Answers to Reader Questions About Hyphens

Answers to Reader Questions About Hyphens Answers to Reader Questions About Hyphens Answers to Reader Questions About Hyphens By Mark Nichol Questions about hyphens come up often in correspondence from Daily Writing Tips readers. I’ve answered a few of the queries here. 1. Should â€Å"higher cost† and â€Å"higher earning† be hyphenated in â€Å"replace higher cost funding and â€Å"repurpose collateral into higher earning assets†? Yes, to clarify that you’re referring to funding that is higher cost, not cost funding that is higher, and assets that are higher earning, not earning assets that are higher, hyphenate in both cases. (Even though â€Å"cost funding† and â€Å"earning assets† are not standing phrases, the hyphens help readers avoid being distracted by reading them that way.) 2. I would have expected some nagging [in this post] about the hyphen; would it not be better to have torch-bearer or torchbearer [in place of â€Å"torch bearer†]? You’re right I used the correct form of torchbearer in my commentary but neglected to notice and note that the tattoo incorrectly styles the word as an open compound. I guess I was distracted. Treatment of various open compounds with a common element aren’t necessarily consistent: One who bears a torch is a torchbearer, but one who bears a standard is a standard-bearer, and one who bears an ensign (essentially the same as a standard) is an ensign bearer. It’s nearly unbearable. 3. Nice list [of reduplicative doublets]. I’m intrigued some of them are hyphenated and some not. I wonder what the deciding factor is for that. Good point about the hyphenation; I should have included a note about that. Because English has never had a body that regulates standards, inclusion or exclusion of hyphens in such constructions, as in many other language matters, is arbitrarily and inconsistently based on a variety of factors. 4. Given your recent article on possessives, I wanted to write in with a question. There is typically a notice period of thirty, sixty, or ninety days required before an investor is allowed to redeem. How does one state this? I’ve seen it as â€Å"ninety days’ notice† (as if the notice belonged to the ninety days) and â€Å"ninety days notice.† I typically restate it as â€Å"ninety day notice period† to avoid this ambiguity, but then I’m not sure if that should properly be â€Å"ninety-day† or if the dash is not needed. The correct form is â€Å"ninety days’ notice (meaning â€Å"notice of ninety days†). The phrase is written in the genitive case, in which a noun modifies another noun, usually in the form of one noun possessing the other (â€Å"ninety days notice† is common but incorrect). If you continue to use your alternative phrasing, a hyphen should connect ninety and days â€Å"ninety-day notice period† but I recommend â€Å"ninety days’ notice.† 5. Thanks for the funny signs [link to post]! â€Å"Shouldn’t â€Å"ill advised’ and ‘well educated’ have been hyphenated in your examples? Phrasal adjectives such as the ones you mentioned, often hyphenated before a noun, should be styled without a hyphen when they follow the noun. Here’s a post about that particular point; you’ll find more posts about phrasal adjectives by searching for that phrase on this site. Note: Many Daily Writing Tips readers ask questions about various language issues in the comment field for a post, while others send queries as an email message to the site. We welcome your notes, but please comment rather than email; that way, other site visitors will be able to read your questions and my responses as well as notes from other readers. (I try to answer all specific requests for information or clarification or refer readers to existing applicable content, though sometimes I rely on other readers to weigh in on comments.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Apply to, Apply for, and Apply with35 Genres and Other Varieties of FictionGrammatical Case in English

Is a Two-Page Resume Ever Acceptable

Is a Two-Page Resume Ever Acceptable There is a lot of confusing information out there these days about how long a resume should be. While a resume that goes on for pages is unlikely to be read by a hiring manager, not putting in enough information can have the same effect. Now that many resumes are no longer submitted on paper but in digital format, the old rules for resumes make little sense. Keep in mind that hiring managers are interested in finding the right candidate for the job, and the resume quickly tells them whether or not the applicant is eligible for consideration. What About One Page Resumes?One argument is that one page resumes are fine for recent graduates or those who don’t have much work experience. While this might be true, the custom is to try and keep a resume short and to the point. This makes sense since a hiring manager or recruiter may have many of them to check over in order to fill a job position.Are Longer Resumes Acceptable?More experienced workers may require more than one page to li st their previous job positions, skills and experience or already have a resume that takes up more than one page. This is particularly true for those with a lot of work experience or advanced degrees. Now, with social media, personal websites and sites such as LinkedIn, a job seeker can add information to those sites so recruiters can find added information. The good thing about personal websites and LinkedIn is that you can include as much as you wish.Do You Include All Your Jobs?You don’t have to include every job you’ve ever held. Instead, keep it to the last ten years of employment. The important thing is to aim your resume toward the job for which you are applying. A recruiter’s job is to find the best candidates for the position, so if you are qualified for the job and point it out in your resume, you can go to the top of the list of candidates.Do Bullet Points Help?Using bullet points add to your resume by making it quick to scan for the recruiter to pick up important information. It also makes it less likely that an important job qualification will not be missed. Use caution, however, to not overdo using bullet points. Use your qualifications that respond to the job ad.What About Job History?Including your entire job history isn’t necessary for a resume, and neither is listing everything you did in each job. What the recruiter is interested in are the things you did that benefitted the company such as increasing productivity, saving the company money or other benefits. Use this type of approach to show how you would be an asset. This lets the recruiter know quickly whether you are a match for the job position.Should I Chop My Resume or Add to It?By now, you’ve chopped out all unnecessary information but you find your resume is still over one page long, and you are faced with the decision of making the print small to make it fit on one page or of using a second page that is mostly a large blank space. What do you do? T hinking about if you were the person reading it, would you be happy trying to read tiny print or would you prefer a second page, even if it only has a few lines of text? Rather than give the recruiter eye strain, it is better to include the second page. If you really feel that space shouldn’t go to waste, use it to show volunteer work, awards and organizations so the recruiter can see into your personality.Having a good resume is a start to getting that great job. TheJobNetwork takes all the stress out of job hunting by doing the search for you. After you sign up for job match alert and enter your qualifications and job requirements, TheJobNetwork toils around the clock searching for the jobs that match and sends you alerts to notify you when job listings are found.