Your Turn to Play Editor
by Ted Slater on 01/29/2008 at 12:01 AM
Are there any errors in the following paragraph?
In order to insure the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many complements.
If so, tell me what they are.
1. christina said the following at 12:10 AM on Jan 29:
It should be spelled Compliments, not complements
2. Jeremy said the following at 12:36 AM on Jan 29:
Immediately apparent to me are these two:
1. "insure" should be "ensure"
2. "complements" should be "compliments"
I have little doubt that others can find more.
3. BDB said the following at 12:39 AM on Jan 29:
Ensure should have an "e" not an "i."
Compliments should have an "i" not an "e."
There doesn't seem to be a topic sentence. The 3rd sentence probably should be re-written into the topic sentence. Then it would make more sense that the "author" in the 4th sentence was the writer from Columbia.
There seem to be too many, commas.
It's too late for me to see any more, but I know much editing is done after deadline in the middle (dead?) of night...
4. Leah said the following at 12:46 AM on Jan 29:
In order to insure the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many complements.
~ "Insure" should be "ensure"
~ "Candace" should be "Candice"
~ I'm convinced there should be a comma after "Columbia", but I know of people who would argue it's not necessary
~ "Once it was published, the author received many complements" is a... I can't remember the word... but the way it's phrased, you're saying the author was published. It should read more like "Once the article was published, the author received many compliments"
~(Note the "i" not "e" in "compliments").
5. Erin Mollenhauer said the following at 12:57 AM on Jan 29:
The last word does not seem quite correct - the word meaning 'a nice or pleasing comment' is spelled "compliment" (with an i). The word "complement" means something extra or in addition to the whole.
6. Josh said the following at 1:08 AM on Jan 29:
Offhand, "ensure" not "insure" and "compliments" not "complements".
7. Jennifer said the following at 1:09 AM on Jan 29:
In order to ENSURE the magazine's success, CANDICE Watters asked an author from Bagota, COLOMBIA to write on the issue of Latin-American (add hyphen) dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine COMPRISED articles WHICH (nonrestrictive) explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. AFTER (makes better sense) the ARTICLE/ISSUE (specify what "it" is) was published, the (specify which?) author received many COMPLIMENTS.
8. Jo said the following at 1:40 AM on Jan 29:
In order to INSURE [ensure] the magazine's success, CANDACE [Candice] Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many COMPLEMENTS [compliments].
I also would change the first 'issue' to something else (subject/topic) for clarity.
I was hoping there'd be more but I think that was it. Did I miss anything Ted? I could SO edit Boundless. :P
9. Joey Tyson said the following at 1:46 AM on Jan 29:
I hope the complementary authors have provided the original author with some good new friends. Perhaps they were the insurance agents charged with the magazine's success policy. Of course, the author in this case is merely an "it," one that has now been published.* And one who apparently wrote on a magazine instead of regular paper, since the issue of Latin American dating practices seems to be comprised (correct usage, albeit passive voice) of articles.
btw, I'm not sure I've commented on the Line before, but I'm a faithful reader of Boundless who minored in Professional Writing and who happened to take a break from tonight's homework to check the site. Thanks for the grammar exercise - I enjoyed it.
*OK, you could argue the opening clause of the last sentence merely flows from the previous thought, but you could also consider it a dangling modifier.
10. Joey Tyson said the following at 1:53 AM on Jan 29:
Oh, and Bogota is a little far away from Columbia, SC. (Missed that the first time through - it's late. :)
11. Phil Craig said the following at 2:42 AM on Jan 29:
Ok, I'm British so I may get it completely wrong on the spellings but here's a shot!
In order to ENSURE the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, COLOMBIA to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many COMPLIMENTS.
I'm resisting putting a hyphen into "Latin American"...and the verb "comprised" sounds ugly to me but I'm not sure it's an error.
12. Lis said the following at 3:48 AM on Jan 29:
Hmm...ensure, Candice, compliments.
13. Gina said the following at 3:53 AM on Jan 29:
Insure should be ensure, Columbia should be Colombia, and complements should be compliments. Comprised of should probably be composed of or something similar. I'm not sure how to make it better, but the sentence beginning with "That particular issue..." is rather awkward in general.
That being said, this is a fun game!
