This month’s workout, “Grammar, Part 2,” is taken from CMOS 17, paragraphs 5.20–23. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
An epigraph is a short quotation at the beginning of a book or chapter or article that sets the tone for what’s to come. It’s often from a famous source, but it doesn’t have to be. The source of an epigraph is usually given on a line
Do you ever find at the end of workday that even though you know darned well you weren’t slacking for even ten minutes, somehow you didn’t make any progress in editing your manuscript? Or do you ever try to explain to someone why even though you put in forty or fifty hours a week, your editing time is way, way less? Recently I was ransacking my archives looking for something, and I ran across a file
This month’s workout, “Grammar, Part 1,” is taken from CMOS 17, paragraphs 5.1–20. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
At paragraph 6.20, the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style notes that the abbreviation etc. (et cetera, literally “and others of the same kind”) and such equivalents as and so forth and and the like are preceded by a comma. In a slight departure from previous editions of CMOS, such expressions are
CMOS: What’s the story behind coming up with a style guide for cybersecurity? BH: Through freelance work in many genres, I’ve learned that every niche of editing has its own universe of vocabulary.
This month’s workout, “Numerals versus Words,” is taken from CMOS 17, paragraphs 9.2–7. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
Abbreviating number ranges according to The Chicago Manual of Style (per section 9.61 in the 17th ed.) is easy if you can remember these three rules:
This month’s workout, “Commas with Quotations and Questions,” is taken from CMOS 17, paragraphs 6.40–42. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
How does a professional copyeditor know when it’s time to retire? Freelancers especially may be tempted to sail on past the age at which in-house editors are encouraged to put down the red pencil. But in either case, how long is too long? Here are some questions to consider.
