John McKay opens up large lead in extra credit contest

April 27, 2009, update: This post has been updated to reflect more points for John McKay.

John McKay. scored 17 points during the past few days in the race for extra credit while Jessica M. also has picked up three points to gain on Michael S., who is in second place. Note, John McKay found 11 errors in one story, so even though the contest ends midnight Monday, someone still could make a big move.

Here's a breakdown of McKay's scoring:

+1 – He caught a typo in the study guide for the final.
+1 – He was the first in class to complete the "Cleaning Your Copy" exercise.
+2 – In an April 13 Andy Heller column, he caught the wrong style for the Masters golf tournament and C-SPAN (It was The Master's and C-Span).
+1 – In an April 15 sports story, he found an inconsitency on All-Region (It was all-region in one case).
+1 – In an April 15 celebrity news item, he pointed out that we should have included "the" as part of the name in bolding "the Decemberists." He is correct, but our style is to not bold "the" when it is not capitialized. Still, for pointing it out, he grabs a point.
+11 – In an April 15, he found multiple errors in a story about high school musicals. Here is what he said in his e-mail:

"A movie classic, the tale of 'Grease is a 1950s rock 'n' roll musical. Rydell High's spirited class of '59 -- gum chewing, hubcap stealing, hot rod loving boys with D.A.'s and their wise cracking girls in bobby sox and pedal pushers -- capture the look and sound of the 1950s in a rollicking musical.

'Grease' should have an end-quote.
I think it should say 'gum-chewing, hubcab-stealing, hot rod-loving boys' (modifiers) and there shouldn't be an apostrophe for D.A.'s, though I do not know what 'D.A.' refers to. Should also say 'bobby socks' and 'wise-cracking girls.'

'...the prom, the burger palace, and the drive in movie.'

I believe this should say drive-in movie, as that is a modifier.

'Songs recall the Buddy Holly hiccups, the Little Richard yodels and the Elvis Presley wiggles that made the music of the 50s a gas.'

Should be '50s.

'Grease's eight-year run made Broadway history and its recent long running revival put it among today's most popular musicals.'

Should say 'long-running revival.'

'The Holly High School spring musical 'Hello Dolly' will be performed April 23, 24, 25, with evening performances starting at 7:30 pm.'

Should say '7:30 p.m.' …"

Here's a breakdown of Jessica M.'s scoring:
+1: In an April 1 story, she pointed out the misspelling of reportedly.
+2: In an April 16 editorial, she pointed out the misspelling of "The" (It was "he"), and she found some goofy characters at the end of a sentence that should not have been there.