14. Holly said the following at 3:53 AM on Jan 29:
Insure - should be ensure
Candace - should be Candice
Columbia - should be Colombia
Complements - should be compliments
15. Grays said the following at 4:09 AM on Jan 29:
Only that complements should be compliments. I thought insure should be ensure, but insure has a secondary meaning that fits just fine.
16. Peter said the following at 4:13 AM on Jan 29:
A quick scan....
"Insure", instead of "ensure".
"Complements", instead of "compliments".
In both cases, legitimate words that would not be picked up as mistakes by a spell-checker but, contextually, are used in error.
There should also be a comma after "Columbia".
I might have worded a couple of sentences a little differently, but that is a personal preference.
Peter
17. Adam T. said the following at 5:00 AM on Jan 29:
Hm... the accent on Bogota?
18. Amir Larijani said the following at 5:36 AM on Jan 29:
(1) That ensure, not insure.
(2) Colombia, not Columbia/
(3) She's writing about, not on the issue of Latin American dating practices.
(4) The articles comprised that particular issue; better to write it in active and not passive voice.
(5) That sentence is way too wordy. I'd say, "that issue specifically addressed dating from several cultural perspectives. Probably not perfect, but less wordy.
(6) The author received many positive responses to that issue.
19. Joy said the following at 5:42 AM on Jan 29:
Should be "ensure" and "compliments."
20. Kate said the following at 5:49 AM on Jan 29:
Ooh... a treasure hunt! =)
In order to *ensure* the magazine's success, *Candice* Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was *composed* of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many *compliments*.
So, that would be...four? Drat, I'm probably missing some.
21. ptschett said the following at 5:59 AM on Jan 29:
spelling: Candice, Colombia
word choice issues: insure should be ensure, complements should be compliments, comprised should be composed, also I would replace the 1st 'issue' with 'subject'
22. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) said the following at 6:03 AM on Jan 29:
"In order to ENSURE the magazine's success, CANDICE Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many COMPLIMENTS."
I can't help but feel that there are more mistakes, but I can't find 'em.
23. Cherilyn said the following at 6:12 AM on Jan 29:
Corrected:
In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogota (with an accent on the a), Colombia to write about Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many compliments.
Errors:
insure=ensure
Candace= Candice
Bogota needs an accent on the a
Columbia should be Colombia
complements= compliments
I also changed a couple other things that were mostly preferences.
24. Shannon said the following at 6:28 AM on Jan 29:
Candace should be Candice, right? Ensure is probably a better word choice than insure (though it's close). Columbia should be Colombia. Complements should be compliments.
Eager to see what others find, as I'm sure I missed some.
25. obewan said the following at 6:37 AM on Jan 29:
Everything made it through the spelling and grammar check in Word, but Candice is misspelled.
26. Carrie (the original) said the following at 6:38 AM on Jan 29:
In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the subject of Latin American dating practices. This particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many complements.
How many points do I get????
27. Maggie said the following at 6:38 AM on Jan 29:
Well, I'm a stickler for correct writing, so I'll start :-)
Ensure rather than insure.
You spelled Candice's name wrong.
It's Bogota, ColOmbia, not Columbia, and there should be a comma after Colombia.
Compliments, not complements.
I'd also change the wording a bit so you're not using "issue" to refer to two different things so close to one another, so I might say "...to write on Latin American dating practices."
That's all I've got for now...
28. Katie said the following at 6:40 AM on Jan 29:
Spelling/usuage corrections:
ensure
Colombia
compliments
I would say "topic of Latin American dating practices," because the word issue is used in the next sentence--it has a different meaning in that context.
Also, because one would assume that the magazine was written by many authors, I would say "Once HIS article was published, the author received many compliments." Otherwise it looks as if the author received compliments on the whole magazine.
I used to be an editor for a local magazine. I love this stuff. :)
29. Michael Bertrand said the following at 6:44 AM on Jan 29:
Insure should be spelled "ensure." I believe "complements" should be spelled "compliments."
I see two misspellings.
30. Osayi E. said the following at 6:44 AM on Jan 29:
"Insure"- should be "Ensure"
"Candace"- should be "Candice"
"Columbia"- should be "Colombia"
"Complements"- should be "Compliments"
That's all I can see!
31. Melissa D. said the following at 6:51 AM on Jan 29:
Ensure-Candice-Columbia,-exploring,not "that explored"-compliments
Did I miss any?
