I’ve written buckets of blogs and articles on writing and publishing because everyone has to write. Interestingly, there are mistakes you make in writing that no one will ever detect when you speak those same words. For example, when you say: “I’ve finally reached my peek in dog training,” no one knows whether you meant peak, peek, or pique, or whether you know the difference among those forms. No one cares about your spelling or word usage when you speak the sentence. However, if you wrote your statement that way, your readers would know you haven’t reached your peak in word usage!
There are certain word pair and trio blunders that I see frequently in e-mails, blogs, social media posts, listserv responses, journal manuscripts, and student papers. I’m not sure whether the errors are due to spelling, word usage, carelessness, or the writer’s just a knucklehead. Whatever the reason, I thought this Top 10 might be helpful to consider when you proof anything you write. You probably know the meanings. The issue is being sensitive to their use when they pop up in your writing.
TOP 10 WORD USAGE MISTAKES
10. accept---except
9. advice---advise
8. affect---effect
7. alternately---alternatively
6. cite---site---sight
5. compliment---complement
4. dessert---desert
3. e.g.---i.e.
2. insure---ensure
AND THE NUMBER 1 BLUNDER:
1. it’s---its
Do any of these words ring a bell? Guess what? There are 10 more blunders being shipped right now by FedEx as you’re reading this. They will appear in the next blog.
I don’t know about you, but when I type quickly, I sometimes forget the apostrophe in contractions. When we whip out a message, mistakes will happen. As professionals or amateurs, these mistakes can only hurt our reputation and credibility. Be careful with these word combos. If you think of others, let me know.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
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