We Regret the Error, Tyler Grant

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Accuracy in writing is an integral part of any story as it lends clarity to the what the story is about. The more mistakes there are, the more likely a person is to dismiss the story. Why would anyone waste time reading a story where the author didn't bother spending time looking for his errors? Sure, if the story is breaking news, an error or two might be made as a small sacrifice in getting the story out as quickly as possible, but that's why a second set of eyes is vital before a story makes its way into the realm of published material.

Everyday, newspapers across Canada publish stories with mistakes. On Friday, March 12th, The Edmonton Sun published a story about a lone gunman walked into a car dealership wounding one and killing another before taking his own life. A blemish on what was otherwise a good story was when the author quoted a witness. The quote read: "Dave walked in there, didn't say a f---ing word. He came here with a vengeance and a rage. He came there to kill," said the staff witness, who does not want to be named." The problem lies with the expletive "f---ing." Were the full word "fucking" written out, then the article "a" would be correct. However, with the way the word is written out now, the indefinite article "an" would have a nicer ring to it. I can see why the author wrote what he did and the editor let it go, but it did make for a chop in my Monday morning reading.

Although that little mistake wasn't too bad, The Edmonton Sun opted to publish something a little more confusing. "The SUV showed up in front of the Heaven Bar around 4 a.m. and several gunshots rang out, hitting four of the bar's patrons standing outside in the legs." Is "the legs" what the folks in Montreal have nicknamed the smoking section outside bars, or did the people receive gunshot wounds to their legs? I'm going to guess it was the latter. Even the simplest mistake can inhibit clarity. Let's hope the author learns from his mistake.

Not only can a person learn from making mistakes in writing, but that person can also learn from reading mistakes in the writing of others. The more you read, the better your writing gets. The better your writing gets, the easier your writing is to read. Journalists can also learn how to punctuate sentences from listening to the people they interview. In Monday's on-line version of The Edmonton Journal, Phil Dukarsky quoted Richard Moffat of Environment Canada as saying, "Precipitation has been close to normal and they've had normal rainfall so I don't think there should be a drought." Unlike the previous quote, the sentence is still clear, but where are the commas? There are a few ways Dukarsky could've punctuated that sentence, but he opted simply end it with a period. This story was published on-line at 11:13 a.m., so there's still a chance it could be corrected later in the day.

These three examples of slips in writing are not out of the ordinary. Writers are people, and people make mistakes. If I were to read this block of paragraphs over and over again, I'm sure some mistake, or mistakes, would jump out at me. If anything comes to my attention, at the very least, I hope I would be able to learn something for my future writing.