32. Eliza said the following at 6:53 AM on Jan 29:
insure should be ensure in the first line.
Columbia should be Colombia
complements should be compliments
This is fun! I'm curious to see if I missed any :P.
33. TN1 said the following at 7:09 AM on Jan 29:
Um, hmm. This is what I found:
1.) ensure, not insure
2.) Candice Watters, not Cadace Watters
3.) Colombia, not Columbia for the country
4.) You probably should use the word "subject" and not "issue," which can have ambiguous meanings in this context. (The SUBJECT of Latin American dating practices; the ISSUE of a magazine, etc.)
5.) compliments, not complements
See, now, stuff like this makes me paranoid that I've missed something!
34. Kathryn said the following at 7:11 AM on Jan 29:
uh, ok, here's my go. I realise I've probably missed a few or incorrectly corrected.
In order to insure the magazine's success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogotá, Columbia to write about Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles exploring dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many complements.
35. Bill said the following at 7:11 AM on Jan 29:
"insure" should be "ensure"
"Candace" spells her name "Candice"
"In order to" is a bit superfluous and could just be "To"
Bogota is in "Colombia," not "Columbia"
Not "comprised" but "composed"
"Once it was published" seems to incorrectly refer to "the author" - misplaced.
Not "complements" but "compliments"
There are probably more! I'd just throw this rubbish paragraph away completely rather than fix it. Now, what's the point of this exercise, Ted?
36. Erin said the following at 7:12 AM on Jan 29:
Insure should be ensure.
Complements should be compliments.
That's all I caught.
37. John said the following at 7:14 AM on Jan 29:
Passive voice?
38. Joy W. said the following at 7:20 AM on Jan 29:
I caught three errors at a glance:
ensure, not insure
Colombia, not Columbia
compliments, not complements
39. Sara said the following at 7:25 AM on Jan 29:
--"insure" should be "ensure"
--"Columbia" should be "Colombia"
--There are some issues with "comprised" being used in the above manner. Although it's widely accepted, I would change it to "composed."
--"complements" should be "compliments"
That was fun. :)
40. Sara said the following at 7:27 AM on Jan 29:
Oops...forgot one! "Candace" is spelled "Candice". I thought it looked funny!
41. Shannon said the following at 7:31 AM on Jan 29:
More:
I think the first sentence should reference the issue's success, not the magazine's, to be consistent with the second sentence. You could then substitute "topic" for "issue" later in the first sentence to avoid redundancy.
I could also bemoan the overly flowery phrasing ("in order to insure" and "that particular issue") and the passive voice ("was comprised of"), but those plagues are so widespread by now that I'll pick my battles.
(The second instance of passive voice is a little harder to get around, but something like "After we published the article" might work.)
42. Laura_MH said the following at 7:38 AM on Jan 29:
Delete “In order”
Change “insure” to “ensure”
Change “Candace” to “Candice”
Change “Columbia” to “Colombia”
Instead of “on the issue” I would change it to something like, “…to write an article about Latin American dating practices.”
Change “That particular issue of the magazine….” to something like, “This particular issue of the magazine explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives, (or a ;) in this case, those of Colombia.”
Change “complements” to “compliments”
Change “Once it was published” to “Once the article was published”
To ensure the magazine's success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogota, Colombia to write an article about Latin American dating practices. This particular issue of the magazine explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives, in this case, those of Colombia. Once the article was published, the author received many compliments.
(There are other stylistic things that could be changed, of course.)
43. v@v said the following at 7:47 AM on Jan 29:
How's this?
In order to [ensure] the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia[,] to write on the issue of Latin[-]American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine [was composed of] articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many complements.
44. Alan said the following at 7:52 AM on Jan 29:
In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogotá, Colombia, to write on Latin American dating practices for an issue that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many compliments.
45. Devon said the following at 7:54 AM on Jan 29:
"insure" should be "ensure" and "complements" should be "compliments." That's all I caught.
46. Carolyn said the following at 8:00 AM on Jan 29:
ensure; Candice; compliments
:-D
47. SHL said the following at 8:12 AM on Jan 29:
ensure
Candice
Colombia
compliments
48. Lee McKusick said the following at 8:13 AM on Jan 29:
1. Replace "insure" with "ensure"
2. Candice is spelled with an i.
3. Colombia, not Columbia.
4. "That particular issue of the magazine" - may or may not be grammatically correct, not sure, but it sounds incorrect to me, so I'd rewrite it. "The issue" would do.
