CONTENTS FEATURE: Express opposition with precision GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions READER POLL: The junk fax deluge NET NOTES: Captivating Web sites FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Express opposition with precision      Although millions of Americans characterized this year's presidential election campaign as contentious, it pales in comparison to that of 1968. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that year, news reporters, bystanders and convention delegates inadvertently stumbled into bloody clashes in which fervent protesters confronted armored police and National Guard troops, leading the city's mayor, Richard Daley, to proclaim, "The police are not here to create disorder. They are here to preserve disorder."      While many cynics maintain that Daley's linguistic gaffe exposed an underlying truth, he obviously meant to say that police were there to preserve order. His intention was to negate his first sentence with a contrasting element. He could have done so in either of two ways: by selecting a verb that contrasted with the verb "create," or by negating "disorder" using its antonym—a noun with an opposing meaning. However, because he retained the noun "disorder" in both sentences and replaced the verb "create" with a complementary verb—"preserve"—rather than one with a contrasting meaning, the pair of sentences made Daley the object of ridicule and loathing.      An ironically numbered voter initiative on this year's November ballot in California was challenged in a television advertising campaign that contained a somewhat unconvincing appeal—as the result of a problem in word choice.      The announcer in the ads intoned, "The more you know about Proposition 68, the less you'll like it." That was a meek declaration. It literally said that after voters learn more about the proposition, they'll still like it, although not as much as they might have previously. Selection of a more precise way to express opposition would have been far more powerful. The real intention of the group opposing the proposition was to say that the more you know about Proposition 68 the more you'll dislike it. Despite the clumsy announcement, the opposition group prevailed and the initiative was defeated.      "I can't tell you why I decided to go to that conference, but I'm glad I did," Ralph told Teresa. That could indicate that Ralph knows why, but has been sworn to secrecy. He may have meant to say something entirely different: "I do not know why."      A scientific report described a sewage pond as an "important source of mosquitoes." Another research document referred to "medically important mosquitoes." The adjective "important" connotes value or wealth. Here the attempt is to characterize a dangerous and potentially detrimental insect population. Adjectives such as "prolific" or "prevalent" would be more suitable in describing a mosquito breeding area. Instead of "medically important mosquitoes," substitute "mosquitoes that pose significant health risks."      A medical association article examining compensation plans for physicians contained the statement that "With a bonus, the most common positive incentive, you receive extra compensation if you meet certain goals." The article also said, "The trend today is to use negatively structured incentives less frequently because doctors look more favorably on incentives based on positive reinforcement."      The noun "incentive," derived from the Latin verb "to sing," means inducement or motivation spurred by the expectation of reward. Although incentive also can imply the fear of punishment, the typical connotation remains positive—motivation to choose a course to avoid punishment. Consequently, the phrase "negatively structured incentives" sounds paradoxical and self-contradictory in contrast to a perfectly acceptable antonym for "incentive": disincentive. The statements can be clarified by rewording: "Bonuses are commonly offered as incentives to compensate employees who meet certain goals. Disincentives, such as penalties, are increasingly discouraged because doctors respond more favorably to incentives that reward desirable practices."      The same article said, "Of course, there's a fine line between negative and positive compensation, and it's all in the way you look at it." Compensation is the function of making a counterbalancing payment or remuneration, presumably for services performed. "Negative...compensation" is an awkward reference to either of two more precise terms: deterrent or penalty.      A recipe indicated that a cayenne pepper "contributes positively to the flavor of the dish." The modifier "positive" is superfluous because the verb "contribute" means to supply or to play a significant role in yielding a result. A contribution cannot be negative; someone who finds cayenne pepper unappealing would properly say that it detracts from the flavor of the dish.      "Many parents don't believe in premarital sex," according to a statement in a pamphlet. If that's so, they're sticking their heads in the sand. Whether or not they believe it, premarital sex does occur. Of course, the writer was really attempting to say that many parents discourage or disapprove of or condemn premarital sex.      An article included a statement that "differences in their brains are not unlike differences among computer operating systems." Replacing the pretentious double-negative "not unlike" phrase with a proper comparative term—"similar to" or "analogous to"—would result in a much clearer sentence: "Differences in their brains are analogous to differences among computer operating systems."      After reviewing a document, Wilma declared, "I have problems with that proposal." She may dispute or disagree with the proposal, but it's unlikely that it can cause problems for anyone unless it's adopted and enforced.      