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Sports writer looking for Grammar help

Discussion in 'Writers' Workshop' started by Vincent Miracle, Mar 4, 2016.

  1. Sports Guy

    Sports Guy Member

    My 10 cents are right. That's why it's the most commonly misspelle
     
  2. Sports Guy

    Sports Guy Member

     
  3. Doom and gloom

    Doom and gloom Active Member

    Funny it is that someone who uses the word "advise" in that sentence could rip on someone's appeal for help with grammar.
     
    HandsomeHarley likes this.
  4. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    Maybe he's Canadian. But always amazes me some of the criticism around here. Don't want to help? Then don't.
     
    Liut likes this.
  5. Doom and gloom

    Doom and gloom Active Member

    Kind of like someone asking for weight loss suggestions,then having some jerk come in and say "Shit. Put down the forke." Misspelling fork and showing a lack of grace.
     
    HandsomeHarley and BDC99 like this.
  6. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    Here's one that shouldn't drive me nuts, and I probably should just get over it (wait for it), but I can't. And the AP is bad at it.

    "Over" is a preposition.

    "Smith struck out seven over five innings ..." is grammatically incorrect, I don't care what the AP says.

    "The Tigers won three games over the weekend..." is, too.

    "through" seven innings ... "during" the weekend.
     
  7. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    Correct. But one of the battles I've started to give up on. AP makes things difficult on things like this sometimes. If I have time, I still change it, but I don't always. On deadline, there are bigger fish to fry.
     
    HandsomeHarley likes this.
  8. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    Just found another that gets under my skin:

    "and then" is redundant. Use one or the other.

    "Smith hit a single and then took third on a two-base error."

    Once again, AP is the biggest culprit.
     
  9. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    Huh. Haven't seen that one too often.
     
  10. MNgremlin

    MNgremlin Active Member

    It's amazing how writing skills have diminished over the years. Not referring to anyone here, but more as frustrations of the job. Had a writer in the newsroom recently ask me if he needed to use "affect" or "effect" in a sentence. How do you get this far in a writing industry without knowing the difference?
     
  11. BDC99

    BDC99 Well-Known Member

    Nah. It has always been the case. It's why we need editors who are paid to know these things.
     
  12. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    The reason is quite simple: Real journalists are moving on to bigger and better jobs because newspapers are dying and newsrooms are shrinking. So publishers and managing editors are forced to hire many without journalism degrees, and many don't know how to complete a sentence.

    We no longer have editors who are paid to know these things, in many instances. We didn't even replace our managing editor.

    That's the case in our shop.

    Funny, but our main reporter just asked me if he should use "affect" or "effect."
     
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