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Copy Edit- Eliminating unnecessary words

Terms in this set (79)

Absolutely essential
essential
actual facts
facts
advance warning
warning
alternative choice
alternative
assemble together
assemble
at the present time
now/currently
brief moment
moment
careful scrutiny
scrutiny
close proximity
proximity
completely destroyed
destroyed
connect together
connect
due to
because
during the course of
during
eliminate entirely
eliminate
equal to one another
equal
exact same
same
fellow classmate
classmate
few in number
few
final conclusion
conclusion
first of all
first
free gift
gift
future plans
plans
have to
must
in order to
to
in spite of the fact that
although
in the event that
if
in the near future
soon
kneel down
kneel
made a decision to
decided
made an announcement
announced
most unique
unique
never before
never
off of
off
offered a suggestion
suggested
on a regular basis
regularly
over exaggerate
exaggerate
past experience
experience
present time
present/now
refer back
refer
same exact
exact
start off
start
talk about
discuss
still remains
remains
write down
write
affect/effect
affect: verb ("The letter did not affect her")
effect: noun ("The letter had a significant effect")
BUT: effect is also a verb meaning to bring out ("It is almost impossible to effect change")
Due to/ owing to/ because of
FAIR: The game was cancelled due to the rain
STILTED: Owing to rain, the game was cancelled
BETTER: The game was cancelled because of rain
Farther/Further
Farther refers to a greater distance or a more advanced point (Amarillo is farther from Austin than Dallas)
Further means to add to (There is no need for further discussion
Over/more than
They are not interchangeable.
Over refers to spatial relationships (The plane flew over the city)
More than is used with figures (In the crowd were more than 1,000 fans)
Lay/lie
Lay is the action word; lie is the state of being
The body will lie in state until Wednesday.
The prosecutor tried to lay the blame on him.
HOWEVER the past tense of lie is lay
RIGHT: The body lay in state from Tues until Wed
WRONG: The body laid in state....
The past participle and the plain past tense of lay is laid
RIGHT: He laid the pencil on the desk
The chicken laid an egg.
less/fewer
If you can separate items in the quantities being compared, use fewer. If not, use less
WRONG: The Rams are inferior to the vikings because they have less good linemen.
RIGHT: The Rams are inferior to the vikings because they have fewer good linemen.
Who/whom
Use WHOM to refer to someone who has been the object of an action
EX: the teacher, to whom the room was reserved, left the window open.
WHO is the word when the somebody has been the actor
EX: The teacher who reserved the room left the window open.
That/Which
THAT tends to restrict reader's thought and direct it the way you want it to go; which is non-restrictive, introducing a bit of subsidiary info

The lawnmower that is in the garage needs sharpening. (there is more than one lawn mower but the one in the garage is needed)

The lawnmower, which is in the garage, needs sharpening. (Our lawn mower needs sharpening and it's in the garage)

NOTE that which clauses take commas, signaling they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence
Principle/principal
A guiding rule or basic truth is a principle. The first, dominant, or leading thing is principal. Principle is a noun; principal may be a noun or an adjective
Who's/Whose
...
degree abbreviation
avoid degree abbreviations like B.S. Use an apostrophe in the spelled out version: bachelor's, master's
Junior or Senior ?
John Jones Jr. & Sr.
States rules for abbreviation
States spelled with six or fewer letters are not abbreviated when used with a city name. Eight fit that category. One is Texas: Iraan, Texas, but Norman Okla.
*Never use U.S. Postal Service abbreviations
Month abbreviations
abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. Spell out those with five or fewer letters
Aug. 3rd and June 12
ALWAYS spell out the month when it is used without a specific date. "It happened in August."
Title rules
Usually spell out titles with names used in direct quotes with the exception of Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Ms. Look at it this way. I don't say, "Gov. Ventura is coming." I say, "Governor Ventura is coming."
Organization abbreviation rules
don't put an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses after an organization's name. On second reference with lesser known organizations, use methods similar to the following to refer to the organization rather than using an acronym:

First Reference: Committee to Fight Smoking
Second Reference: the committee or the anti-smoking group
address abbreviations
abbreviate avenue (Ave.), boulevard (Blvd.), and street (St.) when a complete address is given. Otherwise, spell out.
The correct forms are:
320 N. Main St., North Main Street, Third Street, and 42nd Street
What should you not abbreviate in text?
names, names of days of the week except in tabular form, "percent" as "%" except in tabular form, "cents" as "C/," "and" as "&" unless the "&" is an official part of a name (ex. Procter & Gamble), "Christmas" as "Xmas", and "Professor" as "Prof."
percent rule
spell out percent as one word. Thus: 29 percent, not 29%
Common and Proper nouns capitalization rules
Capitalize proper nouns and common nouns such as party or river when they become an integral part of a full name (ex. Mississippi River)

*Plural Uses: lower case the common noun elements (ex. Democratic and Republican parties)
season capitalization rules
Lowercase spring, summer, fall, and winter unless the season is used in a formal name (ex. Winter Olympics)
room capitalization rule
Capitalize "room" when used with the number of a room (ex. Room 200, Welch Hall)
Geographic Capitalization rules
Capitalize specific geographic regions and popularized names for those regions: Midwest, the South, the Panhandle. The same rule applies for some geologic regions. The Permian Basin, the Hill Country
occupation title rules capitilization
Capitalize formal titles before a name; lowercase them and set them off with commas after a name. If is best to "park" a long title behind the name. Don't capitalize titles that are only job descriptions: lawyer, welder, mechanic,etc.
full name rules
On first reference, use a person's full name, including the middle initial, and title if important to the story. On second reference, use only the last name with no title.

In the following example, for instance, we assume that on first reference the person was called Dr. Donald Putton. The following are possible second references uses: The doctor agreed with Putton.
Fraction rules
Spell out amounts less than 1, using hyphens between the words (ex. two-thirds).
When NOT to spell out numbers less than 10...
Addresses- 6 Maple St.
Ages, even for inanimate objects- two-year-old building
Cents- $.03c/
Dollars- $5
Dates- June 6
Dimensions- 6 feet tall
Highway- U.S. Route 1
Millions, Billions- 3 million people
Percentages- 4 percent
Proportions-2 parts water
Speed- 7 miles per hour
Temperatures- 8 degrees
Times- 8 a.m. (not 8:00 a.m.)
Arabic Numerals
Use Arabic numerals for numbers with two or more digits. In figures of more than 999, use commas to set off each group of three numerals (except for years). For sums in the million and billion range, consider using decimals as in $5.1 million (you may not do this for some annual and quarterly report uses).
When do you spell out numbers?
Spell out numbers at the beginning of the sentence. There is one exception - years: 1492 was the year Christopher Columbus discovered America.
Plural Forms for numbers, single letters, and multiple letters
Numbers like 3s get the s but no apostrophe. (The same rule applies to decades: The 1920s)

Single letters like K's get the s and the apostrophe

Multiple letters like ABCs get the s but no apostrophe
AP style rules for commas & semicolons
Don't use a comma before a conjugation in a series: The national flag is red, white and blue.

Use a semicolon to set off a series within a series. In this case, use the semicolon before the conjugation. EX.: I have lived in Tulsa, Okla.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; Gainesville, Fla.; Houston, Texas; and Austin, Texas.
Times elements rule
Don't repeat time elements: 10a.m. this morning should be 10 a.m. Use noon or midnight rather than 12 p.m. or 12 a.m. Don't use extra zeros or all caps. Use periods with a.m. and p.m.

Yes: 6p.m.
No: 6:00 p.m., 6 pm., 6 P.M.
how to write money sums
don't use extra zeros with sums of money: $6 not $6.00
how to write days of the month
don't use nd, rd, or th - ONLY numerals

Yes: Aug. 2
No: Aug 2nd
hyphen rule for AP style
When two or more adjectives express a single concept, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound: four-year study. 12-member council. 28-year-old woman

Do not link words with hyphens when the adverb "very" is part of the group
No: a very-good time
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