4.5. Also, if you do that, remove "the issue of from the previous sentence to avoid any confusion over what the word "issue" refers to.
5. Complements is, while a word in its own right, spelled wrong in this instance. Replace with "compliments."
Think that about covers it as far as I can see.
49. Nate said the following at 8:22 AM on Jan 29:
Just off the top of my head, "insure" should be changed to "ensure", and "complements" to "compliments". Columbia is a city--should be "Colombia". The word "issue" is being used with two different meanings, so the demonstrative "that" is confusing things. "Comprise" isn't supposed to be passive, I think. There's probably more stuff, though. Just a start. I have to go to class in five minutes, otherwise I'd look more closely.
50. Holly said the following at 8:25 AM on Jan 29:
Insure means to guard against, and you probably want ensure. Columbia is a sportswear company. Colombia is the country in South America. Optionally, Bogota should be spelled with an accent on the a. Also, complements means "goes with", and compliments is the word you're after.
Cheers!
51. Sussy said the following at 8:27 AM on Jan 29:
I see three errors
1. Candice is spelled with an "i" not "a",
2. Being from Colombia myself, I know how to spell the name of my own country ;-) "Columbia" is spelled wrong and should be Colombia.
3. The word complement is being used incorrectly, should be compliment.
it's still early so I may have missed many more, but there you go!
52. Josh M said the following at 8:32 AM on Jan 29:
I only see one at the moment: "complements" should be "compliments".
53. Dan Gill said the following at 8:33 AM on Jan 29:
My take:
"insure" for "ensure"
"was comprised of" for "comprised"
"complements" for "compliments"
54. Gary said the following at 8:34 AM on Jan 29:
ensure, and compliments
55. Jess said the following at 8:34 AM on Jan 29:
"insure" should be "ensure."
"complements" should be "compliments."
Errors spell-check wouldn't find. :)
56. Essie said the following at 8:35 AM on Jan 29:
In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue in the magazine was comprised of articles exploring dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many compliments.
57. Stephen said the following at 8:40 AM on Jan 29:
The word "insure" ought to be changed to "ensure" and "complements" to "compliments." I would also insert a comma after "Columbia." And to be absolutely precise, there should be an acute accent on the final vowel of "Bogota."
58. Kate said the following at 8:45 AM on Jan 29:
Actual errors:
1. Candice's name should be spelled with an "i."
2. There should be a comma after Colombia.
3. The second sentence starts going on about the entire issue of the magazine, but that's not implied in the first sentence; they need to be connected better so that this is not confusing.
4. The "it" in the last sentence by definition refers to the preceding noun, and since it makes no sense that way, the "it" needs to be changed.
5. I thought the article/issue was on Latin American dating, not "a variety of cultural perspectives"...
If I were editing for my sister, I'd tell her that the whole paragraph felt choppy and that she needed to work on making it flow better. Also, the opening sentence does not read like an opening sentence; it reads as if it were a middle sentence, which distracts the reader from the content.
I'm terrible - I get way too much fun out of this sort of thing!
59. Carley said the following at 8:54 AM on Jan 29:
compliments?
60. Dave said the following at 8:55 AM on Jan 29:
--"ensure" instead of "insure"
--probably should be a comma after "Columbia"
--in the last sentence, the pronoun "it" should be replaced with "the issue," since it could be misinterpreted to refer to the author.
That's all I can see.
61. Dave said the following at 8:57 AM on Jan 29:
oh, one more: Compliments should have an I.
62. Erica said the following at 9:01 AM on Jan 29:
the first sentence should read
In order to ensure the magazine’s success, Candace Watters asked a Columbian Author to write an article on Latin American dating practices.
63. Katie said the following at 9:11 AM on Jan 29:
ensure, not insure; compliments, not complements
The issue sounds like it will be fascinating once y'all get the kinks worked out!
64. Aaress said the following at 9:12 AM on Jan 29:
On first glance, I'd edit it to the following:
"To insure the magazine's continued success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write about the subject of Latin American dating practices.
This issue of the magazine was composed of articles which explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives.
Once it was published, the author received many compliments."
