Attention to detail, Shipmates

Aloha! The weekend has passed, yet it passed too quickly. We need to talk shop, however. So, here goes.
Contrary to most folks' thoughts, I do not spend every waking moment thinking about grammar and writing. But, I do love the fact that I am always learning something about grammar and writing. We should all strive to learn something new every day. I don't think anyone would disagree with that.

But learning something new isn't why I like to tackle everyday grammar and writing problems. No one is perfect. I don't think anyone would disagree with that either. We all make mistakes. The English language is tough.

Okay, enough beating around the bush. I am here tonight to talk about attention to detail. Sure, we all should learn something every day. And, we recognize that no one is perfect. But, striving for perfection in our writing should be an everyday goal for all MCs.

Today, in a public affairs product, it was discovered that the creator spelled the name of one of our ships incorrectly. Just the other day, I noticed on Navy.mil that photos were submitted with the photographer's ship's name misspelled. The ship this photog serves on EVERY DAY. The worst part of it was no one in the chop chain noticed, not even the folks at Navy Visual News.

Okay, enough preaching. Today I challenge everyone to pay attention to detail in our writing. Always let someone edit your product. Don't be offended by the edits. Recognize we are a team and it our job collectively to tell the Navy story.

With that said, I have to send kudos out to MCSN Adam K. Thomas, whose photo is featured today. Nice shot.

Until next time,

Write on!

pronoun-antecedent agreement

Aloha, Shipmates!


Here we are again on Let's Talk Shop! Tonight I wanted to discuss pronouns and their antecedents. Wow, it's hard enough spelling antecedent. Anyway, this is one grammar issue I see that runs wild in our Navy writing.
What do we mean by pronoun-antecedent agreement? A pronoun and its antecedent must agree when both are singular or both are plural.
Here are some examples:
Collective Nouns: collective nouns identify a group, such as a jury, a committee, a team, etc. Typically, collective nouns take a singular pronouns.
For example:
WRONG ANSWER: X-division gave their recommendation for cleaning stations.
RIGHT ANSWER: X-division gave its recommendation for cleaning stations.
Other possible answer: Members of X-division gave their recommendations for cleaning stations.

What if you need to use a generic pronoun to identify someone?
For example:
- A DINFOS student must study hard if they want to succeed. CAN'T USE THIS ONE!
- A DINFOS student must study hard if he wants to succeed. CORRECT. Some may say this is sexist though. Your thoughts?
- Best way: DINFOS students must study hard if they want to succeed.


Well, that's it today. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Oh yeah, today's photo was taken by MC1 Michael Moriatis. Thanks, Shipmate.

Until next time. Write on!

The just-gotta-use-it hyphen

Aloha, Shipmates ...

It's Tuesday here in Hawaii and time to talk about the hyphen here on the MC blog. Basic usage information can be found in the AP Stylebook, but I thought I would pull out the highlights and post them here. So, here goes:


1. Hyphens are joiners.

2. We use them to avoid ambiguity or to form a single idea from two or more words.

3. Use is far from standardized. It is optional in most cases, a matter of taste, judgement and style sense.

4. AP guidance does not address all possible uses. Use the first listed entry in Webster's New World College Dictionary if not listed in the AP Stylebook.

5. Some examples.

• avoid ambiguity: The president will speak to small-business men. We would not call them small business men as a size reference.



• compound modifiers: first-quarter touchdown, better-qualified candidate, a know-it-all attitude, etc.



• After a to-be verb: The children are soft-spoken.



• Two-thought compounds: serio-economic, socio-economic

One specific instance in which we would not use the hyphen is with -ly adverbs. How many times have you used this phrase -"regulary-scheduled deployment"? This is not correct. The correct usage is "regularly scheduled deployment". Why? This is so as we expect these words to be modifying the word that follows. (Are the quotation marks used correctly here? Find out soon)

Today's photo is brought to us by MC3 Casey H. Kyhl. Thanks Shipmate. Kyhl's photo can be found on Navy Newsstand.

Until next time. Write on!

Aboard or On Board?

Aloha, shipmates, and happy Monday!

I had planned today to discuss the use of -ly adverbs and the punctuation of such when used as a compound modifier. However, something else came up that I want to talk about today. That is aboard vs. on board. Remember, when in doubt, check it out. This time, the place to check it out is on the Navy style Web page. Here's what this fountain of knowledge said:


These two terms mean nearly the same thing and in some uses are interchangeable. "Aboard" is the preferred usage. Use "on board" as two words, but hyphenate on board when used as an adjective.

"Aboard" means on board, on, in or into a ship. The crew is aboard the ship. An on-board medical team uses the on-board computer. BUT NOT: The Sailor is going on board the ship.


Also, a Sailor is stationed "on," "at," "is serving with" or "is assigned to" a ship. A Sailor does not serve "in" a ship. A ship is "based at" or "homeported at" a specific place. A plane is "stationed at" or is "aboard" a ship; is "deployed with" or is "operating from" a ship. Squadrons are "stationed at" air stations. Air wings are "deployed with" ships.


I hope that clears up that question ...

Before we close, I want to highlight today's selected photo, which comes to us from Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher Wilson. This photo cracked me up!

Until next time ... Write on!

AP Stylebook Updates

From Grammar Girl:
"Last week the Associated Press released the updated 2009 edition of its famous AP Stylebook. This is the language rule book used by all the journalists in the Associated Press and by many other writers, so when they make a recommendation such as approving of a new use of a word or changing a preferred spelling, it quickly becomes widespread. People often ask me why English changes over time, and new rulings by influential organizations such as the AP are part of the force behind that change."

