CONTENTS FEATURE: Sharpen a red pencil, test your editing skills SPOTLIGHT: EditPros clients in the news NET NOTES: Captivating web sites FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Sharpen your red pencil and test your editing skills      Regardless of job title or field, writing and editing are essential functions. Preparation of job descriptions, purchase requisitions, interoffice memos, performance appraisals, voice-mail messages, invitations, questionnaires for regulatory agencies, remarks to introduce speakers or any other aspect of communication requires editorial skills and familiarity with the principles of grammar.      To check your skills, here's a little test. Imagine that your supervisor or a co-worker has drafted a summary of discussion topics for a meeting, and asked you to review and edit it. Your job is to identify and rectify grammatical errors, redundancies and improper word usage, and to eliminate cliches, jargon and nonsensical expressions. Sharpen your red pencil, look penetratingly at the following passage of imaginary discussion topics, and see if you can find the 30 problems it contains. DISCUSSION TOPICS: A. Interoffice computing. The company has began the process of transitioning to new groupware, which the Information Technology Department has been trialing during the past 12 weeks. It's significantly different than our existing system—notably, it's far more user-friendly, and offers us a myriad of new functions that compliment our customer relations management objectives. In hopes that installation will proceed smoothly, IT Manager P.C. Macintosh said his staff will redouble efforts to activate the software throughout the organization within 60 days. B. Forward planning. A forward planning group charged with visioning new concepts to guide the evolution of the company has been established. Operating under the direction of May B. Knott, the group will codify information that centers around mission-critical functions of the organization. May said the group will develop a list of recommendations not unlike a blueprint for the company's development. C. Maintenance shed fire. Fire department investigators have made a preliminary determination of the cause of last week's fire that destroyed the maintenance shed. They believe the principle cause was improper storage of cleaning solvent in close proximity to an electrical switching panel, a violation of company policy. The fire spread so quickly that there was little that firefighters could do. One maintenance worker has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of the investigation. D. Performance award. Penny Nichols will receive the organization's "Exemplary Performance Award." The prestigious award has been presented to women administrators during each of the past three years. This fiscal year, Penny almost cut her department's travel expenses in half, and absenteeism is five times less than it had been two years ago. She also is credited with devising a workable solution to our ongoing parking problems. E. Salaries and benefits. In response to resignations of several prominent staff members since last fall, Chief Executive Officer Lee Derr has formed a six-member advisory counsel to identify positive incentives to increase loyalty among employees. Observing that the expanded benefits package includes dental and vision care anymore, Lee says that he doesn't believe in offering increasingly lucrative salaries as a means to bribe employees, as it were. Now let's see how you've done. IN DISCUSSION TOPIC A: 1. Has began. This error resulted from incorrectly commingling simple past tense (began) and past participle forms (has begun). 2. Transitioning. The noun "transition" cannot be used as a verb, and therefore the attempted gerund form "transitioning" is invalid. Replace it with "making the transition." 3. Groupware. "Groupware" is a strained, concocted term for software that enables members of a group to collaborate on a project through an electronic network. Recall that the name "software" was devised to stand in contrast to the hardware (computer equipment) on which it operates. A computer software application that calculates taxes is tax software—not "taxware"; word processing software is not "wordware"; and photo editing software is not "photoware." Accordingly, calling group communication software "groupware" seems silly. 4. Trialing. This is another misguided attempt to contort a noun into a verb. "Testing" would be a better choice. 5. Different than. One object differs FROM another one. Therefore, it's different FROM, not "different than" the other object. "Different than" is acceptable only when introducing a subordinate clause, as in "Peoria looks different than I imagined." 6. User-friendly. The adjective "friendly" pertains to trusting relationships between human beings. Consequently, an inanimate object such as a piece of computer software may be easy to use, but it cannot be "friendly." 7. Myriad of. "Myriad" is an adjective meaning "numerous" or, more specifically, "innumerable". Use it as you would either of those adjectives—without the article "a" and without the preposition "of": He had myriad responsibilities. 