Today I’ve decided to tackle some common
writing mistakes that I see quite often. I understand that nobody is perfect,
and that everyone makes mistakes from time to time (we’re only human, after
all). The good news is that these mistakes are all avoidable!
So, in the hopes of raising awareness of
errors that often "fly under the radar,” here are five tricky writing pitfalls
to avoid:
5.
Using the wrong spelling of words that sound the same but are spelled
differently and have different meanings (homophones).
Some common culprits are: they’re/their/there,
hear/here, you’re/your, too/to/two.
Incorrect example: I gave them there presents. (There should be spelled their.)
Incorrect example: You’re mother called. (You’re should be spelled your.)
These are mistakes that spell checks
often miss, so just watch out for them. And look up any words that you are not
sure of!
4. The misuse of
hyphens.
This really is a tricky one, because not everyone is aware of all of the rules
associated with hyphens (and there are tons).
One
good rule of thumb is to hyphenate compound adjectives that modify a noun:
Correct
example: The blue-eyed boy smiled at me.
Correct
example: We looked up at the star-studded sky.
This
includes sentences where numbers are used as adjectives:
Correct
example: The three-act play was delightful.
Another
simple tip to remember concerns hyphens used with the singular or plural form
of the phrase "year old." If you are using "year old," you DO use a hyphen. However,
if you are using "years old," you do NOT need a hyphen.
Correct
example: The six-year-old girl sang a solo in the play.
Correct
example: The little girl was six years old.
Also,
whenever the word "self" is used in compound nouns or adjectives, you should use
a hyphen. Correct examples include self-storage
and self-respect.
You
usually do not need a hyphen in between an adverb and an adjective.
Correct
example: They are a happily married couple.
And you will usually need a hyphen when words that function as
both adverbs AND adjectives are used (such as best, fast, least, most, and well).
Correct example: One of the best-loved
movies of all time is The Wizard of Oz.
Also,
you will usually need a hyphen after all- and self-; before -elect; and between prefixes and proper names.
There
are many more rules concerning hyphens (and also many exceptions to these
rules), so when in doubt, look it up!
3.
Writing “alot” instead of “a lot.” I see this quite frequently, especially
when working with young writers.
Incorrect example: We ate alot of cake at the party. (It should
be a lot.).
Closely related to this is using “alright”
instead of “all right.” However, “alright” is actually accepted as a
non-standard spelling of the more commonly used “all right,” especially in
recent years. I wanted to mention it, though, since I have heard so much
discussion about this.
2. The misuse of apostrophes. Without a
doubt, my biggest personal pet peeve is the misuse of apostrophes, particularly
when an unnecessary apostrophe is used. (This one avoided being #1 on my list only
because so many people are honestly unaware of this rule.)
The most common place I see this type of
error is on billboards and other advertising venues—which is made even worse by
the fact that someone has actually paid
for the mistake!
The rule to always remember here is to only
use an apostrophe to show ownership
OR in a contraction!
Incorrect example: Buy 2 pizza’s and get one free! (Pizza’s should be pizzas.)
Conversely, it is almost as bad when I
see plurals used where there should be an apostrophe used to show ownership.
Incorrect example: The Shillington families pet dog is named Ellie. (Families should be family’s.)
A very tricky exception to this rule is
the word “its,” which correctly shows ownership without the use of an
apostrophe. (The word “it’s” is a simple contraction of “it is.”)
Related to this is another apostrophe
error that I see a LOT—the misuse of apostrophes in reference to families.
Incorrect example: The Shillington’s are coming to visit.
(This should say Shillingtons.)
Incorrect example: Happy Birthday from
the Shillington’s. (Again, it should
say Shillingtons.)
I could go on and on about “apostrophe
abuse,” but I will stop now!
...And the #1 Writing Pitfall to Avoid is:
1.
Failure to proofread in general (capitalization, punctuation, grammar—this can be just
about anything).
These are perhaps the most forehead-slapping mistakes of all; the ones that are
right there in front of your face and you just don’t see them. Like the query
letter I sent out to an agent several years ago with an obvious mistake that I noticed the
second AFTER I hit “send” on my email. (I did this once—and only once—and still
can’t figure out how it happened!)
These kinds of errors are so frustrating simply because they are usually so obvious!
By far the funniest proofreading error I
have ever seen was several years ago in Texas. I was driving with my young boys
into town when we saw an electronic road sign that said, “CAUTION: STRIPPERS
AHEAD.” A short way down the road, a crew of (fully clothed) men in orange
vests and hats were doing road work, and a slow-moving truck was spraying
stripes onto the highway. Obviously, the sign was supposed to say, “CAUTION,
STRIPERS AHEAD.” But for me and the many other amused drivers who happened by, it
was a hilarious reminder of how the omission of one innocent letter can make a
huge difference. I am still thankful that my boys could not
read at that time! = )
I hope this short list has helped to
clear up some of the confusion surrounding these tricky (and plentiful!)
writing pitfalls. I will end with one of my favorite writing quotes, which is
from an unknown author but is definitely worth repeating:
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. ~Author Unknown
* * * * *
I
am *sure* that I’ve been “preaching to the choir” here, since so many writers I
know have the same pet peeves. If you have any to add, please comment below. I
will add to this list from time to time, and maybe together we can rid the
written word of errors, one mistake at a time! = )
