I wonder if they have a dictionary at this "Experess" library...
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DOWN WITH CRIMINAL SENTENCES!!
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"The Writer" Magazine Column
In 2009 and 2010, The Writer published 20 online columns and one print article of mine. These essays covered everything from semicolons to wordiness. The full text of all 21 are here on my blog!
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- I'm a copy editor and writer. I wrote The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier: How to Solve the Mysteries of Weak Writing, published in 2006 and now available in paperback. In 2007-2008, I wrote "The Sentence Sleuth" column for Writer's Digest magazine.
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4 comments:
I think even the use of 'including' is wrong, as library is - needless to say - for and of books! What do you say?
"Include" means you're mentioning some of a list, but not the complete list. I suppose that magazines aren't listed, so it might be technically correct as is.
There are two places where a comma might belong before an 'and': one in the collection list and one in the computers list.
I would definitely put one before the 'and' in the collections list but not in the computers list.
My explanation: The collections list seems to be very parallel; all items are phrased the same and have the same level of importance.
BUT in the computers list, the last item is a compound item consisting of BOTH Mitchell's and 'other' databases, so I wouldn't separate them with a comma. Does that make any sense??
(Think of a list of sandwiches: ham, turkey, cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. Comma after cheese, but not separating pb&j.)
The serial comma is actually optional. It is a style, not a rule. Just be consistent is my rule.
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