8. Compliment. The verb "compliment" (with an "i") means to praise; "complement" (with an "e") means to accompany or complete—the proper word in this case. 9. In hopes that. Only one hope is being expressed—that installation will proceed smoothly. Substitute "in the hope that" or "hoping that." 10. Redouble efforts. This term is derived from bridge, in which it means to double the doubling bet of an opponent. Perhaps colorful when it first entered the general lexicon, this term has become a cliche. IN DISCUSSION TOPIC B: 11. Forward planning. The word "forward" is redundant because planning always involves looking forward in time. 12. Visioning. The proper term is "envisaging"—conceiving an image of a future possibility. "Visioning" is a verb form meaning "seeing in a vision." 13. Codify. A pretentious surrogate for "organize." 14. Centers around. A center is a single point. Centering on or upon something is possible, but centering around something is not. 15. Mission-critical. Get out of the cockpit and replace this haughty military term with the adjective "essential," "fundamental" or "imperative." 16. Not unlike. Supersede this snooty double negative with a more direct adjectival construction: "comparable to." IN DISCUSSION TOPIC C: 17. Principle. The word "principle" exists only as a noun referring to a rule, law or standard. As a noun, the word "principal" refers to the administrator of a school; it also can function as an adjective that is the equivalent of "foremost"—the intended meaning in the example sentence. 18. Close proximity. Because proximity is a noun meaning the state of being adjacent or close, the word "close" is redundant and should be deleted. 19. Little that firefighters could do. Since the fire destroyed the shed, a more accurate statement would indicate that firefighters were not able to extinguish the flames. 20. Placed on administrative leave. While on leave, the maintenance worker is not performing any administration, so why call it "administrative leave"? The worker was not "placed on" anything, but rather was suspended from the job. IN DISCUSSION TOPIC D: 21. Women administrators. For a test, substitute genders. You wouldn't use the noun form "man administrators"; you'd use the adjectival form—"male administrators." Correspondingly, replace the noun "women" with the adjectival form—"female administrators." 22. Almost cut expenses in half. This says that Penny was preparing to cut expenses, but ultimately did not. That's because the adverb "almost" is misplaced; it's modifying "cut." To express the intended meaning, "almost" must be moved alongside "in half"—she "cut her department's expenses almost in half." 23. Five times less. This confusing sentence is using a multiplying factor (five times) to express a reduction. The concept would be more clearly stated by writing "the rate of absenteeism is only one fifth of what it had been two years ago." 24. Workable solution. The word "workable" is superfluous in this sentence. If an approach is not "workable"—meaning feasible or practical—it's not a solution. IN DISCUSSION TOPIC E: 25. Counsel. The noun "counsel" refers to advice or to representation by a lawyer. The proper term for use in the example is "council," a legislative, administrative or advisory group. 26. Positive incentives. An incentive is a motivating factor typically accompanied by the promise of a reward. The adjective "positive" is unnecessary. 27. Anymore. Because it is equivalent to "any longer," the adverb "anymore" is associated with a negative use, as in "he does not work here anymore." It also is properly used to mean "from now on," as "she won't cook with cayenne pepper anymore." It should be deleted from the example sentence. 28. Doesn't believe in. To believe in something is to have faith or confidence in it. However, the point of the example sentence would be expressed more accurately by saying that Lee "disapproves of" or "objects to" large salaries. 29. Lucrative salaries. The adjective "lucrative" means "producing wealth," in the sense of "profitable." A salary can be large, but it can't really be "lucrative" in the way that an investment or business enterprise can. 30. As it were. As it were what? Delete this and other useless, pompous appendages, including "if you will." How penetrating were you? If you found: 25 or more, you're a proficient lexicologist; 20-24, you're an expert editor; 15-19, you're an accomplished grammarian; 10-14, you're on the right track; fewer than 10, you'll do better next time. Yes! EditPros can help you find errors in spelling, word usage, syntax and grammar within your organization's documents. SPOTLIGHT: EditPros clients in the news Citadel Communications digital press enables short color runs      Four-color printing has long been an expensive and time-consuming process that has rendered small quantities prohibitively expensive. But that's changed, thanks to the development of high-resolution digital printing equipment, such as the 18-inch HP Indigo six-color offset digital printing press that Citadel Communications of Sacramento has installed.      