Section 7.85 in the Spotlight
How many times have you wavered over putting hyphens into an expression that combines numbers with some kind of measure? Is the child six-years-old or six years old?
Chicago Style Workout 7: Rules for Quoting
This workout centers on paragraphs 12.7 and 12.8 of CMOS 18. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
Are You a Grammar Troll?
For years, it seems, it’s been impossible to find a language-related post or article online without a stickler making trouble in the comments section. Even on political, social, and retail sites, outraged commenters love to point out a a missplaced apostrophe as a way to challenge the
Helen Sword talks about trimming your prose with The Writer’s Diet
CMOS: How did you come to think about writing as “flabby”? HS: Many years ago, I read Richard Lanham’s book Revising Prose, which influenced me deeply as a writer. Lanham teaches you to identify the “lard factor” in your writing, based on the percentage of words that you could omit without significantly changing its meaning. The Writer’s Diet follows similar principles, but with
Chicago Style Workout 6: Spot the Danglers!
This workout centers on paragraphs 5.114–20 of CMOS 18. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
Sections 5.112–13 in the Spotlight
“Oozing slowly across the floor, Marvin watched the salad dressing.” “I smelled the oysters coming down the stairs for dinner.” Most of us don’t have to worry about overlooking gaffes as obvious as these, but more subtle danglers—or misplaced modifiers—sometimes sneak by even the most careful
Shortcuts in Editing (Are They Allowed?)
Shortcuts in editing may be frowned upon, but when it comes to word processing, editing shortcuts are not only allowed, they’re essential. If you’re still fumbling around in the pull-down menus, fighting with features that won’t leave you alone, and wasting time on tasks that could
First Friday Shop Talk
(Plus: Win CMOS and SSF for a year!)
If you could design the perfect app for writers or editors, what would it be? What chore would you love to be automated with a tap on your keyboard or phone?
Chicago Style Workout 5:
How to Proofread
This workout centers on paragraphs 2.115–23 in CMOS 18. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.
Angela Gibson talks about the new MLA Handbook
Today CMOS talks with Angela Gibson, associate director of scholarly communication and head of book and online publications at the Modern Language Association, about the newest edition of MLA Handbook.
