Mar 18 2009
Beat a Professional Proofreader!
Hello. I have an exciting new game for the grammatically inclined. Compete with B. Mac in a proofreading contest. Those that can score 80% as many points as BM will be eligible for a volunteer moderator position. Those that score more points than B. Mac will also receive a free Superhero Nation t-shirt. (I’m judging the contest, but I’ll be fair). If you’d like to compete, please download the following document and email your completed version to superheronation-at-gmail-dot-com. The contest ends on March 27!
Oh dear golly that idea just scares the heck out of me. It’s tempting, but I cannot bite, I am sorry. I’d be dreadfully horrible at it and embarrass myself.
Eh … maybe I shall ‘bite’ … Yeah. I’ll try out for the proofreading contest. ^_^
I hate the word contest. I have no competitive spirit whatsoever. Unless of course it’s for an acting gig. I’ll still try though, I think I can win. Oh
I think you can win, too. The good news is that we have no set number of positions to fill, so you’re not competing against anyone. If there are ten people ready to go, we’ll take all ten.
Okey Dokey. I’ll email you when I get home. 😀
A proofreading contest? I am SO in! My dad was a professional sub-editor for many years, if I haven’t picked up a thing or two I’ll be damned!
I emailed mine to you. Did you get it?
Also, hey everyone. I’m going to try to comment more on this site from now on. I’ve been visiting for a while, just been too lazy to post a comment until now.
Welcome, Fitz. 😀 If you want your own review forum, ask B. Mac, he’ll set one up for you.
Thanks! I think I might want one, just not right now because I don’t have any writing projects going on. But, my spring break starts in two days, so I might try to start working on something then.
My yahoo account won’t send my email for some reason, I’ll see if I can get it to you another way.
I made a google account and sent my revision.
Wish me luck!
*wishes RB luck*
*Grabs Lunajamnia’s wished good luck and twists it into bad luck, then stuffs it in a bottle*
Thanks, Luna.
*Luna is confused*
Anyhow … I almost made it, when they have another ‘contest’ I am entering that one.
Woo! 84%
Good job Fitz!
Better luck next time, Luna.
Ok. Cadet Davis just told me that he finished the first ten.
One person asked “how can you beat B. Mac if a perfect score is 100%?”
Actually, a perfect score is not 25/25. Cadet Davis offers a bonus point whenever he thought that the proofreader did something that was notably effective or smooth. If you would be interested and have already taken the test, Cadet Davis can provide you a list of the elements that he has awarded extra points for.
Cadet Davis awards 5 points for each of five categories (spelling, punctuation, grammar, word choice and organization/clarity). Then he subtracts one point for each mistake in each category and adds one bonus point for each exceptionally well-done edit. A volunteer editor has to score at least 20/25, and anyone that scores 26/25 will win a “I Beat B. Mac” shirt.
If you would like to see a list of the edits that have earned bonus points, please let me know and I will have Cadet Davis send you a copy of all of the ones he’s given out so far.
Yeah, I’d like to know about bonus points I earned/might earn if I do get any.
I’m interested. Can I see that list?
How many submissions did you guys get?
I think I did well for the clarity, I think it was my major focus. I hope my normal grammar issues didn’t get in the way though.
RB, They just sent me an email saying they got 15 so far.
Ack, you guys are making me so anxious. xD I’ve not gotten any word yet.
Neither have I.
15 sounds right. But Cadet Davis is running this, so don’t take my word for it. Also, as soon as Cadet Davis is done with the list, I’ll have him send it.
Ok, Fitz and Marissa. Cadet Davis just said he’s sent off the list. Don’t pass it around! 🙂
Received the list, and noticed a few that I got. =O Now I’m even more eager to see my score. Hahah…
I don’t get a copy of the list? 🙁
Oh, can I have one too? Sorry for asking late. 🙁
Got it, thanks.
84%, I was hit hard by my crappy grammar.
[CADET DAVIS ADDS: He did ridiculously well on word-choice and organization but got a 0/5 on grammar.]
Nice, Ragged Boy! I tied you. Organization was my worst section.
76%, so my grammar was even worse (I missed some stupid things too, like “supervillian”). 😛 I did pick up some bonus points, though!
…Wow, I totally misunderstood the assignment. xD Ah well, better luck next time I suppose.
I actually got villain, I was so proud of myself. I only passed because of a mass of bonus points in one section. I had a 0/5 in grammar. Grammar is so passively difficult, I don’t know a comma for a colon. Haha.
I… didn’t pass. =/ This was gonna be a huge opportunity, too. Things happen for a reason, though, I guess.
I want to die. Yeah… that’s what we do (collectively) 30 hours a week. A few pointers.
1. This test was designed to represent a worst-case scenario, a comment so ludicrously bad that it needs to be almost totally rewritten. However, most comments do not need to be reorganized. Grammar, spelling and capitalization are much more likely to come up than word-choice or (particularly) reorganization. I would only reorganize a comment if it were completely incomprehensible to a casual reader.
