1) He worked for Mayflower Bank, a publicly-traded, SEC regulated company with 500 shareholders, for 35 years, serving as President and CEO for the last 20 years.
Rule: Never hyphenate an —ly adverb. I would have, however, stuck a hyphen between “SEC” and “regulated.”
2) At an office job, you will be paid for certain Federal holidays, such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, etc.
In this case, “federal” is not a proper noun, and so should be lower case.
3) The host interviews artists and musicians working in Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
Rule: When common nouns are plural, referring to two or more places or things, do not capitalize them.
Correct: The host interviews artists and musicians working in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
4) On the fourth day, the Oatman family was attacked by a group of Native Americans (described by Olive as Apaches, but possibly a branch of the Yavapai people).
What? They were attacked by “Native Americans”? Oh, please! Talk about political correctness running amok! This is my nomination for “Most Obtuse Sentence of 2015,” though every time I read it, I discover that it is good for a laugh.
5) John Muir said “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks,” I couldn’t agree more.
Well, how ’bout putting a colon after “said” and a period after “seeks”? The rule about colon versus comma with a quote is that you generally use a comma when you are quoting a conversation, but you use a colon when you are quoting something someone said, non-conversationally. That “someone” is generally not alive anymore. (I was going to say “dead,” but I didn’t want that unfortunate rhyme….)
6) We partnered with the company’s social media and PR teams to launch the a website update and social media campaign.
There’s no excuse for a sentence like this on a company’s homepage.
7) She is an incredible teacher who’s wisdom and guidance has been transformational on my path.
Evidently, she was not incredible enough!
8) Writer’s Helping Writer’s is the non-profits motto and they accomplish this every day.
What the heck is this? (This is one step up from illiterate, that’s what this is!)
Corrected: Writers Helping Writers is the nonprofit’s motto, and it accomplishes this every day.
9) Because our team enjoys their work, they are able to infuse that passion and love into their work – and it results in the most beautiful roses.
Rule: Like company, audience, family, and market, “team” is a collective noun, which means it is treated as a singular noun. So, “their” and “they,” which are plural pronouns, are incorrect. Also, I prefer no spaces before or after a dash, but it’s not incorrect. I’m also not too keen on using both “passion” and “love” in the same sentence; it seems a bit redundant. Well, it’s not incorrect.
My take: Our team infuses passion and love into its work—and the result is the world’s most beautiful roses.
10) The BIO 2015 program will cover a wide variety of topics relevant to the biotechnology industry, including: healthcare, intellectual property, environmental issues, business development, and more.
Rule: Do not use a colon after include, includes, or including.
These next five sentences are taken from a website for professional writers; as I recall, the first four sentences were on the same page. There’s a word for professional writers who post content like this, and that word is sloppy. Actually, “sloppy” isn’t really harsh enough, since their raison d’etre is to get paid while making basic mistakes like these. How ’bout dishonest.
11) Members should feel free to add friends, as long as they fit into and are appraised of these guidelines.
Wrong word. What the writer was looking for was “apprised.”
12) You are among friends and contemporaries here, please be polite, considerate and respectful of the questions and opinions shared.
Comma splice alert! There are a couple of different options here, but I think my top choice would have been a semicolon after “here.”
Plus, don’t you think that “polite,” “considerate,” and “respectful” all pretty much mean the same (darned) thing? Why is it necessary to use all three? Yuck!
13) It is a spirited group with many different perspectives being brought to the discussion, and in the spirit of remaining fair, and to keep a civil tone within the group, we ask that members adhere to the following guidelines;
Ouch. What’s that semicolon doing there? You need a colon in front of a list (which is what follows).
Plus, why would anyone used “spirited” and “spirit” in the same sentence? Double yuck!
14) His UNCTV show, “In the Garden” just completed it’s 11th season.
Huge, unforgivable mistake: it’s its, not it’s.
Plus, no comma after “show” if he has more than one show; or, if he just has that one show, you need a comma after “Garden.”
Plus, you know something? Just by looking at the “UNCTV” acronym and knowing it’s a “show,” I’d bet money that there should be a hyphen between UNC and TV. I went and looked and, guess what? It is UNC-TV. Wow, this is just inexcusable.
15) Provide water for the speaker’s podium.
A “podium” is a raised platform, like a stage or a dais; the word I think the writer was looking for was lectern, which is a stand where (some) speakers place their notes. I never use notes—notes are for wimps.
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