Here’s the scenario … Your company has decided to give out awards to employees who go above and beyond the call of duty.  The Human Resource Dept. has written a memo that reads, “… and a plague will be issued with the recipient's name on it.” Yikes!  Who wants a "plague" with their name on it - when a "plaque" would be much nicer?

The computer's spell check nor grammar check would catch this mistake because…

a)      The word is a noun, which fits the syntax criteria; and

b)      The word is spelled correctly.

Only a human eye was able to catch the error before the memo went out to too many people.

The key to having an editor is that he/she makes the writing clearer to all end users. You do not want the reader’s first thought to be that the writer must be a country bumpkin. Do you?

Keep your eyes open!

Linda Fletcher

Freelance Editor

lafletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com