SCHOOLMAG COMPETITION:SCRUPULOUS sub-editing is often forgotten in the magazine-making process. Stray apostrophes are spotted but ignored by hassled designers and writers, who assume that someone else will sort it out.
Unfortunately, mistakes have a habit of hanging on for dear life, unless a Terminator is dispatched. Many a Schoolmag has hit the judges’ table corrupted by bad spelling and grammar. It’s like walking the red carpet in a designer dress and killer heels, but with spinach on your teeth.
Appoint a sub-editor (or preferably two) with strict instructions to show no mercy. Look for the following top five writing mistakes and clear them out of your mag, and you’ll be doing well. Three of them concern the apostrophe, the most abused little tadpole in the English language.
1.Use an apostrophe to denote possession (Martin's cat, Jenny's fault), except with the word "it" ("economic recovery is taking its time"). It's is short for 'it is' or 'it has'.
2. Never use an apostrophe for a plural, eg "cat's are evil". That just plain wrong (although cats are evil).
3.Never use an apostrophe with dates or abbreviations. "CDs became popular in the 1990s", not "CD's became popular in the 1990's".
4.Capital letters are for use with proper nouns only: names, places, and specific titles, eg Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe. If in doubt, leave them out.
5. Good spelling is not just window dressing. It's about communication. Don't rely on the spellcheck – look it up.
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Next week: taking and using pictures
