approved by Jellicent
Welcome to the Grammar Prose Workshop v2! The previous version was outdated, so I've decided to repost it with some updated information and exercises. This workshop is where users can turn to learn more about the process known as Grammar and Prose, commonly referred to as "GP". This particular facet of Smogon handles the editing of written content to assure that it is grammatically correct before going on-site. There are several areas where grammar checking is needed, including the following:
Areas Where GP Is Needed
The Tricks of the Trade
Applying Your Knowledge As Contribution
Before being accepted as an official member of the GP team, you'll obviously need to prove that you have what it takes to fit the bill. The best way to show your skills here is to do what we call amchecks, or amateur checks. These can be posted in any analysis after it reaches the Copyediting phase as indicated by the thread tag. The writer is not required to implement your changes, but they are allowed to, and it's not uncommon for an official GPer to come behind you and validate your work or give you a few pointers to help you improve. Keep in mind, however, your amchecks do not count as official checks and thus do not count toward the completion of the Copyediting phase, unless an official GPer stamps your work to indicate that it is satisfactory (which is huge if that happens). However, official GPers will not always go over amchecks and may go on and just post an official one. Remember that you cannot leave placeholders for amchecks, as they are not official; also, make sure the writer knows it's an amcheck to avoid confusion. Amchecks can be done in The Flying Press if you already have access for another reason.
When you do checks of your own, you'll want to do is establish a key at the top of your amcheck post first and foremost, which indicates what colors mean to add and remove content, and you can use them to indicate other things as well, including side comments, capitalization, and so on.
An example of this is as follows:
Time to Practice!
Below are some exercises that contain several errors. Test yourself here first if you'd like, by providing GP editions of these examples to correct where they are wrong. Some have more identifiable mistakes than others and some may need to be completely reworded.
Credits to Weebl and P Squared for helping with some of the new exercises. Exercises will be added periodically so that this stays fresh as possible. If you posted an exercise in the original thread, I urge you to either repost here or try your hand at a new one. :]
Welcome to the Grammar Prose Workshop v2! The previous version was outdated, so I've decided to repost it with some updated information and exercises. This workshop is where users can turn to learn more about the process known as Grammar and Prose, commonly referred to as "GP". This particular facet of Smogon handles the editing of written content to assure that it is grammatically correct before going on-site. There are several areas where grammar checking is needed, including the following:
Areas Where GP Is Needed
Contributions & Corrections
Commonly abbreviated as C&C, this is the part of the site where Pokemon analyses and articles that dictate or explain relevant information for the many generations and tiers are written. The GP phase happens after the QC (Quality Control) phase, which fine-tunes the competitive quality of the content. After an analysis has received all its Quality Control checks (indicated by QC 1/3 or whatever phase of the project it's in), the writer will change the thread tag to Copyediting and it's time for the writeup to go through GP, which consists of two checks. After the writer of the analysis has implemented two GP checks, the analysis is generally ready for upload.
Commonly abbreviated as C&C, this is the part of the site where Pokemon analyses and articles that dictate or explain relevant information for the many generations and tiers are written. The GP phase happens after the QC (Quality Control) phase, which fine-tunes the competitive quality of the content. After an analysis has received all its Quality Control checks (indicated by QC 1/3 or whatever phase of the project it's in), the writer will change the thread tag to Copyediting and it's time for the writeup to go through GP, which consists of two checks. After the writer of the analysis has implemented two GP checks, the analysis is generally ready for upload.
The Flying Press
The spiritual successor to The Smog, The Flying Press releases individual articles about a variety of topics relating to Smogon, from Pokemon spotlights to tournament coverage to PS room overviews. Note that the GP standards for The Flying Press are more relaxed than in C&C. Also unlike C&C, The Flying Press's writing workshop is not public; you must have permission to view it, which is usually only given through having an article approved in the submission phase or becoming part of the official GP or HTML team.
Once an article's thread tag changes to Grammar, the writer is done with the article and is now awaiting your edits. After the writer of the article has implemented two GP checks, the article must have HTML done, and then it is generally ready for publishing. Be advised that art may come to a project at any time of these projects and has no bearing on the order of phases therein.
The spiritual successor to The Smog, The Flying Press releases individual articles about a variety of topics relating to Smogon, from Pokemon spotlights to tournament coverage to PS room overviews. Note that the GP standards for The Flying Press are more relaxed than in C&C. Also unlike C&C, The Flying Press's writing workshop is not public; you must have permission to view it, which is usually only given through having an article approved in the submission phase or becoming part of the official GP or HTML team.