The first draft sounded a bit wordy, had faulty grammar, and of course, misspelled Candice's name.
Full disclosure: I'm an editor for a sports magazine and the fortunate owner of Grammarian PRO X.
65. Jeffrey J. Stables said the following at 9:13 AM on Jan 29:
Please change "insure" to "ensure," "Columbia" to "Colombia," "comprised" to "composed," and "complements" to "compliments." Also, the use of the two meanings for "issue" that close to each other makes me squirm.
Just so you know, this post is like nails on a blackboard to your fellow grammar-Nazis.
66. DT said the following at 9:14 AM on Jan 29:
I wonder where you're going with this, but I don't care. It's fun for me, for I am a nerd. :)
- insure should be ensure
- there should be a comma after Columbia, which is spelled wrong. It's Colombia.
- take out 'the issue of'
- take out 'particular'
- I would change 'was comprised of' to 'contained'
- the whole perspectives thing seems weird
- complements should be compliments
In other words, I would change it to this:
"In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candace Watters asked an author from Bogota, Colombia, to write on Latin American dating practices. That issue of the magazine contained articles that explored dating in a variety of cultures. Once it was published, the author received many compliments."
The whole last sentence is odd.
There may be more, but my baby's crying. I feel like I just took a test!
67. LDB said the following at 9:19 AM on Jan 29:
"insure" is the wrong word. it should be "ensure".
68. LDB said the following at 9:25 AM on Jan 29:
Also "was comprised of" is wrong. In order to use the word comprised, the sentence would have to read "That particular issue of the magazine comprises articles..."
The grammer class I took my senior year of college taught me that rule. That class was sooo much fun for me...I am such an English nerd.
69. Shayna said the following at 9:25 AM on Jan 29:
ensure, not insure
Colombia, not Columbia
Passive voice in last two sentences (not always wrong but should be avoided if possible)
compliments, not complements
courting, not dating
(just kidding! ;-) )
70. Josh said the following at 9:27 AM on Jan 29:
insure -> ensure
that -> which
complements -> compliments
that's all I got...
71. Jerry said the following at 9:32 AM on Jan 29:
For starters, "insure" should be "ensure".
Second, it's "Candice" with an "I" rather than an "A".
Third, you could probably just remove "Bogota," - resulting in an easier read ("an author from Columbia to write on the issue...").
Fourth, pick a different word for "issue" in the first sentence since you use it again with a different meaning in the second sentence and the two meanings would be easily confused... perhaps just remove it entirely: "to write on Latin American dating practices".
As far as I can tell, potential problems with the second sentence are allayed by fixing up the first. It's difficult to tell, however, without seeing the whole article the paragraph is from.
Finally, the intended word in the final sentence is "compliments" with an "I", as opposed to "complements" with an "E".
That's all I can see on an initial reading.
72. Stephanie said the following at 9:35 AM on Jan 29:
I'm not the best at this, but complement should be compliment. I would also change the ambiguous "it" in the last sentence.
73. Elizabeth said the following at 9:43 AM on Jan 29:
My quickly corrected version:
In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogota, Columbia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author received many compliments.
74. Elise said the following at 9:45 AM on Jan 29:
It should be compliment instead of complement.
75. Derek Wong said the following at 9:57 AM on Jan 29:
Well it should be compliments, not complements. A compliment is a commendation while a complement is something that completes something else.
76. erinjo said the following at 10:03 AM on Jan 29:
I would change "insure" to "ensure". Though they both can have the same meaning, it is more conventional to use ensure in this instance.
I would also change "complements" to "compliments".
As for other grammar or punctuation, I am not sure.
77. A.M.C. said the following at 10:04 AM on Jan 29:
Here's a try from an undergrad engineering major:
In order to ensure the magazine's success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogotá, Colombia to write on the issue of Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised [Ed.: -ised is correct assuming Commonwealth English; -ized is acceptable assuming American English] of articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once it was published, the author [Ed.: Possibly ambiguous-- is this referring the Colombian author rather than Candice? It's an issue because the article from the Colombian author isn't the only article in the magazine!] received many compliments.
78. Dan said the following at 10:05 AM on Jan 29:
"Columbia" should be "Colombia"
79. P&P said the following at 10:06 AM on Jan 29:
Okay, here's my take on the 'graph.
