). On the other had, addicting is a verb when used with an object and means “to cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on an addictive substance, as alcohol or a narcotic.”  For instance, “The video game was highly addicting to 10-year-old James.” On the other hand, it would be “The addictive video game was played for hours by 10-year-old James.” Grammar Girl did a more detailed article on these two words at  http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/addictive-versus-addicting.
  • Adverse v. averse – Adverse means “unfavorable, harmful, hostile,” while averse means “opposed [to], having a feeling of distaste [for].” So you are averse to kale, but the opposing party is adverse to your client. Another example is that I am averse to meatloaf, but meatloaf is not adverse to the American diet.
  • Affect v. effect – Affect means “to change or make a difference to a result” while effect means “to bring about a result.” For example, “The new overtime policy affected Sally’s bank account,” while “The new overtime policy had the effect of lowering Sally’s weekly paychecks.” When you’re trying to decide, substitute “brought about the result” for “effect” to see if it makes sense. In this case, “The new overtime policy brought about the result of lowering Sally’s weekly paychecks,” so effect is the correct word. But “The new overtime policy brought about the result of Sally’s bank account” doesn’t make sense, so the correct word is affect. Another example would be “The new traffic laws had the effect of making rush hour traffic more difficult.” You can replace it as “The new traffic laws brought about the result of making rush hour traffic more difficult.”
  • Complimentary v. complementary – Complimentary means “an admiring or flattering remark,” while complementary means “something that completes” or “something that is free.” One way I remember the difference is that complImentary means that “I” am paying you a compliment while complEmentary means something that is fre”E” or compl”E”tes something. For instance, “The reviews of my presentation were complimentary (flattering) and the audience liked the complementary (free) pens that were given away.”
  • Council v. counsel – Council is a “group of people who manage or advise” while counsel is “advice or to advise” or “the attorney conducting a case.” So “The city council [group of people who manage or advise] voted on the new shopping center based on counsel [advice] of outside attorneys.”
  • Deserts v. desserts – Deserts are large expanses of land usually at a high temperature such as “Arizona has a lot of desert areas.” Desserts, on the other hand, is typically a sweet ending to a meal “My favorite dessert is anything sweet.”
  • Ensure v. insure – Ensure is to “make certain that (something) shall occur or be the case” and insure is to “arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property), or injury to or the death of (someone), in exchange for regular advance payments to a company or government agency.” So “Tom will ensure [make certain] that the records are intact so he can arrange to insure [arrange for compensation in the event of damage] his new house.”
  •  Further v. farther – Farther refers to an actual distance, while further refers to a figurative distance and means “to a greater extent” or “to a greater degree.” So when you say “He went 30 miles farther than he intended to,” that is correct because it is an actual distance, but if you say “He went further on his trip that day than he intended,” it is really saying he went to a greater degree of distance than he intended to.
  • Tortuous v. Torturous – Tortuous means “full of twists; complex” while torturous means “full of pain or suffering.” Thus, “Proofreading the Ninth Circuit Court brief was a tortuous [complex] exercise.” But “The questioning by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel was torturous [full of pain and suffering] on the unprepared attorney.”

There are so many other words that are easily confused. Do you have something that you or someone in your office constantly uses incorrectly? Let me know and we’ll include it in a future blog post with definitions and examples so they can start to get it right.

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Grammar Giggle – Spainish 

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I have not shared Grammar Giggles from my European vacation because English is not their primary language so I was generous with any small errors I saw. However, on the Big Bus tour, I found this error. Since they are a large company with offices worldwide (including the US), I’m not so ready to cut them as much slack. So when I saw this one, the phone camera came out. 

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Why Proofread?

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So by now, you may be wondering why I spend so much time talking about, writing about, and actually proofreading. Here are just a few of the reasons I think proofreading helps you:

  • You Learn Stuff. When you work on developing proofreading skills, not only do you continually learn grammar rules, but if you start reading more for recreation, you learn about people, places, and things outside of your small circle.
  • You Enhance Your Grammar Skills. Once you start paying attention to what you’re reading and figure out why something is wrong (or why it is right when you didn’t think it was), you are developing your grammar skills. And then you can help others develop their grammar skills. Particularly if you do it nicely as a teaching/learning moment, you can share what you know with others. Just don’t be a jerk about it. Everyone makes mistakes and if you use it to teach them, they will likely pay attention.  If they think they are being attacked or you treat them like they’re stupid, they will not learn and will continue in the way they know (and they’ll think you’re a jerk and won’t listen to you the next time either).
  • You See The Big Picture. Whether you work in a law office, a bank, or any other industry, if you pay attention to the documents you are proofreading, you can learn more about the industry, about your cases, about legal strategy, and about your career. It’s important to see the big picture in everything you do rather than working in a vacuum of just your specific tasks. Find out WHY you do things a certain way. Discover what happens after you’ve done your part. Figure out what others have done before it reached you. Find the place that you fit in the flow from beginning to end.
  • You Could Become More Valuable. With text speak and teachers being forced to teach skills to pass standardized exams and not skills that people actually need, a person with a good grasp of grammar and the ability to correct other work will become even more valuable. People judge and I’m pretty sure that no one in your firm wants to be looked upon as having bad grammar.
  • You Make Your Firm Look Good. My motto has always been that everything that leaves my office is a reflection of me–whether I’ve touched it or not. Anyone who knows you and knows where you work associates you with that firm. If the things that your firm files or sends to opposing counsel have glaring errors, people (including the judge) may have a very different perception of your firm and all the people in it. That perception goes both ways and I want my firm’s reputation to be that we do quality work.
  • You Feel Good. I love that people whom I worked with 10 years ago still email me for proofreading advice. I’ve developed a reputation for quality work product and for actually caring about every document that I touch. That has consistently shown up in reviews, raises, and the respect I receive from others.