Once an article's thread tag changes to Grammar, the writer is done with the article and is now awaiting your edits. After the writer of the article has implemented two GP checks, the article must have HTML done, and then it is generally ready for publishing. Be advised that art may come to a project at any time of these projects and has no bearing on the order of phases therein.
The Tricks of the Trade
In addition to knowing basic grammar (including, most notably, punctuation and parallelism), PokeGrammar here is also very important, especially considering that pretty much everything you would GP check here will contain at least some. Here are some common examples of correct ways to use PokeGrammar here at Smogon:
fleurdyleurse has compiled an extensive list of notes for new GPers to use as a reference as well, which can be found here.
Additionally, as the place you'll be getting your practice in will be the C&C forum, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the correct set format for Generation VI, which can be found here. Looking around in the C&C forum will let you find examples of how this is used, and you will catch on easily. The reason this is so important to know is that the format will cause the upload to be rejected if there is even one thing wrong with the set format. The mods and site staff will be able to catch these errors, but knowing it yourself saves them the trouble and also makes you more handy as a GP checker to have around.
- Fire-type is the correct way to identify a Pokemon's typing by using an adjective. When talking about the type itself, as in "Torkoal and Charizard are of the Fire type," the hyphen is not needed. Fire typing is fine just like this with no hyphen.
- OHKO is the term used here to indicate a one-hit-KO, or an attack that causes a foe to faint in one blow. 2HKO, 3HKO, and so on, are used to indicate how many hits it takes. When pluralizing this, knowing the difference is important. OHKOs is used when referring to kills themselves as nouns. OHKOes is used when it's an action, as in "Fire Blast OHKOes Ferrothorn." OHKOed can refer to the kills themselves as past tense, such as in "Fire Blast OHKOed Ferrothorn on turn 1."
- Mega Evolutions and the act of Mega Evolving are capitalized and do not contain hyphens anywhere. Mega Mewtwo X is the correct way to write this, for instance.
- All Pokemon names, moves, items, abilities, names of stats, areas in-game, and otherwise proper nouns are always capitalized. Klinklang, Life Orb, Speed Boost, Special Defense, and Pallet Town are written as such. It's important to note that evasion and accuracy are lowercase, however.
fleurdyleurse has compiled an extensive list of notes for new GPers to use as a reference as well, which can be found here.
Additionally, as the place you'll be getting your practice in will be the C&C forum, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the correct set format for Generation VI, which can be found here. Looking around in the C&C forum will let you find examples of how this is used, and you will catch on easily. The reason this is so important to know is that the format will cause the upload to be rejected if there is even one thing wrong with the set format. The mods and site staff will be able to catch these errors, but knowing it yourself saves them the trouble and also makes you more handy as a GP checker to have around.
Applying Your Knowledge As Contribution
Before being accepted as an official member of the GP team, you'll obviously need to prove that you have what it takes to fit the bill. The best way to show your skills here is to do what we call amchecks, or amateur checks. These can be posted in any analysis after it reaches the Copyediting phase as indicated by the thread tag. The writer is not required to implement your changes, but they are allowed to, and it's not uncommon for an official GPer to come behind you and validate your work or give you a few pointers to help you improve. Keep in mind, however, your amchecks do not count as official checks and thus do not count toward the completion of the Copyediting phase, unless an official GPer stamps your work to indicate that it is satisfactory (which is huge if that happens). However, official GPers will not always go over amchecks and may go on and just post an official one. Remember that you cannot leave placeholders for amchecks, as they are not official; also, make sure the writer knows it's an amcheck to avoid confusion. Amchecks can be done in The Flying Press if you already have access for another reason.
When you do checks of your own, you'll want to do is establish a key at the top of your amcheck post first and foremost, which indicates what colors mean to add and remove content, and you can use them to indicate other things as well, including side comments, capitalization, and so on.
