The Incredible Rejection 2008

[GyZ]

Hello, thank you for reading this. Amazingly, my review of the recent Marvel motion picture The Incredible Hulk 2008 was rejected. It's title was (in fact, still is) "More Credible Incredible? - The Incredible Hulk 2008". The rejection email informs me that the causes of rejection were grammatical errors. It would be very nice to know the specifics though, as now I am can not be sure what the exact reasons of the rejection were. Maybe I tend to commit one particular grammatical error or maybe sometimes, JUST sometimes I tend not to commit any?

As mentioned, I personally like the high standard CC demands, though I did not yet prove to be able to live up to them. First try, first rejection. Yet I must say that it would be nice to see the exact same rigorousness in the Submission Guidelines, too. I spotted THIS typo in the section in question:

"• Articles should be written with a professional vocabulary and not contain any derogatory remarks or innuendos towards anyone--including those that "my" be construed as offensive by any person of a certain race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion."

Indeed, I marked the typo with quotation marks.

Funnily enough: the rejection email had a typo, too.

"We do not accept content with grammatical erros."

Actually, I liked the email typo as it seems as indication to me that it was written by a human being and not by an auto response script. Now I remain curious of the more specific causes of why the review was rejected, please, point those out for me if possible. In case constructive criticism and/or destruction will be involved, then please do that in email form. It is better to eradicate mistakes as opposed to conceal them. Thank you for your time, please reply.

[grouchy]

Everyone submits articles that are rejected for one reason or another.

I'm thinking you might want to try a different approach when you have questions. You've only been around for what, 20 minutes? Kind of soon to have an edgy tone already. Although CC does have its own errors, and the new owners are working hard to eliminate them, there are several grammatical errors in your post. We all make mistakes, for sure, but I know if I were going to complain about an "amazing" rejection for grammatical errors, I'd darn tootin' make sure there weren't any in my post.

If you don't know what they are, you've answered your own question. Not trying to be mean at all, just suggesting you chill a bit.

[Ed]

Authors are responsible for finding their own errors. Articles are purged from our system once rejected. I can say that your article had many errors with word choice, syntax, and grammar, but I am unable to point out specifics without having the article in front of me.

Thanks,
Ed

[jstevewhite]

Grouchy's right. I would further add that your post here in this forum contains several grammatical errors, while the errors you point out in apparent righteous indignation are typographical in nature - letter omission as opposed to improper sentence structure or word use. There's a significant difference. Ed has always been fair and reasonable, and as there are so many authors competing for Ed's approval time, I would suggest that you engage someone as an editor to review your article for the errors you apparently cannot spot.

[GyZ]

Thank you for the replies. I didn't intend to use an edgy tone at all, if such impression formed, I do apologize. Now that you pointed out that there are several grammatical errors in my previous post, it is quite obvious that I have sticky misconceptions. Indeed, I fail to spot the errors I made. I realize one needs pretty much flawless English skills at this site, so I promise I wont submit stuff until I can spot the errors in my previous post. Thank you again for the feedback.

[Celeste Stewart]

Don't get discouraged - we don't bite. I actually thought your post had a bit of a tongue-in-cheek approach to it. I wouldn't worry about spotting errors in a forum post. I'd work on the article instead. Let it sit for a day or two and you'll probably spot the errors. Also, try changing the font when proofreading it. Sometimes that helps me "see" the article more objectively.

Feel free to ask us questions and read Ed's blog. There's a ton of good information about grammar, style, word choice, voice, etc... all waiting for you.

[damyanti]

"It would be very nice to know the specifics though, as now I AM CAN not be sure what the exact reasons of the rejection were."

"I didn't intend to use an edgy tone at all, if SUCH IMPRESSION formed, I do apologize."

These are some of the errors in the post, though errors in the post don't count. Really. I make similar ones all the time.

Celeste is right, keeping the article for a day or two after writing it may make you see the stuff you don't see just after writing it. Font size increase also helps.

I have found that reading aloud the article is sometimes helpful in figuring out flow and syntax issues. Print it out and read it, you will catch more errors.

Sorry for the caps, am not sure how to "bold" the letters, the forum change has left me a bit clueless.

CC is a great place to be...we all have our rejections (I have some every now and then, and I daresay some of the best writers do), but the idea is to come back with an improved article.

Wishing you all the best, hope your article gets accepted this time.

[GyZ]

To Celeste Stewart:

To be honest with you, I was hoping to go for an ironic, dare I say, funny approach with the title, considering the subject matter of the rejected article. The Incredible Hulk 20008, The Incredible Rejection 2008. There is nothing more sad though than dissecting a joke that did not even work. Arriving on a joke to a serious forum is risky business - now we can clearly see that mine did not turn out too well. But hey, did not turn out too bad, either.

