Attn BD sub-editorial committee

[Big Dave]

In mah current piece i wish to convey:

"You know what a lot of bike brochures are like - generic as a horoscope and appear to have been written by the agency copywriter who got the gig because of his English Lit. and uncle who owned a Norton."

MS Word tells me the 'and' after the Lit . should be capitalsed.
(I note firefox does not)

What says the house style/convention for capital after an abbreviation?

[Crisis management]

You're relying on an american programme to check your spelling?????


I would write it as you have, no capitalisation after abbreviation.

[vifferman]

I reckon it would read better if you left out the whole "English Lit." part. To whit (to whoooo....):
"You know what a lot of bike brochures are like - as generic as a horoscope and appearing to have been written by the agency copywriter who got the gig because his uncle once owned a Norton."

[xwhatsit]

Why would you use a capital there? It's not a full stop to mark the end of a sentence, it's a full stop to signal an abbreviation. Which is what you said, so I suppose you understand that.

In short, no. Keep finger off the shift key.

By the way, it's written `and uncle wot owned a Norton.'

[jafar]

It should only be capitalised because there is a full stop after Lit , that is what the spell checker has picked up.

[007XX]

No capital

[jafar]

Right now we have written your next article for you , when do we get to take one of those bikes for a "test ride " ???

[warewolf]

If you hit "explain" you will see that MS Word says "capitalize the first word of a sentence." We know it is not a new sentence, so this rule does not apply.

The real question is, are you using open punctuation, where the periods marking contractions are dropped? I would say yes, so it is not the a in and that needs fixing, but rather the period after the Lit should be omitted.

[vifferman]

It's going to take forever for the Big of Daveness to write his copy if he has to rely on the Kiwi Biker Executive Sub-editorial Committee.
Thank all that is unholy that nobody reads the krep I write, so it doesn't matter what I say....

[xwhatsit]

open punctuation

Ferkin' pansy hippie shits... mutter mutter... ruining language... modernisation feckers bastages....

Sorry. I just, like, commas, and stuff...
      And paragraph indentations. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

[Big Dave]

I reckon it would read better if you left out the whole "English Lit." part. To whit (to whoooo....):
"You know what a lot of bike brochures are like - as generic as a horoscope and appearing to have been written by the agency copywriter who got the gig because his uncle once owned a Norton."

Re-read it and had exactly the same thought. word for word.

[Big Dave]

You're relying on an american programme to check your spelling?????
.

Worse than that - the KB sub-committee.

[Big Dave]

No capital

I'm not talking about my business.

[Big Dave]

Hop online and download the BMW HP2 Megamoto brochure and you’ll see this quote.

‘The HP2 Megamoto is an uncompromising street bike. It’s equally at home drawing admiring glances in the urban jungle as it is tearing up country roads or drifting through corners on a racetrack. In keeping with the HP (BMW High Performance) philosophy, this is a machine that is stripped down to the bare essentials. Outstanding components and workmanship combine to make this a truly unique motorcycle – and its lightweight construction and powerful boxer engine ensure it delivers a unique adrenalin rush.’

You know what a lot of brochures are like - generic as a horoscope and appear to have been written by the agency copywriter who got the gig because his uncle once owned a Norton. However, after the full KR treatment I’ll happily endorse the BMW quote.

I think the grammar could be a slightly better, conversely my Bavarian ain’t that flash, apart from that. Bingo! (No, I don't mean the carburettors.)

[007XX]

I'm not talking about my business.

What a shame! There was I, awaiting with bated breath for the juicy details...