Hyphen -
En Dash –
Em Dash —

Em Dashes are for pauses in thought, parenthetical statements, or afterthoughts (I told you that I didn't want—)

En Dashes are for range (He reigned from 1969–1982)

Hyphens are for word breaks and hyphenations (T-Rex, post-production) less

I always leave explanations for the editing changes I have made. I do this by copying and pasting the original sentence (shown as Before) and then paste it again to show the grammar corrections (shown as After). Above that, I briefly mention what change(s) was (were) made and then link to a web page on a reputable grammar site that explains the specific grammar rule.

I don't think I am doing the work of a mentor because any explanations I make revolve solely around grammar. I do this to help the contributor in case s/he is interested in improving his or her grammar. After all, once the contributor reaches a certain rank, s/he will no longer have someone to look over his or her review before publishing. The linked grammar sites I provide would be an invaluable resource to anyone willing to spend a few moments looking over them. Granted, not everyone is interested in improving his or her grammar, but I have received enough appreciative feedback to know that at least many of the contributors welcome the information.

If the contributor tends to make a certain grammar error repetitively, wouldn't it be beneficial to him or her to know about it? If the contributor is not aware of making a specific error, s/he may not notice that it has been corrected. And on the flip side, if I correct it without a brief explanation and a link to a site explaining the grammar rule (a grammar rule of which the contributor may be unaware), then the contributor will not have learned anything or may think that a correction was gratuitous. Additionally, once the contributors being edited reach a certain rank, the site will just have that many more reviews with grammar errors if they are not helped along the way during the time period when they are receiving editing services.

That's how I view what I do: a service not only to benefit the readers but a service to benefit contributors as well. I want each review that I edit to be as grammatically correct as I am capable of making it, and I want to provide the tools to help the contributor grammatically correct and polish his or her own reviews as well. As the saying goes: If you want to feed a man for one day, give him a fish. If you want to feed him for a lifetime, teach him to fish . . . or something like that! I just want to provide the resources contributors could use to improve the grammar in their future reviews (not to mention how much these resources might help them in all the other areas of their lives in which written communication is required). less

That's an awesome plan. Honestly there have been a couple of promising reviews I've edited that I considered messaging the reviewers to let them know that they could be doing some stellar work and I'd be willing to take them on as a student. I didn't though because I didn't want to be pushy or overstep my bounds as an editor. But I might start making a habit of leaving useful notes before publishing. Do the reviewers get notified of comments on reviews like students/mentors do??? less

Actually, you should type two hyphens for it to serve as a dash. If you use two hyphens, you have the option of making it either a closed or open em dash, though only newspapers and journals follow the open em dash rule (and that is only for typesetting purposes). All other U.S. style guides---and most of Great Britain's, except for a couple of publishing houses---dictate the use of the closed em dash. (As a reference point, I used a pair of closed em dashes in my above statement -- because I wanted to illustrate what it looks like. And in the previous sentence, I illustrated an open em dash. I also used triple and double hyphens, respectively, instead of converting to "real" dashes in Word.)

For anyone interested in making a solid em dash in Microsoft Word (to be used in the closed style), simply type in a letter or a word, then two hyphens, then another letter or word, and then hit the space bar (like this: a--b ). When you hit the space bar, Word will convert the two hyphens to a longer, solid em dash (from -- to —). You can then copy and paste the dash into your text. It never takes me more than a few seconds (if even that).

Open em dashes actually use an en dash surrounded by spaces on either side. An en dash is what is formed in Microsoft Word if you type in a word or letter, a space, then two hyphens, then another space, then another word or letter, and then a space (like this: a -- b ). What is produced is a bit shorter than what Word produces when you type this: a--b .

Here is the difference between the en dash and the em dash, as produced by Word in the manner described above: – versus —. On the left is an en dash formed by two hyphens WITH spaces on either side of them, and on the right is an em dash formed by two hyphens with no spaces on either side of them. Please note that even the shorter of the two is longer than a hyphen: - versus – versus —.

