I have asked some Gaylord faculty members to share with us their top 5 pet peeves of writing. Note the last word - writing. These are common grammar or AP style mistakes they have seen repeated to the point of frustration. For the next few Wednesdays you will be able to see their suggestions here on our blog. I am calling the franchise Wednesday's Grammar Points.
Our guest this week is Judy Gibbs Robinson. As you know, Judy is the editorial advisor to The Daily. Since she spends her time advising and teaching instead of reporting, one part of Judy that might be lost to you is the standard of excellence she brought to her own writing. Lock down Judy's 5 in your mind if you want to become a writer of standing. Or, if you need more direct pressure, before you land in JMC 3013.
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Judy’s Top 5 Writing Peeves
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| Judy Gibbs Robinson at her desk in Copeland Hall. PHOTO: Eunyoung Bang |
raised up = raised
descended down = descended
gathered together = gathered
provided benefits = benefited
referred back = referred
made a formal apology to = apologized
2. Intensifiers. This peeve is really simple to explain: It is very unnecessary and quite silly to sprinkle “intensifiers” through your writing (as I am doing in this sentence.)
“Intensifiers” are adverbs that are meant to add emphasis but usually weaken your writing instead. Look at the examples above. The words in bold provide no relevant information. The sentence without them is stronger and more direct. So be on the watch and zap intensifiers like these: The City Council has been extremely supportive the problem is very limited last much longer.
[Julie note: To make it more apparent in this blog format, I italicized and bolded the intensifiers Judy is pointing out from her sentence.]
3. Verb parts belong together. It’s almost tragic to see a lonely helping verb separated from the main verb it lives to serve. So don’t be heartless. Place the adverb before or after the complete verb. Examples:
had barely begun = barely had begun
could completely understand = could understand completely (but do you need “completely”? See “Intensifiers” entry.)
had probably not gone = probably had not gone
4. Nouns and pronouns that don’t agree. The problem is almost always singular-to-plural or vice versa. For example: OU led in the first half but they fell behind in the third quarter...
If you want to say “OU,” fine. But then you have to use the pronoun “it” because “OU” is singular. Don’t like the way that sounds? Write “Sooners” instead. Make it part of your copy-checking routine to underline every pronoun, find the noun antecedent and be sure they agree.
5. Abbreviations. AP is clear on this one: Avoid alphabet soup. Don’t use abbreviations that are not instantly recognized. Period. That means don’t use them in parenthesis behind the full name on first reference. And don’t use them standing alone on second reference. Here are some abbreviations that I daresay are not widely known yet have appeared in The Daily:
MSA for Muslim Student Association
CCEW for Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth
CESL for Center for English as a Second Language
However, note that here at OU, The Daily’s local stylebook allows “OU” and “UOSA” on all references.
--jgr
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Here are a few links to get to know Judy and her mad writing skills better:
Former JMC 3003 student Eunyoung Bang profiled Judy for her assignment on someone whose job she wanted in the future.
Visit two of Judy's stories from the Oklahoman to see good writing in action:
http://www.newsok.com/article/2925872?searched=Arabic%20Language&custom_click=search
http://www.newsok.com/article/3060182?searched=%22Judy%20Gibbs%20Robinson&custom_click=search
Thank you Judy for helping JMC 3003 students become all they can be ;-)
jj