I truly appreciate your words of encouragement. I am definitely not discouraged, yet it seems very obvious to me that currently I simply lack the grammatical awareness required to spot the mistakes I made in the first post. English is not my native language, thus I am in the need of correcting grammatical deficits and eradicating misconceptions that I irresponsibly solidified. Thank you for you kind words and the tip, I will check out Ed's blog for sure.

To damyanti:

Hello, thank you for the feed. After you have pointed out, I do grasp the "I AM CAN" error, sounds utterly terrible indeed. Have no luck with the "SUCH IMPRESSION" error though. I truly fail to see how that one is incorrect grammatically, though it must be, since you are native English speaker and pointed it out. Would you please tell me how it is flawed?

[jak]

Guy, I've just read through this thread. When I read your first post, I did think English might not be your mother tongue. Later you confirmed it, so you clearly have to work much harder than most of us.

SUCH IMPRESSION should be SUCH AN IMPRESSION, but I would change the whole sentence to read more comfortably, and it would turn out something like this.

"I didn't intend to use an edgy tone at all, and if my post gave that impression, I apologize."

Best of luck.

By the way, my fingers always type SOME as SOEM and I have to change it every time. They also normally use UK English and I just had to put the z in apologize (and again). LOL

[GyZ]

Hello, jak. This "such AN Impression" example seems quite useful. If one types "such impression" into Google, a whole lot of exact matches do come up with the same context I used the expression in, yet, still one can not be 101% sure if it is grammatically correct and safe to use. So, it is nice knowing that you, as native English speaker, would use "such AN impression" as opposed omitting "AN" from it. These little verbal vibes definitely give a non-native away, thus the hard work you refer to should always keep it's metaphorical eyes on these matters, indeed. Regardless of the resultant, metaphorical slime. (Joke, joke?) :)

[jstevewhite]

Gyz -

I thought your post was amusing and tongue-in-cheek, too, until you brought up the typos at CC. I'm not sure about other languages and cultures, but in English, that will always be perceived as defensive behavior. Just a pointer, if perception is important to you. I completely understand that English is tough if it's not your first language, in that we tend to do things backwards, upside down, and inconsistently. Sorry. :D

Because you asked for explanations, I'll add a couple.

Gyz:"Hello, thank you for reading this."

"Hello, AND thank you for reading this." would be correct, but stylistically problematic. Try "Hello. Thank you for reading this." This is less troublesome, but still a logical problem in that you'd want to thank the reader at the end - when they have read it - rather than at the beginning. Does that make sense?


Gyz:"It's title was (in fact, still is) "More Credible Incredible? - The Incredible Hulk 2008"."

In this case, it's "its", not "it's". :D


Gyz: "Maybe I tend to commit one particular grammatical error or maybe sometimes, JUST sometimes I tend not to commit any?"

This is a difficult sentence. You could add a comma or two and a dash, perhaps: "Maybe I tend to commit one particular grammatical error - or maybe sometimes, just sometimes, I tend not to commit any?" or parentheses, or semicolons. It's possible to make something grammatically correct, but stylistically or logically flawed. I would recommend you try splitting the idea up: "Maybe I tend to commit one particular error more than another? Maybe, occasionally, I fail to commit any error at all?"

Other obvious errors were addressed earlier, I believe. If I misinterpreted your first post, forgive me; welcome aboard! Good luck with your edits!

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Hey Gyz,

Another great resource for grammar and English rules is Strunk and White's "Elements of Style." The book is one of the most affordable grammar rule books out there, and it gives practical examples so readers can see the differences. For example, "Its" is used for possession, "It's" is a contraction of the words 'it is.' It's easy to hate English for all of its silly rules! LOL

Another way I proofread, is to set the paragraph spacing to double, and print out the article. This gives me enough room to take a red pencil to it :). This technique will let you consider word choices, and see the flow of sentences. The best sentences to write are active ones. Passive sentences are tough to find if you don't know what you are looking for, so make sure you check the forums for more information about that, or Ed's blog.

Good luck and I'm sure with a little elbow grease, your articles will be approved and on the recently sold board soon.

Always Smiling,
Elizabeth Ann West

[GyZ]

I appreciate the useful feedbacks. Thanks for pointing out some of the errors I made. I sorrowfully must confess the "its" and "it is" differentiation was new to me, yet this little variation indeed makes perfect sense, let alone how it changes the meaning completely. It is easy to realize how painful it must be to read "it's" or "its" when used incorrectly. Elizabeth Ann West's book recommendation sounds exactly what I need. Thank you for the tip. I will make sure to unleash the book on myself, or, in case it shows no interest in me whatsoever, then I will unleash myself on it instead.