Online Grammar and Punctuation Tool

It is easy to forget the rules of writing sometimes. Refresh your memory, see real examples of how to use punctuation correctly, and even test your knowledge if you dare. Visit the GrammarBook Today.

Proofing Your Work for Comma Usage Errors

I confess- I am addicted to commas! I have to proof my work carefully because I often add commas to my sentences unconsciously. Thus, I often use them without any regard for whether they are really needed or proper.

I cannot rely on my word program grammar checker alone to catch these punctuation mistakes for me either. Just as it is not wise to rely solely on the spell-checking feature of your document program to find misspelled words, it is not wise to assume that the grammar check feature will uncover every instance of improper grammar usage in your article or document.

Use the spelling and grammar usage checking features of your document program for sure. Yet, you will need to proof your work yourself as well to ensure it is free of errors before you send it someone else to view.

Here are two good tutorials on the proper use of commas put out by the English department at Purdue University to help you in proofing your work. Proofing for Commas, and Further Comma Use Rules.

As easy to understand as the information presented in these tutorials is, I cannot say that it will stop me from placing unnecessary commas in my work. I guess I will have to take a one-day-at-a-time approach to resolving my problem of overusing commas like people with other addictions do.

Proof, Proof, and Proof Some More!

The importance of proofing your work before sending it out to clients, or displaying it somewhere for other people to read cannot be overstated. It can sometimes be difficult to proof and edit your own work. The following tips may help you to better proof your work to ensure that it is error free.

1. After you have written or typed your piece, click on your tools menu and run a spelling and grammar check if you have those tools available to you. Correct any highlighted mistakes. Do not depend on these program tools only in proofing your work. It will skip over words spelled correctly, but words you may not have intended to use in your sentence. The show will go on rain ore shine. That sentence does not make sense although there are no errors in spelling. The show will go on rain or shine. This second sentence makes sense. There are many other instances of words having close spellings and very different meanings that spelling tools may miss.


2. Read your document through to get a sense of how it sounds (reads.) Does your document have a natural and sequential flow to it? It helps to get a trusted friend or editor to read your work for you as it can often be hard for writers to separate how their brains say it should read, and how it would actually sound to readers. You can do this on your own. Only you may have to put it away and come back to it several different times to make sure it reads well.


3. Now go through your document again one sentence at a time, reading each sentence aloud and making any changes to your sentences that you think are necessary.


4. After you have done a sentence-by-sentence check of your document, it is time to read your entire document again. Why should you do all of this reading and re-reading? Because, you want to make sure that your written works are as free from errors as possible. Your works are representative of your writing skill. You do not want easily correctable mistakes to shout to readers, “Hey, look at me, I cannot spell or use grammar properly.”


5. Save and close your document and do something else for a while. For how long is up to you. Many writers will set aside their completed works for a day before going back to them again for one final reading When you have cleared your head from your previous proofreading of your document, open it for a final reading to make sure it reads exactly as you want it to.

I hope you found this article on proofreading your work helpful. We will be discussing other mechanics in writing in future articles.

How to Write Your Movie Script

You have a great idea for a movie that is sure to be a hit. Now you just need to write the script for your movie so that you can pitch it to the movers and shakers in the movie industry that can get it onto the big screen. The pointers outlined below following will help you to write a professional and polished movie script that has a better chance of a reading by industry execs, than the chance of a toss into the nearest garbage can.

Before You Sit Down to Write Your Movie Script

An idea or concept for a movie idea is fantastic; however, you need to take care of some preliminary work before you actually sit down to the work of writing your movie script.

• Brainstorm and flesh out all of the details involved in your idea so that you have a solid foundation of understanding about what you want to convey with your movie, the genre your movie will fall under, and where to go with your movie idea from this point.
•Research the genre that best matches the type of story your movie depicts, and learn the rules of writing, and script writing for that specific genre.
•If, your story takes place in locations and settings that you are not familiar with or your characters speak a foreign language, research these details so that you have the information you need to create strong storylines, characters, and dialogue throughout your story.
•Develop an outline so that you can follow and track characters and scenes as you create them to make sure you have not forgotten important elements for your story.
◦You can divide your outline into three sections. The first is the opening, in which you introduce the hero, the dilemma the hero needs to conquer, as well as introducing the story’s antagonist, and supporting characters. The second section is where you give the story’s protagonist a centralized positioning to the dilemma faced in the story. Here is where you also heighten a sense of anxiety and hopelessness towards successfully conquering the dilemma. In the third section, the hero enters amidst great anxiety and hopelessness to an intense confrontation to which he or she must triumph over for closure to the story’s dilemma.

Now you are ready to get down to the writing of your script. Follow these guidelines to writing a movie script to industry standards.


Industry Standard for Movie Script Formatting

•Font: Courier
•Size: 12 pt.
•Spacing: Single
•Page Numbers: Do not start numbering your pages until the second page of your script
•Header: Do not place on the cover or first page of your script. Starting on the second page of your script, right-justify the header and include script title, and page number within the header
• Cover Page: Centered, No Header and No Page Number, Script Title, Author’s Name, and Copyright Info, Hit Enter-Once, Justify Left, Input Author Contact Information
•Script Opening: Use-Fade In
•Script Ending: Use-Fade Out
•Script Voice: Present Tense
•Setting/Scene Labeling: Use-INT for indoor settings and EXT for outdoor settings. Include a description of where and what time of day scene action and character dialogue takes place. An indoor setting/scene label could look like this. INT. Kitchen- Early Morning //or// EXT. Driveway- Sunset.
• Character Dialogue: Hit tab button 4 times and type the name of the character before hitting return, and then hitting the tab button again three times, which you will then be ready for typing in the dialogue. ◦Attempt to keep all dialogue within the width span of two tabs however if it spills over into another page, end the previous page with Continued on Next Page, and Open the next page with: Continued.◦ Whenever you make references to speaking characters in your script, their names should be in all CAPS.

Julie Morris, Freelance writer. The Write Station LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. Contact author about this article.