February 3rd, 2009
Quiz Time!
The New York Times has a sweet little editing quiz on “After Deadline” this week. See if you can spot the errors in their articles. Their answers won’t appear till tomorrow.
Here’s one:
Purchased by investors at the height of the real estate boom in 2006, the management’s conversion plan appears unrealistic about meeting its sales and revenue goals, one lender is quoted as saying in court documents in the lawsuit between the owners.
Was the management “purchased by investors”? Or did investors buy the management’s plan? The phrase “purchased by investors…” no doubt refers to a company — but the company isn’t mentioned. You can avoid such “dangling participles” by writing tight, active sentences in the first place.
Tags: ny times, Writing Skills