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May or Might?

"These words occupy different places on a
continuum of possibility. May expresses
likelihood {we may go to the party}, while
might expresses a stronger sense of doubt
{we might be able to go if our appointment is
cancelled} or a contrary-to-fact hypothetical
{we might have been able to go if George
hadn't gotten held up} (Garner, The Oxford
Dictionary of American Usage and Style )
.
Me, Myself, or I?

"In the old days when people studied
traditional grammar, we could simply say,
"The first person singular pronoun is I when
it's a subject and me when it's an object,'
but now few people know what that means. [.
. .] The misuse of I and myself for me is
caused by nervousness about me. [. . .] But
the notion that there is something wrong with
me leads people to overcorrect and avoid it
where it is perfectly appropriate. People will
say, 'The document had to be signed by both
Susan and I ' when the correct statement
would be, 'The document had to be signed by
both Susan and me .'
Trying even harder to avoid the lowly me ,
many people will substitute myself as in 'The
suspect uttered epithets at Officer O'Leary
and myself .' Myself is no better than I as
an object. Myself is not a sort of all-purpose
intensive form of me or I . Use myself only
when you have used I earlier in the same
sentence: ' I am not particularly fond of goat
cheese myself '" (Brians, Common Errors
in English Usage ).

Mid- or just Mid?

"In forming compounds, mid- is normally
joined to the following word or element
without a space or hyphen: midpoint .
However, if the second element begins with a
capital letter, it is separated with a hyphen:
mid-May . It is always acceptable to separate
the elements with a hyphen to prevent possible
confusion with another form, as, for example,
to distinguish mid-den (the middle of a den)
from the word midden . The adjective mid is
a separate word, and as is the case with any
adjective, it may be joined to another word
with a hyphen when used as a unit modifier:
in the mid Pacific but a mid- Pacific
Island " ( The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language ).

Mrs./Ms./Miss?

"Ms. is widely used in business and public life
to address or refer to a woman, especially if
her marital status is either unknown or
irrelevant to the context. More traditionally,
Miss is used to refer to an unmarried
woman, and Mrs. is used to refer to a
married woman. Some women may indicate a
preference for Ms. , Miss , or Mrs. , which
you should honor. If a woman has an
academic or professional title, use the
appropriate form of address ( Doctor,
Professor, Captain) instead of Ms. , Miss ,
or Mrs. " (Alred, Brusaw, and Oliu, The
Technical Writer's Companion 297).

Numbers: When to spell out and When
to write as numbers?

"Spell out numbers of one or two words or
those that begin a sentence. Use figures for
numbers that require more than two words to
spell out.
[Examples:] It's been eight years since I
visited Peru. I counted 176 DVDs on the shelf.
If a sentence begins with a number, spell out
the number or rewrite the sentence.
[Example:] One hundred fifty children in our
program need expensive dental treatment.
Exceptions: In technical and some business
writing, figures are preferred even when
spellings would be brief, but usage varies.
When in doubt, consult the style guide of the
organization for which you are writing.
When several numbers appear in the same
passage, many writers choose consistence
rather than strict adherence to the rule.
When one number immediately follows another,
spell out one and use figures for the other:
three 100-meter events, 25 four-poster
beds .
Generally figures are acceptable for dates,
addresses, percentages, fractions, decimals,
scores, statistics and other numerical results,
exact amounts of money, divisions of books
and plays, pages, identification numbers, and
the time.

Quotation Marks and Other Punctuation

There are three basic rules.
1. All commas and periods should be
placed inside the quotation marks.
2. All colons and semicolons should
be placed outside the quotation
marks.
3. Question marks and exclamation
marks should be placed within the
quotation marks when they apply only
to the quoted material; they should be
placed outside when the entire
sentence, including the quoted
material, is a question or
exclamation.

Semicolon use?

"A semicolon creates a brief reading pause
that can dramatically highlight a close
relationship or a contrast. The semicolon alone
can't specify the relationship the way words
like because or however can. Be sure,
therefore, that the relationship you are
signaling won't be puzzling to readers."
"Join two sentences with a semicolon. A
semicolon joins main clauses that can stand
alone as complete sentences.
[Example:] The demand for paper is at an all-
time high; businesses alone consume millions of
tons each year."
"Use a semicolon with words such as
however and on the other hand . When
you use a semicolon alone to link main
clauses, you ask readers to recognize the
logical link between the clauses. When you add
words like however or on the other hand ,
you create a different effect on readers by
specifying how the clauses relate.
[Example:] I like apples; however, I hate
pears."
"Use a semicolon with a complex series. When
items in a series contain commas, readers
may have trouble deciding which commas
separate parts of the series and which belong
within items. To avoid confusion, put
semicolons between elements in a series when
one or more contain other punctuation.
[Example:] I interviewed Debbie Rios, the
attorney; Rhonda Marron, the accountant; and
the financial director." (Anson, Schwegler, and
Muth, The Longman Writer's Companion
432-433)


Single quotation marks?

"Single quotation marks enclose a
quotation within a quotation. Open and close
the quoted passage with double quotation
marks, and change any quotation marks that
appear within the quotation to single
quotation marks.
[Example:] Baldwin says, "The title 'The Uses
of the Blues' does not refer to music; I don't
know anything about music." (Lunsford, The
Everyday Writer 338)

Than I/Than me?

"Some of the smartest people I know hesitate
at the word than when it comes before a
pronoun. What goes next, I or me ? he or
him? she or her ? they or them ?"
The answer: All of the above! This is easier
than it sounds. Take I and me as examples,
since they're the pronouns we use most
(egotists that we are). Either one may be
correct after than , depending on the meaning
of the sentence.
Trixie loves spaghetti more than I
means more than I do.
Trixie loves spaghetti more than me
means more than she loves me."

Capitalization in Titles?

"In titles, capitalize the first word, the last
word, and all words in between except
articles (a, an, the ), prepositions under five
letters (in, of, to ), and coordinating
conjunctions (and, but ). These rules apply to
titles of long, short, and partial works as well
as your own papers" (Anson, Schwegler, and
Muth. The Longman Writer's Companion
240).

Comprise?

"Nothing is ever 'comprised of' something. To
comprise means 'to contain or to embrace':
The jury comprises seven women and
five men.

Continually or Continuously?

"Yes, there is a slight difference, although most
people (and even many dictionaries) treat
them the same. Continually means
repeatedly, with breaks in between.
Continuously means without interruption, in
an unbroken stream. Heidi has to wind the
cuckoo clock continually to keep it
running continuously . (If it's important to
emphasize the distinction, it's probably better
to use periodically or intermittently
instead of continually to describe something
that starts and stops.) The same distinction, by
the way, applies to continual and
continuous , the adjective forms" (O'Conner,
Woe Is I 95-96).

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