Our last few posts have looked at some of the ‘SPAM’ emails I’ve seen from people pretending to be a company or person I know, which intend to elicit my response so that the sender can then gather information from or otherwise try to take advantage of my naïve interest.

One of the tip-offs that these messages were fakes was that often they were riddled with spelling or grammar errors.

But even in large, legitimate organizations, mistakes happen. With so many people and interests involved, a few gaffes are bound to get missed.

Take the following example that recently crossed my desk:

Promotional AIR End Date: This date reflects the end of the corresponding promotional AIR. If you elect to change a billing cycle, this date could change. This date does not reflect any time period in which eligible transactions must be completed by, if any, to be subject to this promotional AIR.

Do you catch the mistake?

If, like me,  you’re just that type of smarty-pants who likes to notice other people’s grammar errors, this is your chance to shine! Tell us where you see a mistake in the above paragraph, and we’ll enter you into a prize draw. Just make sure you send us your answer by Friday, June 15. Heck, we’ll enter you even if you just surf around and leave a comment anywhere in the blog between now and that date (obvious spammers excluded).

The winner will get a copy of Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language (2005), by widely-published clear writing advocate Professor Joseph Kimble.

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