Replay Thursday

Thursday ReplayIt’s time for a review of recent blog posts just in case you’ve missed them. We call this Replay Thursday. Here are posts from Proof That proofreading blog and 60 Is The New 60 blog during the past week.

Grammar Giggle – Class Rooms

Grammar Giggle – Licence

Grammar Giggle – Hey Cabanna Boy!

Confusing Words of the Week

ENCORE – The State of Capitalizing State

ENCORE – The State of Capitalizing State

StateSince this topic is the most popular on this blog and since it took me three tries to get it right, I wanted to redo the information in one post to make it easier for people to find and to give others a refresh on this topic. So when do you capitalize “state”?

According to the Gregg Reference Manual  ¶ 335:

  • Capitalize state only when it follows the name of a state or is part of an imaginative name:
    • The state of Arizona is known as the Grand Canyon State.
    • One of my favorite places to visit is Washington State.
  • Do not capitalize state when it is used in place of the actual state name
    • She is an employee of the state. Note, however, that people who are actually working for state government will probably write it as “State.”

According to The Bluebook, capitalize the word “state”:

  • When it is part of the full name of the state
    • The State of Arizona is the 48th state admitted to the Union.
  • When the word it modifies in capitalized
    • In Michigan, the State Corrections Director is in charge of the correctional system.
  • When referring to the state as a party to litigation or a governmental actor
    • The State filed a Motion to Dismiss.

Obviously, The Bluebook is not a grammar guide—it is a style guide for legal citation.

Most other sources I’ve found disagree with Bluebook’s first example and say that “state” should not be capitalized when used as a proper noun but is capitalized when used in place of a particular state or referring to a specific governmental body:

  • The residents of the state of California have a reputation for being healthier than most.
  • The corporation, registered to do business in the state of California, is actually an Arizona corporation.

According to another favorite resource of attorneys, the Chicago Manual of Style, “where the government rather than the place is meant, the words state, city, and the like are usually capitalized.”

  • The State of Florida’s statutes regarding corporations are codified at Title XXXVI.

Another resource simplifies it as when you are using “state” as a common noun, you would not capitalize it:

  • She loved visiting the Northwestern states because she loved the rain.
  • The state of California has a beautiful coastline.

But do capitalize “state” if it is part of a proper name

  • I love visiting Washington State (as opposed to Washington, D.C.—although I love visiting there too).
  • I have visited New York City, but not the rest of New York State (capitalized to differentiate between New York City and New York State).

All resources agree that “state” should be capitalized when it is a party to litigation.

  • The response to the Motion to Dismiss was filed by the State yesterday.

The only comfort in all this confusion is that obviously everyone is confused. In fact, in many recent U.S. Supreme Court cases, “state” is capitalized in different instances, which may be a holdover from style from the 18th Century when many common nouns are capitalized.

Confusing Words of the Week

Words of the WeekIt’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use the Ask PTB tab on the website or send an email to [email protected] and they may appear here soon!

This week’s words are:

  • Annals – historical records
    • She researched the church annals looking for her genealogy records.
  • Annual – yearly
    • He looked forward to the annual celebration of new officers.
  • Annul – to cancel
    • She couldn’t wait to annul the agreement to serve on the committee.

Memory tips:

  • Annals – records about your Aunt Ann
  • AnnualU Always Love your birthday every year
  • Annul – undo

As an extra, someone posted this sign on my Facebook page, and since it fit perfectly to demonstrate the issues with misspelling annually, I’m adding it here:

kansas city

Replay Thursday

Thursday ReplayIt’s time for a review of recent blog posts just in case you’ve missed them. We call this Replay Thursday. Here are posts from Proof That proofreading blog and 60 Is The New 60 blog during the past week.

https://proofthatblog.com/2018/04/20/grammar-giggle-demons/

https://proofthatblog.com/2018/04/23/grammar-giggle-mental-heal-professional/

https://proofthatblog.com/2018/04/24/confusing-words-of-the-week-25/

https://proofthatblog.com/2018/04/25/how-do-you-define-proofread/

How Do You Define Proofread?

proofthatblog.com (2)n a fun twist on defining “proofread,” I decided to use each letter to come up with what proofreading means to me.

Providing the best product possible is the goal of proofreading.

Reading, and reading again, to make sure your document says what you think it says and says it correctly.

Outline defined terms in a second screen so you capitalize those throughout your document as defined and so you only define it once.

Organize what you need. If you’re reviewing a hard copy, have a red pen, good lighting, and a closed door if possible. If you’re reviewing online, you need good lighting, redlining on (easiest with no markup showing so you can see how it really looks), and a closed door if possible.

Formatting the document so that it looks good, margins are the same throughout, spacing is good, font is the same, no widow or orphan lines straggling on any page, and if necessary, it meets the court rules for formatting.

Redline your suggested edits so the author can see what you are suggesting be changed so you are not changing the entire meaning of the language.

Everything should be reviewed. Proofread your emails, letters, documents, and anything else that you are involved in and that reflects you.

Allow time to read the entire document through and to make any edits that are necessary.

Delete commas. Most people use far too many commas, but you have to understand the use of commas before you just start deleting them.