Will artificial intelligence, most commonly identified with ChatGPT, take away the jobs of editors and writers? How much will a human being relevant in the creation of written work? Here is an illustration of what ChatGPT could do to writers.
A track changes hack and a course announcement
In this post, I show an intuitive way to show only the track changes in a minimum manner possible.
Play this odd-one-out game in spelling variations
Odd-one-out exercises can be beneficial for learning for several reasons. They encourage critical thinking, improve observation skills, enhance memory retention and make learning fun. Here is one from our course on spelling variations.
Practice quiz on identifying the head noun
As is the design of our courses, theoretical learning should be accompanied by practice so that you have understood the concept well. So, here is a quiz – or as we call it in our courses, a practice paper – to reinforce your understanding.
How to identify the head noun in a noun phrase or clause?
A common problem a copyeditor faces is the identification of the right subject for the verb. As easy as it seems, even careful copyeditors may fail to recognize the lack of agreement between a subject and its verb because of the intervening phrases and clauses. By systematically approaching the subject phrase, we can identify the head noun of a noun phrase easily as explained in this post.
Spot the difference, 01
Get your detective hats on and sharpen those observation skills because we're about to embark on an uproarious spot-the-difference challenge like no other! Welcome to the world of American and British English variations, where language takes unexpected twists and...
What’s modern about modern comments?
OK, I confess. I don’t like the name “modern comments” when MS Word introduced this new feature. Do you want to know why?
Week 01, Day 02: The Golden Triangle of Publishing
As we saw in our previous post, the early days of publishing did not possess any niche. In fact, there was no need considering that what was primarily published was religious documents and decrees and royal proclamations. A publisher is just a publisher. We may easily...
Which indefinite article goes before an abbreviation?
Seemingly simple decisions such as which indefinite article will go before a word can quickly turn into a difficult choice. While editors and most authors have mastered this decision-making, sometimes even experienced editors may stumble into a problem when an abbreviation is encountered.
Week 01, Day 01: Publishing for the masses
What is the connection between a goldsmith and the history of publishing? As you keep thinking, let me tell you that tracing the history of publishing is not an easy task considering that the single act of publishing has branched out not just in terms of what is...
AutoCorrect: a quick and easy way to insert phrases in MS Word
As editors/writers, we constantly come across instances of repeatedly typing some strings /phrases. It is painful, time-consuming, and error-prone. Is there a way to make this process quick, easy and error-free?
Crossword: US and UK English
Your favourite crossword section is back! Here is a crossword on UK and US variants of English. The level is basic. Enjoy solving this puzzle as we work on creating more.
Crossword 08: US and UK English
Your favourite crossword section is back! Here is a crossword on UK and US variants of English. The level is basic. Enjoy solving this puzzle as we work on creating more.
Factoring quadratic expressions and designing an online course
What could your ninth standard teacher teach about training? Here is an interesting story of how my math teacher taught me to design our online course.
Thank you, we are fully booked!
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A New Course Is Born
This New Year has made one of my dreams come true. It also offers you an opportunity to realize your own. Why wait?
Find and Replace Like a Pro Using Wild Cards in MS Word
I conducted an online session on using wild cards in MS Word. In this 2-hour-long session, I introduced the various wild card characters by actually using them in some editing-life situations. I am really glad and excited that the session was very well received, and here are some of the comments from the participants.
Have you tried our sample copyediting lesson yet?
Last week our first ever copyediting course was launched, specifically aimed at those who aspire to become a language editor in India. I am excited more about the features we have built into the course: thoughtfully designed modules, plenty of practice papers,...
A mind map for subject–verb agreement
There has been a lot of activity since the announcement about our first course, Essentials of Language Editing, was made. It is encouraging and exciting to see that a good number of editors and aspiring editors have shown interest in the sample lesson on subject–verb...
Using a Copyediting Style Sheet
Watch and learn about style sheets and how they can make you an editor extraordinaire. Download a style sheet template that you can use for your editing work.
Do you use these spell-checking dictionaries for MS Word?
In a recent session on using custom dictionaries, one participant asked what dictionaries are available for MS Word’s spell-checking. Here are some suggestions.
Think Write: A Workshop for Authors and Writers
What it takes to get a work published? The answer to this question has, sadly, never been straightforward. Editor’s Essentials organized Think Write 2019, an interactive one-day workshop providing authors, aspiring authors, and writers an opportunity to learn to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive market.
Be prepared to be thrown away
What if, as a freelance editor, you are thrown away? An unresponsive author, pending payment, lack of recognition, maybe all of them! What should you do?
Dead Giveaways That an Author Is Indian
Is “updation” even a word? Is the antonym for “postpone” “prepone”? Read on to find how Indian English has added some spice to the English language.
Feedback: giving gracefully and receiving gratefully
Feedback in the workplace is an essential component. The openness of a disciple and the grace of a guru will make this process an excellent experience.
Feedback, the most dreaded word
Feedback hurts, brings the morale down, and even humiliates. But feedback is a mechanism that will put us on the right path and help us bring out the best in each of us.
What’s wrong? Correcting a wrong modifier
Whether you are a writer or an editor, when you add phrases, always ensure that they modify the appropriate part of the sentence.
What’s your story?
Editor’s Essentials invites you to share it with the editing fraternity. After all, a story is to be told, an idea is worth spreading, and editors are the ones who never shy away from seeking advice.
The tale continues…
Localization may be defined as the efforts to reach out to end-users and most importantly engage them. And there are various degrees of localization, from standardizing spelling to translation. Want to know more? Read on.
Welcoming our new team member
We are immensely happy to welcome Sanjana Keerthi to the Editor's Essentials family. Sanjana is a language enthusiast who joined the management team in a publishing company after having obtained her degrees in Psychology and Business Administration. How she got into...