An example of this is as follows:
[OVERVIEW]
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers wallbreakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame. Zangoose also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams. After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces makes it difficlut for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches, and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat Zangoose's base 90 speed is merely above-average. Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers wallbreakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame. Zangoose also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams. After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces makes it difficlut for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches, and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat Zangoose's base 90 speed is merely above-average. Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
Additions
Removals
Comments
(you would usually have hide tags here to hide this below; otherwise the post would be very long)
[OVERVIEW]
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers wallbreakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame,(replace period with comma) Zangoose and it also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams (you should probably add Sticky Web users to Team Options below). After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost Toxic Boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces resistances makes it difficlut difficult for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches,(RC) and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat,(AC) its Zangoose's base 90 speed Speed is merely above-(remove dash, add space)average (even for NU haha). Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
Removals
Comments
(you would usually have hide tags here to hide this below; otherwise the post would be very long)
[OVERVIEW]
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers wallbreakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame,(replace period with comma) Zangoose and it also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams (you should probably add Sticky Web users to Team Options below). After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost Toxic Boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces resistances makes it difficlut difficult for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches,(RC) and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat,(AC) its Zangoose's base 90 speed Speed is merely above-(remove dash, add space)average (even for NU haha). Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
As you might have guessed, (AC) and (RC) are short for add comma and remove comma, respectively. These are commonly used at Smogon in addition to the punctuation change simply because a color change on something so small can be easy to overlook otherwise. Comments you make, as indicated by your key, are not implemented and you can use them to convey thoughts you have throughout the read as you are checking. The example comment here regarding adding Sticky Web to Team Options is assuming that the writer left it out, and their mention of Sticky Web mitigating one of Zangoose's flaws is a good place to bring that to their attention.
You can use any colors you like, though I recommend at least starting with blue and red, especially since red is extremely easy to indicate that something is incorrect and casts out all confusion early on.
After you have 3 or so solid amchecks, you can submit an application to join the GP team by messaging GatoDelFuego, P Squared, and The Dutch Plumberjack a submission including proof of your GP abilities. They will either tell you how you can improve, ask for more examples before they come to a decision, or add you to the GP team. If you'd like for an official GPer to look over your work, you can inquire about this in #grammar on IRC, where the AOps (@ rank, looks like a star on mibbit) are the official GP checkers. IRC is definitely the best way for you to get to know other GPers, get instant feedback or answers to their questions, and generally integrate yourself into the community. However, the channel is not always active, so VMing or PMing a GP member, while slower, is another good way to get a response.
You can use any colors you like, though I recommend at least starting with blue and red, especially since red is extremely easy to indicate that something is incorrect and casts out all confusion early on.
After you have 3 or so solid amchecks, you can submit an application to join the GP team by messaging GatoDelFuego, P Squared, and The Dutch Plumberjack a submission including proof of your GP abilities. They will either tell you how you can improve, ask for more examples before they come to a decision, or add you to the GP team. If you'd like for an official GPer to look over your work, you can inquire about this in #grammar on IRC, where the AOps (@ rank, looks like a star on mibbit) are the official GP checkers. IRC is definitely the best way for you to get to know other GPers, get instant feedback or answers to their questions, and generally integrate yourself into the community. However, the channel is not always active, so VMing or PMing a GP member, while slower, is another good way to get a response.
Time to Practice!
Below are some exercises that contain several errors. Test yourself here first if you'd like, by providing GP editions of these examples to correct where they are wrong. Some have more identifiable mistakes than others and some may need to be completely reworded.
NEW
OLD
Ground types such as Landorus therian, Garchomp and Swampert-mega are a problem for Koko as they are immune to Electric STAB, and can OHKO with EQ, however they can be killed by Dazzling gleam or HP ice. Choice Specs let Tapu koko hit hard, but lock you into 1 move unless you switch out. Pokemon who have high Special defence like Chansey are also a problem because it lives all of it's attacks. Tapu Koko is very fast with 130 base spe so it is hard to revenge-kill unless you have a scarfer.
Garchomp has a really good Ground/Dragon-typing and Rough Skin which allows it to damage you when you make contact. Fairies can switch-in to Garchomp since Outrage doesn't effect them but they must be weary of Earthquake. Garchomp can also setup Stealth Rocks to weaken the opponent when they switch. It can run a Defensive set, and can also utilise a Z-Earthquake set with SD and an adamant Nature, so that it OHKOs things like Heatran.
OLD
Gale wings and Refridgerate checks such as Skarmory, Entei, Heatran and Doublade are great partners to Shaymin-Sky. Hazard control support is also very important for Shaymin - defoggers such as Latios & Spinners such as Excadrill are good for hazard control, while hazard setters like Heatran and Landorus-Therian are very helpful in wearing down the opponents, especially Flying types and Fire types. Teammates like Mega Metagross and Heatran appreciate Shaymins ability to decimate bulky Water-types which bother them. Shaymin finds itself at home with Volt/Turn Pokemon like Rotom-W and Scizor due to Shaymin's ability to abuse the momentum granted from Volt Switch and U-Turn. Magnet Pull users such as Heatran make great parters as well removing pesky Steel types like Skarmory.