Expressing opposition persuasively requires a blend of tact, logic, evidence, credibility, charisma and ingenuity, as well as carefully chosen terms that precisely portray contrasting perspectives. Yes! You can earn up to $500 by recommending EditPros. Read further to learn about our "finder's fee." GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions Charles Warner submitted this month's question:      "Does the grammar coach endorse the Oxford (or serial) comma? I have always used it, and I was glad to see that The Elements of Style (by Strunk and White) agrees with me. To quote the book: 'place a comma after every item in a series except the last one.' It seems the popular press avoids it like the plague, and when I see, for example, 'red, white and blue' in a newspaper I want to get a magic marker and add the second comma. It seems obvious to me that the lack of a serial comma can lead to ambiguity. I also understand that grammarians are hotly divided on this topic. Where does EditPros stand?" The grammar coach replies:      That question is a topic of debate and disagreement between linguistic purists and pragmatists—or between journalists and nearly everyone else.      Most style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, recommend use of the "serial comma" before the concluding conjunction in a series (as in "red, white, and blue").      The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and other manuals used by journalists favor elimination of the serial comma (thus, "red, white and blue")—unless it is necessary for clarity when used with compound nouns linked by conjunctions (as in "red roofs, white doors and trim, and blue walls").      In certain cases, elimination of the serial comma certainly can introduce ambiguity, as in the bewildering book dedication "To my parents, Ayn Rand and God." For clarification, that sentence should either include a serial comma, or a preposition before each element: "to my parents, to Ayn Rand and to God."      A reference to "northern Nevada, California and Oregon" might lead readers to think that "northern" applies to all three states, when in reality it may be intended to refer only to Nevada. Potential misunderstanding can be rectified simply by altering the sequence to read: "California, Oregon and northern Nevada." Exclusion of the serial comma does not produce confusion.      Some people might chortle, however, about an apparent gastronomic horror that results from elimination of the serial comma in the statement that "we ordered pastrami, peanut butter and tuna sandwiches." But if the sentence had truly referred to only two kinds of sandwiches—one of which combined peanut butter and tuna—a conjunction would have followed "pastrami," and the clause would have been punctuated thusly: "we ordered pastrami and peanut-butter-and-tuna sandwiches."      Punctuation serves readers just as road signs assist drivers, telling them when to slow, stop or engage in a momentary detour. However, an overabundance of road signs or punctuation can be distracting. While we favor the AP approach, we often use the serial comma at EditPros, depending upon the preference of our client and type of project we're assigned. For newsletters, brochures and Web site content, we encourage AP style; for scholarly and annual reports, we endorse use of the serial comma.      Thanks for submitting your question, Charles!      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. READER POLL: The junk fax deluge      Do you regularly receive unsolicited "junk" faxes at your business or home? If so, we'd like to hear from you.      We're planning to write an article examining the deluge of junk faxing that continues despite its prohibition under federal and California law. If junk faxes have become a persistent nuisance for you, please send us a note telling us about your experiences and what you've done to confront the problem.      Thank you. NET NOTES: Captivating Internet resources Statistics for Writers      Writers who struggle a bit with math and who find statistics baffling may find this site useful. In addition to explanations about terminology—such as "mean" and "median"—it contains essays to teach writers how to avoid being duped by misleading polls, surveys and statistics. If you need to interpret data, gain a basic understanding here first. California Business Search      You can use this site to verify whether or not a business is currently registered with the California Secretary of State. The database encompasses corporations, limited partnerships and limited liability companies. The information includes the complete name of the corporation, corporate number, date of incorporation or date of conversion, status, mailing address, and name and address of the agent for service of process. Ian's Shoelace Site      So you thought there is only one proper way to tie a shoelace—your way? This site, maintained by computer programmer and graphic designer Ian Fieggen, illustrates 10 practical ways to tie shoelaces, including a knot specifically for slippery shoelaces, and the Ian Knot, which the site owner considers the "world's fastest shoelace knot." You'll also learn how to repair aglets, the plastic sleeves that prevent the ends of shoelaces from unraveling. The site even includes formulas and a table for calculating shoelace lengths. 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, EditPros may reward you with a "finder's fee" of up to $500.      EditPros performs writing, editing and publication management services for newsletters, sales literature, brochures, Web sites and other informational and marketing materials.      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.      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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