“God is in the details,” the old saying goes, though any editor who has agonized endlessly over a comma or a hyphen might argue that a far darker entity lurks there.

This seminar takes an unsurprisingly detailed look at punctuation and mechanics, including commas (what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s optional), semicolons, colons, quotation marks, apostrophes, dashes, hyphens, italics, and the ever-perplexing bullet points. We’ll discuss up-to-date rules and guidelines, examine how punctuation and mechanics affect meaning (for instance, the relationship between commas and modifiers), and note some of the most useful style guides available. There will be practice exercises throughout the day, and you’re encouraged to bring along troublesome editing samples for discussion.

STC-Montreal members can register at the discounted EAC membership rate, so don’t miss out!

About Frances Peck

Frances Peck is a Vancouver-based editor and writer who has taught in her field for over 20 years. She prepared the Canadian edition of The St. Martin’s Workbook, a university-level grammar exercise book; co-authored the popular HyperGrammar website; wrote Peck’s English Pointers, an e-book for the Translation Bureau; and is a regular columnist for the journal Language Update.

Rates

The Editors’ Association of Canada has made its Montreal seminars available to the STC at its discounted membership rate. The cost for members is $160, instead of $220 for non-members, and includes lunch and coffee breaks. The seminar will be fully described on our website at www.editors.ca/branches/qac/pd. Check the website regularly to see the registration posting. Hurry, there are limited spaces. For more information, contact coordinator Wendy Gokhool at wendygokhool [at] hotmail [dot] com Note: Those STC members who wish to attend must forward their membership ID numbers with their registration.

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Place: Holiday Inn Express & Candlewood Suites Centre-Ville Montreal
155, boul. Rene-Levesque East, Montreal
(metro Place des Arts—Jeanne-Mance or metro St-Laurent)
Instructor: Frances Peck
Cost: $160 for members
$220 for non-members

Lunch, refreshments, and coffee breaks included.

There are no early bird discounts or student rates.