 Proofreading is a skill that can be learned and should be practiced. It is something that may well change your life (or perhaps only if you’re a nerd like me). So keep learning, keep practicing, and keep honing that skill.

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Grammar Giggle – It Couldn’t Have Been More Clear

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This I found on Twitter. The correct phrase should be “couldn’t have gotten.” I think the error happens because when you are actually saying the phrase out loud, it sounds like “couldn’t uv gotten” so people assume it is “of” instead of “have.” That is incorrect.

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Attorney’s Fees or Attorneys’ Fees?

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So is it “attorney’s fees” or “attorneys’ fees”? I see it both ways in all kinds of documents. According to Bryan Garner, it seems that “attorney’s fees” is used most frequently, but that “attorneys’ fees” is acceptable in cases where more than one attorney is charging fees for services. Some people use “attorney fees” to avoid making decision altogether.

Other sources I found say:

  • The U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, Civil Resource Manual has a section on “Attorney’s Fees.”
  • A 2016 U.S. Supreme Court case (Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., No. 15–375) talks about “attorney’s fees.”
  • The American Bar Association published an article in 2016 about “attorney fees.”
  • Black’s Law Dictionary uses “attorney fees.”

No wonder people are confused. While it isn’t really a big deal, your firm should decide which form they want to use and then everyone should use that form. My biggest fear is always that different briefs from the same firm will have it different ways. Remember my mantra–consistency is good.

 

Here is my take: If there is ONLY one attorney charging fees, I think “attorney’s fees” is correct. They are the fees of that attorney. However, if there are multiple attorneys charging fees even in one firm, it should be “attorneys’ fees.” They are fees charged by multiple attorneys.

Do you agree?

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Grammar “Used To Be” More Important

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This is a pretty common error that I saw on a TV ad recently. The phrase “use to be” is incorrect. When you’re talking about something that happened in the past but doesn’t happen anymore, the correct phrase is “used to be.” In this sentence it means that in the past, surgery was the only option, but it is not the only option anymore, so “used to be” would be correct.

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Are Job Titles Capitalized?

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Bailiff or bailiff-A reader recently emailed asking about the word “bailiff” and whether it was capitalized when transcribing a legal court hearing.  She asked “I understand that when it is used as a title, for example: Bailiff Jones will now take the jury to the jury room. But, during the course of conversation by the Judge – for example: If you (jury) has a question, please write out the question and hand it to our bailiff.  Is the word bailiff capitalized then – or is it capitalized throughout the document just as you would for Mr. or Mrs.?”

Based on my review of the Gregg Reference Manual, it would be capitalized when used with the last name as  in Bailiff Jones, but I do not think in the Judge’s conversation it would be capitalized. However, in reading Paragraph 313(c), it could be capitalized just because it is a court transcription and the bailiff might be considered an “official of high rank” in that courtroom by the persons reading the transcript.

  • Paragraph 313(c) – Titles of local governmental officials and those of lesser federal and state officials are not usually capitalized when they follow or replace a personal name. However, these titles are sometimes capitalized in writing intended for a limited readership when the intended reader would consider the official to be of high rank (emphasis added).

Paragraph 312(e) says not to capitalize occupational titles preceding names. The way to distinguish occupational titles from official titles is that only official titles can be used with last names alone. for instance, you wouldn’t address a person as “Author Collins,” “Lawyer Jones,” or “Director of Public Marketing Smith,” so they are occupational titles and shouldn’t be capitalized. As a general rule, the Gregg Reference Manual says not to put a title before a person’s name unless it is short and you would actually use the title when you are addressing them aloud.

Other sources say if the title precedes the name, it should be capitalized and if it does not, it should not be. But what about “bailiff”? As above, you would address them as “Bailiff Jones” but in this case the title is not preceding the name–you are just using “bailiff.” According to Gregg Reference Manual:

  • Paragraph 313(e) – In general, do not capitalize job titles when they stand alone. However, in procedures manuals and in organization memos and announcements, job titles are sometimes capitalized for special emphasis.

My gut says not to capitalize it because it is a job title in that courtroom and you are not capitalizing other job titles like court reporter, judicial assistant, etc. when they are used in place of a name.

Do you agree or disagree? Comment below.

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