Dragonite can take hits well thanks to its ability, Multiscale, finish opponents off with Extremespeed, and has a Dragon/flying typing which gives it a resistance to Bug-, Fighting-, Fire-, Grass- and Water-type Pokemon. Unfortunately, its Dragon/flying typing makes it 4 times weak to Ice-type Pokemon which there are a plethora of , such as Weavile. Finally, Stealth Rocks are dangerous for the pseudo legend because it causes a quarter of its HP to be removed, making it easily worn down.
Sunflora is a bad Pokemon since it's way to slow to sweep even with a Speed boost from Chllorophyl. It's frailty also causes it be KOd before it can even kill the opponent. It also faces competition with Chllorophyl sweepers in the tier, such as Victreebel and Exeggutor. They are quicker and more powerful, however, Sunflora is more of a suicide Sun setter that has a chance to threaten the foe. However, this tactic is very hard to sucessfully carry out and it is recommended to stick to more viable options instead because they are better in the current metagame unlike Sunflora.
Dugtrio is a great revenge-killer that is also able to clean late game due to it's high Speed. Make sure to scout for opposing Scarfers, because they can outspeed and KO Dugtrio instead. Because it is so frail, Dugtrio is unable to switch-in on many attacks, so you should only bring in it after a team mate has fainted or with a slow Volt Switch/U-Turn/Baton Pass user such as mega Ampharos and Vaporeon.
Electrode can also run Damp Rock, which extends the duration of Rain to eight. Magic Guard reflects entry hazards and Taunt back to the foe, but Electrode doesn’t want to give up 1 of its other moves. A Special Attacking set with LO, HP Ice and Foul Play can be considered, however Electrode’s low offenses and shallow movepool mean it is underwelming. Similarly, Choice Specs isn't a great option as it is almost completely outclassed by other offensive Electric-types.
Thanks to its great bulk and useful Grass / Steel-typing Ferrothorn is one of the best entry hazard setters in ubers. It fairs very well against defoggers such as Lati@s, especially if it runs Toxic. Also, Toxic is useful for support Arceus forms and Giratina-Origin. Also, with the combination of Iron Barbs, Spikes, Leech Seed and Toxic, Ferrothorn can easily wear down opponents for a teammate to clean up later. It does have some flaws, however. Ferrothorn is rendered useless by Taunt, very slow, and has a nasty x4 weakness to Fire.
There are a few options for the last moveslot. Flamethrower heavily damages Steel types such as Scizor and Excadrill, while Ice Beam lures in and OHKOs Specially Defensive Glicsor. Psyschock deals more damage to Chansey, as it hits on the other side of the spectrum. Finally, Thunder Wave is a great utility move that cripples many of Clefable's checks, including Talonflame, Scizor and Megagross.
It's best to setup DD towards the end of the game, when Mega Charizard-X's checks and counters are out of play or have been weakened enough to be picked off after a boost. Charizard-X should set up on a Pokemon that it forces out, such as Mega Scizor and Celebi, or against Electric-types such as Manectric-Mega and Raikou. Rotom-Wash is an easy target to setup on if it is running HP investment, as it can't 2HKO Charizard-X with hydro pump, and is stalled out with Roost. Make sure you avoid Thunder Wave from pokemon like Cresselia, Thundurus (which also has Prankster) and Mega-Slowbro as paralys cuts Mega Charizard-X's speed in half, making it suspectible to a higher amount of revengers.
Mew is an extremely versatile Pokemon because it can learn every TM and HM in the game. Furthermore, Mew is the only Defogger in the metagame with access to Will-O-Wisp and no Stealth Rock weakness, which lets it cripple Defiant users such as Bisharp by halving their Attack. Overall, Mew has good offensive and defensive stats but is not really that outstanding when compared to bulkier Psychic-types such as Mega Slowbro, regular Slowbro, and Cresselia. Mew has a pretty good Speed stat as well, which lets it outspeed slower Pokemon and attack them. Mew also has access to a form of reliable recovery in Soft-Boiled, which contributes to Mew's longevity on the field. Synchronize is a useful ability for Mew, because it can can punish status users if they inflict status on Mew. It can also provide utility against Scald burns. However, Mew's typing is subpar, which leaves it very vulnerable to common Bug-, Ghost-, and Dark-types, such as Scizor, Gengar, and Mega Gyarados. Mew also has four-moveslot syndrome because it cannot benefit from all move options it learns. Despite Mew's incredibly huge movepool, it only has a few viable sets that aren't outclassed by other Pokemon in the tier.
Credits to Weebl and P Squared for helping with some of the new exercises. Exercises will be added periodically so that this stays fresh as possible. If you posted an exercise in the original thread, I urge you to either repost here or try your hand at a new one. :]
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