If you decide to buck convention and make the stylistic choice to use open em dashes on EF and do not want to convert to a solid en dash in Word, you can just place spaces on either side of the double hyphens (like -- this). For a closed em dash, you can type in three hyphens to better approximate the length of an em dash since closed double hyphens look a bit claustrophobic (like---this). However, it would be perfectly fine--and grammatically correct--to use double hyphens in forming a closed em dash as well (like--this).

***But again, no matter if you choose the more commonly endorsed closed style or the open style, double hyphens are perfectly acceptable if you need a dash (and three are fine for closed style if you prefer). However, a single hyphen is not at all grammatically correct to be used as a dash. less

Hyphen -
En Dash –
Em Dash —

Em Dashes are for pauses in thought, parenthetical statements, or afterthoughts (I told you that I didn't want—)

En Dashes are for range (He reigned from 1969–1982)

Hyphens are for word breaks and hyphenations (T-Rex, post-production) less

Luckily enough, editors do receive notification that a contributor has responded to their notes. When I first started posting notes, I didn't think we would receive notifications, but I get notifications all the time that a contributor has responded to my notes!

I greatly love the feedback from them, and it gives me the encouragement to continue investing the additional time to make explanations to help people. You never know how the information you share with someone will help him or her. I keep thinking perhaps it will help them when they go to write a cover letter to apply for a job or for a graduate program . . . or other important things in their lives!

I am a bona fide grammar nerd and think grammar is important and too underrated. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is one of my favorite books. link I found it to be incredibly entertaining and hilarious! I recommend it to all the editors and, really, to anyone who enjoys humor and just happens to have a bit of interest in grammar.


I've had a few requests for mentorship in the responses I've gotten from my grammar explanations, which I greatly appreciated. But sadly, my life has been crazy in the real world for the past several months. Perhaps one day things will settle and fall into a normal routine. When the dust clears, I think I'd love mentoring! So if you are both an editor and a mentor, you will find that comments to help people with their grammar is often appreciated. You might get additional requests to be a mentor from contributors whose work you have edited. less

I have seen a couple of editors who need checking into!
Yes, people make mistakes but when they fail to correct a few things, that's not acceptable! They are getting points for not doing the job properly.

I think the editors rank should be much higher - in the 7's. Some reviewers can gain a 5.0 with a couple of reviews.

And if a reviewer puts 'i' instead of 'I', wouldn't it be the editors job to correct it? less

We see the titles and the reviewers only, along with whether it's a full review or a follow-up.

And if you're interested in having someone read over your reviews, why not join the mentor program? Many mentors would be happy to help you to edit your spelling or grammar, if that's your sticking point! And there's no "cap" on being mentored, either. less

Honestly, I hate to ever say anything but I have noticed the same exact thing. Now I don't think someoen should be downed or anything over a few misspellings. I get tired and ahead of myself and my letter get mixed up when I try typing fast, but I'm always extra careful in my reviews! I do think it reflects poorly on the editor when there's a ton of misspellings and stuff that doesn't make sense. I usually try to look over and not critisize for common mistakes because even if we know the correct spelling or whatever we all accidentally type it wrong and I also try looking over it since I feel I tend to be overly careful and notice every tiny mistake because of my schooling. I'm attending school to be a writer and with editing classes, I HAVE to notice every tiny mistake so of course I'll notice ones that aren't anything serious. I don't do my best when just typing, but like I said, if it's a review I want it all to be correct! I was worried when I first signed up with a mentor that they wouldn't want to tell me when I made mistakes, but thankfully Sexxy Sarah does let me know when I've made one.

I also understand that during the reviews it doesn't tell you that you've gone over the word limit until you've submitted so then you've got to go back and cut and chop so I've accidentally left sentences that made no sense due to the cutting and chopping to fit the word limit.

Anyways, I've read so many reviews lately that are just un-readable. The sentences won't have periods, the spelling wasn't corrected which leaves words with "cute" little spellings like "me thinks it's berry fun!" This is an adult site, not a child's site. Also, I'll notice things where the person tried to spell in a "cute" way which only throws you off and looks totally unprofessional. Of course the editors are bound to overlook things and I totally understand that and it doesn't bother me, but you can definitely tell when they've just carelessly gave it a once over and DONE! Publish! less

Actually, you should type two hyphens for it to serve as a dash. If you use two hyphens, you have the option of making it either a closed or open em dash, though only newspapers and journals follow the open em dash rule (and that is only for typesetting purposes). All other U.S. style guides---and most of Great Britain's, except for a couple of publishing houses---dictate the use of the closed em dash. (As a reference point, I used a pair of closed em dashes in my above statement -- because I wanted to illustrate what it looks like. And in the previous sentence, I illustrated an open em dash. I also used triple and double hyphens, respectively, instead of converting to "real" dashes in Word.)