2. If you didn’t get it this time, please feel free to take part when we do another contest in about a month. Those of you that did beat 80% will also get a chance to beat B. Mac next time.
Marissa, don’t get down! There will be another chance next month. 🙂
I probably tried to over-organize it and ended up making it worse.
Marissa, don’t feel too bad. You can learn from this so that you can do it next time.
Also, B. Mac, you’re going down next time! (probably not but I like feeling intimidating)
Lol. Though the assignment was kinda hard, it was still pretty fun. Thanks.
And thanks for your passion of literature, too. You gotta love what you do to go through all the mess you guys see.
I just sent mine in – hope its not too late. Feel free to post my score public. I forgot to say.
Actually, I do anticipate that I will get beaten next time.
I under-organized. See, I thought I was supposed to just fix what was necessary to make it readable, rather than fix it so it looked good. I was under the impression that this was someone else’s words, and that I should respect them in leaving the words as close to the original as they came. =/
I knew from the start not to reorganize through observation. Even when there’s some crazy comment the heads never change things around.
I funked up on the grammar so bad Davis made a Vanilla Ice simile. Ouch, haha. I suck at commas.
I don’t understand. Isn’t Vanilla Ice good?
I did end up penalizing a few people for veering too far from the spirit of what was written.
Also, Vanilla Ice is one of the most notoriously bad performers of the 20th century.
Yeah… I guess I might consider doing it next time, but by then the mod position won’t be open I bet, so that defeats the purpose.
I’m still gonna stick around and try to do all I can, help-wise, of course. 😀
The moderator position will still be open next month. We don’t have a set number of positions to fill.
UPDATE: If you haven’t submitted a contest entry, you still have until next Friday to apply. Get on it!
Resent it. I had a problem – I put the address wrong, aargh!
Wow. I didn’t expect the contest to be over so quickly. I’ll have to try again next month, I guess.
What? It’s still open. We will accept entries until next Friday (the 27th).
Oh, really? Excellent! From a few of the comments above I got the idea that it wasn’t. I’ll get right on it, then.
84%, seems to be a trend…
I kept wanting to change things, which wasn’t part of the task.
But hey, full marks on clarity and grammar. It was my spelling that let me down. The annoying thing is I’m better at spelling than I am at grammar – I just didn’t think to proofread my own piece before submitting. Oops.
Hmm. I think so far we’ve given out 2 scores of 88% or higher. Based on what Davis told me, most people did exceedingly well on spelling and capitalization. Out of a possible 10 points on these two categories, contestants are averaging 9 so far. Grammar has been particularly tricky, though.
I won’t say too much more about the grading until the contest ends on Friday.
It’s probably worth noting that spelling and capitalisation are picked up by Microsoft Word’s spellcheck, which would explain why so many people got those sections right. I did worse than I expected to, I made some silly mistakes, and totally forgot that [censored] should not be capitalized.
Still, I passed, just…
Sorry, Tom. I had to censor your capitalization mistake (to keep the test fair). The good news is that I suspect that anyone who took the test knows which one you’re talking about. About half of the contestants miscapitalized that word.
When Cadet Davis and I were making a rubric for this test, we spent fifteen minutes arguing about whether that word could be capitalized. In the grammar section, it took us another ten minutes to agree that GI Joe was just as acceptable as G.I. Joe.
Oh, lol, whoops!
I’d argue that the word in some circumstances should be capitalized.
I don’t feel too bad about my score. I’ve come to accept that my grammar isn’t the best. I also know that I’m good in other fields and that every writer struggles with some things. I was just proud that I actually qualified.
Thanks again for the opportunity! See you guys at the finish line! ( I didn’t know that I was so competitive) 😀
I meant “and *that* every writer struggles…”
See, a perfect example of my point.
I DID argue that “that word” (if it the one I think it is) should be capitalised this time. 😛
I also thought “that word” was normally capitalized.
After this is over, we should definitely have an in-depth discussion about whether or not that word should be capitalized.
I wasn’t sure about “that word”, but I took a chance and got it right.
There are some cases where that word can be capitalised, but not in the context it was placed. I can’t give an example of where it would be capitalised without giving away the word.
I know that I’ve only been here for a few days… but can I try it too? Just curious.
You can take the test, but I’d also like to take a week or two to evaluate how you get along with people here. It’s really important that our moderators be able to interact with our guests in a mature and friendly fashion.
That’s cool. Will there be an opportunity later to become a moderator?
I really don’t mind waiting. I completely understand the need to get to know me. I am immensely intrigued by the possibility of being a moderator.
But what really got my attention was the “beat a professional proofreader” aspect of the contest. I probably have no chance at winning but I’d like to try. 🙂