Tag Archives: editing

Tracking Online News

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Robert Basil

My new favourite website is NewsDiffs.org, which tracks and archives changes made to online news articles over time. Currently it follows nytimes.com, cnn.com, politico.com, washingtonpost.com, and bbc.co.uk; no Canadian publications yet, alas. Click on the image to see how a … Continue reading →

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Writing and editing for the computer screen

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Robert Basil

Lawyer and language genius Bryan Garner over at LawProse.org spells out, in typically lucid fashion, how to compose documents when you know they will be read on a computer screen rather than on paper. 1.Summarize. It’s important to learn the … Continue reading →

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Foreign loanwords in transition: What should they look like?

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Robert Basil

You might be surprised how often this comes up for professional writers and editors. Bryan Garner, the ace lawyer & editor & language authority, explains: The more arcane or technical a loanword, the more likely it is to retain a … Continue reading →

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Needing Readers

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Robert Basil

In my classes, as well as in my career as a “communications guy,” I stress the requirement that all written pieces be read by one or several people prior to submission or publication. My friend, the scholar Jonathan Mayhew, has … Continue reading →

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Revision : Heterovision

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Robert Basil

I tell students and clients they shouldn’t take feedback on their work as personal critiques. “You are not the words on the paper on which your reports are printed.” This seems like a straight-forward point, but even seasoned editors tend to forget … Continue reading →

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“The Canadian Style”

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Robert Basil

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is the nation’s official publisher and our largest translation organization. It also publishes a wonderful online style guide and a collection of writing and editing tools that will handily assist students and teachers, authors … Continue reading →

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Editing

Posted on December 17, 2012 by bobbasil

You cannot edit yourself any more than you can tickle yourself, and for the same reasons, Diane Middlebrook once told me. Better writers understand this. *** Here are the 9 C’s I use as an editor of other writers’ work: 1. … Continue reading →

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