For anyone interested in making a solid em dash in Microsoft Word (to be used in the closed style), simply type in a letter or a word, then two hyphens, then another letter or word, and then hit the space bar (like this: a--b ). When you hit the space bar, Word will convert the two hyphens to a longer, solid em dash (from -- to —). You can then copy and paste the dash into your text. It never takes me more than a few seconds (if even that).

Open em dashes actually use an en dash surrounded by spaces on either side. An en dash is what is formed in Microsoft Word if you type in a word or letter, a space, then two hyphens, then another space, then another word or letter, and then a space (like this: a -- b ). What is produced is a bit shorter than what Word produces when you type this: a--b .

Here is the difference between the en dash and the em dash, as produced by Word in the manner described above: – versus —. On the left is an en dash formed by two hyphens WITH spaces on either side of them, and on the right is an em dash formed by two hyphens with no spaces on either side of them. Please note that even the shorter of the two is longer than a hyphen: - versus – versus —.

If you decide to buck convention and make the stylistic choice to use open em dashes on EF and do not want to convert to a solid en dash in Word, you can just place spaces on either side of the double hyphens (like -- this). For a closed em dash, you can type in three hyphens to better approximate the length of an em dash since closed double hyphens look a bit claustrophobic (like---this). However, it would be perfectly fine--and grammatically correct--to use double hyphens in forming a closed em dash as well (like--this).

***But again, no matter if you choose the more commonly endorsed closed style or the open style, double hyphens are perfectly acceptable if you need a dash (and three are fine for closed style if you prefer). However, a single hyphen is not at all grammatically correct to be used as a dash. less

Honestly, I hate to ever say anything but I have noticed the same exact thing. Now I don't think someoen should be downed or anything over a few misspellings. I get tired and ahead of myself and my letter get mixed up when I try typing fast, but I'm always extra careful in my reviews! I do think it reflects poorly on the editor when there's a ton of misspellings and stuff that doesn't make sense. I usually try to look over and not critisize for common mistakes because even if we know the correct spelling or whatever we all accidentally type it wrong and I also try looking over it since I feel I tend to be overly careful and notice every tiny mistake because of my schooling. I'm attending school to be a writer and with editing classes, I HAVE to notice every tiny mistake so of course I'll notice ones that aren't anything serious. I don't do my best when just typing, but like I said, if it's a review I want it all to be correct! I was worried when I first signed up with a mentor that they wouldn't want to tell me when I made mistakes, but thankfully Sexxy Sarah does let me know when I've made one.

I also understand that during the reviews it doesn't tell you that you've gone over the word limit until you've submitted so then you've got to go back and cut and chop so I've accidentally left sentences that made no sense due to the cutting and chopping to fit the word limit.

Anyways, I've read so many reviews lately that are just un-readable. The sentences won't have periods, the spelling wasn't corrected which leaves words with "cute" little spellings like "me thinks it's berry fun!" This is an adult site, not a child's site. Also, I'll notice things where the person tried to spell in a "cute" way which only throws you off and looks totally unprofessional. Of course the editors are bound to overlook things and I totally understand that and it doesn't bother me, but you can definitely tell when they've just carelessly gave it a once over and DONE! Publish! less

"But sometimes you get a review for which you must laboriously decipher what is even being said sentence by sentence."


THIS. This is just what I was coming back to write about. I have had quite a few reviews with so many run on sentences, that don't make sense if edited properly (which means leaving the reviewer's voice as is). We are not allowed to restructure a whole sentence very often, and my biggest struggle is trying to keep the person's voice without re writing the whole thing for them.

