If you’re explaining the jargon of election night, make sure your statements are correct and your commas are in the right places. Start with the headline, like this one from Yahoo! News:
Make sure you don’t capitalize a common noun. Then, make sure that verbs agree with their subject, even if they’re separated by “but other pundits”:
Are your statements accurate? This parenthetical statement is only partly correct:
Nebraska isn’t the only exception to the winner-take-all rule. Maine can also split its electoral votes.
Don’t let an extraneous word trip up your readers and further erode your credibility:
And use quotation marks correctly to help your readers:
Inside quoted matter, use single quotation marks and don’t overdo the quotation marks at the end.
Explaining the complexities of the election is an important and worthy endeavor. But errors and typos (even minor ones) can adversely affect your trustworthiness.
