How can you avoid common writing mistakes?
No matter how good you are, you will always make mistakes. It might be a misspelling, poor grammar or simply a missed word. But there are tools in the market place that will help. And my favorite is Grammarly, let me explain why.
Grammarly is the world’s leading software suite for perfecting written English. It checks for more than 250 types of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, enhances vocabulary usage, and suggests changes.
What are the top mistakes made?
Grammar
Say it simply.
If you’re not sure if your grammar is correct, try writing things in a simpler way.
Make sure your tenses are correct.
There are numerous tenses in English. Are you using the most correct one? Past, present or future are the basics.
Check the word order.
When we write content we can arrange our writing to follow, subjects, verbs, objects, complements, and adjuncts in a variety of ways. We can focus on certain aspects over others depending on how we arrange them, especially if we arrange them in a unique way. Cambridge Dictionary has more on this.
Check verb agreements.
For example, “he has” rather than “he have.”
These are basic, but all-too-common errors, even among advanced content writers.
Spelling.
Spelling mistakes are often interpreted as a sign of the writer’s carelessness with the project as a whole.
Allowing your hard work to be tainted in this way is unacceptable!
You can utilize electronic spell checks or use an online thesaurus or dictionary to check your content.
How can we check and fix our mistakes.
It’s extremely hard to create a 1,000-word essay without making any punctuation or spelling mistakes. However, there’s a good possibility you’ll be able to decrease the faults to the point where the reader won’t notice them. Here are a few tips on how to minimize mistakes.
Upgrade your skills.
Writing is not an easy undertaking; in fact, students of the English language at colleges claim that writing is difficult and that they cannot get a good mark when it comes to composition or essay writing.
So pity the poor content writer who has had no official education. There are some easy guidelines and activities that might help you progress from being a “NEWBIE” writer to producing work that is impressive to your readers.
Udemy offers content and English writing corse to help you be a success in your content writing. You can check them out below.
Hire a Proofreader.
It’s essential that you have someone you can trust read through your work. They will catch any mistakes you might have overlooked and repair them. Sometimes all you need is a new set of eyes. In fact, they may advise you on how to enhance your grammatical abilities in preparation for future writing projects.
Use an Online Dictionary.
Merriam Webster provides you with a large number of terms to choose from, as well as a thesaurus to help you find synonyms for often used words and broaden your vocabulary in your content or essay. You can also utilize a variety of other dictionaries available online. They provide much more than just spelling checks.
Review your content.
Always double-check your work before publishing it. It’s best not to proofread straight after you’ve finished writing. Take a break from work for a few hours and proofread later. After you’ve taken a break, you’ll be able to see your stuff in a new light.
Read it once, then twice more. Before I post something, I like to read it four times. Even with the help of a fantastic tool like Grammarly.
Don’t rely on AI alone.
While this tool is quite useful, it may not always catch all of the errors. It is possible that it will make a mistake in some circumstances. Even worse is MS Word’s so-called grammar checker. It will suggest words and highlight sentences that make sense, while ignoring those that are riddled with mistakes. As a result, always proofread your work before publishing it.
A good tool
Grammarly is still a great tool to use and has saved my hide on too many occasions to mention. So what type of things can it do and how does it show what is wrong?
The Grammarly basics
Misspellings and grammatical errors can affect your credibility. The same goes for misused commas and other types of punctuation. Not only will Grammarly underline these issues in red, but it will also show you how to correctly write the sentence.
Underlines that are blue indicate that Grammarly has spotted a sentence that is unnecessarily wordy. You’ll find suggestions that can help you revise a wordy sentence effortlessly..
But wait…there’s more !!
Grammarly Premium can provide you with extremely useful writing ideas. Grammarly can correct passive voice and can also correct common word-choice errors. You have auto correct options for problems like using U.S.A. instead of The USA and e-mail and email.
It can also help you improve your slang or formality level. T hat’s especially important when writing for a diverse readership ranging from businessmen to friends and family It will thoroughly examine your vocabulary and recommend the perfect word so that you don’t have to spend too much time analyzing your writing.
Where can I try it for free?
Grammarly comes in two versions. The free version and a paid version. To check out the basic free package click
Conclusion
It’s easy to overlook language errors, especially if you’re revising your own work. Even if they are minor, these typical grammar errors have the potential to detract from readability. Readers may decide not to read your article further.
As a result, you’re losing sales. Take the time to learn how to use the resources at your disposal to improve your readership.
Who am I?
My name is Stephen and I am a teacher as well as an online marketer. I have a weakness for barbecues and chocolate. I love traveling and am currently living in Vietnam. You can check out my house in Vietnam below.
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Thank you Stephen for the very informative article! One thing, I always recommend to people who are concerned about writing is just to write! Practice makes perfect and the more we write the more comfortable writing will be. You are right. We all make mistakes and they are easy to miss. I have not tried Grammerly yet, but thanks for the suggestion. Even though I am a native English speaker, I have always said that English has to be one of the hardest languages to learn especially with all the exceptions to the rules. Thanks again! Mel
Thanks, Mel. And so right you are, if in doubt, write, write and write some more. Practice does make perfect.
Stephen
Thank you my brother for this article, especially for the useful information. It really shows that you are a teacher, the way you explain everything, the mistake we make when writing contents. You have touched the most important issue that by many writing mistake, people may loose interest of reading your work, and that in turn make you loose money. To me this is very helpful, especially because I am new in this online world which have no mercy. Your article has given me a heads up and I am going to check the software you have given us. Thank you so much, keep up the good work.
Phakama
Thanks, Phakama, I am pleased you found it helpful.