Zz

You MUST, please, present your work neatly and impressively, Zz. Whether you're sending material to me, an experienced editor - or more importantly, to your editor. The best and most professional way to attach your papers to each other is to STAPLE them exactly in the very top left-hand corner close to the edges of the paper.

1.One Staple Only

Very Top Lefthand Corner Only

  1. TYPE EVERYTHING . . . any handwriting is so unprofessional Tick?
  2. No plastic folders . . . no plastic at all Tick?
  3. All pages trimmed and neat . . . no bits hanging untidily Tick?
  4. ONE lot of papers per assignment only Tick?
  5. Staple separate assignments separately Tick?
  6. All papers FLAT (not bunched up in an envelope) Tick?
  7. No photocopies bigger or smaller than an A4 sheet Tick?
  8. ALL sheets of paper MUST be A4 (no bigger and no smaller ones) Tick?
  9. Staple in a logical order (your coversheet first) Tick?
  10. No cardboard file dividers Tick?
  11. No pieces of paper GLUED to other pieces of paper Tick?
  12. No computer disks (I never open them nor return them) Tick?
  13. No tape recordings (I never listen to them nor return them) Tick?
  14. No pins Tick?
  15. No paper clips Tick?
  16. No metal fasteners (prongs) Tick?
  17. No sticky-tape Tick?
  18. No fold-back clips Tick?
  19. All papers neatly stacked in line, each exactly behind each other

each piece of paper facing the same way and proper way up. Tick?

If you don't follow my instructions Zz, you might miss some papers with your staple and those papers might fall out and get lost, causing confusion. Incidentally, editors and tutors HATE paperclips, or anything else that is not a SINGLE STAPLE. This is because if your paper-clipped papers are in a pile of other papers, your paperclips will often "pick up" papers on top of your papers or from behind them. This causes confusion and great IRRITATION.

Warm regards Zz, from Simon Townsend