Gentle rules for avoiding humiliation and embarassment

[Eclipse]

Data can be plural or singular depending on its usage, unless I suppose, you're writing in Latin.

[UH60guy]

Yeah, I guess the usage has evolved over time. Both ways can be considered correct (depending on the reviewing authority's guidelines) as long as the other words in the sentence match the tense- "much of this data are" is wrong, but "many of these data are" is acceptable. Switch around if you use the singular "data." It's frustrating for the student to get caught in the middle of the acceptable use debate between members of the review committee though!

[Майор Хаткевич]

Four years of college. MLA. No one mentioned period spacing.

[Jaison009]

It's all about the piece of paper in the end  . I have been involved in a few of those battles myself. My wife is working on a Doctorate of Nurse Practice and it is the worst. Saying "indicated by" is an absolute no. APA is currently up to V6 now and V7 will probably be out in the next few years.

Actually the latest edition of APA requires double spacing and two spaces after a period.  :angel:. Hopefully after my MBA is done in February I will never have to use it again.

I'm very much in the one-spacer camp. APA and Chicago style manuals back me up, probably others too.

What causes me great nerd rage in working in the Army- the Government Printing Office style guide states that one space shall be used. However, the Army (apparently we ain't gub-ment) regulation governing writing (AR 25-50) apparently knows better and dictates two spaces.

My private little shadow war involves deleting those extra spaces, in flagrant violation of Army Regulations, from every piece of correspondence I write or edit.

Yeah I saw that after I wrote the post- When I did my Masters thesis I was on I think APA version 4, I can't remember- It was 2009. I could have sworn I saw it in there for a single space. Well, I did single space at the time and still got the degree

However, that thesis was an exercise in another grammatical problem: "Data" is plural, folks. You say the "data are" or the "data indicate" if you want to be correct. My thesis prep class drilled that home. I admit, I have to say "dogs" in place of "data" under my breath when reading it to get the tenses straight in my mind. After all of that, the thesis committee told me to change it all to "data is" and the "data indicates." Well, it was either fight to my dying breath to be right on another series of revisions, or as the saying goes "cooperate to graduate."

Pride? Swallowed. Degree? Attained.

[Jaison009]

That is because it is mainly an APA thing. Unless you use the APA style, it is usually not something that comes up.

Four years of college. MLA. No one mentioned period spacing.

[Eclipse]

I know it "is", but interesting a guide for writing articles for a publication few people have heard of and fewer will ever read is considered
an authority on general writing and publication.

[Panache]

I just got into a "grammar argument" with somebody because I used a single apostrophe to mark a possessive with a person whose name ended with an "s" (example: "That is Jones' cat") instead of an apostrophe-S ("That is Jones's cat").

Apparently, both styles are right, depending on local preferences.

[RRLE]

Sometimes I think we have a surplus of punctuation. My pet peeve is the growing number of places that I find apostrophes used to make things plural.

Apostrophe Protection Society

[RogueLeader]

You would think that the two-spaces-after-a-period camp would be the ones with the spear.

Bring correct gives their sword force power!

Does than mean we get lightsabers?  And if so, what color?

[Peeka]

You would think that the two-spaces-after-a-period camp would be the ones with the spear.

Bring correct gives their sword force power!

Does than mean we get lightsabers?  And if so, what color?

Blue and green for the cadets.

Red for the senior members. 

[Garibaldi]

You would think that the two-spaces-after-a-period camp would be the ones with the spear.

Bring correct gives their sword force power!

Does than mean we get lightsabers?  And if so, what color?

Blue and green for the cadets.

Red for the senior members. 

Double-bladed red, thank you.

[Peeka]

^^Only if you wear the horns on your head......

[Garibaldi]

^^Only if you wear the horns on your head......

Who says I don't?

[a2capt]

Fix Your Grammar

[SarDragon]

 :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Thank you!

[a2capt]

[Jaison009]

That is AWESOME!  :clap: :clap: :clap:

Fix Your Grammar

[Eclipse]

One issue is that it is hard to tell legitimate hyperbole, or the incorrect use of a term to make a point,
from the chaff of the poor grammar and spelling in use by many people who wear adult clothes but
speak and write like a 4th grader.

I think, for example, that "literally + 'x' (exploded)" started as extreme hyperbole, used by people who
knew it was incongruent, but it got picked up into the lexicon and is now misused by people
who don't understand the word "literally".

[Jaison009]

I would agree with that point Eclipse.

One issue is that it is hard to tell legitimate hyperbole, or the incorrect use of a term to make a point,
from the chaff of the poor grammar and spelling in use by many people who wear adult clothes but
speak and write like a 4th grader.

I think, for example, that "literally + 'x' (exploded)" started as extreme hyperbole, used by people who knew
knew it was incongruent, but it got picked up into the lexicon and is now misused by people
who don't understand the word "literally".