Citadel Communications encompasses Citadel Press as well as NeoDesign, a graphic design studio. Citadel's new HP Indigo printing system eliminates the need for costly film separations, stripping or printing plates because it prints directly from customers' digital files. The six-color press enables four-color "process" printing jobs with two additional "spot" colors—particularly useful for reproducing corporate colors in a logo.      The Indigo press is suitable for production of flyers, newsletters, brochures, catalogs, technical manuals, labels, business cards, magazines, books and other paper-based publications. Because the press also can print on plastic, PVC and polycarbonate, it additionally can be used to produce identification cards, overlays for keypads, signs and other durable materials.      HP's liquid ElectroInk enables integration of security measures in printing jobs. Serial numbers or other identification codes can be printed in invisible ink, which is discernable only with an ultraviolet lamp—under which it glows in bright red. Likewise, bar codes can be printed invisibly for aesthetic reasons. The HP Indigo technology is capable of printing inventory numbers and other internal content in "micro-text" that's too small for detection by most readers, yet can be magnified for viewing by authorized personnel.      The Indigo press also can be used to imprint a "digital watermark"—a machine-readable pattern subtly implanted into an image. Imperceptible to the naked eye, a digital watermark can be used to authenticate certificates and other redeemable documents.      For more information, visit Citadel's Web site or call (916) 456-6000. NET NOTES: Captivating Internet resources New York Times Recommended Web Resources http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/navigator/index.html      Now you can learn which Internet resources New York Times reporters consult. Visit "Navigator—A Selective Guide to the Internet," the home page used in the newsroom of The New York Times for research on the Web. It contains Times-recommended resources for information on politics, commerce, travel, sports and numerous other topics. NIST Internet Time Service http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/service/its.htm      Would you like to synchronize your computer's clock precisely with the time set by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)? The agency's Time and Frequency Division, located in Boulder, Colo., maintains America's time standard, used by air traffic control systems, electric power companies, telephone companies, radio and television networks, and even by NASA for space missions. Apple Macintosh computers running OS 8.5 or more recent system software have built-in capability to use the NIST time servers. Microsoft Windows users must download software from the NIST site. Instructions on the site explain how to configure computers to connect to the NIST time signals—even by means of a dial-up connection. InfoSpace Directory of Businesses and People http://www.infospace.com/      Find telephone numbers and addresses of businesses and people using this site. It allows you to find businesses close to your location, and includes a "reverse directory" function that enables you to search by addresses. FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500      Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros services? If you do, you may earn a "finder's fee" of up to $500 from EditPros.      EditPros performs writing and editing services for newsletters, sales literature, brochures and other informational and marketing materials. We work with businesses, government agencies, research organizations and educational institutions.      If you recommend our services to a friend or business colleague, and that introduction leads to an assignment for EditPros, we will award you a "finder's fee" equaling 10 percent of the amount we earn on the first assignment for the new client, up to a maximum finder's fee of $500. Naturally, the finder's fee is applicable only to clients for which we have not worked previously.      The finder's fee will be issued to you personally, not to your organization. This offer will remain in effect until further notice. YOUR TURN: Ask the "grammar coach" or subscribe      We invite you to submit your questions to the "grammar coach," and we welcome you to subscribe to this monthly newsletter—which we'll send to your e-mail address at no charge. We respond to all "grammar coach" questions personally, but delays may occur because we must place top priority on assignments from our clients. We appreciate your patience and your interest.      You also can change your e-mail subscription address. For an address change, please indicate your existing AND your new e-mail address. Thank you. OUR PRIVACY POLICY for e-mail newsletter subscribers:      We do not use any commercial e-mail lists or automated mass-mailing programs, and we do not allow access to the list by anyone else for any reason. Our subscriber list is maintained by hand, and it is not for sale. We are protective of confidentiality because many of our readers are also clients of ours. 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