I am currently doing one such review right now, and it isn't exactly easy to read a whole paragraph made of one sentence. less

First of all, not everyone is a natural-born writer. Also? Not everyone takes grammatical classes. Not everyone is very good at grammar. I tend to be a grammatical Nazi and even I make mistakes.

I tend to be of the opinion of: If you're not in their shoes, you can't make assumptions of their process. Everyone has bad days and everyone makes mistakes. Also, you say you have to notice every little mistake, but I've seen mistakes even in your posts on the forums. We all do it. Don't criticize others for the same mistakes.

As for the writer's voice? I agree that we (as editors, which I am not; and as mentors, which I am) need to do our best to preserve the writer's voice. What we're asked to make sure of is that there are no emoticons or chat speak in the reviews. Other than that, I tend to be pretty lax on colloquialisms and puns. There's lots of rooom on EF for different writers with different styles of writing. If you don't like someone's style, you aren't obligated to read their reviews.

I'd really love to know which reviews you've seen that are 'unreadable' and have egregious errors, because those should have never made it through editing. Even the bad reviews I've read are, thankfully, no longer laden with errors or are 'unreadable.' For that, you wonderful editors, you get a BIG standing ovation from me! Thank you for your hard work! less

I always leave explanations for the editing changes I have made. I do this by copying and pasting the original sentence (shown as Before) and then paste it again to show the grammar corrections (shown as After). Above that, I briefly mention what change(s) was (were) made and then link to a web page on a reputable grammar site that explains the specific grammar rule.

I don't think I am doing the work of a mentor because any explanations I make revolve solely around grammar. I do this to help the contributor in case s/he is interested in improving his or her grammar. After all, once the contributor reaches a certain rank, s/he will no longer have someone to look over his or her review before publishing. The linked grammar sites I provide would be an invaluable resource to anyone willing to spend a few moments looking over them. Granted, not everyone is interested in improving his or her grammar, but I have received enough appreciative feedback to know that at least many of the contributors welcome the information.

If the contributor tends to make a certain grammar error repetitively, wouldn't it be beneficial to him or her to know about it? If the contributor is not aware of making a specific error, s/he may not notice that it has been corrected. And on the flip side, if I correct it without a brief explanation and a link to a site explaining the grammar rule (a grammar rule of which the contributor may be unaware), then the contributor will not have learned anything or may think that a correction was gratuitous. Additionally, once the contributors being edited reach a certain rank, the site will just have that many more reviews with grammar errors if they are not helped along the way during the time period when they are receiving editing services.

That's how I view what I do: a service not only to benefit the readers but a service to benefit contributors as well. I want each review that I edit to be as grammatically correct as I am capable of making it, and I want to provide the tools to help the contributor grammatically correct and polish his or her own reviews as well. As the saying goes: If you want to feed a man for one day, give him a fish. If you want to feed him for a lifetime, teach him to fish . . . or something like that! I just want to provide the resources contributors could use to improve the grammar in their future reviews (not to mention how much these resources might help them in all the other areas of their lives in which written communication is required). less

I did not realize that editors were not allowed to make substantive changes to the original review. I assumed that they had the authority to significantly revise the writing to make it more readable. I'm going to have to change how I vote on the editing. I apologize to the editors to whom I gave a lower rating simply because the review was poorly written. less

And this is why I don't like to vote on editing. It's impossible for the reader to tell what the editor has done, and possibly had undone by the reviewer. Like Z2, I apologize to any editors I gave an undeserved lower rating. Now I only vote if the review is fantastic. My reasoning is that the editor either helped make it so, or had the sense to not mess with perfection.

I only make exceptions for my reviews. Not that I think they're fantastic , just that I can guarantee that my mentor is a tremendous help, going above and beyond correcting mere typos, so I am happy to heap lavish praise upon her. less

I don't think we should actually put links to poorly-edited reviews here, because pointing fingers isn't really helpful. But yes, BBWTT, there are reviews out there where the editors have left egregious errors. I could send you some examples by PM if you really wanted. less

I think Z2 and Petite Valentine's worry about voting for editors could be cleared up if we switched the "excellent, good, and poor" to "no errors, one error, and two or more errors" for editors.

Maybe we could leave "excellent good and poor" for mentors, and that would help voters know what sort of editing was done, too. less