October 2010 Newsletter

Editing, Proofreading & Resume
October 2010 Newsletter
from the desk of
Shelly Rosenberg
http://www.shellyrosenberg.com/

Greetings

At this time of year, here in the US, we have cooler temperatures, falling leaves and students well into their first semester of classes. In this issue of my newsletter, I will be discussing the following topics:

· Dialogue – Punctuation and Layout
· Resume Tidbits
· Academic Papers

Dialogue – Punctuation and Layout

When you are writing a story and there are people speaking, you must use a set of rules to let your reader understand the dialogue and know who is talking. Here is a set of rules that should help you.

1. All speaking or talking in your story must be enclosed in quotation (quote) marks.

“Let’s go to the lake and see if we can catch some fish,” said Mack to his brother.

Note that there is a quotation mark (“) before the first word that Mack said and another quotation mark after the last word that he said.

Note that the beginning quote mark is a double upside-down comma and the ending quote mark is a double comma.

2. All punctuation must go inside the quotation mark.

“Let’s go to the lake and see if we can catch some fish,” said Mack to his friend.

Note that there is a comma after the word fish and that it is inside the quotation mark.

Note that instead of using a period at the end of what Mark has said, we use a comma when we want to tell who is speaking.

3. If it is obvious who is talking, you end the quote with a period.

“Let’s go to the lake and see if we can catch some fish.”

Note that the period is inside the ending quotation mark. The dialogue itself might let the reader know who is speaking; in this case, you need not tell who is speaking.

4. If the quote is a question, you use a question mark instead of the period, or comma if you are telling who asked the question.

“Did you bring your fishing tackle with you today?”

“Did you bring your fishing tackle with you today?” asked Joseph.

Note in the second sentence we use a question mark inside the quote mark and the word asked begins with a small letter (not an upper case letter).

Note in the second sentence there is no period after the word today and there is no comma after the word today. These are replaced by a comma when telling who asked the question.


5. If using an exclamation mark, the rule is the same as if you are using a question mark.

“The fish are really hopping today!”
“The fish are really hopping today!” exclaimed Joseph as he reeled in yet another one.

Note the exclamation mark is inside the end quotation mark and the word exclaimed, in the second example, begins with a small letter.

6. If there is interruption in the speech, you must use a comma to let the reader know that speech has been broken.

“I like fishing in this pond,” said Mack, “especially on a Monday when nobody else is fishing.”

Note the use of a comma both after the word pond and after Mack. In this case, you are telling the reader who is speaking but you are doing it in the middle of the statement.

7. Every time another person speaks, you must begin a new paragraph.


“Hey Joseph, did you see that fish jump, out there by the hanging tree limb?” asked Mack.

“No, I was too busy untangling my reel. I get so frustrated,” said Joseph, “when I am trying to fish and this reel keeps getting messed up.”

“Hello boys, did your mothers say you could come down here to fish on a school day?” Jim, the dairy farmer said as he approached the boys from a clearing in the woods.

“Yeah,” said Mack, “today there is no school. It is a teacher training day.”

Note that each time someone else speaks, there is a new paragraph.

Resume Tidbits

Resumes, resumes, resumes. It seems that everyone is asking for resumes these days. Some people are unemployed and looking for a job. Others are looking for better opportunities and yet others are just updating their resumes so that if and when an opportunity arises, they are prepared with a winning resume.

Some concerns that people have include the following situations:

· Many different jobs
o If you have had many different jobs, you might not want to list each one on your resume.
o You can label the header Relevant Experience instead of Experience.
o This way you are only including the experience that is pertinent to the job you are seeking. And, you are not showing all those irrelevant other jobs.
· Redundancies
o If your experiences or tasks at two or more jobs have been the same, it is not wise to include these redundancies on your resume. It just clutters it up and becomes boring to the reader – your potential new employer.
o You can create a Skills or Expertise section that outlines your unique set of skills or expertise. This section would list, and explain if necessary, the items that might relate to several jobs you have had. This way the information is listed only once.
· Long resumes
o In general, a resume should not be more than two pages. Many companies and universities require a one-page resume only.
o In order to comply with the one-page rule, I have seen resumes in which the font size is so small, it is almost impossible to read and there are almost no margins; the text goes to the edge of the paper on all sides. Avoid this technique. Most people reading these types of resumes will put them in the NO pile immediately.
o It is necessary to streamline your resume stating the most significant information only. You can always elaborate during an interview.
o Remember, the purpose of the resume is to get an interview. A long, unattractive resume cluttered with detailed information will most likely not get you an interview.


Papers or Articles – academic or commercial

If you are writing an article or paper, always keep in mind your reader or audience. Surely, you would write differently when writing a children’s book for three to five-year olds from how you would write if your target audience was pre-med college students. As you write your article or paper, read it over keeping in mind the intended audience. Make changes as appropriate.

One technique you can use is to have a colleague or friend, who falls into the category of your target audience, read your paper and comment on it.

When using technical terms or acronyms in your paper, write out the complete term the first time you use it. Then you can use the acronym thereafter in that paper. Here is an example:

The USTA (United States Tennis Association) is sponsoring an event in October. Be sure to watch for information about this in our newsletters.

Each time the USTA sponsors an event, there are people from other countries who are interested in attending.

Note that the first time USTA is used, it is followed by the complete name. Then, when it is used subsequently, the acronym alone is sufficient.


“My goal is to enhance your text in a way that makes it clear and error free so that it is ready to be read by your professor, your readership, your clients, your future employer, your current employer, your agent or your publisher.”
Shelly Rosenberg

Shelly@ShellyRosenberg.com