Common Errors We Make While Writing

Writing is like storytelling; an individual should understand what the writer is trying to convey. Writing for others and ourselves has a huge difference, where to pause, what do you want them to feel, are you confusing them, and various other factors to consider.  If we are communicating with words, it must be clear and crisp.

One should use the right words, punctuations and simple language while communicating in written format. We should not forget the formula “The shorter, the better”, the sentences which we write should not be text-heavy or difficult to read, wordy articles will question your articulation and writing skills. Written communication is something we all engage in. We have thousands of rule books to learn Grammar, but in this article lets us look at some basic errors we should not make.

• Watch your homophones- Homophones are words that have similar pronunciation, their or there, effect or affect, accept or expect, your or you’re. The word may sound the same but have a different meaning. In the haste of writing, just remember to spell the sentence again and you will not make a mistake. 

E.g. Anuradha excepted the offer letter.

 (Here the correct Homophone accepted is confused with excepted. The correct sentence would be Anuradha accepted the offer letter.)

• No comma can bring trauma- Commas are important to make your writing clear. The lengthy sentences will make the reader confused and frustrated, what you could do is break them with commas. 

Tip- Whenever you think the sentence is going too long, break it with a comma.

E.g. We are supposed to finish writing filing emailing reports and cold calls today

(Here the sentence makes no sense and is difficult to read. Adding a comma will help the reader to understand it. We are supposed to finish writing, filing, emailing, reports, and cold calls today)

• Apostrophe - Apostrophe is used when a person owns something. Be careful when you speak its, or it’s, most of the problem gets solved when you say it out loud. Try using both and see which suits better in the sentence. Using punctuation not only makes it easy for readers but also builds a good impression about you.

E.g. Henrys work is assigned to Jerry. (Here the correct sentence is Henry's work is assigned to Jerry. It is important to use apostrophe to write the sentence grammatically correct)

• Capitalization- We often remember the beginning of the sentence is capital. But you also need to monitor the next part of it. Keep three things in mind 

1. Is it the beginning of the sentence?
2. Is it a pronoun, I should always be in caps.
3. Is it a Proper noun?

E.g.  she is great at her work. (She is great at her work. Here ‘she’ is the pronoun and in the beginning of the sentence)

• Run on sentences - I am not working tomorrow and I am on a leave and I am not well. These are run on sentences where you cannot speak it in one breath, and are hard to read. A run-on sentence is those when two independent clauses (complete sentence) are connected together with inappropriate punctuation.

Here the correct sentence should be: - 

I am not working tomorrow. I am on leave because I am not well. 

• Avoid passive voice- We tend to write a lot of passive sentences, while we should avoid them. Active voice is more direct and conversational for readers to stay with your write-up.

E.g. One might write “The mail was drafted by me” while it can be written more directly - “I drafted the mail”. 

Here the subject is active and the sentence is more direct

• Spellings - We should be very careful with the spellings, remember spellings depend on many factors including the source of origin. It is best to cross check if one has even a little bit of doubt. 

When it comes to spellings leveraging technology it is always advised to make use of spell check extension tools to avoid errors.

Everything we write creates an impression. Our credibility is always in our hand, small details create a difference in writing. Good knowledge of grammar builds strong language. A little attention to language and punctuation can bring great results. Remember, we are not only representing the organization but ourselves too.