In order to ensure the magazine's success Candice Watters asked an author from Bogota, Colombia to write an article on the topic of dating practices in Latin America. That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles exploring dating from a variety of cultural perspectives and once it was published, the Colombian author received many compliments.
It ain't perfect, but it's an improvement in my humble opinion.
Speaking of editing, there's a terrific show on HBO called The Wire. One of the plot themes for this season is exploring how a newsroom works in Baltimore, Maryland. On Sunday's episode the city editor says to the copy editor "you'd take the crab out of crab soup."
Gotta love grammar hounds.
80. Katharine C said the following at 10:09 AM on Jan 29:
In addition to previous comments:
1. Bogota in is in "Colombia" not "Columbia"
2. The use of the word 'issue' twice to means different things is a little confusing - better to say subject or something instead.
omplements.
81. Todd said the following at 10:21 AM on Jan 29:
In order:
"ensure" not "insure"
"Candace" not "Candice"
"Colombia" not "Columbia"
"composed" not "comprised"
"compliments" not "complements"
BTW, I'm an editor, so I do this all day long. If I missed anything, I'll just blame it on my PS2!
82. Amy said the following at 10:34 AM on Jan 29:
It's Candice, not Candace.
83. Lee said the following at 10:37 AM on Jan 29:
Shouldn't it be "Candice"?
The order of the clauses in the first sentence sounds like the success of the magazine rests solely on the article by the Columbian author.
84. Ted Slater said the following at 10:38 AM on Jan 29:
Excellent editing work! Misspellings of "Candice" and "Colombia" are but two of my pet peeves, having known Candice and having lived in Colombia. :-)
The "issue/issue" repetition is annoying, hm? Yeah, let's just use that word once, if at all.
I think I like Bill's suggestion the best: "[T]hrow this rubbish paragraph away completely rather than fix it."
FWIW, I still have to look up "compliment/complement" in my AP Stylebook. Every time.
I think Boundless will be in fine hands should the day come that I'm no longer editor. (May that day be decades away.)
85. Tami said the following at 10:46 AM on Jan 29:
Is this another Rorschach Post?
86. oswald said the following at 10:52 AM on Jan 29:
Bogota, Colombia (*NOT* Columbia)
87. Emily said the following at 10:55 AM on Jan 29:
If it were MY paragraph, I'd say the following:
In order to ensure the magazine’s success, Candice Watters asked an author from Bogota, Colombia, to write about Latin American dating practices. That particular issue of the magazine included articles that explored dating from a variety of cultural perspectives. Once the article was published, the author received many compliments.
P.S. Can't believe the Boundless editors do this for every article; keep up the great work!
88. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) said the following at 11:52 AM on Jan 29:
Oh my goodness, that has to be the most comments received within 12 hours of posting in Boundlessline history.
89. Helen said the following at 11:54 AM on Jan 29:
I think it's amazing how we all want to add our two-cents, even after every possible error has been found -or invented!
90. Matt said the following at 12:18 PM on Jan 29:
Ted,
This is the funniest post of the last three you've made! My hat's off to you, well done.
91. Grays said the following at 12:48 PM on Jan 29:
Insure is a perfectly acceptable word in this situation o_O Look it up =P
92. farmer Tom said the following at 3:48 PM on Jan 29:
Looked fine to me, of course I am unable to write a coherent sentence so what would I know?
93. farmer Tom said the following at 3:57 PM on Jan 29:
My first post was sarcasm.
That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles that explored dating
I would change the sentence to read,
That particular issue of the magazine was comprised of articles which explored dating
I saw the ensure and complements misspellings,
94. Ann Lim said the following at 12:57 AM on Jan 30:
Do we get points (or cookies?) if we're right? :)
95. Dan Gill said the following at 8:00 AM on Jan 30:
Ack! I missed "Columbia" for "Colombia"
Folks, Candace can spell her name any way she pleases.
96. Daniel from the Maritimes said the following at 9:06 AM on Jan 30:
was comprised of
This is a somewhat controversial usage. I only notice it because one of my professors has emphasized the proper usage on more than one occasion.
This sentence should probably be rewritten to say "was composed of" or "comprised" (without the was and of).
A rule to remember the proper (non-controversial) usage of "comprise" is that it follows the same syntax as "include." The difference between comprise and include is that comprise signifies an exhaustive list.