More on Grammar Girl: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pressreleases/pr_061109a.html

To CAP or Not to Cap

Aloha, Shipmates.
I hope today was a great day for all. What did I learn today? I was reminded today of how cool it really is to be in the Navy. I attended a retirement ceremony for a master chief with 22 years of service. It was a fun ceremony. However, the grammar geek in me took the opportunity to look for tips for today's blog as I was reading through the program.

The program was very nicely done by our graphics shop here at PACFLT ... MC2 Patrick Murray and our summer intern, John Hendrickson. However, as I was reading through the bios, I was reminded of how inconsistent these bios are from person to person. MCC Eric Harrison and I laughed about it last week or so about putting ship's names in ALL CAPS or italicizing them.
I think we should do whatever the retiree wants in his or her programs and such, but we should be consistent in the document. As for our news writing, I think we should adhere to AP Style and capitalize only the first letter. I say this in reference to external releases only, because when we are at a command or on a ship, we need to follow what the skipper wants. We can fight that battle all day and night, but when it is the skipper's newspaper ... well, hello local style.

Any thoughts?

One last thing ... today's photo was taken by MC2 Kyle D. Gahlau. Great photo, Shipmate!

Have a great weekend ...

Write on!

An apostrophe really does have a purpose!

Aloha,
It's about 2130 Hawaii time, and I was about to hit the hay for the night, but I quickly realized I hadn't posted on the blog today. Okay, so I can blame it on the migraine headache, but I won't ... I promised not to neglect the blog. I 'm trying that 20-times-and-it's-a-habit rule. I hope it works.


I digress.


Let's talk tonight about the overuse of the apostrophe. It's such a huge problem, someone has dedicated a blog to the abuse of this "confusing" punctuation mark. Check it out: http://www.apostropheabuse.com/


The top-two errors seen are "it's vs. its" and the improper apostrophe use in plurals as you see in the photo to the left. The only time we use the form "it's" is when you are using it as a contraction. "Its" in the plural form does not take the apostrophe. Grammar Girl has additional tips on her blog at http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-apostrophes.aspx

Don't forget, however, that more information on the apostrophe can also be found in the back of the AP Stylebook in the punctuation section. Once you finished reading that entry, flip the pages to the hyphen entry. We will talk more about that one later.

Until next time ... Write on!

Using PAG

Some good points have been brought up this week about ensuring our photo and video skills are where they should be, just as our writing should be. Any good tips from our resident super photographers out there would be great.

I think one important tip for all of us is to know what we are writing about, what we are shooting, etc., and why. One way to do this is to seek out public affairs guidance on a particular event, exercise, or operation. I remember in my early days as a Navy journalist I never even knew what "PAG" was. I have since learned that PAG provides lots of great background information for our news stories, scripts, captions, etc. We can prepare a large portion of your captions even before the event takes place. Using PAG helps us align our messages and tell the Navy story!

With that said, today ... let's talk about the word "en route." Is it two words or one? Check your stylebook? En route is ALWAYS two words!

Well, that's it for now ... talk with you soon.

A new header

We have a new header ... anyone else out there want to give it a shot? Thanks MC2 Brett Morton!

New header

Okay,
So the header on this blog is not up to par with the skills and talents we have within our MC community. Thanks, Chief Sullivan for pointing that out. HAHAHAHA. This goes to show all of the different talents we have within our community. I will be the first to admit that my strongest talent is in writing. That's why I am sharing that skill here.

I hear MC2 Morton from NPASE Hawaii det is looking to design a new one. Anyone else out there want to give it a shot?

We can pick our favorite. I'm all for that. Let's showcase our talented MCs' work!

Toward vs. Towards

Aloha, Shipmates!
Today, I wanted to talk about more AP Stylebook issues. How many folks really use their stylebooks when they are writing? I can tell you that I don't write anything without my stylebook with me. It's good practice. But why? In my opinion, the AP Stylebook provides consistency for our readers. AP Style helps readers identify with certain words, titles, etc. How many of you know that the Navy has a style guide? Check it out. Bookmark it. http://www.navy.mil/submit/view_styleguide.asp

Now for the tip of the day:

One of the biggest mistakes I see is the misuse of the word "toward." If you look up the entry in the AP stylebook, you will see that it says: toward Not towards.

So, let's work toward improving our writing today!

Before, I close, I wanted to say thanks to MC2 Morton from the NPASE Hawaii det. for this photo: http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=72751 and the other photos he posted from USS Crommelin's (FFG 37) on Monday, June 16. It just goes to show why we do what we do. My husband deployed aboard Crommelin. As a family member, it helps to see these photos. Thanks again, MC2.

Well, that's it for me today. Keep tellin' the story, Shipmates!

The first post

Aloha, Shipmates!

Thanks for stopping by. I wanted to create a place where I could talk about being an MC and about items that will help us be more-effective MCs. For me, I think if we improve our writing skills, we will improve our news stories, captions and other PA/VI products used to tell the Navy story and convey our messages. Your thoughts?

For example, today I learned the difference between "jibe" and "jive" after I incorrectly used "jive" in a sentence. Anyway, after learning of my error, I came home from the office and looked up both words. Thank goodness for http://www.m-w.org/:

1. Jibe means to be in agreement
2. Jive is slang for phony

This is also a good place to highlight great stories and photos as well. With that, I wanted to talk about a recent release by the MCs and PAOs aboard USS George Washington about a combat operations efficiency evaluation. This story can be found at http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=45448. This release received much praise from folks with several years of experience in the "reporting" world. It left no unanswered questions and the reporters were ready to print as is. Great job, GW!!!

Photo found here can be found at http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=72240

That's it for today. Have a fine Navy day!